How To {Almost} Watercolor

I love watercolor. Love it. I love how the lines are blurred, colors blended. I think the reason I like watercolor so much is because it's not perfect. There are not really any precise and disciplined lines, but faded and bleeding precious colors into the next fibers of the paper instead of staying within their proposed boundaries.

I want to learn how to watercolor. I've played at it from time to time while the kids paint. Here's my first "official" dive in and try some watercolor painting...

So it's been long enough. I wanted to try again, and the kids and I were already painting together, so here goes...

How to {Almost} Paint with Watercolors

Step 1: Gather supplies. We already had some watercolor paper in a paper pad I grabbed at Target a while back for about $5. You'll also need:

1. Pencil
2. Print of your design
3. Watercolor paints {I used the kids' $2 paints and their old brushes. Nothing fancy}
4. Children with cups full of cranberry juice
5. Paper towel

Step 2: Print out the design you wish to use. Line it up with your watercolor paper and begin to trace the image with the pencil so that it transfers an indented line into the watercolor paper. This is your new guide to paint. You can see my pencil lines on my template as I traced in the images below.

Step 3: Mix the color(s) you desire in your brain to be the right one, but be prepared as it will might come out nothing like what you originally had in mind, but you might like it anyway. 

Step 4: Once your template is traced to your paper, set aside the the template, grab your newly traced watercolor paper with your aching write (your wrist should hurt if you traced properly), and speedily yet gracefully set your design on a clean area somewhere near you and and jump like the dickens out of your chair because your little Elsa impersonator just spilled cranberry juice, and it's flooding the table, inching towards your new design...

Step 5: Pour yourself some coffee, or in my case, reheat your first cup of the day that's unfinished. 

Step 6: Begin to SLOWLY to paint your design. If I wanted the colors more muted or to dry quicker (if I got too much paint) I would gently dab with a corner of the paper towel. Oh, and the paper towels were also handy in cleaning up the juice! Double use! Score!!!

Step 7: Continue painting, but expect interruptions, such as taking Elsa potty, cooking lunch, refilling the spilled cranberry juice. Be patient and take time. I also learned that if using watercolor paper, then the paints are forgiving. I started to fill in the wreath with colorful flowers, but it just didn't look right, so I found {completely by error} that if I put more water on the page, and blotted it with a paper towel (not wipe) that it pulled the color up and I could try again. Kinda like an eraser. A really lucky eraser. 

This print will be on the Etsy site soon!!! I'd love to see some of your paintings! I'd also like to know, what are some crafty or artistic things that you're diving into for the first time? Sometimes I feel like I'm too old to try and learn something new, like I won't get it or it's not a good use of my time, but in this case, I'm thankful I tried it. I like the steps I came up with to help me (the tracing template), but it'll take time and practice to learn how to control and mix the colors. Leave your comments below!