Sticker Resist Watercolor Valentine Bookmarks

Making these watercolor Valentine bookmarks with a sticker resist technique was so fun! My daughter absolutely loved it and wanted to make more. These bookmarks were so easy for her to do on her own and produced such beautiful results, we will definitely be trying this technique again.

Watercolors are a great painting medium for kids to explore, there are so many fun and interesting techniques to try. Check out our awesome collection of watercolor painting for kids for more fun and creative ideas kids will love!

One sheet of the watercolor paper we used made 10 bookmarks, so this is an easy art project to do if your child wants to give a bookmark to everyone in their class. These bookmarks also make a great non-candy Valentine gift that kids can make and give to their friends and teachers.

For more great Valentine’s project ideas check out my collection of creative Valentine’s Day arts and crafts for kids to make!

 Make your own sticker resist watercolor Valentine bookmarks

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Supplies

• Watercolor paper – this is the paper we use a lot and it’s great!
• Watercolor paints – we have this brand and love it!
• Paint tray
• Watercolor brushes
• Heart stickers
• Wooden board to tape down your watercolor paper
• Painters tape
• Hole punch
• Embroidery thread in red, pink and purple (optional)

Instructions

Related: 5 Easy Watercolor Techniques for Kids with Fantastic Results

1. First, you want to tape down your watercolor paper to a wooden board. This helps to keep the paper from buckling when it’s wet and makes it easier for kids to paint on.

2. Next, measure out your bookmarks with a pencil. One watercolor sheet of 11 x 15 inches made 10 Valentine bookmarks. Our bookmarks measured about 2 x 7.25 inches.

Related: Easy Heart Spin Painting for Valentine’s Day

3. Have your kids place the heart stickers on their bookmarks, my daughter wanted to do 4 stickers per bookmark, no more, no less. I think it would also look nice to use different sizes of heart stickers if you have them. Make sure to press the stickers down firmly.

4. Once everything is measured out and the stickers are placed, mix 3-4 colors of watercolors on your paint palette. It’s useful to have a scrap piece of paper to test out the colors first. Because you are going to use a wet on wet technique, the colors will dry slightly lighter than what you mix. We used 2 different pinks and one red.

Related: Create Simple Watercolor Easter Egg Art with Stickers

5. Paint a water wash over the entire piece of watercolor paper. You want the paper to be wet not soaking, if you think there is too much water, just dab the paper a bit with a paper towel.

6. With your paper still wet, start to paint your bookmarks using one color at a time, make sure to have your kids rinse their brush in between colors. This is the fun part! As more paint gets applied to the paper, the colors will start to mix and create beautiful unique patterns.

7. Let your paper dry completely, this might take a while. In the meantime, you can get your embroidery thread out and cut your thread colors to the length you want. This step is optional, your bookmarks will still look great without this step!

8. When the paper is completely dry, remove the painters tape from the edges of your watercolor paper and peel off the stickers. It’s pretty cool to see the white heart shapes as the stickers come off! Cut the bookmarks out and hole punch the top of each bookmark.

9. Add your embroidery thread detail, braiding can be tricky for little hands so my daughter held one end of the bookmarks while I did the braiding. I used 2 pieces of each color to make the braid a bit thicker. Tie a knot at the top of your braid and trim the embroidery thread to make everything even.

I love how these Valentine bookmarks turned out! My daughter is so excited to hand them out to her friends. Because one sheet of watercolor paper made 10 bookmarks, it’s easy and quick to make a class set for your kids to give to their friends. Using a sticker resist technique was so fun and definitely one we will be trying again on a different project!

We love Valentine’s Day crafts! These popsicle stick love bugs are just adorable and these conversation heart cards and pins are so fun for kids to make. Check out my collection of painting ideas for kids for more fun and creative art projects to try!

Follow my Valentines Day Arts & Crafts for Kids Pinterest board for more great ideas!

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