Mer-mazing!

Today we’re thrilled to welcome Lydia Fiedler to the blog! Did you see her three fabulous creations in the My Monthly Hero blog hop on Monday? If not, be sure to check them out and see how she works magic with watercolor! Lucky for us, she’s here to share some amazing merman inspiration. Amazing, mer-mazing — any way you say it, we’re loving it!

Lydia:  The more I’ve worked with the Paper Layering dies, the more I’ve fallen in love with what they can do. After teaching a class with the Mermaid, I had an idea for the Merman that I couldn’t wait to try. His beefy biceps were the inspiration for the experiment.

First – I watercolored the image with Daniel Smith watercolor and made sure it was dry – especially with the scales, that’s important, so that you don’t tear your paper – it’s more vulnerable when it’s wet. After I used my piercing tool to pop out all the dimensional pieces from the back of the die cut, I did sort of a modified paper tole to make his muscles and features stand out. I placed him face down on a piece of foam, and used a dry embossing stylus in a circular motion on his muscles and his tail to make them even extra dimensional. It’s incredible how much life and realism that adds to this fun die cut.

Such a great technique, right? We can’t wait to give this a try with other Paper Layering dies as well. Thanks to Lydia for the inspiration today, and to you for stopping by!

Have a mer-mazing day,