I love the soft look of watercolors and I knew it was the feel I wanted for a little gift I made this week. One problem: I don’t know how to watercolor. I don’t even own any watercolor paints!
So I came up with a way to get that soft watercolor look using plain white craft vinyl and my Silhouette craft cutting machine.
It was really easy to do. I’ll show you how!
Materials (affiliate links)
- white craft vinyl
- colored pencils in several coordinating colors
- chalk or oil pastels
Using the colored pencils, softly draw on the vinyl. I chose a linear design, but you could draw circles, waves, or any pattern you can dream up. Keep layering the colors until you like the design. Then add wisps of chalk or oil pastel and smudge with your finger or a cotton ball to soften and blend the colors.
Then all you have to do is cut out a design on your machine and you’ll get this lovely, unique look!
I’m headed out of town this week for SNAP, a big creative bloggers conference. This is one of the gifts I made for my secret sister. Her favorite color is purple, so the tin is full of fun purple things… chapstick, nail polish, chocolate, washi tape, etc. I hope she likes it!
Comments & Reviews
This is so pretty. Will the pencil or chalk wipe off of the vinyl? Or if it is wiped with water ( or water spills on it) do you know what happens? Thanks for your response- just want to be sure before I buy any pencils/ chalks .
I know the chalk smudges, but I'm not sure about the pencils. I haven't tried this, but maybe you could add the colors then top it with a clear layer of vinyl, then cut the whole thing out? It seems like that would protect the colors. But I doubt it would survive on something like a mug or water bottle.
Such a great idea, looks beautiful! I would use this technique and then coat the whole item with a layer of mod podge to seal it, regal or even dishwasher safe.
Great idea Zoe! Thanks for sharing!