Watercolor Cards with Color Burst

This year, I've been traveling across the USA, Canada and the UK teaching workshops with a new watercolor medium called Color Burst! I am so happy that it's a product that's easy to use and that everybody  likes it.  For the most part, I've been teaching watercolor technique classes... 

So, today I wanted to take a few minutes to show you some projects using the techniques I teach in my workshops.  I've created a few handmade watercolor cards to illustrate the techniques.  These are simple cards, without a lot of embellishments or sentiments. I prefer "blank" cards, a handwritten note is much more personal.  

If you've taken a class with me, no doubt, you'll recognize some of the techniques. To get started, I whipped up some stitched card bases by sewing pieces of canvas, burlap, Kraft*Tex and watercolor paper to kraft paper cardstock. This cardbase is simple, and conveys an authentic "handmade" look.  

This first technique is easy, a stamped image, colored with Color Burst, and a simple watercolor landscape painted behind it. The landscape doesn't have to be overly complicated. It's basically a few blobs of paint blended with water. Since it's the background, it doesn't have to be perfectly in focus and overladen with details. If you've taken my workshops, you have all the "tools" to do this.     

This next technique is really dramatic...it's a watercolor resist created with Versamark ink and white embossing powder. Simply stamp, and emboss with a heat tool, then randomly wash a Color Burst (I used Indigo and Ultrmarine Blue) background over the embossed area. The water and Color Burst won't stick to the embossed stamped area. It's simple and elegant. When you give this handmade watercolor note card to someone, they will think you're an accomplished watercolor painter. 
 

I've taught this little watercolor painting about 1,000 times this summer, it's wet on wet watercolor painting.  The trick to this is making sure that your paper is wet enough to let the Color Burst blend easily, but not wet enough that the pigment bloom. Who wouldn't love to receive a tiny painting on a note card? This little painting only takes about 10 minutes to paint. It's very artsy...let the paint and the water do the blending work for you. The paint will always "find the edge" of the water.     

The next two cards could not be any easier, simply stamp an image on watercolor paper with permanent ink, then "color" with Color Burst.  Coloring for adults is so popular now, take your coloring to your cards. You'll get the same "therapeutic" benifit, and make some lovely cards in the process.  
 

For me, simple is best, don't worry about adding a lot of embellishment to this type of card.  Let the color and the stamped image stand front and center.  

I've even slipped in a Christmas card, I am not pushing the season, but it never hurts to get an early start. And, again, simple is best...I used 2 colors, Terre Verte Green and Alizarin Crimson; I used muddy water for the shadows. 
 

I hope you're inspired to create some watercolor cards...the techniques are simple and the "handmade" look is very elegant. When you give these cards to friends, they'll think you're a master watercolor painter, and you should not tell them any differently. 

Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend.  If you create some watercolor cards, I'd love to see them, post them on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest, and make sure to tag @kenolivercrafts so I'll see them. 

until next time,

Ken

Happy Saturday!

Happy Saturday! 

It's one of the rare weekends that I am home in Indiana...

 

 I've literally been on the road since the first of the year teaching and sharing art all over the USA, Canada and the UK...

 

 I'm taking some time this weekend to get ready for fall...I plan to spend a little time at the potting bench too...

 Fall is the time to plant daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus for next spring. 

Enjoy your weekend! 

Ken

Color Burst Wall Decor Workshop at The Paper Boutique in Springfield Illinois

This week, I am in the Land of Lincoln, in Springfield, Illinois.  It's really beautiful, I'd never been to Springfield before, it's the state capital...

and as luck would have it, I stayed near the state house, so I had a great view of the state capital building...really wonderful architecture!  I always enjoy local history and today I may venture out to see President Lincoln's Springfield home. 

I came to Springfield to teach a couple classes using Color Burst.  It's a new watercolor product that let's you create beautiful art with just a little sprinkle and spritz.  If you've not heard of it before, watch this quick video so you can see how dynamic creating with Color Burst can be.  

The video was made during a trade show, so there's a little background noise...it doesn't really matter so much...you can see Color Burst at work!  It's a truly exciting medium to create with,  

One of the workshops we offered at The Paper Boutique was a DIY Wall Decor project.  Here are a few of the finished pieces from our workshop.  I gotta tell you, it was great fun.

We start with a Canvas Corp 12x12 natural canvas, paint a little background color on it,

 And then begin our colorful journey with Color Burst.  Here's the dealio...this class is intense, you get a big helpin' of color theory, water color technique, and collage techniques. 

We spritz and sprinkle...and add layers of gorgeous color...

 and use wonderful stencils from Stencil Girl Products to create beautiful

water colored, stenciled works of art, 

that we mount onto our canvases.  

It's really cool, because everyone's art is different, and expresses their own creative style!

 This sunburst is really cool.

And this flock of blackbirds is awesome!  

 This floral stenciled piece is really gorgeous too...you can even see the depth in the watercolor! It looks 3-D!

At the end of the day, everyone creates a unique piece of art...that they can display in their home and be proud of...it's a really fun workshop!  

Thanks again to The Paper Boutique, Corynn, Jackie and everyone who came out to create some art!  It was a fun weekend!

Would you like to own a set of the newest colors of Color Burst before they even hit the market?  Visit my Ken Oliver Crafts Facebook page to find out how, you only have to "Like and Share" and ask your friends to like Ken Oliver Crafts too.  

I am out in Illinois and Iowa this week teaching and I am looking forward to sharing Color Burst with everyone...Color Burst is really addictive! 

Til next time, 

Ken

Scrapbook Layout, Water Color Memories Ken Oliver Crafts

Yesterday, I got to hang out with my niece to celebrate her birthday...it's something I do with the kids in our family on their birthdays.  We usually go to Starbucks...

...go to the mall for some birthday shopping, then go out to eat.  It's my mission in life to get all my nieces and nephews to try new foods.  I've made them eat calamari, lamb, hummus, bison, tabbouleh...I tell them that being an "adventurous eater" is one of the great joys in life.

And usually, if the weather is nice, we go for a walk by the river, it's right at my front door, so it's kind of a given that we'll spend some time by the river.

Last night, we had so much fun that I wanted to make one more little gift for my niece so she can remember the fun we had.  And it wasn't so much that we'd gone shopping and went crazy in Hollister, but more that we took a few minutes and just lived in the moment. 

The best part of the night, was sitting by the river and skipping rocks across the surface of the water...

This scrapbook layout isn't one that is overly complicated or fussy to make, it's simple and and tells our story with images.  To be sure, I am inspired by photo collage images that I see on instagram and social media every day...and I thought it was fitting to piece together a collage layout like this since my niece loves instagram.

I tried something a little different with the "journaling" pieces that I think you might like.  I used Color Burst.

I simply sprinkled a few grains of Color Burst powder on my craft mat and spritzed with water. 

Then, edged pieces of torn card stock to create a nice "watercolor" edge.

 the effect looks very "handmade",  very simple and it's easy to achieve. It looks almost like handmade washi tape.

We had a really fun time skipping rocks at the river and created an awesome memory for her birthday...and I can't wait to give this to her.  I am sure she will love it.

 
I used Water Color Memories 12x12 Paper and Color Burst Ultramarine Blue  for this simple collage layout. 

In making this layout, I realized that our time together isn't about all the presents and celebrations, but more about just enjoying the...simple times.

We sat by the river and skipped rocks til the sun went down... 

Spring Monograms-Moss Gardens

Monograms are everywhere these days, paper monograms, diecut monograms, painted and hand-lettered monograms, even lighted monograms are showing up in craft and decor, on every kind of project imaginable...I had a flash of a wild idea...to create a moss garden monogram.  They look very fresh, very springy and will make a cool Easter gift for my nieces and nephew. They're teens and tweens so it has to have some "cool" factor.

Making this project was a snap.  I got monogram letters from Micheal's, along with a bag of sphagnum moss from the floral department. 



Then painted them with Americana Multi-Surface Satin Paints from DecoArt...I used pastel colors since it's spring. 

I applied two coats of paint to each monogram.

 And, when they were dry, glued Sphagnum moss to the front of each monogram.

They turned out so cool! I had a pack of lichens too, so I added a few lichens, just for visual interest and texture. 

I really love how these turned out!  They're perfect for spring and let you bring a little nature indoors. 

Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you'll try this project for yourself because it's fun and it looks great in any room!

Happy Easter, 

Ken