Watercolor Backgrounds for scrapbook layouts

Hello Nerds!

I have loved watercolorus since i took art classes as a little girl.   I especially love how the watercolour dries when splatter on paper, and how it can beautifully can add color to a scrapbook background.

On my last month reveal, I used a watercolor background on one of the layouts, and was asked on how to recreate the look. So i decided to give my Cameo a break for this month, and instead create a video to illustrate one of the ways i create a watercolor background.  Enjoy the video:

My apologies on not adding a voice over on the video, but it was shot a few weeks back while i was battling a bad cold, so i went with captions, instead!

Here are few notes to keep in mind when creating a watercolor background:

• This particular background was created on heavy cardstock  (i love the Bazzill 12x12in Marshmallow card stock available at the store.  It can handle a large amount of mixed media without buckling or disintegrating) or water color paper that was not gessoed.   It is my personal choice to not gessoed these types of paper, as they can handle water nicely, and i like how watercolor dries on the paper.
• If you are using regular cardstock or patterned paper as the background, then I will recommend you use gesso on the paper.  Try to use clear gesso, as it won’t dull the colors.  However the look of the background will be different, as the water and color will flood through the area, and the drying time is longer.
• If possible use different brushes to create the background, this will help avoid muddling the colors.  Watercolor brushes work better for this, as they are softer than acrylic and oil brushes.
• If you are using one color only, you can always play with the intensity of the color by controlling the amount of water used on the paper.
• When using multiple colors, let some drying time in between colors, and chose to apply the lightest color at the end.  This will ensure that it does not get lost in the paint layers
• When creating this background, always  start with water droplets on the page.  You can always change to alternating water and color on the next color layers.
• Finally, if you are splattering color on a page, the size of the brush will determine the size of the splatters on the page.  A bigger brush will produce larger splatters.
• Always remember watercolors lose their intensity as they dry, so add extra color if you want a more intense background.  Here is a picture of the fresh background, and you can see the dried background on the  layout.

I usually create backgrounds, and then finish the layouts, so i will give you some close ups on how i used the background, and Pink Paislee’s Take Me Away collection to document a picture of some of the women in my life.

i stitched the title using a free cut file from Juliana Michaels -Besties- after the watercolor had completely dried.

Here is the final layout:

I really hope this encourages you to pick up some watercolors when creating a background for your next layout.  You can always check the selection of palettes the Nerds have stocked in the store shelves ( i am trying the Prima Marketing collections, and loving them!).

As always, let me know if you have any questions.
See you all soon!

Pink Paislee – Take Me Away – 6×6 Paper Pad	Pink Paislee – Take Me Away – Thickers – Alpha Stickers – Carefree chipboard	Pink Paislee – Take Me Away – Ephemera Die-Cuts	Pink Paislee – Take Me Away – 12×12 Printed Acetate	Pink Paislee – Take Me Away – Chipboard Stickers – Wildheart	Crate Paper Gather
PinkFresh Studio – Felicity – Word & Phrase stickers	Prima Marketing – Watercolour Confections – Shimmering Lights set	Prima Marketing – Watercolour Confections – Pastel Dreams	Prima Marketing – Watercolour Confections – Classics set	Bazzill Heavyweight Cardstock – Marshmallow

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