Water coloring with Aqua Painters!

Look what I made today!  Water Color Cards!  I recently purchased the new Stampin' Up! Downloadable "Basics" class (#133385 $14.95) and watched a few of the video's.  One in particular got my attention because my Aqua Painters have not been getting any attention in a Very long time! Maybe over a year!!  WOW!  So as I watched the video I remembered how fun they are and how easy to use.  You can use them to color in stamped images, which the video demonstrates, but it also demonstrated a doodle card and I really wanted to try it. 

 The idea is to just doodle an image in pencil.  Then you lightly erase the image and color it in with your Aqua Painters.  To do this you just press the lid down on the ink pad, then open the pad and grab color from the inside lid.

 Once you have the image how you like it, let it dry completely before adding any secondary images to it.  I added an embossed "Thinking of you".

I knew this is what I wanted to add, so I made sure that my thought bubble was big enough for the words.

Stamp the sentiment in VersaMark, then pour your embossing powder on top, tap off excess, and heat.

I decided that I wanted the color a bit darker around the words so they would be seen easier, so I added more.  You can do this after embossing because the ink will not stick to the melted embossing powder.

I added some Calypso Coral scallop to the side and some Calypso Coral Bakers Twine as some added detail and color.  Like the little heart clip?  I love the little clips in the Spring mini, they are just so cute!!

I hope you like today's project.  I'll post another Water color project tomorrow.  Right now, I have to pick my son up at school!! Where did the day go?

OH, but Wait, I need to WARN YOU!  NOT ALL AQUA PAINTERS ARE CREATED EQUAL!

 

A long long time ago I went to a craft expo.  I used to go to those all the time, but I stopped. I bought stuff and never used it because it never matched my beloved Stampin' Up!  anyway, back to the Warning...

I saw a booth that was demonstrating Aqua Painters.  I had never seen them before and just had to have them.  Then of course Stampin' Up! came out with them a few months later in the new catalog.  But, I didn't get the Stampin' Up! ones because I already had the ones from the craft show, and I honestly didn't like them. I always got drips on my projects and would get so frustrated.  Just as i was finishing up, on the very last bit, it would leak! UGH! I put them in a drawer, never to be used again.  Then I was at an upline meeting and another demo brought a project for us all to do and it used Aqua Painters.  Oh well, I tried the project, if it got ruined it was no loss as it wasn't a project I needed.  It went perfectly!  I had no drips, no problems, and I loved it!  Why?  Rubber Gaskets!  Look closely...

No gaskets on my really cheap Aqua Painters. Yea, I got three for the same price as Stampin' Up's set of two, but what kind of savings is that when you ruin half your projects.

Here are the Stampin' Up! ones.  See the Rubber Gaskets? ( I'm not actually sure its called a gasket, stopper maybe?)  They work like a dream and don't leak.  They lay flat in my drawer with water still in them and months later they are still full because they don't leak.  My kids now get to play with the yucky craft show ones.  They like to paint on the chalk board and watch the water dry, then paint again.  Stampin' Up! Aqua Painters are on page 178 of the big catalog.  Item #103954 $16.95 for a set of 2.