Orange, yellow and gone

The watercolor brush markers are gone now, the yellow and orange were the last to go and I couldn't resist using them to the very end whether there was enough to really do anything with or not.

Yes, it's another note card and envelope which just goes to show that the mail is interesting even when the art is not.

With the watercolor brush markers gone I'll go back to colored pencil and regular watercolors to keep the mail interesting and try drawing and painting a number of different subjects.

...as soon as I get those pencils sharpened...

Painting the mail with watercolor brush markers

As I was sorting through things on the work table I decided to decorate a few envelopes, a card and a few random pieces of paper to use as stationery to answer my mail later in the day.

I'm getting more comfortable with the watercolor brush markers and the rate that the paint flows from them. I've only got 9 of them and 3 are different shades of the colors I've got so those limits force me to try other things in both design and color choices  making things more interesting for me and the people I'm sending them to.

Painting yesterday's flowers in watercolor marker

The petals on the lilies were dropping fast so I decided to paint the other flowers in watercolors.

The color choice was a bit limited because I was working with my last few watercolor brush markers.

I'm sending watercolor to an aunt but now that I've scanned it as well I should be able to use the design on a few other things in a few other ways. That way it can make even more people happy.

So far I've added text and a bit of card stock in a few different colors to make Birthday cards and a nice note card. After "playing with it by hand" I'm ready to take it to Zazzle and see what I can do with it there.

Scrap Paper Cards

Outgoing mail in watercolor brush pens

I did the envelope in pencil and regular watercolors and then did some practice strokes with the brush markers. I get a bit of painting practice and my sister gets a more interesting letter so everyone wins.

Watercolor Landscape Card and Envelope Set

Watercolor Thank You card

I'm still working with watercolor brush markers and becoming a bit more used to how they flow. The orange one leaked a bit ads I uncapped it but continued to work fine once I'd wiped it off.

I painted these flowers to go with a postage stamp that I had and added another flower to the lower left hand corner of the envelope to make it look like a matched set.

A fun idea for Thank You cards

I like to start with a photo of the item your thanking the person for and then draw or paint relating designs around it.

This card is made from:

1 photo
1 watercolor note card
1 set of watercolor brush markers

Step by step instructions:

1. cut out your photo in a cute shape
2. use a pencil to mark the area of the card where you'll attach the photo later
3.draw or paint the parts of the card that will show around the photo

This one is for Irene to thank her for making my shrink plastic drawings into earrings. She does great work!

Design Practice with Watercolor Brush Markers

Watercolor note cards are a great way to get some practice, play a bit and share the fun with the people that you write to. Here's the card.

Here's the envelope. I always like to paint a little something in the lower left corner of the envelope to dress that up too and keep the mail interesting.

Watercolor Brush Markers and Ink

Watercolor Brush Markers

At least once a year I try some new products or at least some that are new to me. Today it was a set of watercolor brush markers which are exactly what they sound like. Markers filled with watercolor that have a brush instead of a nib at the tip to apply them with. The expense scared me a bit so I decided to just start or open one color while I practiced with it in order to learn to control the flow of the paint.

It was surprisingly easy to work with and I'm looking forward to trying other things with some of the other colors.

The first project was a greeting card for a friend of mine that incorporates some stickers that I received today from another friend. I used it to answer some of my mail.