Do you decorate for Fourth of July? An easy way to add some red, white and blue is a Patriotic Fourth of July Printable! Just print and frame and you have some festive colors.

To make these printables I started with my favorite Red Geranium clipart, then added some watercolor blueberries, a strawberry here and there and completed the border with handpainted baby’s breath. Then I just grabbed some fun fonts for God Bless America.

Each printable can be printed on 8-1/2″ by 11″ paper with a half-inch border on all sides. I have blank printables below for you to add your own sentiment, if you’d like. There are also have blank backgrounds if you want to print on your own colored papers. Just covering all the bases.

Click on image or description to download to your computer, then add a message or just print it!

Of course you could always use these as a summer printable too, which is what I’m doing.

At least I’m assured of having my favorite pretty red geraniums here since my green thumb turned black this year.

The post Patriotic Fourth of July Printables appeared first on Just Paint It Blog.

Do you love to go camping (or glamping) in the summer? Here are some Camping Coloring Pages I drew for my Etsy Camping ClipArt. Print them off for your kiddos to make some camping scenes. Or maybe you enjoy coloring? I do, too.

I hope you’ll drop by my Etsy shop any time you want some watercolor clip art!

To download any of the coloring pages, just click on the pic. You’ll be directed to a PDF file where you can download and then print it off.

Which one is your favorite? Let me guess . . . the trailer? That’s my all-time most popular painting I’ve done! What colors did you paint it? Have fun!

Happy Camping!

The post Camping Coloring Pages appeared first on Just Paint It Blog.

Today I have another super simple painting tutorial using craft acrylics – How to Paint Iris! Iris are one of my favorite spring flowers because I grew up with a huge garden full of them.

How to Paint Iris

Supply list is at the bottom of the post.

Step 1 – Download, print and transfer the pattern.

To transfer the pattern you can either use graphite paper or flip the pattern over and use a pencil to outline the tulips, stems and leaves. Then flip the pattern right side up, center it on the watercolor paper and using a stylus or ball point pen, trace the outlines of the pattern.

Step 2 – Basecoat stems and leaves with Leaf Green

You can use any medium of shade you prefer. Some iris have more of a greyish-green stem so feel free to use that as your stem/leaf color. The instructions would be the same.

Step 3 – Highlight areas as shown with Opaque Yellow. 

Again, any shade of yellow would work here for highlighting. I used a lighter shade in the photos but I prefer Opaque Yellow.

Step 4 – Topcoat Leaves with Leaf Green

If you used a different basecoat green, then topcoat with that same color. Allow it to dry. You might need a second coat but you do want some of the yellow highlights to show through.

Step 5 – Basecoat Iris with Purple

You want a rich color of purple if you don’t have Ceramcoat Purple on hand.

Step 6 – Highlight iris blossoms with Lisa Pink in areas as shown

You’ll notice that certain highlighted areas are more opaque than others. Do your best to match that. Without driving yourself crazy though.

Step 6 – Shade with Amethyst Purple in areas shown.

You might notice that I topcoated the highlights with Purple before I shaded with Amethyst. This is an unnecessary step. You can highlight then add shading and topcoat only once.

Step 7 – Add Opaque Yellow to inside of iris blossoms

Step 8 – Topcoat Iris blossoms with Purple

Let the topcoat dry before determining if you need another coat. You should be fine with one coat, letting highlights and some shading peak through.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I’m trying to add more Spring flowers in both acrylics and watercolors. Let me know if there’s a particular flower you’d like to paint!

watercolor paper
graphite paper (optional) or pencil
stylus or ball point pen
paint brushes
Leaf Green paint
Opaque Yellow paint
Purple paint
Lisa Pink paint
Amethyst Purple

The post How to Paint Purple Iris appeared first on Just Paint It Blog.

Are your kids already bugging you for Valentine’s Day cards and crafts? This cute little teddy bear and heart is perfect for them. Of course, If you’d like to try it yourself, I’ll never tell!

Here’s your paint list –

• Light Pink
• Wild Rose
• Bamboo
• Bambi Brown
• Burnt Umber
• Dark Burnt Umber or Black
• White Plaid Floating Medium (optional)

Do these colors look familiar? Yep! The same colors as the Cupcake. Full supply list below this post.

So when your kids are done painting Teddy, you can paint the Cupcake!

The teddy bear paint pattern is super simple.

Hey, why not let your kids color it after you’ve transferred the pattern? In fact, all of my paint patterns work for coloring pages, don’t they?

Step 1 – Download, print and transfer the pattern

To transfer it you can either use graphite paper or flip the pattern over and use a pencil to outline the tulips, stems and leaves. Then flip the pattern right side up, center it on the watercolor paper and using a stylus or ball point pen, trace the outlines of the pattern.

Step 2 – Paint a wash of Light Pink

All that means is I used a damp paintbrush to moisten the watercolor paper and then I added the pink paint. Do this in sections so your paper stays moist and the paint will flow easily.

Step 3 – Paint the heart Light Pink, starting with the edges and working to the center.

Step 4 – Paint the teddy bear’s body with Bambi Brown.

Step 5 – Paint the ears, nose and feet Light Pink.

Step 6 – Paint Bamboo for his muzzle and Burnt Umber for his eyes and mouth.

Step 7 – Shade the Heart with Wild Rose

Pour a dab of Floating medium on your plate, load some on your brush and then – on just a corner of the brush – pick up some Wild Rose pink. Work your brush a few times on your plate to blend the Medium and paint together.

You can also just outline the heart with the Wild Rose and it’ll look fine.

Step 7 – Shade the ears and the feet

If you’ve never floated before, this might take some practice. Just practice! Do it a few times and you’ll have it, I promise! The Floating Medium really, really helps.

If you try it and you just can’t get it blended, then simply cover the Wild Rose with Light Pink – just like in all the other painting instructions I write. The darker pink will show thru just a bit, but won’t look blotchy.

But try the float. I think you’ll surprise yourself.

Step 8 – Paint a smaller, darker circle of black in the center of Teddy’s eyes. Add a couple of dots of White when the circle has dried.

Step 9 – Add ‘fuzz’ to bear with scruffy brush and Burnt Umber

Use your oldest, scruffiest brush to give Teddy some fuzzies. (Or buy one of Donna Dewberry’s from Supply List.) Or a little piece of sea sponge would work too.

Then pounce Burnt Umber all over the body, ears, hands and feet.

Tap, tap, tap . . . . tap. Load your brush and tap some more. Your kids will love it.

One tip – after you dip your brush in paint, smoosh (technical term) the brush onto the plate so the paint isn’t all on the tip of the brush. Otherwise you’ll have Blotchy teddy, not a Fuzzy teddy.

Now let your kids decorate the center of the heart or add your own greeting, maybe use a photo editing program like I did. I hope you have fun with this teddy bear. It can be for any day, not just Valentine’s Day!

Watercolor paper
Foam plates (for palette)
Paper Towels
Graphite paper or pencil
Stylus or ball point pen
Paint brushes
Scruffy brush or sea sponge
White paint
Light Pink paint
Wild Rose Pink paint
Bambi Brown paint
Burnt Umber paint
Black paint
Floating Medium

The post How to Paint a Teddy Bear appeared first on Just Paint It Blog.

There’s just something about tulips. They’re cheery and welcoming, aren’t they? I thought you’d enjoy this simple How to Paint Tulips tutorial. We’re using craft acrylic paints which, you’ll see, make for an easy painting.

Click on the photo above to get the pattern. It might also make a fun coloring page for the kiddos!

Only a few paint colors are needed. Full supply list is at the bottom of this post. If you’d rather paint a different color than yellow, you can. Just pick a midtone and a couple of shades darker and you should be fine.

How to Paint Tulips

Step 1 – Download the pattern and print it then transfer it to a piece of watercolor paper.

To transfer it you can either use graphite paper or flip the pattern over and use a pencil to outline the tulips, stems and leaves. Then flip the pattern right side up, center it on the watercolor paper and using a stylus or ball point pen, trace the outlines of the pattern.

Step 2 – Basecoat the tulips with Canary Yellow and the stems and leaves with Leaf Green. I like to use a flat paint brush for the heads and leaves and a round brush for the stems.

Step 3 – Shade the tulip heads with Opaque Yellow as shown. You can use either a smaller flat or medium round paint brush for the shading. The goal is to create the look of petals on each head. I added additional shading here and there for dimension. If yours looks a little rough, no worries. We’ll take care of it at the end of the tutorial.

Trust me.

Step 4 – Add highlights with White as shown. You’ll basically be outlining the petals, painting the highlight right next to the shaded portion. Again, choose whichever brush you’re comfortable with.

Step 5 – Shade the stems and leaves as shown with Seminole Green.

Step 6 – Highlight the stems and leaves with White in the areas shown.

Step 7 – Topcoat tulips with Canary Yellow. One coat should be fine, depending on how opaque the shading and highlights are. Wait til they dry and then decide if you need to add a 2nd coat or not.

Step 8 – Topcoat the leaves and stems with Leaf Green. Allow to dry before you decide to add another coat or not.

Another tip – place the painting about 3 or 4 feet away from you and then take a look at it. When we’re right on top of our paintings, they tend to look pretty messy but if you stand back a distance, they really look good!

After your painting is completely dry you’ll see areas of white peeking thru as well as some shading. This is exactly what you want!

This is what I call my Layering Technique. It works really well with craft acrylics. As you paint more and more, you’ll be able to control how much highlighting and shading you want. I’ve taught hundreds of beginners with this method and it’s always served us well.

If you run into any problems feel free to email me at mailto:muralmaker1@gmail.com. I’d also love to see your finished painting too! The main thing is to have fun!

watercolor paper
graphite paper (optional) or pencil for transferring pattern
stylus or ball point pen
paper towels for blotting paint brushes
paint brushes
White paint
Canary Yellow paint
Opaque Yellow paint
Leaf Green paint
Seminole Green paint

The post How to Paint Tulips appeared first on Just Paint It Blog.

Birch accessories are a wonderful decor item any time of year but particularly for winter. If you don’t happen to have any birch around your place, I’m here to show you How to Paint Faux Birch.

I was inspired when I saw Gina’s white winter mantle at the Shabby Creek Cottage. Oh, it’s gorgeous – big white star, white potted plants and more – but that wasn’t what stopped me. It was her ‘birch’ candles. She wrapped a sheet of birch scrapbook paper around some candles and got instant cuteness.

Birch! I love birch. I love scrapbook paper. I don’t happen to have birch scrapbook paper though and I’m not driving 30 minutes to get some. And then I thought, I was pretty sure, I thought that just maybe that I could paint some ‘faux’ birch.

On watercolor paper. That would wrap around, I dunno, somethin’.

I took pictures to show you how I painted faux birch, just in case you’re like me and are in love with birch but are too lazy busy to go the craft store for a couple sheets of scrapbook paper.

Full supply list follows this post.

Watercolor paper has a smooth side (the back) and a textured side (the front). Moisten the back side with water so it’ll form around your cylinder.

Affix it with tape and let it dry.

After the watercolor paper dried I unwrapped one so I could paint it flat but I left the other one shaped around the candle. I don’t think it makes much difference which way you do it though but I’ll show you both.

Okay, now, stay with me here. If you’ve never done a faux finish or seen me do one, these pics might be a bit . . . shocking. Just hang in there ‘til the end.

First, paint the medium grey (Parisian) in horizontal strokes. Don’t worry about completely covering the paper. In fact, it’s really better if you leave some spaces unpainted.

Don’t try to be all neat and tidy with this either. The more uneven and random, the better – as always with faux finishes.

Next paint the light tan (Bamboo). Just here and there. This just adds a layer of dimension.

Stay with me until the end of this. It’s about to get pretty messy-looking.

Now you want to paint the ivory (Summer Linen). Rather than using the full square of the brush, I turned it so I used it more as a chisel edge so more of the grey and tan would show thru. I applied two coats so some of the grey shows thru but isn’t so dominant.

Just play with it. If you add too much ivory, go back and add some more grey and start over. But before you over-analyze it, do the last step below.

The last coat is the bright white (Wedding Cake) applied in the same chisel edge fashion. If the paint builds up into ridges, that’s fine. It’ll add some texture which is kinda cool.

Here’s a close up after all the colors have dried.

I almost went back and added some grey. But I didn’t. I resisted my OCD-ish tendencies and just wrapped the thing around the vase.

See how the one on the left looks rougher and the one on the right looks smooth? Yeah, well, remember how I said that there are two sides to watercolor paper? Uh-huh. Miss Cheapo here took a scrap piece of paper that she’d already painted on the ‘good’ side and painted the birch on the back.

Of course, if you like the one on the right better than the one on the left, then that was my plan the entire time, okay?

What d’ya think? Do they look like birch to you? They were so much fun to paint – almost like finger painting. Faux finishes are always fun. Let me know if you try painting some faux birch!

Watercolor paper
Painter’s Tape
Cylinder, candle or vase to wrap paper around.

Paints-
Parisian Grey by FolkArt (medium grey)
Bamboo by Ceramcoat (light tan)
Summer Linen by Martha Stewart Crafts (ivory or off-white)
Wedding Cake by Martha Stewart Crafts (bright white)

The post How To Paint Faux Birch appeared first on Just Paint It Blog.

People often call me ‘creative’ however a lot of my ideas come from my custom clients. Like these gold frames. Today I’ll show you How to Paint an Antique Gold Faux Finish.

My clients wanted to add some frames like these in an antique gold finish on the wall opposite the cherry blossom tree mural. So they showed me the above pic and say they’d looked everywhere for frames that match.

I can do that for you.

‘Where are you going to find the frames’, they asked in that perfect I’m-a-shopper-not-a-DIYer tone.

Thrift Stores!

Luckily I’d painted the safari mural for these clients before, so they trust me. Even with thrift-store-turned-gorgeous-antique-gold-frames for their baby girl.

Four trips to three different thrift shops, but I scored great frames at rock-bottom prices.

Wood, ceramic, metal, plastic and foam. Yes, foam. One of the scrolled oval frames is actually compressed foam.

How to Paint an Antique Gold Faux Finish

The first step is getting a pretty gold basecoat. But, like any other colors, there are many shades of gold.

Since I wanted to match their antique gold crib, finding the right tone of gold took a few attempts.

I thought I could get away with a basecoat of gold spray paint but the gold was too light and too . . . blah.

Rather than trying to find the right tone of gold in spray paint again, I grabbed a little bottle of Plaid’s Liquid Leaf. At Michael’s. With a 50% coupon.

For Liquid Leaf, you’ll need old, scruffy brushes. Which I usually have a drawer-full. Or just buy some cheapies. Because – a) you won’t want to clean them – unless you happen to have paint thinner around, and b) you need to scrub the gold into all the scrolls and crevices.

Can you see the difference in tone? I bought Florentine Gold in the Liquid Leaf but it wound up a little to bronze-ish. Pretty, but I’m trying to match their crib.

I’ve put a Supply List with links to all of the products below this post.

Step 1 – Basecoat with Glorious Gold.

After all of that trial and error I finally landed on the perfect gold. Although Liquid Leaf would work too.

Americana Glorious Gold is the color I was going for in the first place but didn’t want to spend the time brushing it on.

Step 2 – Apply Burnt Umber in small areas

We’re using Burnt Umber full strength, not in a glaze, so you want to work in smaller areas or it’ll dry too fast.

Step 3 – Wipe Burnt Umber off with soft towel

I used a paper towel but a soft rag would work also.

You’re wiping off the raised areas, allowing the brown paint to stay in the crevices.

Step 4 – Apply Floating Medium to raised areas

This step is to accentuate the gold on the raised areas which, in turn, accentuates the brown in the crevices.

It’s a subtle difference in the photos but in person there’s a marked difference.

Step 5 – Seal with Matte Clear Coat Spray

If you seal with a glossy clear coat, the finish won’t look authentic. You could use a satin, if you can find one.

That’s it! The frame in the above pic is a foam frame. No lie! It’s compressed foam but now looks like a metal frame.

This frame shows the finish the best and how the frames now all match the antique gold baby crib.

Now you know how to create an Antique Gold Faux Finish. It’ll work on items other than frames but the more detailed the better. You want to have raised areas and crevices to get the authentic look.

Let me know if you try this. I’d love to hear how it turned out!

Liquid Leaf
Scruffy paint brushes
Glorious Gold paint
Burnt Umber paint
Floating Medium
Krylon Matte Spray

The post How to paint an Antique Gold Faux Finish appeared first on Just Paint It Blog.

I love paper white narcissus. Their fragrance is divine and they’re so tiny and sweet. But my favorite thing about them is they’re  little beacons of Spring in an otherwise dreary winter. They pop up around here even before the cheerful daffodils. I’m going to show you How to Paint Narcissus with a Layering Technique.

Paint Colors
White, Light Ivory, Bamboo, Leaf Green, Eucalyptus and Opaque Yellow. Full supply list at bottom of post.

Paint the Background
I painted a wash of light grey-green on watercolor paper with water first. Then I dripped drops of water on it while the paint & paper while still wet.

You don’t need a pattern to paint these but here’s mine in case you feel more comfortable with one.

Paint the Blossoms

Start with Bamboo and make three petals as shown. The Bamboo provides a little shading or underpainting beneath the White.

Next, paint Light Ivory over the petals for some more dimension. If you have ridges, great! They’ll add some texture to the petals.

Then, in between the first three petals, add three more petals with Bamboo as shown.

Topcoat those 3 petals with Light Ivory.

Why paint three petals first and then three more? Because that’s how the flower is structured – three on top and three on bottom. It’s a subtle distinction, but it’ll make a difference.

In the middle of the petals, just make a tiny circle with Light Ivory that will encase the yellow stamen.

Now take White and paint the first 3 petals – the ‘bottom’ petals.

And then the ‘top’ petals and the inner ‘circle’.

Paint a long thin stem with Eucalyptus. At the top of the stem, paint in some Leaf Green and blend it into the Eucalyptus. The Leaf Green will seem awfully bright, but that’s how the stems look – and the little necks that hold the blossoms and buds.

I mixed some White with Leaf Green to make the ‘neck’ even lighter and then added some White/L.Green to the buds.

Paint a little Leaf Green inside the White center.

Finally, 3 little Yellow stamen.

I like to paint the blossoms first, then add the stems. This way I can position the flowers how I want them. Either way works, however.

Watercolor paper
Flat brush
Round brushes
Paints-
White
Light Ivory
Bamboo
Leaf Green
Eucalyptus
Opaque Yellow

The post How to Paint Paperwhite Narcissus appeared first on Just Paint It Blog.

I’ve been painting watercolor Cherry Blossoms and wanted to share these patterns with you. Patterns are great, not just for painting, but also for embroidery, quilting, scrapbooking, crafting and more!

I haven’t drawn a stem yet but you can get some ideas from this Cherry Blossom Watercolor Calendar.

Cherry blossom stems are just a stick with an angle or two and some nubs.

If you’d like to paint some cherry blossoms with acrylic paint, I have this tutorial.

Download the cherry blossom pattern by clicking on the photo or here.

I hope you enjoy them. I’d love to know how you use them! I’ll be posting a watercolor tutorial soon.

The post Cherry Blossom Patterns appeared first on Just Paint It Blog.

I love using red to warm up my home, especially during the winter, so I painted this Red Cardinal and wanted to show you How to Paint a Red Cardinal.

It always feels so bare, so stark after the holidays, doesn’t it? This year I decided to use natural branches, a little greenery and red birds to fill in the blank spaces.

Here’s the pattern. Click on the caption to download it or here. I’m having problems linking the file to the post’s pic.

You’re welcome to use the line art for painting or anything else you want – a coloring page, maybe? – just provide a link back to here, please.

Ok, let’s get started!
Step 1:Basecoat the bird with Red. Any bright red will work. I used Napthol Red.

It will probably take 2 coats. I painted this on watercolor paper, and it definitely took 2 coats.

Paint the beak with a light coral/orange/tangerine-kind of color. Or even gold would work. I mixed Napthol Red with Antique Gold. see below post for complete Supply List.

Now, for the shading. I used Dark Burnt Umber, which is a really deep brown-almost black. You could also use Charcoal. But I prefer deep brown. Apply shading as shown in pictures.

Add the detailing as I drew on the line art, including the beak. It will look dark – really dark. Don’t freak out. You’ll add a topcoat in a minute to everything except above and below the beak.

For the bird’s tummy, I added some glaze to the paint to get a more translucent shading. If you don’t have FolkArt Floating Medium yet, you can add a little water to your paint and work your brush thru it. But as soon as you can, get some Floating Medium. You won’t be sorry. Promise!

Now for the topcoat. I used Ceramcoat Barn Red. Any shade deeper than your basecoat will work. You can paint the entire bird, but I left a section just under the wing the basecoat. It just adds a little contrast that way.

But do you see how the topcoat camouflages the shading?

Last step – take a tiny bit of white and add 2 dots to the ‘eye’ and 2 dots to the beak.

Watercolor paper 140 lb.
Foam plate for palette
Paper towels
Paintbrushes-
round 10/0
#12 flat
round 6/0
#6 flat
Paints-
Ceramcoat Napthol Red Light
Antique Gold
Dark Burnt Umber
Barn Red
White
Folk Art Floating Medium

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