Friday, May 1, 2020

Watercolor Therapy - It's a Thing + Giveaway

*Compensated affiliate links used where possible at zero cost to you. No posts are ever sponsored or paid.*

My sweet friend Kathy has been being a real superhero lately.

She's added additional days to her amazing coloring challenge to do her part to help lift spirits during this strange time in all of our lives.

She also has been going live with me on Zoom once a week for Color & Connect - an hour each week where YOU color and we answer your questions and chat with you.

You can join these live sessions each week! Let me know if you need the link - no charge, nothing to do but join. They are at 3 PM Central each Tuesday.

She and I really believe that art is the best therapy, and today, we are celebrating that fact with our friends at Altenew.

So I have a card, a trick, and a video for you, as well as a giveaway and some other fun things.

First - the card.

I painted these flowers on one of my daily Facebook lives and had so much fun.

I first stamped the flowers from this set onto watercolor paper. I cut them out with the matching dies. Then I custom mixed two different purples using the watercolor markers from this set - mixing one cool violet and one warm violet to create variation in the flowers. I also custom mixed the green for the leaves. You'll see the mixes in the video below. The sentiment is from this set, which is on sale!


The way the markers blend the yellow and purple is proof of my myth busting about complimentary colors - they don't make mud in watercolor - they blend beautifully!

I have a trick for you in the video about how to set up the layout of your die cut items and transfer them to your card.

Enjoy the video and then come back for details on the giveaway!



Peony Spray Stamp & Die Bundle
[ ALTN ]
Altenew PERFECTLY PERFECT Dies...
[ SSS | ALTN ]
Altenew PERFECTLY PERFECT Clear...
[ SSS | ALTN ]
Altenew Watercolor Brush Markers...
[ SSS | ALTN ]
Fabriano Artistico Extra White...
[ BLIC ]
Lawn Fawn KRAFT Cardstock LF1747 at...
[ SSS ]
Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White
[ GNK ]
Niji Waterbrush
[ BLIC ]
Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473
[ SSS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for...
[ BRG ]
Crafter's Companion GEMINI...
[ SSS ]
Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring...
[ SSS ]
Essentials by Ellen Storage...
[ ELH ]
Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets...
[ CHC ]
XL Stamp Storage Pockets
[ ELH ]
Mermaid tidy towel case and glue...
[ ETS ]
Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045
[ SSS | CST ]
Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies
[ ART ]
Wonderful Watercoloring Class Bundle...
[ ALTN ]
Artist Markers — Altenew
[ ALTN ]
Altenew-Inspiration for handmade...
[ ALTN ]


To celebrate the coloring challenge and the power of watercolor as therapy, Altenew is giving away prizes and also having a few amazing sales!


Awesome. 

And for anyone commenting today - they are giving away 6 $30 gift certificates and Kathy is giving away a goodie bag as well to 4 commenters. If you comment here, there's an additional $15 gift certificate prize that will be randomly awarded! Winners will be announced on the Altenew blog.

Remember to ENJOY THE PROCESS - that's what coloring is about  - not the end result or a finished card. Post your work in process to Kathy's challenge under her hashtag #thedailymarker30day and view your fellow crafters' work there as well. 

Now more than ever, we need art therapy!



Want to see more inspiration? Hop along to my friend Caly's blog for more watercolor goodness.

Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES
15% off anything at Marker Universe or any of their other sites - Understandblue15.
10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10 Arkon stand link below!

102 comments:

  1. I love purple! You make it look so easy! Thanks for the video!

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  2. Lydia, the coloring is beautiful. I hope to do more water coloring in the future as I’m getting the Karin markers. Thanks for the opportunity to win

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  3. WOW, love your fabulous flowers and they really pop on the darker background

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  4. Beautiful card. Love your tip!

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  5. Those purples are beautiful! That is the color I use the least often—don’t know why?

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  6. You explained how to use a water brush so well. Now I get it!

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  7. Beautiful! Altenew makes so many wonderful florals that are just perfect for water color.

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  8. Hi, just bought the watercolor brushes from Altenew, and found you on the hop! You make watercoloring seem so possible, I saved your video and will try your process! Thanks so much for your tips and sharing .

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  9. I have enjoyed your lives and it’s so fun to see those as finished cards. I have learned SO much from you both!! Love you!

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  10. Enjoyed the video. thanks for the tips.
    The flowers are gorgeous.
    txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  11. Thanks for taking the time to make a video for this beautiful card - it helps a lot!

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  12. so very pretty...the colour variations on your flowers is wonderful. thanks for inspiring
    x Karen

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  13. Simply gorgeous! Love Altenew florals!

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  14. Beautiful! You make it look so easy!

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  15. I love the purple flowers! I really like how you used Kraft cardstock. Thanks for all the tips and education on your video!

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  16. Good video and nice tips. I like the grouping of the flowers.

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  17. Love this card, the variation of purples are so pretty. Thanks for the video, you make it look so easy.

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  18. I need to change my mindset on watercoloring. I begin by seeing a finished card as the goal and when it takes too long to get there, I end up frustrated. I should just sit and watercolor several pieces at a time, then try to make them into a card later. DeborahS.

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  19. Thank you for the helpful video. Beautiful work.

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  20. Gorgeous card! Beautiful watercoloring and stunning color palette.

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  21. I will watch this video again! What a gorgeous card!

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  22. Beautiful! I love the deep purple.

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  23. Lydia, what a great tutorial. Now I know how to properly use the waterbrush. Love the end result. Thank you for sharing.

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  24. Love the colors you used it makes this card so beautiful!

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  25. I have just recently gotten into watercoloring. Very beautiful card!

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  26. Thank you, Lydia! Great colors and I especially like the tip for arranging and glueing down the pieces!

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  27. You always make these techniques look so easy! Hope you and family are safe and well!

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  28. Very beautiful. The coloring is fantastic. And I love the way the flowers pop against the kraft background.

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  29. Gorgeous - I usually like pink flowers but these purple ones are stunning!

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  30. Ooooh, my favorite color has me smitten with this card! You make watercoloring look so easy, and it actually is, but my results are always different. So, I will continue to paint and play and accept what is. Thank you, Lydia, and Altenew.

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  31. I am so water color challenged but I think I COULD achieve this technique!! Your color palette and card project design is absolutely stunning! LOVE it!!

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  32. I love the flowers! And, the white outline against the card base makes them pop. Pretty!

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  33. I love your stunning card with the vibrant purple flowers!!! What a masterpiece! Thank you.

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  34. It's so relaxing to watch you watercolor~and you make it seem achievable for those of us without your immense talent. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  35. Beautiful!! Thank you for the video tool

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  36. The flowers are so vibrant and beautiful. I am looking forward to trying out this technique. Thanks.

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  37. What a beautiful card you have created!!

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  38. Wonderful video! Fun to see your technique. I like how you die cut first, then painted. You must be in hot country with your AC on LOL. It's still a cool Spring in the Pacific NW.

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  39. I love those flowers and your water coloring. Great card. Thanks for sharing.

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  40. Lovely card, such a good demo. (I was sure the yellow was gonna be a bust but it works great). Go figure.

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  41. Beautiful sides of purple . Well done.

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  42. Thank you for the video and showing the lovely purple. I did love that blue at first. [Bunny]

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  43. Gorgeous colors; beautiful card!!!

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  44. The bright purples just pop from the kraft paper! JUST BEAUTIFUL! Thank you for the video!

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  45. Sweet card!! Love the purple!!

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  46. I wish i I could watercolor like you! Beautiful!

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  47. This is beautiful, Lydia! I will have to check out your Facebook lives! I have been loving the Tuesday zoom meetups. Sharing that time with other crafters is one of the highlights of my week! PS: I ordered my Arkon mount with your code for the student tutorials I’m making! Thanks for the recommendation. Looks like they’ll be upping mid-May so I’ve been working with a mediocre goose-neck phone holder thing and/or propping my phone or iPad up to try to get the right angle. I will definitely be glad to see that mount in the mail! :D thanks for the inspiration and all of your tips!

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  48. Such a beautiful purple color. The color almost looks like my purple ireses which just finished blooming, and they grow in the mostly shaded part of my land in water. So maybe you could try purple ireses, know you would enjoy them. Thank you for the video. Learned something about colors, thanks.

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  49. Your card and your watercoloring are both lovely. Thanks for the video.

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  50. Love the various shades of purple, beautiful flowers!

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  51. Such pretty flowers, Lydia! They remind me of the dark purple clematis flowers that bloom early summer here. Thanks for the video, too. The hint for the centers of the flowers is quite helpful. :)

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  52. Third try commenting! Loved listening to you and you can make anything look easy! My purples do not blend like yours.

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  53. Who knew purple and kraft would be such a cool combo?????

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  54. Very pretty card! I just got a set of watercolor markers and am thrilled to see everyone’s inspiration on this hop. Thanks for the video and the tips, I can’t wait to try them.

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  55. I love the video that's super amazing.. Bright flowers on the kraft look so delicious 😁😁😁and the way you've demonstrated looks so appealing 😍😍😍😍

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  56. Love the contrast of your background to the beautiful flowers. Thanks for the video.

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  57. Aw, Lydia - this is all things magical! I love the shades of purple with the kraft - and such a fabulous sentiment to match! Simply gorgeous! TFS!

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  58. What a wonderful way to colour your petals! I love that it is so easy and gives such beautiful colour variation! I really am going to give it a try along with the easy way to keep you arrangement in place with the tape. Thanks so much for sharing and for the super informative video! Take care!

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  59. The purple is gorgeous and really pops off the darker background. Great card.

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  60. Stunning - loving the color you used. Thank you for the video, so inspiring! I'm always trying to learn something new. Thank YOU!

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  61. Stunning work love your card tyfs

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  62. Beautiful card! Love the flowers against the kraft card stock!

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  63. I am so I intimidated by water coloring, but I keep trying. I have to learn to slow down I think. At first was not sure about the yellow... then wow! Thanks for your inspiration, love your emails, and please continue to stay safe!

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  64. Gorgeous purple flower. Lovely card.

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  65. Oh wow!! My favorite color—purple!! You have your blue, I love purple. Such a wonderful and beautiful card!!

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  66. I am a huge fan of using craft cardstock to make colored flowers pop. Love this!

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  67. Beautiful, my favorite color! Just lovely.

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  68. Your card is beautiful. The mixing of purple shades with yellow bring the hues of both colors out, without making brown...you are right! No matter how much sun or shade, different plants grow and you can have a beautiful garden with many shades of green and little pops of colors... I always found some reds and pinks to add to my shade garden.

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  69. Oh my Lydia :) That purple and yellow against the kraft paper is stunning!!! I also love the sentiment! Thanks so much for inspiring me :) Am I too late to join your live coloring group on Tuesdays? Please let me know.

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  70. Lovely card and would never have thought using the kraft cs as a background.

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  71. Wonderful card - I love the flow of the flowers and the lovely water colouring looks wonderful against the kraft brown card stock - beautiful!

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  72. Beautiful card; I enjoyed watching you watercolor those lovely flowers!

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  73. Such a pretty card - purple is my favorite color. Enjoyed the video, thanks for sharing.

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  74. Love this quick and easy water coloring technique, and the yellow centers bloom so nicely into the petals on your beautiful card! Thanks for sharing your genius.

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  75. You are good. I learn so much by watching your video. Starting with that little yellow band on the markers. I just got my set last week and it's sitting by my computer waiting for me to play with it. Yep, would not have read that blurb on the front of the package to remove it. You win. Game over. Oh, and I like the card also! :) And I liked the tip about arranging the flowers with tape. Good job! Staying home, reading, crafting, blog hopping and staying safe. You all take care.

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  76. Love the card and how you use the kraft color for the background.

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  77. This is a beautiful card. I love the design and the purple colors against the kraft card stock!

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  78. Lovely card. I appreciate the tutorial showing how you colored the flowers.

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  79. Purple (any shade) has been my favorite color since early childhood, so I was hooked the minute I saw the card photo. Such a good reminder to "make your own" when you have a color palette in mind, but not necessarily the right starting set of colors. And the tip for holding your bouquet layout makes so much sense! Thanks for contributing to this much-needed spot of therapy!

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  80. Loving this hop! You folks are teaching me so much and I'll be forever grateful, honestly. I was questioning the usefulness of the watercolor markers compared to the palette colors. I can easily see they have an advantage in their own right. Love your blending technique and using the variety in color from petal to petal. 😃
    Thanks so much!

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  81. SWOON!! Such a BEAUTIFUL Card Lydia!! I LOVE the Colors!! THANKS for sharing and have a FABULOUS WEEK!!

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  82. Ooh that is a gorgeous floral card!! Love the coloring! <3

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  83. Thanks for sharing your beautiful card! I also appreciate you sharing the video. It was inspiring!

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  84. Gorgeous card, beautiful colors. I love Altenew's Watercolor Brush markers and I enjoyed watching your process using them. I'm definitely going to try the wet-on-wet technique.

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  85. Love how your beautiful blooms pop off the craft base. Wonderful card!

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  86. Lydia, have not had a chance to preview your video but will! Love your purple hues on the fluers! Oh my so divine! It is truly stunning; but you always do wow us with your work! I like how you framed itbatop the kraft cardstock! Cheers!

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  87. This technique is not new to me, but I hadn't thought about it for a long time AND I never thought about combining colors on a pallet and adding the new color directly from the pallet. It turned out wonderfully!! Thanks for sharing your video.

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  88. I am so sad I have to work and can't join in your zoom meetings! That is extremely generous of you! I need all the tips I can get when it comes to colouring. And it truly is therapy. So relaxing.

    Your card is so beautifully water coloured it just comes of the pages! I really like that it is against kraft paper! One of my favourite colours!

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  89. Gorgeous watercoloring on these beautiful flowers! Pretty card!

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  90. Hum, you make it look easy. Thanks for the instruction

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  91. Gorgeous colours and gorgeous card. Thanks for sharing your video process and tips.

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  92. Your card took my breath away!

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  93. So gorgeous, those purples are heavenly! Thank you for sharing your process

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  94. Now those flowers are very pretty! That purple really jumps off the page!

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