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Happy Monday, folks. Thought I’d share a quick DIY with you today while I finish up some updates in the laundry room and kitchen.
Remember the #craftnado I mentioned last Monday? I’ve been trying each month to do a small DIY project that is more on the creative side, and for March, I decided to experiment with some watercolor art that also displayed some of my favorite quotes. Only after this project, I liked the border so much, I can’t decide which quote is worthy of this kind of treatment (does anything like that ever happen to you?) While I ponder that a little while longer, I am sharing the photos of how to create the border anyway, so you can complete one of these before the end of spring (watercolor seems to fit spring the most, but you can still use this year-round if you find a color combo that works with your decor).
I’m merely a dabbler with watercolor, so I wanted to play around to figure out some new techniques, like this DIY watercolor border using painter’s tape.
First, measure the area that will be the white space inside the border. I eyeballed it onto a watercolor pad, but if you’re not confident that the lines will be straight, use a ruler and make light pencil marks. Take a piece of painter’s tape, and mark off the border area.
For each corner, either fold the tape at a 90-degree angle or cut it to square using scissors. Either way works, as long as the edge is clean. Press down firmly along each edge that will be touching the water to prevent it from slipping under the tape.
Once the area you don’t want to paint is taped off, simply start the watercolor dabbling. To keep the colors saturated, I worked in small sections with varieties of pink, red, orange, purple, and peach. Watercolor palettes are generally inexpensive, so just look for them at any craft store, and even Walmart. I even use this cheapo set, and I haven’t had a complaint yet. Use a better quality brush than the one that comes with the kit, though.
After letting things dry off a bit, I began to question whether or not this would even work. Since the whole point of watercolor is to let the color absorb into the paper, I wondered if it might simply soak under the tape and not have an obvious line. Then again, I had seen a demonstration of how this tape reacts against water directly, which was the main reason why I even tried it in the first place. Only one thing to do to see if it worked!
Sweet! I love it when something crawls out of my brain and goes exactly the way I planned.
As you can see, I created a couple of different watercolored pages at the same time. One was for a sponsored Pinterest project coming later this month, so I’ll share that with you once the images are ready to go.
Now, if only I could think of a quote worthy of its frame, and I’m all set on this little DIY endeavor. What is your favorite quote? Maybe I can steal one from you ;)
“Done is better than perfect.” Muahaha. I have to tell myself that or else nothing will ever get done. :]
When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.
Maya Angelou