The Little Project That Could

Subtitle: I think I Can!

It's not uncommon for me to abandon a project gone wrong. I cut things up....toss unfinished projects in a drawer....or just throw them away.

But there was something about this little leaf project that I just couldn't let go of. I had to try and save it.

Like the little blue engine in the children's book....I started by saying I think I can...I think I can....I think I can....and I ended saying I thought I could!

So I thought I would recap the crazy journey of this little project that could. 

After the free motion stitching the watercolor bled like crazy on this particular fabric....and I'm still wondering why in the world I kept going.

And the watercolor splatters didn't help....it looked horrible.

I tried using green watercolor over the whole background. I didn't think it could look worse...but it did. 

The next day I decided to just rinse the whole thing in the sink thinking the watercolor would mostly wash out....or bleed together making an all over fallish color. Nope! the background was a pale putrid yellow...and the leaves lost most of their vibrancy. This is the only photo I have of that phase...I think this is right after I added the green watercolor. The yellow was even worse.

It was probably time to just give up and chuck it. But I kept kept going. I think I can....I think I can....I think I can.

I abandoned watercolor and switched to acrylic paint. First I thought about painting the whole background blue...and I tried a couple different options at one end. I liked the drama...and the way it showcased the leaves....but it was going to be too hard for it not to look messy. Posca pens would have been helpful...but sometimes they drag on the fabric and splatter....so that wasn't a good option. I didn't want spatters on the leaves. Oy!

So using a tiny paintbrush over the last couple of evenings...I used a slightly watered down white acrylic paint and carefully painted around all the rest of the leaves. TWICE!

The first layer of the acrylic paint reactivated the watercolor a bit and tinted the white paint. I didn't really mind it...but in the end I did a quick second coat to make it a little more crisp and clean. Or at least cleaner.

I added a bit more color in the leaves with colored pencil because I didn't dare go back to watercolor.

I actually liked that there's still a bit of its history peeking through. There is always beauty in the imperfection.  

The usable finished piece ended up being smaller than I thought....so I turned it into a coaster. Now it has form and function.  I thought I could! So I did!

Here's the back. Phew!