Nothing screams summer like cool colors running down a page. So in the spirit of the upcoming season, I have provided four cheap and easy watercolor “Do it Yourself” projects, thank me later.
Watercolor Pillow Case: Lay your head down on a cool summery pillow.
Materials: White(ish) pillow case, different colored Sharpies, rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs
Step one: Write a phrase using a Sharpie on the pillow case.
Step two: Next go over the phrase with each colored Sharpie. It doesn’t have to be perfect, you want it to be a little messy when you overlap the colors.
Step three: Dip your cotton swab into the rubbing alcohol, then run it along each letter. This will make the ink bleed on the fabric to give it a watercolor effect.
Step four: Let it dry.
Paper Marbling: The perfect summer stationery.
Materials: Shaving cream, thick textured paper, food coloring, baking dish, spatula, ruler, paper towels
Step one: Fill your baking dish with a thick layer of shaving cream.
Step two: Next add your food coloring in one drop at a time, you don’t want one color to completely overpower the shaving cream.
Step three: Use your spatula to fold your food coloring into the shaving cream to create the marbling. Be careful that you don’t mix it too much.
Step four: Place your paper into the shaving cream and move it around to make sure the whole front side is covered.
Step five: Take your sheet of paper out, and with the ruler, scrape the excess shaving cream off from one corner to the other in a sweeping motion.
Step six: Dab any leftover shaving cream off the paper with a paper towel.
Tips:
- Before placing another sheet of paper in, fold the shaving cream with the spatula again.
- If there is too much white, add more food coloring. If there is too much color add more shaving cream.
Water Color Agate: Nothing says summer like a classic watercolor geode painting.
Materials: Water colors, different sized brushes, gold paint, textured paper
Step one: Create your first ring using a lighter color. You want to use a lot of water while creating this so that it is very wet.
Step two: Take a darker color on a smaller brush and trace the outside of the circle. The colors will bleed but that is what you want.
Step three: Repeat the steps moving the rings outward. You also want to alternate between dark and light colors.
Step four: Let the colors dry. Then you can go in with the gold paint and highlight any areas you want with it. You can also add a few gold dots into the center.
Water color vase: Painted glass with two ways to do it. (Warning: not microwave or dishwasher safe)
- Nail polish Marble
Materials: Plastic bowl, water, nail polish, toothpick, glass vase or mug.
Step one: Fill the plastic bowl with water. But make sure that you don’t fill it up so much that when you place your cup in it, it overflows.
Step two: Dip your nail polish into the water. Quickly use the toothpick to pull at the nail polish to create a design.
Step three: Let the nail polish sit for a few seconds to create a film on top of the water.
Step four: Take your vase and place it into the film covered water. You want to turn the vase in the water to make sure that it gets completely covered.
- Alcohol Ink
Materials: Ink, rubbing alcohol, a glass vase or mug, a straw, cotton swab.
Step one: In a small container mix together the ink and a little alcohol.
Step two: Take a cotton swab and dip it into the alcohol ink mixture and dab it into the glass.
Step three: Use another cotton swab and dip it into just straight rubbing alcohol.
Step four: Dab the alcohol swab onto the alcohol ink on the glass to make it run.
Step five: Use the straw to blow on the ink to give it to the watercolor look.
Step six: Let the ink dry on the glass.
Start your summer off with the perfect watercolor DIYs. Enjoy these projects and enjoy your summer.
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Watercolor Tricks: Here are a few different household items that can give your water color paints a different look.
- Vodka: Gives your paints a spottier and lighter look.
- Salt: Adds grit to your picture.
- Paper towel: Makes your paints look splotchy and faded when you dab it with paper towels.
- Crayons and wax: Allows you to create shapes on the paper before painting and then discolors the shapes when you paint over them.
