Bright Playroom Decor with Walnut Hollow

Please note: I received these products for free, but my review and use of them is 100% honest and all me.

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This week I'm going to show you how I created these bright playroom decor pieces with Walnut Hollow and Tombow products. Here's what you'll need to get started:

Supplies:

• Cactus Shape from Walnut Hollow
• Trapezoid Shelf from Walnut Hollow
• Tombow Dual Brush Pens
• Paint Brush
• Tombow Blending Palette
• Watercolor Paper
• Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue
• Scissors
• Tombow Mono Drawing Pen
• Tombow Xtreme Tabs

Step 1: Stain Your Walnut Hollow Pieces

I wanted to color my wooden pieces, but still preserve the tips on my Dual Brush Pens, one way to do that is to use a blending palette, water and a paintbrush to transfer the Dual Brush Pen ink onto the wood and create a colorful stain. Let each application of ink dry before adding another layer for a deeper color. To get the color shown here use Dual Brush Pen 245 (Sap Green) for the first two coats and 296 (Green) for the last two coats.

Step 2: Draw Your Decorations

Next draw some cactus flowers and a cute little llama (see Marie B's llama tutorial and download here) to decorate your colorful wooden pieces. Start by applying Dual Brush Pen ink via the blending palette and a paintbrush. Then once the ink is dry outline them and add detail using Mono Drawing Pens.

Step 3: Add Your Decorations

Once you've finished drawing your decorations, cut them out and stick them to the Walnut Hollow pieces using Tombow Xtreme Tabs. Now they're ready for the playroom!

How to Make Your Own Drink Umbrellas

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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Today I thought I'd show you how to make your own cute drink umbrellas and other fun drink toppers! Whether you’re trying to increase your water intake or relaxing on the deck with something refreshingly fruity, these will definitely liven up your glass.

Mermaid Drink Toppers

Start by drawing your mermaids using Tombow Dual Brush Pens on watercolor paper (you can copy these if you don’t feel confident creating your own) then use a paintbrush and water to soften and blend each area of ink to get the watercolor effect. Once they are dry, draw on the details with your Mono Drawing Pen, cut them out, and glue them onto pink paper straws with Mono Aqua Liquid Glue!

Watermelon Drink Umbrellas

To make these watermelon drink umbrellas start by cutting a circle out of green paper, and a slightly smaller circle out of pink paper (you can make your own colored paper with Dual Brush Pens, water, and watercolor paper). On the pink circle, use your Mono Drawing Pen to draw some watermelon seeds. Fold each circle in half, unfold it, turn it and fold again. Repeat until you have eight evenly-spaced creases coming out from the center. Cut along one of the creases, to the center, overlap those panels at the cut and glue them together with Mono Adhesive Dots. Repeat on the second circle and glue the pink circle on top of the green one. Dot some Mono Aqua Liquid Glue on the inside point of the umbrella and push a long toothpick through from the inside. If you’re worried about it being too pointy, snip off the very tip of the toothpick once the glue is dry.

Strawberry Drink Toppers

For the last pink drink topper, start by drawing strawberry shapes using Dual Brush Pens on watercolor paper. Next, soften and blend the ink with a paintbrush and water for a watercolor look. Once they are dry use your Mono Drawing Pen to outline the strawberries and draw on some seeds. Cut them out, and use Mono Aqua Liquid Glue to glue them to toothpicks and you’re done!

Out of the three drink toppers I showed you today which is your favorite?

Template for Easy Weekly Planner Spreads

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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Hi there! I'm going to show you my template for creating easy weekly planner spreads. I love using notebooks to plan, but I don't have a lot of time to spend creating my weekly layouts — so here's how I make setup a lot faster (there's only two steps)!

Supplies:

• Archer and Olive Dot Grid Notebook
• Planner Stickers (mine are also from Archer and Olive)
• Tombow Dual Brush Pens
• Piece of card or thick paper (the size of your open notebook)
• Tombow Mono Drawing Pens
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Scissors

Step 1: Plan Your Template

The first step is to think about what items you want to have in your weekly spread template. You'll most likely want days of the week, but you might also want a monthly calendar, a tracker of some sort (I'm tracking my workouts), and why not a little bit of inspiration for the week. Here are a few other things you could include: a specific to-do list area, goal tracking, list of calls you need to make, errands, a weekly shopping list, water intake, your daily mood, the weather, daily gratitude, or upcoming birthdays.

I kept mine simple with four main areas, because I found that the more I tried to track the less consistent I was at doing it. Once I settled on my main items I measured them out on my piece of card and cut out the areas I wanted to use as a template. This saves me so much time each week because I don't have to measure everything out from scratch, I just use the template to trace the areas out and then I'm ready to give it a little decoration.

Step 2: Decorate Your Weekly Planner Spread

Now on to the really fun part, decorating! I want my weekly spreads to look pretty but in order to save time I choose a set of stickers, like these pretty floral ones from Archer and Olive, and then base my color theme around the stickers. The stickers do all the heavy lifting in making the page look nice, and I just fill in the rest with Dual Brush Pens in similar colors so the page has a cohesive look. Using the template and stickers means I can create a whole spread in under 10 minutes.

I'd love to see your planner spreads, show me by tagging @BrownPaperBunny on social media!

Watercolor Watermelon

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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Today I want to show you how to create some watercolor-look watermelons that you can use on all sorts of fun summer projects! Here's what you'll need to get started.

Supplies:

• Tombow Dual Brush Pens (Numbers 847, 245 and N15)
• 140 lb Watercolor Paper
• Paintbrush
• Jar of Water
• Scissors
• String

Project 1: Watermelon Wallpaper for Your Phone

The first step is to draw your watermelon shapes onto the watercolor paper. Using Tombow Dual Brush Pen number 847 (Crimson), draw half moon, full circle, or triangle pieces of watermelon, or a combination of different shapes. Next, go over the ink with your wet paintbrush so the ink blends together. Once that dries, draw the watermelon rind using Dual Brush Pen 245 (Sap Green), and wet the green ink with your paintbrush too. Once both colors are dry, draw watermelon seeds with Dual Brush Pen N15 (Black). Watch the video below to see each of the steps.

Once you've filled the page, snap a photo and turn your delicious little watermelons into a wallpaper (or background) for your phone, like the image below!

Project 2: Watermelon Cards

Because watercolor paper is pretty thick you can cut cute little cards out of your finished watermelon drawings. Experiment with a variety of sizes for different effects. Your friends and family will love getting these refreshing cards in the mail!

Project 3: Watermelon Banner

Cut around each of your watermelon shapes, punch holes in each side and you can thread them together to make a cute summer banner. I drew simple faces on these ones instead of watermelon seeds. These can add a fun addition to a summer BBQ or birthday party, or just string them up in your kitchen for a daily dose of cute.

I'd love to see your watercolor watermelon projects! Share them with me on social media by tagging @BrownPaperBunny!

How to Make Watercolor Wedding Invitations

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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If your big day is coming up and you want to make your own watercolor wedding invitations (these work well for baby showers, engagement parties, and bridal showers too) then you're in luck! I often create custom wedding invitation artwork for brides but today I’m going to show you three watercolor-look invitations you can create yourself, with your Tombow Dual Brush Pens.

Supplies:

• Smooth watercolor paper
• A paintbrush
• Jar of water
• Tombow Dual Brush Pens in the colors of your wedding or event

Romantic Wedding Invitation

Start by drawing some flower and leaf shapes with your Dual Brush Pens then soften the edges with water and your paintbrush. Let it dry and repeat if you want a little extra color. Scan or photograph your artwork and add the text on your computer and voila, your invitations are ready for printing! Watch the time-lapse video below to see the steps sped up.

Feminine Wedding Invitation

To create these invitations start by adding some color to the corners of your watercolor paper, using Tombow Dual Brush Pens, then blend and soften the ink using water and a paintbrush. Once the paper is dry, draw some simple flowers using Tombow Mono Drawing Pens. Scan or photograph your artwork and add the event details on your computer.

Modern Invitation

This last wedding invitation is a little more subtle and modern. Start by coloring a one inch strip at the bottom of your 140 lb watercolor paper, using a Tombow Dual Brush Pen in your event color. Next, use a paintbrush and some water to wet the ink and drag the water up the paper (by going back and forth horizontally) until you have a gradient effect. Once the paper is dry take a photo or scan it and add the event details on your computer and you’re ready to print your invitations!

Of the three invitations I showed you today which was your favorite? If you know someone who is getting married, send them a link to this post!

50 Ways to Draw

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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I was sent a review copy of 50 Ways to Draw Your Beautiful Ordinary Life by the creators of Flow Magazine and OMG it is beautiful!

There are step-by-step instructions for drawing adorable objects, along with a pull-out sketchbook, paper dolls, postcards and watercolor paper — basically I'm in heaven!

I've been having so much fun sketching the things around me, as well as working through the book to draw some of the objects they have in there. 

I'd definitely recommend checking it out! 

52 Quote Challenge

I decided I didn't already have enough going on right now ;) so this year I'm participating in Smitha Katti's 52 Quote Challenge. We use a list of quotes she put together and do one a week through 2018. I'm carrying my little sketchbook around with me and working in it when I have a few moments, and photographing each layout on my walks around Seattle. There are so many beautiful trees and flowers blossoming everywhere still, so I've had plenty of pretty backdrops to choose from! 

Here are a few of the quotes I've completed so far.

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 2, 2018 at 9:37pm PDT

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 6, 2018 at 6:16am PDT

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 12, 2018 at 7:59am PDT

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 16, 2018 at 4:43pm PDT

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 27, 2018 at 7:08am PDT

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on May 13, 2018 at 6:41pm PDT

Do you ever do hand lettering as part of your artwork?

The Art of Map Illustration

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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I've been in love with maps since I was a little girl, and while I might still have trouble navigating with them, they spark my wanderlust and make me dream of far away places and adventures yet to be had.

I was recently given a review copy of The Art of Map Illustration: A Step-By-Step Artistic Exploration of Contemporary Cartography and Mapmaking by James Gulliver Hancock, Hennie Haworth, Stuart Hill and Sarah King and I have been having SO much fun working my way through it. There are over 75 examples of beautifully illustrated maps, along with all the techniques, tricks, and tips you need to create your own! 

For my first illustrated map I'm drawing the downtown Edmonds city center. We've recently moved to the Seattle area and I've fallen in love with Edmonds. It has views of The Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains, and is filled with the cutest little cafes, restaurants, bookstores, galleries and art shops you'll ever find! This is a work in progress (I plan to add a lot more of my favorite shops) but here's what I've done so far. I've got the Edmonds Ferry, Art Spot, Salt & Iron restaurant and the little water fountain in the center of town.

Have you ever drawn your own map? Leave me a comment and let me know!

How to Make Your Own Art Journal

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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This week I'm going to show you how to create your own mini art journal from scratch. There are lots of reasons to make your own journal: you get exactly the size, number of pages, and type of paper you want. Plus the book itself can be a work of art, and can save you some money too! I was inspired by my fellow design teammate Katie Smith, who makes beautiful hand-bound art journals AND is a big fan of Bob Ross!

Here's what you'll need to get started...

Supplies:

• Paper (I'm using 140 lb watercolor paper but you can use any paper you like)
• Cardboard for the cover
• Large needle
• Strong nylon thread
• Bone folder
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors

Supplies to decorate your journal: (I used the following Tombow products, but you can use whatever you like)

• MONO Drawing Pens
• Dual Brush Pens
• MONO Aqua Liquid Glue
• Irojiten Colored Pencils
• MONO Permanent + Adhesive
• MONO Air Correction Tape

Step 1: Prepare Your Art Journal Pages

The first step is to cut your paper and journal cover to the size you want (if they aren't already), then you're going to score a line down the middle of each page and the cover using your ruler and bone folder. This helps the paper fold neatly and evenly, especially if you're using thick watercolor paper or cardboard. If you don't have a bone folder you can use anything pointy but not sharp (the back of a butter knife for example).

Along the center of one of your pages measure out where you're going to put your five holes, starting with the middle hole and working outwards. You could put more holes if you're making a large book, just make sure you always use an odd number.

If your paper is thick you'll want to pre punch the holes using a bookbinders awl, a large needle, or even a metal kitchen skewer. Punch the holes on one page then use it as a template for the rest. Stack all of your prepared pages together inside the cover and you're ready for Step 2!

Step 2: Stitch Your Pages Together

To stitch your pages together using a saddle stitch, thread your needle but don't tie a knot in the end. Start on the inside of your art journal pushing the needle through the center hole. Leave yourself a thread 'tail' about three inches long. You can either go left or right but sew your way through all of the holes until you get to one of the edges, then turn around and sew through the holes to the opposite edge.

Once you get to the second edge, sew your way back until your needle and your tail are on the inside of your art journal.

Tie the two ends together with a secure knot and trim the ends off. Here's a quick video showing all of the steps.

Step 3: Decorate Your Art Journal

Now that your journal is sewn together you're ready to decorate it. Taking my inspiration from Katie, I filled my journal with lots of color, and quotes from Bob Ross. You could use your journal for anything: drawing your dreams, everything you ate that day, things you see on a walk, lists of your favorite things, a book of maps, poems, pictures of cats...the list is endless!

On a lot of the pages I created a background using Dual Brush Pens and a wet paintbrush, then used collage and MONO Drawing Pens over the top. The video below shows a time-lapse of some of my pages coming together, and you can see all of the finished pages at the end.

I'd love to see some of your art journal pages, tag @BrownPaperBunny on social media so I can take a look! And in the comments tell me your favorite thing to journal about!

How To Draw An Anemone Flower

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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With Earth Day coming up I thought I’d show you how to draw one of my favorite flowers, the anemone. They’re super simple to draw, come in a rainbow of colors and look great on cards, in your planner, or as wall art!

Here’s what you’ll need to get started.

Supplies:

• Pencil (My favorite is the Tombow MONO Drawing Pencil)

• Tombow MONO Knock Eraser

• Tombow Dual Brush Pens

• Paper (I’m using Strathmore Heavyweight Mixed Media paper)

• Tombow Blending Palette

• Paintbrush

• Tombow MONO Drawing Pen (optional: for line work)

Step 1: Drawing the Anemone Shape

There are really only four simple steps for drawing an anemone flower. Start with a circle, then leaving a gap, draw small oval shapes and connect them to the center circle with thin lines. This will be the flower’s stamen. Next work your way around the center, drawing the petals. It helps to move the paper as you go, so the petal you’re drawing is always right in front of you. Don’t worry if the shapes are a little wonky, real flower petals are never exactly the same!

I’m drawing mine in ink so you can see the lines, but I recommend drawing your initial flower shape using light pencil lines.

Step 2: Adding Color to Your Anemone

I love using the Tombow Dual Brush Pens as watercolor, especially when adding color to flowers. A great way to do this is by using the Blending Palette. Draw some ink directly onto the blending palette then use a wet paintbrush to transfer the ink to your paper.

Anemones come in so many different colors that you can really have fun with this step. Try creating a rainbow bouquet, or perhaps a line of them in different shades of the same color.

If you use anemones in your own project I'd love to see! Tag @BrownPaperBunny on social media.

The 100 Day Project 2018

The 100 Day Project is designed to make creativity a habit. The theory is that if you can do something for 100 straight days it will be easier to keep doing it after that. So each April, hundreds of thousands of artists, photographers, and other creatives pick a theme or project for themselves and start creating. 

For 2018 my project is 100 Days of Flowers and Faces (because I couldn't choose between the two). I'm creating them in all manner of styles and using lots of different media from acrylic paint to markers, colored pencils, and collage. 

Here is my progress so far: 

Day 1

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 3, 2018 at 5:10am PDT

Day 2

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 4, 2018 at 6:48am PDT

Day 3

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 5, 2018 at 8:04am PDT

Day 4

Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Either way, these colors are blooming with possibility. Day 4 of #100DaysofFlowersandFaces for #the100dayproject pic.twitter.com/OD5afkQDFQ

— Jessica Mack (@BrownPaperBunny) April 6, 2018

Day 5

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 7, 2018 at 6:01pm PDT

Day 6

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 8, 2018 at 6:58pm PDT

Day 7

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 9, 2018 at 5:25pm PDT

Day 8

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 10, 2018 at 7:46am PDT

Day 9

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 11, 2018 at 6:49am PDT

Day 10

Day 10/100 of #100DaysofFlowersAndFaces — not everything works out quite how you picture it in your head. But I figure failed experiments are still useful. #the100dayproject #watercolor pic.twitter.com/A0Xr3OTrOQ

— Jessica Mack (@BrownPaperBunny) April 13, 2018

Day 11

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 13, 2018 at 6:57am PDT

Day 12

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 14, 2018 at 6:11pm PDT

Day 13

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 15, 2018 at 8:53pm PDT

Day 14

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 16, 2018 at 4:43pm PDT

Day 15

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 17, 2018 at 7:56am PDT

Day 16

I forgot to post Day 16/100 of #100DaysOfFlowersAndFaces you can follow my Anemone drawing tutorial over on the @tombowusa blog: https://t.co/JpxWstBqkZ #the100dayproject pic.twitter.com/SnFeclK1T4

— Jessica Mack (@BrownPaperBunny) April 19, 2018

Day 17

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Seattle Artist (@brownpaperbunny) on Apr 19, 2018 at 6:50am PDT

Leave me a comment and let me know if you're doing The 100 Day Project this year, and if you are, what you theme or project is! 

How to Make a Piñata Card

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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When I have time, I like to make my own birthday cards, and wanted to show you one of my favorites to make. It's great for other celebrations too, and you can choose whatever colors you want! 

Supplies:

• Small strips of crêpe paper, with fringe cut into one edge

• Tombow MONO Adhesive

• A blank card with a piñata outline

• A stick-on googly eye is optional but adds some extra fun

Step 1: Draw Your Outline

After you’ve gathered the supplies for your card, draw a piñata outline onto the blank card. Do yours in pencil — I've only done mine in black ink so you can see it better. 

Step 2: Stick on the Crêpe Paper

Fill the piñata outline with MONO Adhesive, being careful to stay within the lines. Then stick just the top (un-fringed side) of the crêpe paper to the adhesive. Start at the bottom and work upwards, overlapping each layer.

Step 3: Clean Up

Once you’ve stuck down each layer of fringed crêpe paper, trim any pieces that go outside the lines. You can also lightly ruffle the fringed paper to make it stand out a little more.

Step 4: Finishing Touches

Stick on your googly eye if you have one, and you can also add little pieces of leftover paper to the card like miniature confetti, or draw in some confetti using your TwinTone Markers, and voila it’s ready to be sent!

If you make your own I'd love to see! Tag @BrownPaperBunny on social media!

Cute Colored Pencil Cards

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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Today I'm going to show you how to make these cute colored pencil cards, which you can use to spread the springtime love to all your friends and family!

If you haven't used the Tombow Irojiten colored pencils before let me introduce you to them. They come in three dictionaries, sorted by tonal value, so each volume is already perfectly matched. This makes choosing a color palette super easy, and the little pencil boxes are about the cutest things you'll ever see!

Here's what you'll need to get started.

Supplies:

• Paper
• Scissors
• Tombow MONO Dots Adhesive
• A blank card
• Tombow Irojiten Colored Pencil Dictionary

I'm using the Woodlands Dictionary, Volume 4: Pale Tone II. With color names like Rose Pink, Apricot, Spring Green, and Hyacinth Blue they're perfect for this spring project! 

Step 1: Draw Your Flowers

Draw some simple flower shapes using your Irojitan pencils. Make sure to draw some stems curving to the left and some to the right so you'll have a well-rounded bouquet when you put them all together at the end. 

Step 2: Cut Out Your Bouquet

Cut out all the flowers you drew in the last step. You can either cut right on the edge of the color, or leave a little white space like I've done. I also drew a little bow to tie them all together.

Step 3: Gather Your Bouquet

Once all of your flowers are cut out, start gathering them together until you have an arrangement you like. 

Step 4: Stick Your Flowers Onto The Card

Now it's time to stick the flowers onto your card. I'm using the MONO Dots Adhesive because it's repositionable for a little while, before setting to a permanent bond. So you can move your flowers around and get them in just the right spot.

I also gave my card a little color using Tombow Dual Brush Pens. If you'd like to learn more about the technique I used, take a look at this post.

These little springtime bouquets would also work well in your art journal, planner, or just about anywhere you need a pop of floral color!

If you make your own I'd love to see, tag @BrownPaperBunny on social media!

3 Tips for Using Colored Pencils

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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Whether you're using colored pencil for original artwork or using them on adult coloring books, here are three tips that will help you create richer, more vibrant colored pencil work. 

This first tip was taught to me by Marie Browning, and I’ve been using it ever since! Whip out your Tombow Dual Brush Pen Colorless Blender and use it on top of your colored pencil. This will ‘burnish’ it and help work the color into the paper for a more even look, with less of the white showing through. 

Here's a closer look. The petal at the bottom of the picture is just colored pencil. The other petals have been burnished with the colorless blender.

My next tip uses Tombow’s new 1500 Colored Pencils with Tombow Dual Brush Pens. Put down an even base layer of color using the Dual Brush Pens, and once the ink is dry use a darker shade of colored pencil over the top to add depth and texture. 

Ok, here's my last tip for using colored pencils. To add more depth and interest to your colored pencil work try layering different colors over each other and blending them together on the paper. Here I used three different shades of purple, two cool tones and one warm to blend and add more interest than using a single color.

If you use any of these tips in your own colored pencil work I'd love to see! Tag @BrownPaperBunny on social media! 

Modern Découpage

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Découpage dates back as far as the 12th Century, but really made a comeback in the '90s.

Remember all those boxes and chairs covered in angels, antique roses, and butterflies? Well the '90s can keep all that, I'm here to show you a modern twist on this old technique.

You'll need some paper (thin gift wrap, tissue paper, or even marker paper works well), scissors or a shape punch, Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue, an old paintbrush, some Tombow Dual Brush Pens (if you want to color some of your own paper), and something you want to decorate (a card, gift box, notebook cover etc. - today I'm making some cards). 

First, cut or punch out your shapes (hexagons or triangles work well) from your gift wrap or paper you've decorated yourself and arrange them on the object you're going to decorate. Once you're happy with the layout, start gluing the paper down with your Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue.

The last step is to cover your whole design with Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue and smooth it out with a paintbrush. Let everything dry and then, if you need to, trim any paper that is overhanging the edges, and you're finished!

If you make some découpage projects of your own I'd love to see them! Tag @BrownPaperBunny on social media! 

3 Watercolor-Look Easter Egg Decorating Techniques

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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Hello! I'm a little obsessed with pastels, as we approach Easter, so I'm going to show you three watercolor-look easter egg decorating techniques using your Tombow Dual Brush Pens! Each technique is super easy and loads of fun!

Here's what you'll need to get started:

Supplies

• Tombow Dual Brush Pens (Pastel 10-Pack)
• Eggs (white ones will work best)
• Water
• Paintbrush
• Tombow Blending Palette
• Egg carton

Technique 1: Watercolor Streaks

For this first technique start by adding some ink from the Dual Brush Pen to your Blending Palette, then use a wet paintbrush to transfer the ink from the palette to your egg. Use lots of water and let the ink drip down the egg. This is where the egg carton comes in handy, to help you decorate one side at a time without getting your fingers too messy. Start with the lightest colors first, letting them dry a little before adding the next color.

Technique 2: Drawing Directly on the Eggs

This one is super easy! You're going to use your Dual Brush Pens to draw directly onto the eggs. Pick an easy-to-replicate shape like a flower or polka dots and repeat all over each egg. The trick to giving them a watercolor look is to start with the lightest colors first and make sure you overlap the shapes slightly so you get some color blending and transparency like you would with watercolor paint.

Technique 3: Wetting the Eggs

The last technique involves drawing directly onto the eggs like you did in technique 2, but this time we're going to use a wet paintbrush to blend the ink directly on the egg for a more watery look. Super easy!

If you make some eggs of your own I'd love to see them! Tag @BrownPaperBunny on social media.

**Please note: Do not eat these eggs after decorating them. These are for decorative purposes only.

Easy-to-Make Crepe Paper Flowers

This month is National Craft Month, and it's almost Spring, so I've been having some fun making crepe paper flowers. They're super easy to make and look great in a cute vase, as a wall hanging, wired together as a flower crown, or individual flower fascinator.

Here's what you'll need to get started.

Supplies:

• Tombow MONO Multi XL Liquid Glue
• Crepe Paper
• Tombow Xtreme Adhesive Tabs
• Thin green floral wire
• Scissors

Step 1: Paper Flower Petals

For each of the flowers you want to make you'll need to cut out three sizes of petals. I used seven small petals, 10 medium, and 10 large. Feel free to cut them out a little imperfectly to give a more organic feel to your flowers, and if your scissors are nice and sharp you can layer the crepe paper and cut out a lot of them at once which will save time! Keep your scraps, because we're going to use them in the next step.

Once you've cut out all your petals gently stretch the middle of each one so it forms a slightly cupped shape.

Step 2: Flower Bud

Wad up some of your scraps around the end of a piece of your floral wire, and wrap a small square of crepe paper around all of it to form the bud of your flower. I put a little dab of MONO Multi XL Liquid Glue inside the bud to hold it all together, and it helps to bend a small hook into the end of your wire so it can't be easily pulled out.

Step 3: Building Your Flower

Place a small dab of MONO Multi XL Liquid Glue on the base of your first small petal and stick it to the base of your flower bud. Work your way around with all of the small petals, overlapping them slightly. Do the same with the medium and large flower petals until you've glued them all on. As you're making your flowers you may want to leave some of them at the small petal stage so you have a variety of sizes and 'openness' of your blooms.

Step 4: Leaves

Now it's time to add some greenery! Cut out some leaf shapes from your crepe paper and stretch them slightly like you did with the petals. I add at least two leaves to every flower I create.

Use your Tombow Xtreme Adhesive Tabs to stick the leaves to the base of your flower. Because the leaves don't have the same level of support as the overlapping petals I find the tabs help to keep them firmly in place.

And there you have it, easy-to-make crepe paper flowers you can use for all sorts of beautiful projects! If you make some of your own tag @BrownPaperBunny on social media so I can admire them!

3 Mail Art Techniques

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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One of my favorite creative hobbies is mail art, AND one of my 2018 resolutions is to send more snail mail, so I’m going to walk you through three easy-to-create types of mail art.

The first technique is decorating the envelope with patterns or doodles. You’ll need some blank envelopes, Tombow MONO Drawing Pens, Dual Brush Pens, a ruler, MONO Eraser and pencil (if you’re like me and have trouble writing in a straight line without guides). 

This technique focuses more on fun lettering and a little less on envelope decoration (although you could always combine the two for that extra WOW factor). Make the name of the recipient really stand out and have some fun with your lettering! Just make sure the address is still legible. The supplies you’ll need are blank envelopes, your Tombow Dual Brush Pens, MONO Drawing Pens, pencil, eraser, and a ruler.

And now for my all-time favorite mail art technique. This one has the name and address of the recipient inside a drawing. This fun balloon design would be great with a birthday card, and click through on the Instagram post below to see how to use the Tombow Dual Brush Pens to create a watercolor-look umbrella design. For this technique you’ll need thick envelopes, a paint-brush, jar of water, Tombow Blending Palette, MONO Drawing Pens, pencil, eraser, and of course Dual Brush Pens in your favorite colors. Will you be creating any mail art in 2018?

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Fashion Illustration (@brownpaperbunny) on Jan 29, 2018 at 7:31pm PST

How to Create Watercolor Flowers with Markers

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which help pay for the upkeep of this site. That being said, I will never, ever promote anything I am not 100% in love with!

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One of my favorite things is painting and drawing flowers, and one of the easiest ways to do it is by using water-soluble markers such as Tombow Dual Brush Pens! So here are my top three tips for creating watercolor-look flowers with your markers. 

Supplies: 

• Thick watercolor paper (preferably 140 lb / 300 g or in a block to prevent warping)

• Tombow Dual Brush Pens in your favorite colors

• Blending Palette

• Jar of Water

• Paintbrush

You can use my affiliate code ‘bpbunny15’ for 15% off all Tombow products.

Tip 1:

Stay as loose as possible. The unpredictable nature of watercolor is part of its charm, so embrace the flow, drips, and color bleeds. Basically, don’t try to paint too perfectly or control it too much! 

Click through to see the video.

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Fashion Illustration (@brownpaperbunny) on Feb 28, 2018 at 12:22pm PST

Tip 2: 

Use more than one color or shade for more interesting flowers. If you’re using mostly pinks, throw in a tiny bit of orange or yellow, or different shades of the same color for variation. And always start with the lightest color first (allowing layers to dry in-between) that way you’ll keep everything from bleeding together completely, and you can have some light color show through the gaps when you put the darker colors on last.

Click through to see the video.

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Fashion Illustration (@brownpaperbunny) on Mar 1, 2018 at 12:02pm PST

Tip 3: 

For a softer, more watery look scribble Tombow ink onto your Blending Palette and then use a wet paintbrush to transfer the ink to the paper. But for a more vibrant and saturated look draw with the Dual Brush Pens directly onto the watercolor paper and then use your paintbrush to wet the ink there.

Click through to see the video.

A post shared by Jessica 🎨 Fashion Illustration (@brownpaperbunny) on Mar 2, 2018 at 6:53pm PST

If you’re new here, I’m Jessica — a watercolor artist and fashion illustrator from Australia (but now living in Seattle, Washington). I’d love to connect on social media, come say hi on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter @BrownPaperBunny! 

You might like to check out my new book: Watercolor with Markers

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How to Draw Pretty Planner Patterns

Can you believe we're so far through 2018 already?! It is definitely time to get organized, so pull out your 2018 planner and I'll show you how to create pretty patterns to liven up the pages and make it easier to distinguish one week from the next.

Supplies:

• Tombow TwinTone Marker Set, 12-Pack Pastel
• Tombow MONO Drawing Pen, 3-Pack
• Your favorite planner or bullet journal

I love the TwinTone Markers and MONO Drawing Pens because they don't bleed through the super-thin pages of my planner, and by having the option to create a variety of line thicknesses you can add beautiful variation to your patterns!

My planner has a fairly boring header section so that's where I'm going to put my pattern on each page. You can do all of the pages at the start of the year, or do each one as you get to it. Either way the patterns will help you to quickly find the page you're looking for and make each one different to the last.

Start by using the TwinTone Markers to create patterns out of simple shapes. If you're stuck for pattern ideas, look around you. Household and office items make great pattern inspiration. Use the leaves on your fikas, the lipstick in your handbag, or even fruit from the kitchen!

You can create some of the patterns in color, and some in black and white using just the MONO Drawing Pens. Try varying the shapes and lines by using the 01, 03, and 05 sized pens.

Then, why not combine the two, laying down color with the TwinTone Markers, and adding detail and lines with the MONO Drawing Pens.

You can watch a little flip through of some finished pages over on the Tombow Blog. I'd love to see your patterns, tag @BrownPaperBunny on social media so I can see!