Gelatos - From Epic Fail to Fabulous!

I started to title this post, "How NOT to use Gelatos", but I thought I should offer some hope. This week's Hip Kit Club challenge was to create a layout from a mood board. The mood board had several watercolor images that spoke to me and that was my starting point. The photos from Paige's birthday were perfect because of the colors and the balloons with dots. I grabbed a sheet of watercolor paper and my gelatos and got busy. Initially I thought I would try to mimic the bright, bold colors in the balloons. This photo is gelatos directly on dry watercolor paper.

Now is when the magic is supposed to happen, right? Not so much... As soon as I started adding water, it looked like a grainy, horrible mess. I tried to add more color while wet and it was obvious this was an epic fail.

Okay, let's take a deep breath and start over! I scribbled all the various colors onto a palette and added water with my paintbrush. Wow, what a difference a change in technique makes. The magic did happen... I was able to add more color to add some dimension. I also let a few of the circles dry then overlapped with a different color and the result is beautiful!

When the background dried, I was ecstatic, it's so soft, subtle, and the colors are so yummy they look like sherbet! I completed the layout with goodies from my kit and the challenge was complete.

Don't be afraid to try (and fail), it's how we learn new things. I'm glad I pushed through, these beautiful watercolor circles make me happy!