Try your hand at 3D Watercolour Art

You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to create this butterfly box frame

Kathryn Coyle shows you how to use watercolour to create unique and stylish wall art with 3D shapes and colours to match your room.

Kit List

◆ Watercolour paint, in three complementary colours of your choosing

◆ Water spray

◆ Paintbrush

◆ Watercolour paper or card, thick and thinner

◆ Craft glue

◆ Cricut machine and butterfly die or sharp scissors

◆ Box frame

3D wall art

1 Spray water onto thick watercolour paper or card. Drop some of the lightest colour into the water and swirl it around the page with the brush. Drop in the second colour and create a marble effect, lift the paper and move it around so the paint mixes on the page. Spray water over the paint and flick out the edges; this will be the base artwork.

2 Using thinner watercolour paper, create the same marbling technique over the whole page using the same colours and some slightly darker ones for contrast. Allow to dry thoroughly, you can speed up the process with a hairdryer or craft heat gun.

3 Once dry, cut out a variety of butterfly sizes using either sharp scissors and a template or a Cricut machine.

4 Fold the butterflies into 3D shapes and glue onto your base background, with the larger ones towards the foreground.

5 Mount the sheet onto a canvas or in a 3D shadow box frame then display with pride!

Helping Hand

◆ If you have a butterfly die you can speed up the process with a die cutting machine

◆ Why not spatter the butterflies with gold paint for a touch of metallic shimmer?

◆ You could try using a textured watercolour card for the base piece for added depth

◆ Adhere the butterflies along the body sections only, so the wings lift up for a 3D effect