Fairy Tale Florals Virtual Workshop with Erum

 Good morning, friends!  I hope you are well!  I am enjoying a respite from the blistering heat wave that we just experienced here in the Northwest!  We broke several temperature records for our state!  I am so grateful that all of our animals survived.  Many in the area did not.  

Yesterday, I had the absolute pleasure of spending my lunch hour as a participant in the Altenew Fairy Tale Florals Virtual Workshop taught by the amazing Erum Tasneem.  It was one of the most enjoyable lunch hours ever!  The lovely Lydia Evans hung out behind the badge and kept us all in line.   Now had I known when I registered that we would be watercoloring, I might have been scared away, so I am thankful I was blissfully unaware or I would have missed out! 

We began by embossing our floral image on an A2 panel of Watercolor Paper.   Using Watercolor Brush Markers, we scribbled directly on to the petals randomly.  Once we had our color down, we used a wet brush to move the color throughout the petals.  The raised edge of the embossing kept the paint inside the lines.  (This is such a game changer for me, as I struggle with how much water to use and often make a huge mess and ruin my panel).  I have to admit that I was terrified to apply the paint directly to the image, but I went with it, and it worked!   We used the same process to apply color to the leaves. 

Then, things got really frightening.  We created our background.  She gave us the option of die-cutting our floral image out and creating a separate background panel or to make it all one layer.  I decided to pull my boot straps up and attempt the one layer panel.  I added water using my brush around the image and then picked up the black paint from my pallette and touching the brush lightly to the wet areas, let the water and paint work their magic.  Again, the raised edges of the image kept the black paint from bleeding into the floral.  I also dripped water onto the lower part of the panel so that the paint would run down towards the bottom.  I continued adding color until I was happy with my background.  At first, I was pretty distressed by how dark my background was, as everyone else had beautiful light gray backgrounds, but when I looked at the panel as a whole, I loved how the dark allowed the bold flowers to really stand out.   I finished the panel off by adding some gold splatters using the Altenew Metallic Watercolor Set.

To complete my card, I adhered my panel to a black card base.  I embossed my sentiment on to a strip of black card stock, trimmed the right edge, and adhered it to the card.  I decided not to add any other embellishments.

I am so very glad that I participated, as this card was a huge win for me!  More often than not, I end up throwing my watercolor projects in the recycle bin.  This technique was truly quick, relatively easy, and produces stunning results! 

Thank you, Erum, for such a fabulous workshop!  I learned so much and am excited to try this again! 

Products Used:

• Recollections 110# Card Stock:  Black
• Oat Art Studio Hot Press Watercolor Paper 300gsm/140#
• Altenew Fairy Tale Florals Stamp Set
• Altenew Wild Ferns Stamp Set (Sentiment)
• Altenew Watercolor Brush Markers:  Ruby Red, Midnight Violet, Emerald, Limeade, Jet Black
• Altenew Embossing Powder:  Antique Rose Gold
• Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
• Altenew Metallic Watercolor Pan

As always, thank you for dropping by!  Please make sure to leave a comment letting me know what you think!