My Sweet Petunia: Team Tuesday

Kassi Hulet is back on the My Sweet Petunia blog with another gorgeous watercolor tutorial that's full of inspiration, creativity, and practical tips! In today's Team Tuesday post, Kassi shows how the Petunia Platform, Original MISTI, MISTI Lite, and Power Mag work together to simplify everything from watercolor painting to perfectly placed stamped images and sentiments. Along the way, she shares how embracing unexpected color combinations can lead to beautiful results. If you love watercolor, precision stamping, or discovering new ways to get the most from your My Sweet Petunia tools, you won't want to miss this beautiful project!

Hello! Kassi here today! Creating watercolor backgrounds is where I just explore color. I start by taping my watercolor paper down to the My Sweet Petunia Platform, then I play with colors. Sometimes I have a plan… not always… and when I do have a plan, it doesn’t mean it will actually go according to plan!

This one started with a rough plan but quickly got derailed! I wanted to do a blue/green background, but without thinking, I stuck my brush in the pink. Well, blue and pink should work, I’ll just pivot. Right? Well, that particular pink had a lot of yellow in it, which means that adding blue to the mix puts all three primary colors in play which can quickly turn to muddy brown. So I blotted off most of the color, let the paper dry, then painted on top with new colors. The result? A colorful background I didn’t plan but absolutely love!

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And don’t be afraid to keep going even if you aren’t sure, it will work out. Worst case, you learn something, best case, you end up with an unexpectedly fun background!

Once dry, I had to move my painted background over to my Original MISTI. While I love the convenience of keeping my paper taped to the board and using the MISTI Lite to stamp with, sometimes it just isn’t big enough to fit the big stamps I love to paint. That’s why I love having both options in my studio.

I’m using Amazing Things by PinkFresh Studio and stamping it in Fadeout Ink by Inkon3 so I can do some no line coloring. I had to stamp it multiple times to get it dark enough in the colored areas to see everything easily, but that is the beauty of using the MISTI!

After stamping, I go through and “erase” any harsh lines that were created by my taped border that crosses under the stamped image. Those harsh lines can end up showing through pretty obviously when you paint over them, so I use a stiff brush with a little water to lift the paint just in that area. It won’t completely get rid of the paint, but it will soften the harsh edge. Just be careful not to scrub too hard or you could damage the surface of the paper, and anything you paint over the damaged area will be splotchy.

On to the painting! I wanted my flower to look like it belonged in the colorful field I had created as the background, so I used plum as my main color, but added in highlights of pink and added a bit of blue into the shadows

Now it’s time to add in the sentiment- this time I can easily use the MISTI Lite.

Tip: if you want to double check if your stamp is straight (or just see if you like the sentiment placement, place a piece of acetate over your project and stamp on that first. If you like how it looks, simply remove the acetate without shifting your project or the MISTI Lite, and stamp on your project like normal.