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I've been playing a little... mostly doing color washes... so... here goes:

This is watercolor pencil coloring... and some tiny pearls



This should have had masking where the white part is... supposed to look like seafoam... and then I stamped the shells on it.. and not sure I like it at all now... but... just playing with color washes.. and found out I need some watercolor brushes.. so I'll be looking for some on Monday

Then I made a dark pink and light pink color wash... and an assorted greens wash... diecut them with my rose/leaves dies and put this together... took pics along the way

pretty

Terrific watercoloring Debi! Your roses are fabulous. What a great idea.

Lovely roses! Great job of watercoloring.

Your coloring turned out very well. The roses and leaves really look good cut from the watercolored paper.

If you don't like the water's edge one, play around with it some more. Maybe color in some of the shells or add some texture like pearls or something to the foam. Stamp the shells on another paper and maybe cut a few out and pop them over the background. Nothing to lose if you don't like it but I like the contrast of the watercolor washes and the black stamping. Water is hard to paint.

I'm finding with coloring images I like using watercolor first then adding shadows and details with colored pencils. Less risk of ruining it if I switch to pencils and I can be more precise.

Very nice Debi! Your shading on the frog and toadstool is excellent, and your roses lovely. Washes do take practice. Now that your stamping is in place I wouldn't go over the watercolor paint, although you might like the piece better if you add some embellishing as Marianne has suggested.
Watercolour brushes do make a big difference, as does the paper you choose and the brand/quality of paint. I like the Princeton Neptune brushes; I used to get them at Michaels (with a coupon) although my store no longer carries them; not sure if it's the same in the US. I've found the reds are the hardest to blend without getting the look of pigment crystals.

I've had more fun with the watercolor pencils... but I did pick up some watercolor brushes Monday, so now I can try some of those washes again with the right brushes.

I'm looking forward to using the watercolor washes and the rose dies for my wedding scrapbook... we used lilac as one of the colors... so lots of the roses (silk flowers) were either off-white or lilac... I think those would make good embellishments in a watercolor wash of pale purple... so we'll see how that goes.

Love those suggestions from Marianne and Keitha.
Keep posting your work - you're doing great!

Another thing, don't forget about Distress ink pads and reinkers to supplement watercolors you already have. I love watercoloring with Distress inks. Smoosh the pad on a piece of plastic or freezer paper or drop some reinker in a palette and they just sit there and pick right up with a wet brush weeks later.

Marianne has a great suggestion with the Distress inks. They work almost as watercolors and most of us have them on hand.
I find I use them more for watercoloring techniques than my actual watercolor paints.

The watercolor class I signed up for showed using distress inks quite a bit... might have to invest in some more colors (enabling.. LOL) but I'm definitely going to play some more with background techniques with those inks

I still haven't tried all the ideas she did in her videos... her examples were way cooler than her actual instructions... so... lots of ideas to try

I like them because they are already thin and you don't need much water so non watercolor paper doesn't buckle. I've liked them on some of the coloring book pages or postcards you can color since I have no idea what kind of paper those things are printed on. They are good for the tiny little details. I combine them with colored pencils, too.

If you already have watercolors, I wouldn't rush right out to buy distress pads. But what you do have will add to your set of colors. I think watercolors are still better for washes.

I like them too
haven't did much lately going to my sisters for a wedding
been busy making mints and
I will be designated driver for Sat night.