Saturday 20th September - a slow couple of days

 Sometimes I've nothing interesting to post... 

While every day is full of small happenings, not all of them are noteworthy, let alone blog-worthy... like yesterday...

But today... I've been experimenting with making watercolour bookmarks.

These were the first. I had read that you can seal the painting with a thin coat of furniture polish. I tried it on the right hand one, but I must have used the wrong sort of polish because the paint smeared over the border. So I used a soft brush and 'Modpodge' pva glue on the left hand one. I actually did these wo earlier in the week.

I did the 'Modpodge' treatment again on the next four, but used a bristle brush. It means that the coating is much much thicker and has a streaky, textured finish. I'm not so happy with it, but they'll do.

I've found it's always a good idea to leave a painting alone for a couple of days, and come back to it before doing any more to it. 

I thought these two needed a bit of 'sorting out' with a fineliner.

But left these two alone, as I did for the first ones. You can see how the streaky finish reflects the light.

Cutting the watercolour paper, and sticking the masking tape on all the edges is all a bit fiddly, but worth it for the end result. I'm resisting buying precut bookmarks! I have discovered that it's much easier to get a nice even edge if I use washi tape with stripes on it.

I do like giving books as presents, and it's going to be fun to be able to tuck a bookmark inside.