Watercolor Peonies
Hi friends! Happy Easter Sunday! Please join me in welcoming back special guest Anna-Karin Evaldsson! We are very honored that she inspires us weekly on our Monday Challenge blog as well, so be sure to check out her Layers of Ink blog too! For now, read on for this GORGEOUS Peonies panel tutorial! Enjoy!
Hi everyone! I am so happy to be here today with a fun and easy tutorial, perfect for spring and summer projects. When I saw the Pretty Peonies background stamp, I knew I wanted to turn it into the focal point of a project. It is such a pretty stamp. We will be doing a watercolor technique, with some simple masking.
I started out planning to make an art journal page, but after having colored the flowers, I changed my mind and turned the panel into a wall-hanging instead. But, you can of course make a card or an art journal page instead, or use it as a background for a scrapbooking page. The wall-hanging would make a great Mother’s Day gift, or you could do three of them in different colors and use as home décor.
Start by white embossing the Pretty Peonies stamp on a square piece of watercolor paper (7.3 x 7.3 in). Always be careful when using a heat gun so that you don’t burn yourself. For the masking, I used a Molotow masking pen. You can also use a white oil-based wax crayon or a white candle. Or you can skip the masking all together.
I used Distress Inks for the watercoloring, but you can also use watercolor paint. Smear the inks on a non-stick craft sheet. Mist with water and pick up with a paint brush. By varying the amount of water, you can get different shades of color from the same ink pad. Watercolor the flowers, using two or three shades on each flower, to create depth and dimension. I like having the stamp next to me so that I can see the printed design since some of the white lines might be hard to see.
Continue with the leaves. Don’t worry about perfection, going outside of the lines just looks good, since it makes the white embossing more visible.
When the ink is dry, carefully rub off the masking liquid, giving your flowers great highlights. If you are not happy with one of the white areas, you can paint it over – but that doesn’t work if you have used an oil crayon or a candle for the masking.
I used Distress Markers to darken the colors in some areas.
When I was done coloring, I didn’t want to add too many other details to this piece. To add interest, I layered and distressed various types of white papers: vellum, bright white paper, and another piece of watercolor paper.
Apply tape in the center areas only and stitch around the main panel with a sewing machine. I mounted everything on chipboard to give it strength.
Die cut the sentiment using the SSS Big Happy die. I die cut it from White Diamond and Spring Green glimmery papers.
You can also cut out the peonies and use them on card.
The masking liquid technique is easy to do, and adds great highlights. You don’t need to worry about leaving some of the white paper showing while coloring.
The Simon Says Stamp glimmery papers have such a nice shine, which you can see better here.
Layering different shades of white and cream papers, adds interest without stealing attention from the focal point.
I hope this tutorial inspired you to try out some loose watercoloring in combination with masking.
Thank you so much for looking! Happy crafting! -Anna-Karin
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Lovely project – thank you so much!!
This is a stunning piece and perfect as a wall hanging. Love the layers of papers and the stitching detail that compliments your beautiful coloring so well.
Beautiful panel! I love the colours used!
wow – love the way you created this awesome panel!!!!
Lovely background stamp and coloring! This is so pretty!
Wow! That is so inspiring. I love the way you left parts of the flowers uncolored, and the distressing on the papers. What a beautiful decor project!
Gorgeous project Anna-Karin!
I love the masking technique. I haven’t used my masking pen in awhile. And this project looks amazing! I am going to try this out for sure!
This is a beautiful project! Thank you for explaining how you did it in such detail! I am not familiar with the masking technique. It is another thing for me to learn about!
Looks like a piece of tapestry.
wonderful coloring.
thanks for sharing
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I always love your tutorials, Anna-Karin, but this may be my favorite! You are truly an artist! Love how you used the masking & I have a bottle of masking fluid with a fine tip that’s never been opened. No confidence I can do this, but really want to try. Happy Easter!
Thank you so much for your sweet comment Greta! You can do it! Test it on smaller scrap papers first, instead of working on the whole background at once. If your bottle of masking liquid is very old, it might be too thick to work with (I had this happen to masking liquid once). Then you can use a white wax crayon instead. Happy stamping!! / Anna-Karin
Stunning art piece!
SO LOVELY!!!!!!! ;)
The detail on this card certainly pops with the masking method. Must try this. Thank you for the inspiration.
The DETAIL IS STUNNING! WOW
Gorgeous piece of art! Love it.
Thanks for sharing.
Happy Easter ?
Beautiful decor piece. The watercoloring is gorgeous. I do love that background stamp and the “happy” die.
What a pretty decor project
Beautiful project! Love the texture and the gorgeous colors!
Beautiful to display or use as a wall hanging. It’s perfect to have when there are just a few flowers around, as yet. I love the layered look and the stitching elements! Thanks I will definitely be using this idea.
Such a stunning piece!
Just gorgeous!
This project is GORGEOUS!!!!
Thank you so much Anna-Karin – loved all the detail y ou gave us and the hints. The work is just beautiful and so is your colouring. Love these peonies – so gorgeous! TFS.
Very labor intensive masterpiece, just beautiful!
So beautiful!
Simply darling and creative!!
Really Beautiful!! Great trick with the masking fluid!!
So pretty with the embossing, coloring and stitching.
This is very lovely, all the layering is fantastic, and I love the stitched detail too!
Awesome Anna-Karin, I love using my Distress ink to watercolour and this is a great inspiration for it.
Thanks for the masking fluid tip, never heard of it of see it before. And thanks for your beautiful post.
So pretty and perfect for spring!! I love the distressed look for the papers and can’t wait to try out the Molotow masking liquid!
So beautiful! Love the gorgeous colours. And the layered papers look amazing.
Really lovely. Definitely frame worthy. I do love that stamp. It has such lovely detail.
So beautiful delicate and elegant!
Wow!!! Stunning piece of art!!!
Such beautiful color layering.
This is so pretty. A definite WOW!
I love this piece! I didn’t understand what the masking pen’s purpose was until the end of your article. OH, for highlights! Very cool, and I’m glad I now understand how to use one. Thanks!
Happy Easter!!!
Your card is so gorgeous! Wow! Thanks so much for the detailed instructions too.
Very pretty!
This is so lovely! I like the idea of layering the different papers for interest.
The flowers look gorgeous, and I love the stitching. It looks wonderful.
Beautiful work!
That is so pretty! I love the distressed edges and the stitched detail – it looks like pretty patterned fabric.
The masking pen is a great way to create those highlights on this stunning card. The layering papers are a great backdrop. tfs
WOW Anna-Karin, this is a stunner. If it were mine, I would frame it and hang it on the wall. Simply fabulous!
Thank you Teresa!! When I was done coloring, I actually went looking for a square frame at home, but couldn’t find one. It would look great framed too. / Anna-Karin
I have been wanting to find a tutorial for coloring peonies. I already follow by email.
Quite a piece of art!
Beautiful!