Linda Nelson, Author at Linda Nelson - The Createaerie

MAKE WATERCOLOR PAPER FLOWERS

January 25, 2015

Prior to painting on watercolor paper, one needs to first prepare the paper so that it will receive the paint application properly. This requires briefly dipping the paper (or rag) in water to remove it’s sizing, then laying it out flat on a board to dry. My knowledge of this from taking painting classes years ago was the catalyst for my curious exploration with wet watercolor paper. I love to experiment.

If you’d like try my “wet” watercolor paper flower technique yourself, then just keep on reading. And, it’s super easy to do. You will need:

watercolor paper (120# or heavier)
circle templates (or you can just eyeball it and freehand draw some circles)
circle paper punches in various sizes (completely optional and really unnecessary)
small bowl of warm water
painting materials (Anything your heart desires; I play with EVERYTHING.)

Begin by cutting or punching out various sized circles (small, medium, large, etc…). My personal preference is to tear the paper along the pencil line of a traced circle.

©Linda Nelson 2014

Next, drop your circles into a small bowl of warm water for about thirty seconds, but no longer than one minute. Now, scrunch each circle up with your fingertips until it is a tight little crumpled ball, and squeeze out the excess water. Open the circles up and gently scrunch each one around your finger tip to create a “fluttery” shape. Set your pieces aside to dry for a couple of hours. I placed them on my radiators; they dried in less than a half hour. When fully dry they will be “stiffened” into their fluttery shape.

©Linda Nelson 2014

Paint, tint or color each layer however you prefer. Leaving them ‘au natural’ makes for very pretty bridal favor embellishments. Fasten the layers together with a paper fastener, glue, or even by sewing a bead or button into the center. These little beauties can be incorporated into many craft projects.

©Linda Nelson 2015

I think they make great substitutes for gift bows.

©Linda Nelson 2015

They’re ideal for scrap booking projects; or in my case, embellishing my book-style greeting cards.

©Linda Nelson 2015

You can make a tussie mussie with a large circle template. Cut the circle in half, then form a cone shape with one of the halves. The one pictured above would make a sweet little gift for an artist who paints. Or, how about a tablescape favor holder like the one pictured below?

©Linda Nelson 2015

There you have it. Now, get creative.

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TWO HEARTS WARM UP A COLD AND SNOWY DAY

January 24, 2015

It was this time exactly one year ago that eastern Long Island, NY, was blanketed in over a foot of snow, and which didn’t seem to leave until the spring. Not this year. Last night we received our first honest snowfall; all of a mere, sloppy and slushy two inches. Despite this laughable amount, it is a tad bit damp, raw and toe-chilling cold outside.

©Linda Nelson 2015

So that’s why I had to make these little decorative charms. They may not warm up my toes, but they certainly warm my heart. Multiple layers of deeply saturated hues of paint were applied onto glued together layers of corrugated cardboard, sanded down, then applied again. A little bit of decoupage, some hand painting…… I had so much fun creating these.

©Linda Nelson 2015

They actually look quite delicious, don’t you think?

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BOARD AT THE CREATEAERIE

January 19, 2015

©Linda Nelson 2015

Gosh, I’ve had so much fun making these decorative little ornaments. Not once was I bored. My corrugated cardboard box went to better use this way rather than getting tossed at the recycling facility, don’t you think?

Happy crafting!

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DANCING WITH CARDBOARD: THE SEQUEL

January 17, 2015

I couldn’t help it; I just had to amuse myself by making this cackling little hen….,

the letter A (for a friend)……. and the heart charm.

The little book-style greeting card is for my friend, too. Its little leather pocket holds petite poppy seed pods that I dried just this past year. She can plants the seeds in her garden come spring.

Check out my previous post to learn how I dance with cardboard, then get dancing yourself.

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