When I got this stencil last year, my first thought was to make each fish a different color…and my logistical brain said “way too much work”. I FINALLY went back to my first thought, and am very glad I took the time!
I used Post-It tape to mask off each individual fish, each bubble (yes, I have a few places where I missed).
When the ink was dry, I repositioned the stencil and applied clear embossing paste over the colored fish. After the embossing paste dried, I applied a very light watercolor wash (and tried to keep my brush as dry as possible, since I didn’t use watercolor or Bristol paper) to make the watery background.
Mood when done: HAPPY. 🙂
Supplies: Stamp – My Favorite Things, paper – Gmund Royal, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, inks – Lawn Fawn Manatee, Simon Says Stamp Slate, Stampin’ Up! Only Orange (retired), Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Abandoned Coral, Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade, Tumbled Glass, Twisted Citron, Wilted Violet, VersaMark, die – Simon Says Stamp, stencil – Newton’s Nook, embossing paste – Dreamweaver Wendy Vecchi translucent, watercolor – Sakura Koi, embossing powder – Ranger Super Fine Detail white.
Paper and Ink Imaginings 
July 13, 2019 at 7:46 am
This was totally worth the effort, it looks so beautiful! xx
July 13, 2019 at 8:26 am
Thanks so much, Jenny! My lightbulb moment was realizing I could put embossing paste (or even regular heat embossing) over the individually colored fish so I could watercolor the background.
July 14, 2019 at 2:47 pm
What a fab idea xx
July 13, 2019 at 8:59 am
Nice work Kathy