Saran Wrap and Cereal Bag technique, Scrunch First

 

Wanted to try Saran Wrap technique with some darker colors, maybe for guy cards. Used Canson watercolor paper 140 lb/300 g, 9 x 12 inch size. I cut that in half.  On the left, I taped the watercolor paper down by the edges with old washi tape. I neglected to tape the watercolor paper down on the right.

Spritzed the watercolor paper with water. Then added Jane Davenport Brights Palette watercolors, Fairytale, Frida and Ink colors, spritzing when needed to keep the paints wet.  

LEFT PANEL: This time I scrunched the Saran Wrap before applying to the top of the wet paint. I liked the results better when scrunching the wrap first...more dramatic lines created. 

RIGHT PANEL: Using the same cleaned cereal bag, I scrunched it first then applied to the wet watercolor panel. I taped it down with washi tape instead of placing an old heavy book on top.

You can see the difference between how the Saran Wrap, left and the Cereal bag, right create patterns in the wet watercolor paints. I like both looks. The cereal bag is more eco friendly, as it is being reused when the cereal is gone and it can be reused multiple times.

I cut a 3-3/4 x 5 inch panel and placed it on top of a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" white card base to get an idea of how this would look. I'm thinking it would be a nice birthday card for a guy.

Thanks for visiting!

Peace and all good!

Saran Wrap Technique Again, Slight Variation

 

On these panels, I used a thinner Canson watercolor paper, 117 lb/250 g/m2. It comes in a 5.5 by 8.5 inch tablet. I taped both layers down with Scrapbook.com Mint Tape, re-using it from the other day. I spritzed the paper with a fine mist of water. Then I randomly added Jane Davenport Brights watercolors to the wet paper. I spritzed if the paint started to dry. 

Then I scrunched both the Saran Wrap-Left, and the cereal bag-Right before placing on the wet watercolor paint. I placed an old book on top of the cereal bag because the scrunched part wanted to unfold. The Saran Wrap's scrunched part remained in place after placing it on the wet watercolor paint.

I was inspired to scrunch the plastic wraps before placing them on top of the wet watercolor paint as shown in this YouTube: Watercolor Techniques - Plastic Wrap by Ms. Covart from March 7, 2017. I like this more dramatic design created with this method of scrunching the plastic film before placing it on the wet watercolor.

...and I'm very happy to re-use the cereal bag. It cleans up easily with plain water.

Thank you for visiting!

Peace and all good!

More Wrinkle Free Distress

Here are results from the Wrinkle Free Distress technique from yesterday. I used Gina K's inkpads, smooshed on the white section of my glass mat, spritzed with water and dipped watercolor paper in it multiple times. Used Canson watercolor paper, 140 lb/300 g/m2 cut into smaller pieces. At first I started with these inkpads: bubblegum pink, light orchid and wild lilac. But then I added passionate pink too. 

You can see how the ink colors move when water is spritzed on them.

You can see how the lighter weight Canson 117 lb/250 g/m2 watercolor paper really curled up. I used a full size, 5.5 x 8.5 inch piece. 

I placed a eyedropper bottle on top to flatten it a bit as it dried.

I hope to make some cards with these panels!

Thank you for visiting!

Peace and all good!

Saran Wrap Technique

An artist friend shared a panel of her Saran Wrap technique recently. After seeing her art, I just had to try it. 

 

On my first attempt, I cut watercolor paper into smaller pieces. Then with a brush I wet the watercolor paper panels with plain water. Then added these watercolors, Mystic, Frida and Butterfly from my Jane Davenport Brights watercolor palette. Placed Saran Wrap over and made wrinkles in the Saran Wrap with my finger.

Note: you can click on any image to see a larger version of it.

After it dried, I did not get many "wrinkle lines" as you can see in the results. My panels curled and since they were not taped down, the Saran Wrap shifted. 

On my second attempt at Saran Wrap Technique I taped two larger pieces of watercolor paper to my glass mat with Scrapbook.com Mint Tape. Note that on the right one, I used a breakfast cereal pouch. I learned about that on a YouTube, What can I use instead of plastic wrap in watercolor?... by Liz Chaderton Studio. She talked about how to use a cereal bag at the 3:19 mark in the timeline.

I tried to take a photo of the opened cereal bag. It's difficult to see on the white part of my glass mat.

Above you can see the result of the Saran Wrap layer on the left and the cereal bag layer on the right. I scrunched up the cereal bag before placing it on the wet watercolor. Then added a heavy book to weigh it down.

Here is a picture of my Jane Davenport Brights Watercolors.Colors used for the panels above are...

Left: Buzzy (yellow), Jimminy (lighter green) & Mermaid (green blue). 

Right: Best Friend, Fairytale, 70s Eye Shadow, and a little Mermaid.

I cut the panels and plan to make cards. Here is what they may look like. I probably will add a white leaves die cut, like the first card. I am thinking of using these as Thank You cards for my neighbors and friends who have been so sweet to me for the past 4 weeks while I recover from knee replacement surgery.

Thank you for visiting.

Peace and all good.

Wrinkle Free Distress April 2025

 

I was inspired to make some wrinkle free distress backgrounds recently after running across a beautiful card by Jung Ahsang from 2015! I used watercolor paper, cut to about 3-1/4 by 4-1/4 inches. I dabbed distress inks onto my glass mat-in the white section, so I could see the colors: picked raspberry, worn lipstick, scattered straw and ripe persimmon. NOTE: initially I used spun sugar, but subbed worn lipstick instead. Spritzed the inks with water. Then dragged the watercolor paper through it to pickup color. You can go back and add more color if desired. 

Allow the paper to dry. You can use a heat tool to speed up the drying time. Used Versafine onyx black to stamp the images.

Flowers from Crafters Square, a gift from Lynette! Belated birthday stamp from DeNami Design. I don't know if they are in business anymore.

Flowers from Crafters Square (again). This time I added leaves to change it up a bit.

Leaves from Pink & Main, a gift from Mona!

Happy Birthday from Gina K's Happy Hydrangea small stamp set.

For my last card, I used an old Stampin' Up! inkpad called positively pink. Used Gina K's Mandala Maker for the flowers and "leaves". 

Happy Birthday from Hero Arts A2153.

Thanks for visiting!

Peace and All Good!