Paint with me! Cherry Blossoms!

Hi friends! I have lost track of my weekend! No blog post yesterday so I intended to get this post up this morning so you would have time to paint with me before the weekend was over but alas time got away. Girl Scout cookies came in and we had to get them sorted and accounted for before we delivered. I had a box of caramel delights left over at the end and I just about came unglued before finding the bag it was missing from. The thought of opening every order I had bagged up to find the delinquent cookies would have put me over the edge. I am so glad it was missing from the first bag I checked. Phew, time to relax and blog. Better late then never right? Grab a waterproof black pen, watercolor and paper and let’s paint a springy picture!

I really like the way my lighting looked in this video, I was experimenting with an adjustment in my editing software (it was over 20 minutes and my camera starts a new file after 20 minutes so i had to edit those bits together anyway) and it seems to brighten the picture without washing out the colors so it is more true to life. What do you think? I also used a different setting on my camera. There is always something new to learn even after 900+ videos, there is always something new to keep it fun! I hope you enjoyed this watercolor play-date and til next time happy crafting!

How to Paint a Rose for Valentines Day {and a Giveaway!}

Hi Friends! It’s Friday and I am looking forward to a calm weekend and ignoring all the posts on Facebook about the possible feet of snow that may roll in from Saturday night to Tuesday! Ah well, winter has got to end sometime right? One nice thing about winter is Valentines day! Today I will show you how to paint a pretty rose in watercolor for your sweetie! I also have a giveaway for you from the folks at Spoil! They have unique hand-picked surprise gift boxes to spoil the ones you love, you can even spoil someone for Valentines day, just be sure to order before February 10th to have it delivered on the 14th. Now, let’s paint a flower!

Giveaway Details!
1. You must share this video on your favorite social network or blog. (You can click the icon that looks like a sideways “v” at the top right hand side of the video to share it to your favorite social network.)
2. You must visit the Spoil website and tell me what kind of gift you would like to receive (artsy, tech, warm & cozy etc)
3. You must leave a comment here on this video with a link to where you shared the video and letting me know what kind of gift you would like.
4. I will pick a winner on February 10th 2015, please be sure to check your YouTube messages to see if you have won.
5. This giveaway is open to US residents only.

For today’s watercolor project you will need:

• 140# watercolor paper (I used a 5″x7″ watercolor greeting card)
• a #8 round brush or a waterbrush
• watercolor paint in crimson, pink(opera), lemon yellow, sap green and ultramarine blue. *Feel free to substitute for the colors you have. You can see my homemade palette tutorial here.
• Paper towel, water bucket, masking tape

You can find the reference photo by Debra Babcock here at Paint my Photo.

Start by taping your paper down to a board or your table. Follow along with the video to learn how to paint this!

Thanks to Spoil for sponsoring this video and giveaway. If you want to Spoil someone this Valentines day with an exquisite gift they will love based on their interests be sure to order by February 10th if you want it delivered on Valentines Day (2/14/15)

Thanks for watching and happy crafting!

DIY Travel Watercolor Palette! {cheap up-cycle!}

Hi friends! Don’t toss empty eye shadow containers! You can use those tiny compacts to make wonderful travel watercolor kits! Watch the video to see how:

You don’t have to use these for just travel. They are a great way to store extra colors too. The small size of the wells makes the paint dry quickly too, I made my palette last night and used it today! It worked great. If you don’t have access to old eyeshadow palettes (or a friend who can save them for you) you can use pill boxes, fish and tackle boxes, ice-cube trays or blister packages that things you buy come in. If it has little wells in it you can use it! Yay! This tiny palette is perfect for my small heated upstairs workspace too! I hope this little tip helped you. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Let’s Paint a Dreamy Face in Acrylics!

Hi friends! Today I have a mixed media painting for you:

I forgot how much I enjoy painting at an easel! The nice thing is that if you have long-handled brushes you can sit or stand back a ways from the painting so you can see the whole canvas without distortion, especially if you are working large. I used an 11″x14″ stretched canvas, acrylic paints, deli paper (you can also use tissue paper), stencils, letter stamps, mod podge, glazing medium and a set of brushes from our sponsor D’Artisan Shoppe. Watch the video to see how I painted it:

Here is a list of the brushes included in the D’Artisan Shoppe Maestro Series XV Kit #000 Liner/Rigger, #1 Round, #2 Filbert, #3 Round, #4 Filbert, #4 Fan, #6 Round, #6 Flat, #8 Flat, #8 Filbert, #9 Filbert, #10 Flat, #10 Angled Shader, #11 One Stroke/Bright, #5/4 Wide/Square Wash
If you want to try these for yourself be sure to use coupon code FRUGALXV for $10 off! Be sure to apply the code prior to check out to get the $10 off. Best of all if the brushes happen to be on sale you get $10 off the sale price, cool huh?

I used a homemade hot glue stencils in the video, you can find the tutorial here. Tip! When you are all done painting take the leftover paint and spread it on some art journal pages or another canvas or cardstock so you have a background for a future project.

I use a stay-wet palette which is really like a big, flat plastic container with a lid. I place a few paper towels in it and spray them with water and then place a sheet of palette paper or waxed paper on top and them squeeze out my paint. This keeps them from drying out and if I need to take a break I lightly spritz the paint with water and put the lid on and I can keep the paint for a couple of days this way. Good paint can be expensive, let’s not waste a drop!

I think I will play some more soon with acrylic paints. I actually moved some things around in my studio today to make it easier to do (video soon to come!) and with the 18″-24″ of snow in the forecast Monday night-Wednesday I think I will be snowed in with plenty of time to paint! I want to thank D’Artisan Shoppe for sponsoring today’s project, I was so happy to find a set of high quality brushes to recommend that won’t break the bank and I am so glad they are offering my readers $10 off with coupon code FRUGALXV. Do you have any painting plans this week? Will you be snowed in too? Take care and stay safe everyone and til next time happy crafting!

 

Let’s Paint a Hibiscus in Watercolor!

Hi Friends! It is a balmy 43 degrees in Maine today, I hope that is a sign of things to come. We had a pretty cold couple of days this week and my studio got down to 48 degrees (that’s Fahrenheit folks!) So to combat that nonsense I turned on all my lights, cranked up the under table space heater and put some tropical scented wax tarts in my wax melter and pretended that I was painting someplace tropical. I have a good imagination. The fact that I was wearing 2 sweaters, my fleece studio coat, leggings, jeans and wool socks did not help my creative imagery but painting a bright and bold tropical flower did!

I used this beautiful photo or a hibiscus flower by Katrina on Paint My Photo as a reference. I was just what I needed! I sketched the flower with a black fine tipped paint pen by Posca but any waterproof pen like a sharpie or micron would be fine too. Watch the video to see how it is done.

I once read that the famous artist Jackson Pollack worked in an unheated shed he used as a studio in New York. I think of that often when I want to complain about my chilly workspace! :D Have a great night, thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Let’s paint an icy cold landscape!

Hi friends! This week has been so cold in Maine, we have had sub-zero temps every night this week and I have to say that I am looking forward to spring. Ah, well, if you can’t escape it then you might as well paint it! This project uses only 3 colors of paint, a 9″x12″ sheet of 140# watercolor paper and whatever brushes you like.

I used this photo by Robyn “Ro” Lovelock on Paint my Photo for a reference. Watch and see how easy it is to paint!

If you liked the lesson, you may also enjoy the Mixed Media Watercolor 101 course from Curious.com. And they are offering a special deal to my subscribers: If you buy the course, Curious will give you $5 towards future learning when you email support@curious.com and mention “thefrugalcrafter”. While you are there be sure to sign up for Curious to keep up to date with current specials and daily free classes! I hope you enjoyed today’s project, thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

 

 

 

Protect those pastel paintings!

Hi folks! A couple days ago I showed you how to paint branches and berries in pastel. After I posted that tutorial I got a lot of questions about using fixative and how to protect the pastels in storage. Today I’ll show you what I do:

I hope that helped. If you still have questions leave them below:) Happy crafting!