Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday #283

Hello there!  I have a few cards made for the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday Challenge #283 this week which features a Watercolor Wash Background. Laurie Schmidlin did her first Make It Monday Video since joining the Design Team at Papertrey Ink.  You can see her video tutorial here.

I've done this technique before, but it's been a while and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed seeing the end result of the watercolor part.  Especially since I like to add in a "twist" by using gold watercolor from my Finetec Palette once the color is at least partially dry from the first round.  This makes some pools in the watercolor and gives you some hard edges on the watercolor paper which resembles veins like you might see in marble.  It's really a nice option if you like to use gold, which you know I do.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time here telling you how I created these backgrounds because you can pop over to the Papertrey Ink Blog and watch for yourself.  I used my Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors in #42 Yellow and #34 Dark Pink Watercolors as well as Arabic Gold from the Finetec Gold Palette for this first one and Yellow and Red for the other one. I first learned this technique from Jennifer McGuire but it's been well over a year since I have used it, so it was good to use some supplies that sit on my desk all the time but only get used occasionally.

I used Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper for the cream colored background and Fabriano Artistico Extra White Watercolor Paper for the whiter background. While the Canson Bristol is my favorite for water coloring floral images, it doesn't really hold up to the amount of water you need to create watercolor washes so I have other types around for just this reason. And for the amount of water it will hold and stay smooth, Arches Hot Pressed is my favorite.  I wish they had a whiter brighter paper but I've not seen one so far.

I love how the pink one came out and it is my favorite.  After I trimmed down my panel with a stitched rectangle, I lost one of those veins that I like so much but there is still one left that is really visible. Since we are attending a wedding in Texas this weekend and I have been working on a scrapbook album for the bride, I have lots of love themed things still laying on my desk.  I thought that I would make a card to tuck into the album so I die cut the Love Text Block from Gold Paper to match my Gold Watercolor.  Since the text block has a lot of open space, it was the perfect fit to show off the watercolor wash in the background.

My husband's favorite color is Orange, so I am planning to give this one to him at the start of our "Weekend Adventure".  Traveling anywhere with him is always an adventure and not always one that is fun. Sometimes I just want to get there without the adventure but I'm trying to be a good sport about this one because we have plenty of time to get there.  So, a little side adventure won't be any big deal.

Thank you so much for stopping by to see my cards for this week's Make It Monday Challenge. Have a great weekend everyone!