In looking through the drawers in my art room, I find two tins of watercolor pencils that I have never used. Yesterday I took some time off from chores for a little creative time and I am excited to share using watercolor pencils with you! These pencils are perfect for making your own Valentine cards.
Supplies you Need
My intention is to make something with a Valentine theme that can be used as a note card. And I want each note card to be a one of a kind piece made by me. Using 98 lb. mixed media paper, I use the 7″x 10″ size which easily folds into notecards. Get link here.
Experimenting a Bit
Since I have not used this medium before, I play around a bit with the colors and amount of water.
Just by adding a bit of water, look how these colorful scratches on paper transform. The amount of color is determined by how hard you press the pencil to paper.
So depending on how much water and how much pressure you put on the brush, that will determine the distribution and intensity of the color.
If you have too much water on your brush (and it’s important to rinse the brush in water between colors), you can dab it on a paper towel.
Creating a Design
Now feeling a bit more confident, I make a larger sample of what I want to create on a single sheet of paper. First, I sketch the heart shape and size I want. Then I draw in the leaves and the flowers. Sorry this is a little blurry. I forgot to take a picture of it and did a screen shot from my Instagram stories.
Next, I decide to just go for it and make 3 smaller note cards.
Each card is slightly different as I did experiment with flower shapes and colors. But for the most part they are similar and I think they look okay.
What makes this fun and easy is that you can draw what you like and then turn it into a watercolor painting! I have attempted watercolor twice before. If you would like to see a watercolor painting using gouache paints, click here.
Happy Wednesday!
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This post shared with Thursday Favorite Things #475 and Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday #628.
Harriet Buckley says
Absolutely love it!! Great idea and fun.
Barbara at Mantel and Table says
Beautiful! And I love the watercolor look without having to mess around with the actual water colors! Your art is always so gorgeous!
Rachel Harper says
Mary,
These are so adorable. I love this idea and may just need to get some watercolor pencils.
Patricia Diana says
Thanks for sharing this. I have two boxes of watercolor pens but have not used them. I paint with acrylic and also, feel they are too heavy. I want a softer look, so I will now pull these out of the closet .
Teresa Person says
Love the watercolor pencils… I use them a lot when doing watercolor or gouache… great for detail… very pretty
Jeanne says
Beautiful Post, I wish I could play with those pencils! 🙂
Mary Crozier says
I bet your daughter would love them too.
Debra Oliver says
These are so beautiful, Mary. I’ve dabbled in watercolor many years ago, but like many I didn’t feel good about the lack of control with color and design. I ‘m so excited to try this medium. Thanks so much for sharing this. I pinned your post to refer to.
Mary Crozier says
Debra, I completely agree with you. Regular watercolor paint is all over the place for me. The pencils did give me a little control. I hope you enjoy them. Let me know!
Pam says
These are absolutely beautiful, Mary! Your post is perfect timing too, as I recently unearthed a bunch of watercolor pencils that I hadn’t used in years. I’m now very inspired to use them again! So, thank you! I’m featuring this post at the Thursday Favorite Things party this week. 🙂
holly says
These are beautiful Mary! I do stitchery and now my creativity button is pushed into overdrive with the possibility of added these to my stitchery work,
Mary Crozier says
Holly, I didn’t know you did stitchery~what a great talent! I’ve done a bit of cross-stitching and embroidery, but not for some time now. Plus stitchery is “in” this year!
va says
Thank you for sharing this… have been wanting to try watercolor but looked to hard for
me…think will try the pencils.
You are very talented and thank you again for sharing all your wonderful ideas.
Renae says
Gorgeous! And what a treasure for those receiving these cards. I would love to have your talent. Blessings to you.
Mary Crozier says
Renae, I think if you can get out a good sketch, then the water makes it extra special. You are very talented and I bet you would make something even better!
LA CONTESSA says
STUNNING!YOU ARE A NATURAL!
Mary Crozier says
Thank you! I was a bit surprised about how cute they are!
Cindy Adams says
You did a lovely job, there’s nothing more special than a handmade Valentine, and these could be framed.
Thx for sharing
Cindy
Mary Crozier says
Cindy, I am hoping these become the actual invitations to our Valentine dinner party (small one). Yes, I remember when my children were small, I so enjoyed making homemade Valentines with them.
Patricia says
This looks terrific.
I had been experimenting with acrylics to make gifts for friends but I like the look you are getting with the watercolor pencils better.. My acrylics were making my flowers too heavy. Love this!
I will shop for those pencils. Thank you so much for sharing this tutorial. Lovely idea.
Mary Crozier says
Patricia, I was actually looking for small canvases to do an acrylic heart painting, but stumbled upon these pencils instead….What a wonderful discovery for me as I will now use them more. Since I’m not very comfortable with watercolor, at least the pencils make controlling the design a bit easier. Let me know how you like using them.