Encore - Salty Watercolour Words

Hello all!  I'm so glad you enjoyed my altered Rustic Plant Pots.  We had very heavy rain (and some hail) a couple of days after I'd put them out in the garden, and you'll be happy to hear that so far they're doing just fine.  I even wiped away the earth which had splattered them pretty much all over, and the paint stayed put perfectly happily.  Time will tell, but so far it's all good!

I'm busy with some stuff behind the scenes at the moment, so I thought I'd fill in with a quick Encore post (see the very end for a definition of that).  And the project I've chosen might give you a clue as to what it is I'm busy with.  Watch this space early next week!  And in fact, maybe watch out for me on camera too... I'll keep you posted!

And if you want something brand new today, rather than just an Encore, there's a (rare) new post over at Cestina's Dollshouses to enjoy.

These wordy watercolour bookmarks were created for the PaperArtsy blog back in March 2018, and here's what I wrote back then...

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Hi everyone, it's Alison from Words and Pictures with you today, and I'd like to share with you some salty, watery bookmarks.

I fell in love with watercolours a year or two ago, and have been exploring their possibilities since then. I thought I'd combine them with my quote stamps to make some bookmarks. The salt was an afterthought, but one I'm so happy I added!

I love how the pigment of a good watercolour moves in water, and how some colours granulate (the pigment powder floats in the water to create a mottled look) and some are more stable. I was using Daniel Smith watercolours to create my masterboard, and they have lots of fabulous granulation in some of the colours.

I think it was that granulation which suddenly made me think of adding salt - something I've done in the past with Distress Inks, but hadn't done with my watercolours before. I think the effects are spectacular, both while the paint is still wet...

... and once you've brushed the salt away once it has all dried.

I cut a section of the masterboard into strips of equal length and width and then sought out some words to fit onto them.

I used two quotes each from EAB03 Music & Silence, EAB07 Dreaming & Doing and EAB08 Strength & Courage.

On the paler bookmarks, I stamped in Cobalt and clear-embossed the words with Ranger Clear embossing powder.

And where the paint background was darker, I stamped in Versamark and embossed in Detail Fine White powder by Wow.

Some distressing of the edges, and some fine white twine through the punched holes, and now I can keep my place in the several books I usually have on the go at one time...

... and receive a little more food for thought from reading the bookmark too!

I hope you'll have a go at salting your watercolours or water-soluble inks. It really is fascinating watching the crystals at work, soaking up pigment and water and creating the incredible organic patterning. It certainly won't be the last time I craft with added salt!

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I gave half the bookmarks to Cestina and kept the other half myself, and mine are in every day use.  I still have several books on the go at once, as well as bobbing back and forth to my Kindle, so bookmarks are just as useful as ever.

I'm heading back to the craft table now... I expect most of you can make a good guess at what I'm busy with there.  For now, I'll wish you a peaceful weekend with plenty of whatever makes you happy, and I'll see you on Monday!

When a bookmark tumbles out of an old book pristine and unwrinkled, it is like a gasp of breath from another century.

Don Borchert

Encore Posts

Projects which made their first appearances elsewhere for Design Team duties or Guest Designer opportunities, but which only had a sneak peek here, are being gathered together in the pages of my virtual scrapbook while I'm busy.

As always, the Encore Posts are formatted differently from the regular ones, so that you can easily spot them.  Please don't feel that you have to comment all over again!