Watercolor Words How-To

I've been fiddling around with watercolors lately in conjunction with my WOTY (or word of the year) and thought I'd share a little tutorial on how it was done.

Materials needed:

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolors
• Rubber cement
• Paintbrushes
• Favorite inspirational word
• Adhesive eraser
• Pen

Start with your word. I always count how many letters are in the word and try my best to center it on the paper, which usually means I start writing in the middle of the word.With smaller words, though, I just eyeball it.

Start writing your word using the rubber cement. I like to use a small stiffer brush with a sharper tip so that I can control the glue as best as possible. Just dip that brush right in that rubber cement or if you're feeling bold and crazy, try using the brush that comes in the jar. If the glue dries a little thin in places I repaint the area to add a little more resist layer to my word. And, if you mess up, just rub off and repaint. Take as many tries as you need, this stuff is super forgiving.

Then, the magical part! Once the glue is dry, take your BFF color of the day and wash it over your letter. You can make the wash as light or dark as you like and can combine colors for a sweet ombre look. The glue resists your watercolor and stands strong through the storm or artistic fury.

Once the paint is dry, peel off the rubber cement. I've used my finger and that works just fine, but I prefer an adhesive eraser.

Make sure all the glue residue is removed, then get outlining. I usually use a loose continuous stroke and find myself correcting any little paint mishaps with my line. I'm trying to let these things go a little more, but for now, that's how I roll.

Last, the fun part! Doodle and decorate to your heart's content. Just remember that this technique is cool because it lets the white paper shine through, so don't cover up your entire resist area.

There are lots of ways to include white in your watercolors, and this is a chunkalicious and fun way to get that look without leaving behind stray pencil marks. What do you think? It's super easy and you can totally do this! Would you give it a try?