Watercolor Backgrounds for the Delicate Pine Frame
by Anne Thompson

I have been making watercolor backgrounds lately and used two very simple techniques with the DELICATE PINE FRAME 94031.

I started by using a wide brush to wet some watercolor paper with plain clean water.  Then I added wide horizontal strokes of blue watercolor with a wet brush on the paper.   To add some cloudlike texture to this sky, I removed some of the paint using a small wad of paper toweling, dabbing here and there while everything was still really wet.

Here it is cut down and layered behind the Delicate Pine Frame.  You'll notice that I cut the frame twice, once in a dark green cardstock which is the bottom layer and then white cardstock which is positioned up a bit to expose some of the green to make the snow-covered tree.

For the second background, I wet more watercolor paper and layered on wide vertical strokes of blue watercolor.  Then I sprinkled on some coarse-ground salt from a salt mill.  The salt moves the paint to create an interesting texture.  The hardest part is waiting for it to dry!

Once the paper was dry I brushed off the salt crystals, trimmed the paper, and placed it behind the white-green layers of the Delicate Pine Frame.

I've prepared quite a few large sheets of watercolor paper using these techniques so all I'll need to do is trim them to the right size when I need a sky background for one of the new frame dies.  Sooo quick and easy!  And two more cards for my holiday stash!

Happy Crafting!