This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!
Hi there, friends! So you know how I’ve been obsessed with coloring 3D embossed images lately? I cannot seem to get enough of it. I have, ahem, an abundance of coloring mediums, some generously sent to me by companies, others purchased throughout the 13 years that I’ve been doing this. Having such a variety of mediums is at times a blessing and a curse; I find myself longing to use certain mediums but not having the time (like colored pencils) or forgetting to use them in favor of more tried and tested mediums (like the Karin Decobrush Pigment markers that I was obsessed with purchasing and have used maybe three times). The Karin Pigment Markers are not my usual medium. Their opacity stymies me a little, because my normal method of shading and painting doesn’t really work as well with these markers. But, as I was cleaning for my upcoming craft room move, I found some pads of black watercolor paper and had a brainwave! For today’s project, I tried to figure out how to make the Karin Decobrush Pigment markers work for me, rather than me working for them.
For today’s project, I selected the Terrace Floral 3D Embossing Folder and Die from Simon Says Stamp. This folder features just one flower and one style of leaf, so I could work with the same marker colors throughout the project. I selected a light peach and a darker coral, as well as a minty green and a deeper jade green so that I could have dark to light contrast. I also planned to put the black watercolor paper to use in aid of my shading, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
I began by running a panel of black watercolor paper through my die cut machine using the Terrace Floral 3D Embossing Folder. You don’t have to have watercolor paper in order to use the Decobrush Pigment markers, (I’ve used them successfully with plain black cardstock) but since I wanted to move the color with my damp paintbrush, the black watercolor paper was a good choice.
I like to sometimes do a little reverse psychology on myself when working with contrasting colors, especially if I am trying to keep things a little lighter. When working with this black watercolor paper, I had to do a little reverse psychology to make sure that the shadows were in the proper spot. I started with the petals in the back on each flower, that is, the petals tucked beneath the petals on top. I laid down some of the darker coral color on the tips of each petal in the back, then used my damp paintbrush to pull the color out towards the center, allowing the water to fade the opaque color into the black watercolor paper and create a shadow. Once I had painted all of the petals in the back and allowed them to dry sufficiently (you have to let each section dry before working on the spot directly next to it, otherwise the colors will bleed together, and you’ll lose your definition), I ran the lighter peach marker around the edge of the petals on the top and pulled that color out towards the center of the petals. Those top petals are closer to the light source, and therefore are less shadowed and lighter than the petals behind. I used the same approach with the foliage, allowing the black of the watercolor paper to do some of the shading work for me!
After I had finished painting, I trimmed down the panel a bit on the sides and mounted it to a panel of black cardstock, popping it up using foam adhesive and allowing strips of plain black cardstock to peek out from either side. For the sentiment, I wanted to keep things simple, so I trimmed out some strips from the Reverse Well Wishes Sentiment Card set and popped them up with a little foam adhesive. Finally, I added a few shimmering gems for the tiniest hint of sparkle on this matte and textured card front!
Well, that’s all for my project today! It’s a little different from my normal painting style, but I think the mental shift to use these markers and create a project of which I can be proud was definitely worth the experiment. I can’t wait to try it again!! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!
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