a watercolor experiment

Longing for my days doing experiments in the college chemistry lab (NOT), I decided to do a little experiment with distress stains. Using my non-stick craft sheet from Ranger, Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Tumbled Glass), 5 manilla tags, 1 sheet of photo paper, and some water, I set out to find out what is my favorite method for getting a watercolor effect.

Experiment #1:

-wipe distress stain on the mat

-spritz stain and mat with water

-also spritz the paper with water

-slide paper over the mat

Result: very pale coloring, because the paper is manilla, this one has almost a yellow/green tinge to its aqua color

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Experiment #2:

-wipe distress stain on the mat

-spritz just the paper with water

-slide paper over the mat

Result: a mottled, imperfect soft water color effect, pretty





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Experiment #3:

-wipe distress stain over the paper
-spritz water on the paper
Result: Slightly more intense color than #2, but doesn't have the mottled effect, less variance in shades over the card, but still pretty

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Experiment #4:
-wipe distress stain on the mat
-spritz mat with water
-wipe glossy sheet of photo paper over the mat
Result: splotchy swipes and dots of color, color more true to the stain color since paper base is white (versus manilla) (must have had a little bit of leftover green on the mat--oops)

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Experiment #5:

-Wipe the whole tag with stain
-Starting 3/4" inch from the top, wipe this bottom part of the tag again with stain
-Keep repeating the process moving down 3/4" inch after each layer
Result: an ombre effect that is very "in" right now. However, the bottom part of the tag (the part that recieved the most "swipes" was starting to pill and disintegrate)

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Experiment #6:

-wipe distress stain on the mat

-spritz mat with water

-wipe manilla tag over the mat

Result: similar mottled effect to #2, but without the visible swipe lines

So, do I have a favorite? No, I like them all! It's helpful to see what effect each method produces though. Using Fiskars circle and cloud squeeze punches, Sizzix embossing plates, ribbon scraps, some twine, and a cute printed sentiment, I turned these experiments into tags--perfect for attaching a gift card to the back. I like experiments. Not enough to go back to college chemistry though.

So, did you see my submission call for watercolor projects in the July issue of Scrapstreet ? You can check it out here.

No matter what method you use to achieve a watercolor effect (paint, stain, mists, watercolors, or something else), I'd love to see it! The deadline is August 19th.