Watercolour and Brusho Snowdrops Art

It's been a long time since 1, that I have created any watercolour art and 2, that I have done a post for Anna Brim, but yay, I can say that I am happy to be back doing both. I was so inspired by Anna's watercolour snowdrops video tutorial over on her patreon page - http://www.patreon.com/mrsbrimbles, that I decided to add my own twist to it using brusho as well as watercolour and stamping ink. I still used drawing gum to create a resist for the snowdrops.

You can see my full process in the video below.



The Art Process 

I started out by using drawing gum for the snowdrops them-self then added a mix of green and yellow watercolour using my Daniel Smith watercolours and my JD.

Next I added a variety of different brusho drops and added lots of water for it to take effect. It was a little too vibrant, so out came the trusty kitchen roll to lift some of the colour off the page. I love watching brusho take shape, I could literally sit and watch it all day.

I then went to work on adding texture using blotted kitchen roll, and ink pad and going over with darker and lighter shading for the flowers and stems. This really added depth to the image. When it was dry it was time to peel off the drawing gum and add final touches to the shading.

I love the completed look of the art journal page. I actually might frame it for my craft room wall. I think it has a real ethereal whimsical type nature to it and I'm so pleased with how my sense of depth and texture has improved. Don't forget to check out Anna's patreon page
http://www.patreon.com/mrsbrimbles.

See you all on the blog and in the Mrs Brimbles Happy Place group soon.
Kerry xx

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Watercolour Moon Art Journal Page

Hi everyone, wow it's nearly Christmas, time flies! Today I have been playing around with a few things from Anna Brims Patreon goodies to create a Wintery themed art journal page. I'm in love with this page, the colour, the texture, the mood, it all sings to me and makes me warm and fuzzy.

For the page I followed a video tutorial of Anna creating a moon page like this one, but with a painted unicorn... you can get this as a collage sheet and I tell you now, it's stunning (you can see a sneak of it below in the photograph). 

 

 

Creating the watercolour moon page

I used my Daniel Smith watercolours firstly to paint the moon and background. I'm not going to go in to the how's here - you can see for yourself on Anna Brims Patreon Page. Anna then suggested using nail varnish to add sparkly texture and oh my word I love it, it really makes the moon and sky stand out. I then added a Prima Spray mist to really give the sky texture. I did have to be careful here as the spray mist does have a mind of it's own and I always feel it sprays a bit too much. However the result here was just what I was going for.

I then added one of Anna's cute Autumnal girls which I cut from a collage sheet to really make the page pop. She's so cute. I must say the collage sheets this month are amazing. I can't wait to use the rest of them now that I finally have some printer ink. Lastly I finished off the page with a quick quote using a white paint pen and outlined it all and added shadow using a fine uni ball pen.

I'm really liking the page and I will definitely be using up my old and unused nail varnishes in my art projects again. I must warn you though it did pong quite a bit whilst I was creating the page.

Thanks for reading the post, I promise I won't leave it as long next time. Now my ink here is here there will be no stopping me with the collage sheets.

​Take Care, Kerry xx

You can find me here:
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Watercolour Tip in Doodle Journal Cards

Hi all, wow I have been feeling so inspired from Anna Brim's latest patreon videos. This month has great content in both the videos and collage sheets that I had so many ideas for this blog post. I decided to take inspiration from a video she shared with her patrons about using post it notes and doodles. I decided to add my own spin to it and use a painted watercolour background, then added doodles to that before cutting the whole page up to make a mixture of ATC Cards, Journal cards and post cards. You can see the whole process below.

ANNA - EMBED VIDEO HERE

I love how they turned out. I was very dubious as I was doing the doodles and wasn't convinced that the final cards would look good. However I was pleasantly surprised by how they came out. I'm going to be using these for a tip in swap we have going on in Anna's patreon Facebook group, so I'm looking forward to sharing these with my swap partner.

Just a short post today as I have most of it covered in the video. I hope that you enjoyed the process. Do check out Anna Brim's patreon, it really is a fantastic resource. Take Care and I will see you soon.

You can find me here:

kerrymaymakes.com

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Travel Journal and Memory Keeping

I adore keeping a travel journal, what a perfect way to document your holiday and to save memories. My latest journal took advantage of the July and August patreon resources and printables from Anna Brim's patreon goodies. I also sourced ideas from Anna's Adventure Journaling course. It's always a sad occasion coming back from your holiday's and I really loved my latest one in Palmanova, but I also love finishing off my journal and seeing it come together.

I always start my travel journal with a details page of where and when I'm going and staying. I also always set it up before I go. I add printables, ink, stickers and leave a space to write and add in photos. I don't have a portable printer so I always print my photos when I return and then stick them in after it is all filled in. I prepare my page before I go away using Anna's patreon printables, project life cards and a variety of stickers and washi tape. I find the whole process of setting it up before I go away so relaxing and it helps to get me in the holiday mood (not that I need it!). Read about how I set up my journals here - How to Create a Travel Journal 

Completing the journal on holiday

I love the mix of printables this month, some are photos that Anna took and added text to and others are her drawings and journaling cards that she has a space to write on. This month Anna has also included lots of quotes and text too, perfect for my journaling style.

I always fill as much in as possible whilst on holiday, it's a lovely way to relax by the pool (hey, who needs an excuse!). I love Anna's hot air balloon printable and the mix of her own photos merging with mine, which this time I had printed through the post.

I also love adding pockets made with cute envelopes, they are perfect for adding larger photographs and Anna's gorgeous journaling card (which I think came from a Brimbles Box last year). Then of course there's Anna's cute pineapple stickers! Tip in's are also a great way to make the most of your pages and are a great way to add in leaflets and tickets.

I honestly have used so many of Anna's collage sheets this month that I do apologise for the amount of photos in this post... but how cute are they? I love the beach girl and the ice cream, again there is space to write inside the scoop. There are also a variety of papers to print. I am in love with the fruity one in the last picture. 

I hope this has inspired you to get started on a travel or an Adventure Journal and don't forget you can get ALL of these goodies every month when you join Anna's patreon, it really is great value (I used printables from just some of the range from the last 2 months). Now the holiday come down really starts, especially as it's back to school where I teach in less than 2 weeks... ssshhh.

You can find me here on my blog and social media

kerrymaymakes.com

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Winter Olympics Creative Journal Page

Hello everyone, brrr, it's been so cold. In weather like this I like nothing better than watching the Winter Olympics from the comfort of my warm home. This week I made a Winter Olympics journal page using resources from Anna Brims February patreon downloads, they were just perfect for this. I used to be an ice skater myself from aged 7 to 16 and competed in many competitions and grueling training sessions from 6am, then school and back on the ice after until 9pm daily.

When I saw Anna's ice skater image that she had painted I was gobsmacked at how similar it looked to a photo of me from an ice show when I skated to Wish Upon a Star, so knew it was perfect for my page.

Firstly I printed out the girl and the photo of me, then chose a pink pastel background image from Anna's collage sheets. The pastel colours look so pretty together. Anna also included a February Hygge collage sheet of her own drawings and the Winter theme continued on these.

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For table gifts for a planner event that I was attending, I had already created some textured watercolour journaling cards. However, due to the snow I was gutted that I couldn't attend, so used one of the pastel cards on my page instead.

 Finally I added some pastel washi tape and a ticket stub that Anna had gifted me in an ephemera swap, then added a bit of journaling about the Olympics. I love the finished page, especially the bit on the right, where it looks like the pink and white icicles trickling down the page.

Do go and check out Anna Brim on her patreon page, her resources are amazing and she now is offering a tier where you receive all the downloads, tutorials and videos as well as a physical Brimbles Box which is making a return.

Take Care everyone, stay warm and stay safe in the snow and ice,
​Kerry xx

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Grey Scale Animal Watercolour Bullet Journal Page

​Yay, Hello February, finally the January blues are gone and we can all look forward to the rest of the year. This month I have been watching a lot of Anna Brim's (Mrs Brimbles) patreon videos on creating watercolour animal paintings using watercolour. You can join in here on Anna's patreon page.

My first attempt at painting a watercolour animal

Anna painted a stunning grey scale giraffe, so hesitantly I decided to give it a go. I honestly never thought I would be able to paint an animal, but finally I have mastered controlling the watercolour and brush to get the effect and shading I wanted.

I didn't pencil draw the giraffe first, I just did a loose outline in a light grey wash and then started filling in the facial features first before moving on to the body patterns. Finally I added a touch a black pen to define the outline of the pattern and it was one... first attempt! I know I was gobsmacked too!

I didn't really know what to do with the finished giraffe, so eventually decided to cut it out and use it in my bullet journal. It's perfect for my Hello February page and now that I was on a roll with being able to control the watercolour I even attempted a touch of hand lettering using the watercolour brush. I have tried brush lettering before with brush pens and I really can't do it. I found it much easier using a water brush dipped in to paint. Not a bad attempt for my first try.

To finish the page I added a few leaves using a green posca pen and a fitting quote 'Rise Above' and a bullet journal list of aims for the month. I am so happy with the overall page. I can't wait to see what else I can paint. There's no stopping me now!

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