Week of Sakura... Koi Water Colors™ (and several confessions...)

Before I start today's post, I need to make a few things clear...

... I CAN NOT draw.  You DON'T want to be on my team for Pictionary...
... I know NOTHING about painting... supplies... brushes... techniques... not... none... nada...
... I am a BEGINNER stamper... I am learning, but I am still on the "training wheel" stage...

With that said, today's product review is for Sakura's Koi Water Colors™, Pocket Field Sketch Box (with water brush.)  Let that sink in just a bit... I don't know how to paint, but I am sampling a water color set... I can't draw, but I have to create something with the water colors.  That leaves stamping, which I have just learned how to stamp without getting the "wiggle" print.  Can I just say how SCARED I was to try this product and then have to share my samples with you...!!!  AAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!

Well, now that the disclaimers are out of the way, I think you are going to be as surprised as I was at just how awesome this journey was for me!

So... I grabbed some stamps, white Bazzill Cardstock and the Koi Water Colors™ set.  And here are my first attempts at stamping and then coloring with the water colors... yes... I am going to share the scary adventure step by step...

Hummm... not too bad, but not good either.  The first thing that I noticed was how easy the Waterbrush was to use.  In case you (like me) have NO idea how a Waterbrush works, you simply put water inside the brush chamber and slightly squeeze the brush when you need water to lighten or mix colors or to clean the brush.  No need to keep a messy water cup on your table (and risk it tipping and ruining your work!)  Just a little squeeze of the brush and wipe the tip of the brush with your paper towel and... CLEAN!  Anna (6 years old) was also trying the Waterbrush and water colors and WOW!  She was able to paint and clean the brush with NO MESS AT ALL!  We both LOVED that new brush... now I just have to get some more! ;-)

So, I played some more... started blending colors and creating scenes with my stamps.  These turned out alright, but I was just not getting the color blending right... then I made a mistake that changed things quite a bit.  I squeezed the Waterbrush just a bit too hard and a few extra drops of water landed on a project.  I grabbed the paper towel and daubed the extra water off the project... and a light came on... ((( "laaaaaaaaaaa" )))  The result was that most of the paint was removed, but a little stain stayed behind.  So, I added a bit more paint... and daubed... and I started to get a muddled look... and I LOVED it!

Next was to start playing with the paint, daub... paint, daub... blend with some water, daub... I created some fun tags for future projects... my mind was now SPINNING with the possibilities of painting and blending... then add inking... some Glaze® pens... HOLY COW... WOOOO HOOOOO!!!

FINALLY... a card that I can send to a friend without having to write a "disclosure" on the envelope before it is opened!!! 

Now... I STILL can't draw...

... I still don't know (very much) about painting...

... and I'm still learning about stamping...

... but look at the cool projects that I was able to create with just a little bit of creative play time! 

SERIOUSLY, if I can do this, YOU can do this!  The set I sampled has 12 colors, one water brush and one sponge.  It is a great size that you can easily take to every crop!  Oh, and after reading the directions (note to self, read all the directions FIRST!) there are several mixing wells molded in the cover of the case. 

For those of you in the painting field, thank you for not laughing at my first painting experience.  For you scrappers, if you haven't tried water paints yet... you have a new technique to try!!!

TODAY'S RAK QUESTION... I would LOVE to hear your ideas for incorporating water colors into scrapping!  Read all the RAK disclosures in the post below and get your comments flowing!  See you tomorrow for more Sakura goodies!