1. open the jars and spritz with a mist or 2 of water. Let it sit about 30 sec. This preps the cake-softens it a bit so you can easily add more water and mix. I use the spritzer bottle to add fresh water through my paint session as needed& a big jar of water to clean my brush.
2. I don't use a water brush like many do. I like to control the amount of water& with a waterbrush I find that harder to achieve. It's convenient for travel, but I have more success with a regular paint bush. I keep a big jar of water, clean my brush & gently squeeze the bristles to remove excess water. There is still plenty on the brush to paint with, sometimes all you need is a damp brush. If it drips....it's too much.
3. I also don't paint directly from the pot for the most part. I take my colour from the cake on my brush to a plastic palette. (piece of plastic, glass, old plate, anything that works, even the lid) This keep my colour shade consistent through the painting. If I take the paint from the pot as I paint (I am not a speed painter) the cake absorbs the water, get thicker & I find myself having to reconstitute the paint. This means I might end up with a different shade then I started with. With the paint on a palette it stays the same. Even if it dries on palette, dip your brush in fresh water, squeeze out the bristles & pick up your color from the palette. You can easily reconstitute these paints. You need not clean the palette either. Just leave it till next time and you can always re- wet and use or make color washes after your paint session is over.
4. Less is more!! The less water you use, the more intense the shimmer. Practice on a scrap on paper. Lots of water equals a paler shade and less shimmer. Little water equals intense shade and lots of shine.
5. Start with embossed images rather then a scene till you get the hang of it. The embossing acts as little "barriers" or reservoirs for your paint. Also, the shimmer will often obscure your stamp lines. You can over-stamp with positioner, but this is a fast easy way to make them really stand out.
6. You can use regular card stock with H20's. It's one of the things I love about these paints! While it's wonderful on sheer heaven, expensive watercolor & such, you don't need them to use your Twinkling H20's. Practice on plain old card stock first. I've painted on cheap envelopes, copy paper & plain old card stock with little to no wrinkling. Just keep in mind you'll want to use less water. Actually I prefer to use them on smoother, less absorbent paper like traditional watercolor. I find it easier to blend the colors on smooth paper& the shimmer shows up so much more IMHO. And the shimmer is why we shelled out for these paints isn't it?
7. Twinkling H20's dry so fast I generally don't blot my paper at all. If it does wrinkle, spritz the BACK of the paper, sandwich in-between wax paper and put inside a phone book to flatten.
8. These colors blend so easily. To blend your colors just clean your brush and squeeze it out so it's just damp. Go over the colors to blend & you will be surprised at how smoothly they flow together.
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