More stamping and watercoloring for today’s ICAD Challenge art!

I stamped this Hampton Arts stamp with Versafine ink in Black Onyx onto my index card. I like Versafine for detailed stamps because it usually gives good coverage and a clear stamped image.

I prefer to tap the ink onto my stamp, rather than pressing the stamp onto the ink pad. This way I can make sure I’m getting even coverage and not smearing ink onto the stamp block by accident.

Unfortunately there was a small section in the center of the card that didn’t get fully inked. I thought I was pressing down on all areas of the stamp, but sometimes it’s hard to get enough pressure on the middle of a large stamp.

No problem though! I just pulled out my Pigma Micron 01 pen and filled in the missing portion of the image. These pens are waterproof, so you can watercolor over them, and the 01 size gives a very precise line.

Out of curiosity I used my son’s Crayola watercolors instead of my own Artist Loft watercolor set, and I was pleasantly surprised at the vibrant color and clear (not chalky) finish. I also used a Ranger water brush instead of an artist’s paint brush, and it worked pretty well. It was easy to clean between colors by blotting it on a paper towel so it didn’t muddy my colors, and it didn’t leak or run while I was using it.

Once I finished with the watercolors, I added some detail with my Posca Extra Fine Point Paint Pens. I did have some trouble getting the white pen to show up. I think the paint was just being absorbed into the card rather than sitting on top of the watercolors. I will have to experiment further to discover what caused the problem. It’s possible that I didn’t wait long enough for the watercolor paint to dry before using the white paint pen, but I didn’t have the same problem with the black pen so I’m not sure what was going on.

The final step was the apply some Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black Soot around the edges with an ink blending tool. That always gives a project a more finished look.

I don’t usually use such a rainbow of colors in a project, and I originally thought I’d just do a solid color background with the watercolor paint, but looking at this card really makes me feel happy so maybe I should go colorful more often!

What kind of art projects make you feel happy? Please share in the comments!

Blessings,
~Happy Heart Art Girl

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