2018 #3 Watercolours with EEA {by Ellie Knol}

2018 Topic 3: Watercolour

This also a book in my own series 52, a book a week! Week 8 - Book 8

 I'd like to share with you how to use  your beautiful watercolored paper. I LOVE how watercolor always make for beautiful backgrounds... 

I've altered a hard board baby book into a colorful booklet.. a feast for the eye. 

A picture I grabbed from the internet, to show you what it looks like: it has rather thick boards, which I liked for this purpose. 

These books (I have more) have been in my stash for quite a while, waiting for me to get the moment of light to create something with it. 

I removed all of the top (glossy) paper of the booklet, which leaves you with a blank booklet; you will now have to reinforce the spine with a piece of fabric.  

Before doing anything to change the booklet, I painted the outsides with Snowflake Fresco Finish paint, also the outside of the pages; closing it tightly first will help not getting any paint on the pages itself. Also make sure you add paint to the fabric on the spine.  

I've added pieces of shells which hang down with some knotted thread. The shells were colored with a bit of alcohol ink.

I've added structure paste randomly to the spine to cover the fabric partially. It gives it some structure and covers the part where I attached the threads with knots; makes it look as if it's supposed to look like this, hehe.  

The stencil with numbers PS021 and structure paste was used to make the no 1 on the spine.. you never know, I might want to create a second book in near future. 

I painted the number and spine yellowish (just here and there) with Yellow Submarine Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic paint to match the yellow color in the background. 

OK.. this post was about watercolors.. right? 

I've created a larger piece of a background on watercolor paper with a technique where you use white glue to create a resist. Any pattern will do, and I experimented with stampiing with white glue, I used a stencil to create patterns, and splattered the glue as well... the sky is the limit here. 

Let the glue dry properly before adding color. I've used Ecoline in spraybottles, but any watercolor spray will do the job, or water-diluted transluscent Fresco Finish paints or even the normal watercolors. 

As you can see here, I've used salt in the wet watercolors to create little dots of color. 

Cut the background up to fit the pages and front and back cover of the booklet. 

I adhered it to the book with bookbinding glue. 

AND.. yes I had to use some stamping!! 

These beautiful and versatile stamps from Everything Art EEA01 are great for this. They're really great to add as background stamping. 

I've stamped it all with Archival black ink. 

I've added white highlights with a white acrylic marker around the stamping, and also in the background ! To me that adds the final touch!! 

A picture of the overall of the booklet. I would've liked to be able to photograph all sides at once, as I really LOVE how this has turned out.  

I especially like how the back cover has turned out.. the contrast between lighter and darker colors, but also the stamping around the edges. Guess what stamp I've used for that? Yes, part of the collaged stamp in set EEA01

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I will teach 2 workshops early March at my home; 

... you can find details on my workshop blog: Kom spelen met papier, kleur en stempels!