Keep it simple, silly! (AKA “the KISS rule”)

This is a mantra that was planted into my brain in Junior High School; my Language Arts teacher used to say this to my class regularly.  She even had a large poster of this saying up on her wall!  It’s stuck with me all these years, and it is really good advice… that I don’t always follow.  I make a lot of encouragement cards for the kids and teens I work with at The Be Brave Ranch.  And I really do love making these cards for them!  I love to make beautiful, intricate cards… with layers of painted papers, flowers, charms, ribbon… you get the idea.  However, sometimes I’m short on time, and I have to remind myself of the KISS rule.  Simply playing around with watercolor paints, and layering on three blobs of paint makes some lovely cards!  This could be done on a larger scale, and framed… a little series of these, perhaps three in a row, makes a lovely addition to a room!

Suggested supplies

Watercolor paper – 140lb paper is best when you’re using watercolor paint

Watercolor paint –  if possible, get the small tubes of watercolor paint, not the dry pans of paint we all used in elementary school… especially if you are going to try doing this on a larger scale. For larger blobs of color, you will want to mix a big puddle of color which is way easier to do when using the tubes

Paintbrush

Other optional items – rubber stamps – great for stamping a sentiment on top of the blobs, if you’re making cards.  Or, cut out a word or short phrase to add on top of a larger artwork.  If you cut it out from white paper and layer it on top of the watercolor blobs it looks lovely!  Or… use sharpies or other markers to freehand some text (or images!) on top of the watercolor.

Some tips…

Let each of the “blobs” dry before adding the next one – the blobs need to be totally dry before you layer another one on… if they aren’t dry, you will be doing “wet in wet” watercolor painting – which is also very cool! – just not what we are going for here!

Think of who you could give the cards to – sending a little note of thanks or encouragement is good not only for the recipient, but for the giver as well!

Have fun! – An important tip to keep in mind 