About a year and a half ago, Eric and I had the privilege of traveling to Puerto Vallarta with Close To My Heart. This was my first incentive trip and I was surprised to learn that in addition to an amazing trip, we each received materials to make 22 scrapbook pages! Our kits included pre-cut papers, stickers, stamp sets, thin cuts and embellishments.
We also received complete assembly directions. As you can see from the samples in this post, these were not simple layouts. They incorporated lots of fun techniques that I usually don't take the time to do. Today, I'm going to show you several ways we used watercolors.
First we used watercolors to add some paint drops on the base page. This technique is so easy. You simply wet your brush, swish it around in your paint then tap it on your fingers to create some splatters.
We also used watercolors to paint the shells. You may notice that they were cut from patterned paper, so there was already some color on them. By varying the paint to water ratio, we were able to create darker color in some places. You may also notice faint watercolor below the scallop stamp to give the illusion of water.
This second layout also has splatters of watercolor. This time in black so the effect isn't quite as subtle.
This layout also has a little watercolor under the scallop "wave" stamp.
The watercolor on this one was the hardest for me because I like things that are neat and this was certainly a mess. We were supposed to just roughly paint a few areas of the base page. I was sure I had ruined it but I love how it turned out.
Journaling on this page says, "I feel so blessed to go on this trip. Thank you Close To My Heart for making it possible and for all the extras that made it special. Eric and I had an amazing time. Can't wait for the next one!"
Thinking back on this trip makes me feel so grateful. Not just for the trip (although it was pretty amazing), but also for the friends got to spend time with. And for all the extra perks including these beautiful scrapbook pages.