Watercolored Birthday

I love the look of watercoloring but I'm not good at doing it often.  Our Stampin' Blends are so easy to use I usually always grab those when I need to color.  But when I do break out supplies to watercolor I'm always happy with the results.  Watercoloring does have a bit of a learning curve my best advice is just to keep doing it.  Like anything the more you do it the better and more comfortable you'll be at it.  My favorite kind of watercoloring is starting with a heat embossed image.  The heat embossing creates 'wells' that control the flow of water through your image.  I always have the most success with an embossed image.

Having the right tools is essential for successful watercoloring.  Watercolor paper is a must have.  Unlike other paper, watercolor paper is made from cotton so it can absorb and move water better than other paper, which when exposed to water can basically disintegrate.   An aqua painter is another must have tool.  You can control how much water is used with an aqua painter.  I like to just color with our ink pads, I generally smoosh them onto a block and pick up the color there.  You can also use reinkers for a more vivid color.  Remember that watercolors are slow drying, you can speed this process up with your heat tool but I like to just let them dry on their own.  Often colors and blending will look different when your image is completely dry then when you're working with it.  If you aren't happy with how your image looks, let it dry and come back to it.  Finally, go light on the color.  You can always layer and add more color but it's very hard to remove it.  Start light and work into the darker areas.  I have a full supply list below for this card.  

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Supplies:
Happy Birthday To You Set
Label Me Bold Set
Gorgeous Grape Cardstock
Lily Impressions DSP
Silver Glimmer Paper
Watercolor Paper
White Cardstock
Gorgeous Grape Ink
Coastal Cabana Ink
Granny Apple Green Ink
Daffodil Delight Ink
Smoky Slate Ink
VersaMark
Aqua Painters
Clear Embossing Powder
Embossing Buddy 
Heat Tool
Stitched Rectangle Dies
Rhinestones