Watercolor Wonder Crayons - Tina Zinck, Paper Crafter

I. Love. Watercoloring. Especially with the Stampin’ Up! Watercolor Wonder Crayons. These are currently on sale at the Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack (only the Soft Subtles are left) and I know a lot of folks have ordered the crayons. I’ve been receiving a lot of questions on how to use these amazing crayons, so I thought I’d post a quick photo tutorial for you. Click HERE to view a great video from Stampin’ Up!, with Shannon West showing the versatility of the crayons.

Ok – let’s get on with the tutorial.

(By the way, a cup of fresh, hot coffee ALWAYS helps while watercoloring….*wink*)

First of all, let me just say that I am not an expert with watercoloring. There are some AMAZING folks out there that are incredibly talented when it comes to watercoloring. I’m still learning and with their samples and tips; I’m definitely getting there. And so can you! So don’t be intimidated – especially when it comes to shadows and light, etc. Keep it simple; you can step it up as you become more comfortable with your watercoloring. This is also a great way to color for beginners too because you don’t have to worry about staying in the lines – that’s the beauty of watercoloring…it’s SUPPOSED to ‘look that way’!

I am using the adorable image from the ‘Greeting Card Kids‘ set.

I’m seriously in love with this set of stamps. I simply stamped them in Stazon Black ink, cut them out with my Circle Scissors plus (set at 3.5″, I believe) and I cut the cardstock circles in the same size. Then I adhered the cardstock to the back of my stamped image with some snail adhesive.

If you haven’t already purchased an Aqua Painter, you’re going to want one. Honestly. I can’t tell you how many of these amazing brushes I’ve sold. You’ll love it. You fill up the aqua painter with some water and then just squeeze as much – or as little – water as you need. No more dishes of water (that always inevitably get knocked over) and with the aqua painters you can even watercolor in the car! Talk about portable! Yes, I’m speaking from experience. Last year, while Russell drove of course, I watercolored our Christmas cards! Super cool! Now that’s making good use of time….LOL.

I scribble my crayons on to my clear acrylic block (which washes off easily) and I also mix colors in the lid of the crayon tin.

The crayons are available in all of the Stampin’ Up! color families, which means they coordinate with our cardstock, ribbon, designer series paper..etc. Pretty great, hey?

Please Note: Watercolor Wonder Crayons in the Idea Book & Catalogue are currently unavailable for purchase. As per an update from the Stampin’ Up! home office: “…our supplier was purchased by another company, which resulted in their relocation to a new manufacturing facility in a different country with a new staff. Because of these extraordinary circumstances, we are experiencing more difficulties than we anticipated, and we do not know when Watercolor Wonder Crayons will be available for purchase. We are currently working with the CEO of the company to resolve this problem as quickly as possible. We will keep you updated as we receive information from the supplier.”

You’ll want to ‘ground’ your image, which is what I did by adding some green underneath the pumpkin. Remember, less is best when you’re watercoloring. Start with your light colors first, then go back with your dark colors (as I did with the straw in the broom).

I’m going over the light orange on the pumpkin and now I’m adding some darker colors…. Watercoloring is really so enjoyable. Remember when you were a kid and colored with your crayons and coloring book? Wasn’t it relaxing and fun? I’m still a kid (at heart) and I still color with my crayons – only now I get PAID to do it!!! You can too – just contact me to learn more about the Stampin’ Up! business opportunity.

To clean your aqua painter, just swipe it back and forth on your Stampin’ Up! Grid Paper, until it’s clear water again and then go into your next color. If you have used Stampin’ Up! Blender Pens, you’ll see that it’s done the same way as the blender pens. Quick and easy.

My cards measure 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ – by cutting my 8 1/2″ x 11″cardstock in half, I’ll get two cards out of one sheet of cardstock. For these cards I used the ‘Nite Owl’ Designer Series Paper (aka: DSP) and the cardstock I chose were colors that I pulled out of the DSP designs (Pear Pizzazz, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black & Grey). I also used a few colors that are retired that I wanted to use up (ie. Summer Sun). You may notice a shiny streak on the above card – that’s a strip of snail adhesive for the ribbon…

This is my new favorite way to apply ribbon! It’s very fast, very easy and everyone’s doing it right now – it’s the latest fad and I can see why! Start by laying your ribbon right where the snail adhesive starts. Then simply pinch, twist and turn your ribbon all the way across!

This is what it will look like! Cute, hey?

And I just HAD to add some Dazzling Diamonds!!!

Ain’t she caaaayuuuute?

As these cards are going to be mailed, I didn’t add a button or brad (though I REALLY wanted to) – that would get pretty expensive with postage – especially since I was going to be mailing all of these cards. And the card just needed a little somethin-somethin. So I grabbed m’Big Shot and Little Leaves Sizzlits Die, scraps of Basic Black cardstock and VOILA!

The greeting is from a retired Hostess set.

My stampin’ friends and customers all know my motto “There’s no such thing as a ‘mistake’!” Because if you goof up, you just have to cover it up with an embellishment, or in the case above, a punched out greeting! Don’t you just love this new punch, by the way? Oh my gosh. My new favorite punch. (I know. I always say that.) This is the new Extra-large Decorative Label Punch featured in the current Holiday Mini. And this punch coordinates with the Tags til Christmas stamp set!!!

Starting today there’s a fabulous new promotion with Stampin’ Up!

I am sooooo excited about it! It’s called the ‘ABC’S of the Perfect Handmade Christmas’. Check out the details on my Stampin’ Up! website and I’ll also be posting more about this great promotion in the coming days. Click HERE!

In the meantime, I’ve got to get cracking. I’m participating in an event in Sussex tomorrow – a fundraiser for a Mammography Machine for the Sussex Health Centre. I’ve been busy making cards and gifts to sell and the proceeds will be going directly to this worthy cause. I’d love to see you there! The event will be held at the Sussex Legion from 7-9pm. There is a $5 admission and here’s a list of some of the vendors:

The Pampered Chef
Stampin’ Up! (that’s ME!)
Tupperware cash/cheque only
Epicure
Avon
Silpada
Scentsy
Gold Canyon
Tocara
Party Lite
Home & Gift
Fantasia
Fickle Fancies
Mary Kay
Watkins (by the way, in case you didn’t know it, I also sell Watkins. I’ve been a Watkins Rep. since 1989! If you’re in my area and would like order some Watkins products, give me a jingle or send me an email).