Watercolor Weekend Roundup - Three Ways to Use Fir Boughs!

Happy November! It's the first Saturday of the month, time for us to take a look at three of our favorite watercolor projects of the week for Watercolor Weekend! Our designers are getting ready for the season's change with some wintery and outdoorsy projects! All of these projects use our WC Fir Tree Set in different ways. Lets take a look!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest

I don't know about you but Christmas always sneaks up on me, so I like to start my cards early. I love the traditional red and green for my Christmas decorations. I made this card using the Art Impressions WC Series 4 Set 1 - 4097. Art Impressions Creator/Owner Bonnie Krebs has a wonderful Watercolor Wednesday tutorial on YouTube using this stamp set that you should try. I used the new 4960 - WC Fir Trees Set to make the wreath. I added the snow with my Signo uni-ball white gel pen and I added some glitter using a Sakura Gelly Roll pen that is easier to see in the close-up photo.

Art Impressions Products: 4097 WC Series 4 Set 1, 4960 WC Fir Trees, Canson XL WC Paper Pad, 4773 Acrylic Block Variety Pack, NO. 4 Brush, Signo White Pigment Ink Gel Pen

Marvy Le Plume II Markers: 28 English Red, 45 Sepia, 86 African Violet, 72 Pine Green

Tricia Kennedy - Instagram

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas with my Golden Wreath project for today’s Art Impressions Watercolor Weekend! 

I used a 9”x9” piece of watercolor paper and drew a 4”x4” circle in the middle. Here’s my tip for placing a shape onto your watercolor paper – Use a template and the fine tip of your marker (in this case 72 Pine Green). Lay the template onto the watercolor paper and put a dot every so often (1/2” or so). Remove the template to reveal the shape on your watercolor paper. The best part of this technique is that the dots will be watercolored away and no one will be the wiser. I started by stamping the outside “gold boughs” from WC Fir Trees Set around the circle in VersaMark, added Gold Embossing Powder and melted with my heat gun. Next, I stamped the “green boughs” from WC Fir Trees Set in 72 Pine Green around the circle and pulled the color with my watercolor brush and water. I then stamped the inside “gold boughs” from WC Fir Trees Set using a Post It Note to cover the “green boughs” as I went along, added Gold Embossing Powder and melted with my heat gun. You can always go back and fill in any sparse areas with additional “green boughs” from WC Fir Trees Set in 72 Pine Green. I added Want 2 Scrap Self Adhesive Red Bling for the finishing detail.

Art Impressions Products: 4960 WC Fir Trees Set, Watercolor Brush No. 6, Canson XL WC Paper Pad

Marvy Le Plume II Markers: 72 Pine Green

Other Supplies: Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder, VersaMark Stamp Pad, Want 2 Scrap Self Adhesive Red Bling, Post It Notes

Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook

I chose one of the new Art Impressions Rustic Cabins Set as my focal image on this project. I used Sepia to stamp it on Canson XL Watercolor Paper. Using my palette, I added English Red to the roof and chimney and African Violet to the windows. I used the fine tip of my Sepia to add the logs and added some additional Sepia from my palette.

I cut a mask from a post-it note and covered my cabin. I used the firs from the WC Fir Trees Set and Pine Green to create trees behind the cabin. I added trees using the WC Branches Set and Sepia. I added leaves using English Red and Orange to the trees and the ground underneath.

I added a tree on the left of the cabin using the WC Fir Trees Set with Sepia and Pine Green. I added the small grass along with some Sepia to ground the house and tree. Finally, as a finishing touch, I used Prussian Blue to add a sky above the cabin. As always, I signed and dated my work and that's it...easy peasy.

I cut the painting down to 3 3/4 x 5 and mounted it to a piece of Gina K Designs Cranberry Tart cardstock cut to 4 x 5 1/4. I mounted this to a white card base.

Art Impressions Supplies: 4962 WC Rustic Cabins Set, 4964 WC Branches Set, 4960 WC Fir Trees Set, 4868 WC Flower Set 2, 4051 WC Foliage Set 1, 4774 Stamp Positioner, Acrylic Block 5 Pack (Variety), Canson XL WC Paper Pad, Watercolor Palette

Marvy Le Plume II Markers: 45 Sepia, 86 African Violet, 72 Pine Green, 28 English Red, 7 Orange, 29 Prussian Blue

Other Supplies: Silver Brush 3000S-4 Black Velvet Short, Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- Cranberry Tart

WOW, team! Love the different ways the fir boughs are used, from mini wreaths, larger wreaths for framing, and as background trees! This set is sure to be a staple in our wintery scenes! How have these projects inspired you? Let us know in the comments below! If you are hankering for more inspiration, please visit our designers' personal social media accounts for more images and ideas! Be sure to share what you create with us with #AiWatercolor on Instagram, or posting pictures on our Facebook Page!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest

Tricia Kennedy - Instagram

Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook

Happy Watercolor Weekend!