Hi friends! I am really excited to share this project with you today. This is going to be a longer post, so I hope you have a few minutes to share with me. I also have a free USA shipping code from Colorado Craft Company to share with you: FREESHIPPINGAC. ($5.95 off international shipping.) this code is good through tomorrow night, Feb 28th.
If you’ve been with me for awhile, you know I am a HUGE fan of Colorado Craft Company. Their Big and Bold line is one of my favorite lines in the crafting community. When I pick a BB stamp for a coloring session, I know I am going to be in my own little world for a couple hours. I am infatuated with coloring, and every session I learn something. Whether its shading, blending new colors together, or seeing an image in a different way, I am always excited for this special quiet time. Watercoloring these Macarons a few nights ago didn’t disappoint.
When I first saw this Slimline Macaron stamp, I was enchanted with the image. I am not a huge macaron fan, in fact I’ve only seen them in person once. But it was that one memory that inspired this card. Four years ago, I was pregnant, and wanted to constantly walk. Since we live in the Pacific Northwest, walking outside for half the year is pretty hard, due to rain. So my husband and I would pick different malls in the region to go visit. One mall, outside of Seattle, has an adorable candy shop. At the front of the store, there’s a window counter, full of truffles, fudge, and macarons. And the colors of those macarons were gorgeous! Very whimsical, almost fairytale like. They were so pretty, and I just couldn’t stop admiring them. So with that memory in mind, I opened up this stamp package, and started painting.
I stamped the image with Ink On 3 Fadeout Ink, onto Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper. (The watercolor paper was cut to 8.5×4 inches.) I taped the panel to a clip board with painter’s tape, and set up my watercoloring station: 2 mason water-filled jars, a few paintbrushes in different sizes, paper towels, a damp washcloth, a porcelain palette, and my watercolors. For this session, I used Daniel Smith Watercolors.
Let’s talk about color. I used three Daniel Smith colors for each macaron. The main color inspiration was from Jean Haine’s Master Artist set by Daniel Smith.
- Pink: Opera Pink, Quinacridone Rose, Moonglow
- Orange: Aussie Red Gold, Quinacridone Gold, Burnt Umber
- Yellow: Lemon Yellow, Nickel Azo Yellow, Shadow Violet
- Green: , Cascade Green, Jadeite Genuine, Perylene Green
- Turquoise: Amazonite Genuine, Phthalo Turquoise, Perylene Green
- Purple: Quinacridone Purple, Purpurite Genuine, Shadow Violet
The last color for each macaron was used sparingly, mainly for the above, and/or below shadow. I also used Shadow Violet for the ground shade.
The brushes I used were Silver Brush Black Velvet watercolor Brush (Size 8 Round), and Princeton Neptune Watercolor Brush (Size 6 Round). I love using these brushes. Silver Brush holds a lot of water, which is great to move the pigments, and the Princeton has a fantastic sharp tip for fine lines. They’re both a great size for this project. I kept both brushes in my hand, using the #6 brush to add pigment, and the #8 to spread the pigment.
I did turn my camera on while coloring, and talk about the process in this video:
That’s all that I have for today. I hope I was able to pass along some coloring tips and ideas. Thanks so much for stopping by!
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