Fight Like a Girl

Today I'm sharing a card I made for a co-worker who is going through a tough time right now.  This is a digital stamp from Tiddly Inks called Fight Like a Girl.  

I knew I wanted to use water colors but since this was a digital image, I didn't really have a way to stamp it with a water proof ink and I wasn't sure if I would be able to water color over printer ink.  But it worked! There were some areas that you could see a faint blue or grey when I applied water to the image, but it was so faint that you can't tell once the color is added. The hair looked a little "smudgy" to me though, so I just darkened it up to disguise it. If I didn't tell you here, you would never know by looking at the finished card.  I'll have to try this a few more times to see if I get the same great results but I would consider this first test as a PASS on the water color test for digital images.  This may vary depending on your printer and the kind of ink it uses as well.

I used Canson XL Watercolor paper.  I trimmed it down slightly so it would fit in my printer as the pages in the paper pack are 9 x 12 and don't fit in my printer. The watercolor paper is very thick but it went through my Canon printer with no issues.  Once the image was printed, I heat set it with my heat tool and then let the coloring begin. I used my Koi water color set to apply color to the image.  I didn't have a stamp for the sentiment so I just used a text box and made up my own sentiment by printing it out on the card at the same time I printed the image. 

After painting the image, I applied a pretty good layer of water on the background before applying the color.  This helps the color to move around the page.  After painted and dried, I added some details with my Prisma Color pencils, because I just like to fuss with it!  I also added some Wink of Stella to the gloves.  I just have to add it to almost every card I make.  I love the hint of sparkle it gives without being over the top. I used my T ruler to add a dotted line around the edge of the card and finished it off by hand drawing a tiny little heart in the bottom corner.

As you'll see in the video, I had a few struggles but I feel like I learned from my mistakes.  Isn't that what it's all about?!   First, I believe I should have used a larger brush. 2nd issue (it's a personal struggle)  as mentioned above, I fuss.  I'm a fusser.  It's what I do!  I just can't stop messing with things LOL!   In some cases it's ok but when working with watercolor, I think it's really important to be patient because the color changes and softens as it dries. I'll have to practice my patience with this in the future before I add layers to something that may be just fine to begin with.  

In the video, you'll also see some alterations I had to make to my original card plan but that's part of crafting and being creative. To me, it's the BEST part.  Some of my favorite idea's have come out of a "mistake" or a plan that didn't work out.

Water color isn't something I've had a lot of practice with but some artists like Kristina Werner inspire me to try it from time to time.   I hope this video inspires you as well to get out some paint or markers or whatever you like to do and be creative!

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Have an amazing day