Dreamy Faux Watercolor - Different Product to Achieve the Same Look

Hello everyone!  Yesterday, I shared a blog post for The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store and a technique I am calling Dreamy Faux Watercolor.

Here is a second look at the card I posted.  I also included a tutorial on how to achieve this look.  If you missed the post and tutorial you can click HERE to check it out.

In the tutorial I showed how to do this technique using Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  But I know not everyone has distress inks so I took some other products (inks, markers, paint) that I had in my stash to show you how you can achieve the same look using different products.  I also want to say this is not a technique that I came up with people have been doing this for years in traditional watercolor and I first learned to do this technique several years ago when I was taking some watercolor classes.  But watercolor has become so popular in paper crafting over the last year or two so I wanted to share how this technique could be done using other products.  As far as the name of the technique--something I just came up with.  The finished piece looks kind of dreamy to me with the water droplets and the faux watercolor part--well that's just because it's not true watercolor lol.

Sorry I know this picture isn't very big in the post but you can click on the image to enlarge it and see more details.  This is a BEFORE picture to show you how all of the flowers looked once the color was added.  The first picture is Distress Inks (the same inks I used in the tutorial).  For the second flower I used Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens.  On the third flower I applied Memento Dye Inks.  For the forth flower I used Spectrum Aqua Markers and for the fifth and final flower I used Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor.

The Distress Inks and the Memento Dye Inks were both applied the same way layering three different colors of ink and I used a cotton ball to apply the ink.

For the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens and the Spectrum Aqua Markers you have two different options for applying the color.  You can apply the color to the paper directly from the pen/marker or you could scribble the color on to a craft mat or acrylic block and add the color with a brush--just like if you were going to watercolor it.  For both of the examples I colored directly on to the paper with the pens/markers and I used three different colors for each.  If you choose to paint the color on then you would take out the faux part of the technique--but it's really up to you and how you want to do this technique.  :)

For the last flower I did used the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor and these are traditional watercolor so there is no faux part here I had to watercolor to add the color to the image but I thought people might like to see the comparison to the other products.

Once again don't forget you can click on the image to enlarge it.  :)  As you can see from the picture I added the different color mediums to the top part of the paper to do the water droplets.   I thought this would also be a good comparison.  So this is the AFTER picture--once the clear water was added and blotted off.  I wanted to show you that this technique can be achieved with different products.  I also want to encourage you to use what you have in your own stash.  Yes, some of the colors look a little different and with some of the products you will be able to blot off more of the color for a softer look and some of the colors will be more vibrant.

But the main thing is to have fun!  Experiment with what you have and don't be afraid to try new things.  Oh and one more thing I just wanted to add--I get asked by a lot of people what kind of paper I used for watercolor techniques.  I have several brands of paper but for paper crafting and especially if I am going to be stamping on the paper my all time favorite is Strathmore Mixed Media Paper from the 400 Series.  It is heavy weight and ultra smooth so it is perfect for stamping on.  Most of the big box stores carry it and I know several online places sell it too and you can buy the pads in a few different sizes.  I usually wait until it goes on sale and then I buy the 11 x 14 pad and cut the paper down to whatever size I need.

I hope you enjoyed this comparison with the different products and I hope you will give this technique a try.  Don't forget if you missed the tutorial on the Dreamy Faux Watercolor you can click HERE for all of the details.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Let me know in the comments if you give this technique a try and leave me a link to your project--I would love to see it!  I hope you have a fantastic weekend and have fun creating!

Hugs & Smiles,

Heidi