Art Impressions has had a beautiful set of watercolor stamps for a long, long time – some of you have known and loved them, others have been watching me share them on Instagram or teaching them in classes. And others of you – well, you are dying to get started. And I have a plan to hopefully help you get started without getting sidetracked!
Sidetracked? What does that mean? Well after all the AI watercolor classes I’ve taught, I’ve heard a lot of people say they bought a lot of the stamps, but just don’t use them. What?? Stamps not getting love?? That’s so sad! And what I’ve discovered from interviewing students is that they either:
- bought stamps that challenged their level of skill, and then they got intimidated, OR
- bought too many stamps and couldn’t figure out where to start, OR
- bought not enough stamps that don’t make a complete card.
My suggestion: watch my video below, first! And if you’re new to these stamps, I’d suggest starting with one of the small sets AI launched this year. Students in my classes are feeling very successful with them – because the number of stamps is limited (so you’re not overwhelmed) but are cute enough they make really great cards! Some of my favorites – Spring Basket, Flowering Mailbox, and Open Window. If you want to add some options for flowers and grasses try the Flower Set or the Foliage Set, but you can do a great job with just the stamp sets alone.
Watercolor an arbor
Today’s project is an intermediate level painting – a watercolored arbor….it’s a beautiful stamp and lends itself to lots of layouts and using all kinds of flowers and scenery around it! Watch the video below, or click HERE to see it in HD on YouTube:
These are some of the large paintings (about 11 inches wide) created at demos….these make lovely gifts, so if you get into creating these watercolors, you can check off your Christmas list! (I did make the mistake of not making them a nice 8×10 size, so you might take ‘standard sizes’ into account to make framing inexpensive!)
I haven’t linked to every one of the flowers and containers – though many are in the supply list below in this post.
A word about the watercolor paper used here – it’s Fluid 100, which is really nice paper, but it’s what’s called an “Easy Block.” That means it’s a block – it has adhesive to hold it flat on the pad so you don’t have to tape it down to anything to keep it from curling – but an Easy Block is only adhered on 2 sides. Lots easier to remove from the block than a pad that’s attached on 4 sides!
SUPPLIES
Below are links to the supplies I’ve used for today’s project; click on the wording to go directly to the item. Affiliate links are used, which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support toward the costs of running this blog! Read more.
- Art Impressions watercolor series:
- Tombow Dual Brush Markers
- Tim Holtz Distress Markers
- Fluid Easy Block 6×6
- Silver Brush, Black Velvet
- Tombow Stamp Runner & Refill
- Pretty Pink Posh, Stitched Borders 3
You do such a wonderful job. I love all your examples. Thanks for sharing your talent with us for so many years.
Thanks so for these watercolor videos. They are both instructive and inspiring. I have many of the art impression stamps and yes, they are addictive. Please do more of these videos – I live in a very rural area and these videos are such a blessing to me.
This is the best video I’ve seen using the AI stamp sets. I love these sets, and you did an excellent job explaining how to use them.
You are such an inspiration, beautiful art work. Thank-you for sharing.
Sandy, I’ve recently discovered your blog and am loving your videos. Thank you for helping me with my beginning watercoloring. I love these projects that you’ve done with these stamps and I think it’s a good hybrid for me of stamping and watercoloring (especially being without the ability to draw stick figures)! 🙂 Thank you for showing me these options and your tips and tricks. I’ve done some things close to this but not with stamps that were really designed for it. I bet it makes a difference, or at least makes it a bit easier since you’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. Next time you’re out Arizona way, I’ll definitely do one of your classes! I’m looking forward to the next post…
I love when you use Art Impressions stamps! Gorgeous cards, Sandy! Love watching you paint! ♥
I saw these demo’ed at a convention recently – love them! I’m not skilled/creative enough to start from scratch, but I can do this! 🙂 Although, you’ve inspired me to (eventually) try to go a step further with finishing the pieces. I tend to keep mine pretty sketchy and don’t fill in the solid objects with paint as much. These scenes are amazing! Some day… 🙂
Oh, Sandy! How lovely! Today’s video was filled with so many helpful tips and so much inspiration. You are a gifted teacher… and we are all so lucky to be your students! I’m going to look for a beginning level stamp to try. The gardener in me loves the idea of creating a garden scene on a card. Big hugs! ♡
Sandy, oh, this is so beautiful. Okay, I am ready to hit the watercolor paper. LOL. This video was so inspiring. I learned so much and loved all your tips. thanks for sharing.
OMG it is soooo wonderful watching you paint. Keep up the videos please.
Thanks Sandy and yes I have some of these stamps and now I can give them some love. Hugs!
So pretty…love the softness.
I have that arbor stamp gathering dust somewhere and have the brush markers, but they’re probably dried up. As always, you’ve done a great job bringing this stamp to life. thank you!
Donna
These are just gorgeous!!
I love this tutorial…..could you explain more about what you used to make the baby’s breath?
I love this video and learned so much! Thank you.
Beautiful!