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I have been working away in my wee studio prepping for a restock of loads of popular sellers and a few new colors including a NEW set! An exciting new set is being released. The lovely story behind this set is that Manda from @createdletters won the opportunity to curate her own palette. She picked three fabulous and vibrant colors. Royal - A deep, lush purple Majesty - A vibrant, red with gold shimmer Divine - A dark, milori blue These colors will release in full, half, and quarter pans as well as kiwi shaped pans and ceramic stars made by the ceramicist, Caitlin Bongers. There will be a limited number of sets available and initially only as sets, and not singles. Sets usually sell fast so I recommend snapping it up while you can! Date of restock will be Thursday 30 March NZT 9.30am CEST 10.30pm March 29th PST 1.30pm March 29th EST 4.30pm March 29th Here are a few sneak peeks of what to expect. Colors being restocked and ready to ship include: Cinder Rose - Taniwha - Scarecrow - Witchery - Watermelon - Pink Zinc Tranquil Falls - Coral Pink - Blue Velvet Colors being restocked and as a pre-order include: Quinn - Shannon - Marlin - Poppy - Golden Shadows - Shadows Canned Pea - Olive - Sage - Candy Floss - Waipu Cove - Hydrangea Green Slate - Amaranthine - Robin Egg Blue- Peach Please note that Pre - order means that it is made to order and your whole order will ship in one shipment once the pre-order paints are ready to ship. You will receive an email notification of this. New colors: (ready to ship) Hortensia - a pastel, baby blue. Cinder Quartz - Cinder Rose with a bronze shimmer New Royal Linen Set - Majesty, Royal, Divine. Hansa Yellow - PY74 Jasmine's Green - a metallic, dark green There will be some stunning ceramic limited edition sets that I have hand picked the colors for. There will be some fun trio pans of various colors. There will also be some leftover Kiwi Colour Club colors from last years subscription. These are limited in supply so snap them up if you like them! Cute new brush rests coming this restock! Beautiful, limited edition magnet ceramic pieces by a local artist, Loretta Butel. The price point includes tracked shipping. Pigment Packs! I will be selling only two sets of pigment and Gum Arabic sets for watercolor makers. I use this Gum Arabic myself so I highly recommend it. Pigments include: Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre, Chromium Green Oxide, Red Iron Oxide and Black Iron Oxide. Please make sure you are following me on Instagram @stakiwicolours for more updates and images. I will not be reserving any products prior to the update. I recommend that you buy the colors you want when they are available on the website. My philosophy when buying watercolors or new art supplies is, if it brings you joy and sparks your curiosity, go get it!

I am sitting here on my bed after a coffee and muffin and seeing in the 1st day of 2023! I am feeling hopeful, excitable and I am tickling with bubbles of anticipation for the new year ahead and the possibilities that are at my fingertips... I say fingertips because, I am typing right now about to share with you a journey and I want you to join me too. A few weeks ago I posted a poll on my Instagram stories and forum and you voted. I have compiled the results and want to share those with you. Between both the forum and the Instagram stories polls, it was obvious to me that you want to have more input in collaborating alongside me when it comes to making watercolor paint. I have decided that this is what we will do, together! As a result, you will see me open up a public forum for you to participate in collaborating on color palettes. We will be doing this together, as a community of color lovers. You do not need to be an experienced paint maker, or painter. You only need to have a passion for color. That passion might be a long, pre existing love or you might find yourself just at the beginning of your fondness for color. Either way, you are welcome. Another part of this journey with me will include another new and public forum. This forum will be for anyone who loves color, wants to participate in something that is low key Something that is low pressure Does not require much preparation, resources, skill or time What is it? It is a challenge. I will be participating and leading it. The forum and Instagram polls told me that you would like me to take the lead on a prompt type challenge so here I am! I will be commencing the challenge on the 1st day of January to get started and sharing that, and all you need to do is join along when you are ready to. Why not start at the same time Stacey? Because I am a big believer of trial and error, the power of observation and leading by demonstration. I believe that by getting started, sharing what I'm doing while I've already trialled it, is a great reflective tool to demonstrate more effectively how to get started. You will have the opportunity to see and choose for yourself when you're ready to commence based on how I'm using resources, managing my time, and making the challenge work and refer to the forum for support and further prompts. What do I need to get ready? Watercolor paper or journal A pen or pencil to write with Watercolor paint, gouache, watercolor pencil, watercolor pen ... Paper towel or brush towel Containers for dirty and clean water A paintbrush (any size/kind you like) That is it! When you are ready to join in, please refer to the forum section of this website. To sum up! One forum will be for the prompts and the other for collaborating on a watercolor palette. You will need to be a member of the website to have access to the forums and this is a way to maintain a safe barrier from spam accounts. You do not need to participate in both. You can be a silent participant by liking posts, and voting on polls. You can be an avid participant offering advice, photos and getting the word out there inviting more color loving friends along. My expectations for both forums are this; Grow and nurture friendships in the art community Keep it simple and manageable Have a ton of fun! I want to thank you for reading this far. I invite you to say hello in the comments below so that I can say hello back. I invite you to check out the forums when you are ready. I am excited to see you there! Let's kick start 2023 with a colorful bang!

Hello, and welcome to my color-space! This blog post serves to tell you a bit more about myself. My name is Stacey. I was born in Papakura, Auckland in New Zealand. I live in the North Island. Currently Wellsford, but I will be moving to Whangarei from August -ish. I am 37 years old. I married my husband (Joe) in 2004, who I refer to as Mr Stakiwi. My son, Thomas, is 8 years old. And of course, my cat, Mundai (pronounced Monday Haha!) I have a Bachelor of Social Science, with a double major in Psychology and Sociology, and Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching. I primarily taught Year 3/4 children but I have also worked in a Kindergarten setting as well. My son was born 6 weeks premature because I developed Pre-Eclampsia. He developed a brain bleed due to a stroke while in utero. Likely when my organs started to shut down. As a result, he remained in hospital for nearly 2 months. He has Cerebral Palsy (wheelchair based), Dystonia, CVI (vision impaired), autistic traits, sensory processing difficulties, partial Gastrostomy fed, Epilepsy, Global Delays, non verbal and skin and food sensitivities. Yes, this is a lot to deal with but you should know that Thomas is a happy, loving and humorous young man. For us, as parents, this is all we know and we are forever grateful to have Thomas in our lives. He enriches our lives in a way we would never have known otherwise. For this, I always believe that life is to be enjoyed. so go and eat that donut or have extra coffee! Thomas is also the reason why I did not return to work but also the reason I looked within the home environment to seek comfort and stimulation. When Thomas began Kindergarten, I started painting with acrylics and then watercolors because this was a lovely and quiet activity I could do from home near Thomas. I started seeking out better quality watercolor options, including shimmers. I was not able to find these within New Zealand and bought from a hand-maker from overseas. In the time my custom order was being made, I researched and experimented with shimmer watercolors and this was where my passion for making watercolor paint began. This was back in 2018. Thomas also started school later that year and I had even more time to disappear down the watercolor making black hole. I jumped into making neon watercolor paint and I ended up with too much paint! As a result, I listed them on Etsy. I sold my first set about a couple weeks later and started to share my process more on Instagram and grow there. I think I had a small following of 200 or less but I spent my time (A lot!) networking with artists and making friends. Because I lived in a small town (1800 people or less) this was a wonderful online opportunity to connect with likeminded people. To this day, I believe that the art community on Instagram is a really valuable place to connect with others. Fast forward to today, July 2022. I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of different pigments. I've made over 300 different colors and growing. I launched a watercolor paint making course via Class 101 and it has been such a joy to see others begin their watercolor making journey equipped with the knowledge and tools for success! I have worked with some pretty incredible pigments such as gemstones and experimenting and creating special granulating watercolor paints. I also enjoy collecting rarer or foraged pigments, antique pigments and palettes. My current project is to repurpose antique palettes. This is such a fun experience. Another area of interest I am currently and quietly working on is foraging and processing my own earth pigments. This is something that takes time and patience. Over the last year or so, another area I have been working on is painting for myself more. I think that this has been an area that got neglected while I threw myself into paint making and then found myself struggling to find a balance between the two. I think that I am still working to find this balance but that making small steps forward such as smaller, achievable watercolor painting projects has been a positive outcome. I want to say to you, the reader, thank you, for stopping by and taking the time to read about me and I hope that you will join me in my journey of life and color. Please feel free to connect with me on Instagram, Tiktok, or via here in the comments section. If you have any questions, curiosities, let me know. You can find me here on Instagram. You can find me here on Tiktok. I am an open book. Kiwi love, Stacey.

So you've stumbled upon the joy and wonder of watercolor painting? Welcome! How about I share some fabulous resources with you which I am sure you have been curious about. Let's get started! Materials matter! Paper is really important to get right. It has to be good to excellent quality because you will not see the results that initially inspired you in the first place. I am sure that you have watched some fabulous tiktok or instagram process videos or seen beautiful images on Pinterest or instagram and wondered how to achieve those results. Well....practice for one but materials count too! I first began working with student grade paint, brushes and paper and was not happy with the results. The paint was streaky, and faded once dry and the bristles from the paint brush would come loose or fray. The paper would not absorb the paint and the painting looked terrible! We can't have that! Let's dip into some fabulous tools that will help you enjoy your experience with watercolor painting. Paper / Journals Everything listed here I recommend! Bee Paper - 50 Pack from Amazon here Arches - Variations to choose from here Fabriano - Go here Variations here for Khadi on Amazon Stonehenge Aqua Blocks - Are Here Strathmore W/C 300gsm 44 Pages 5.5 x 8" Khadi Rag Paper - L.cornelissen & Son Khadi Rag Paper - Jackson's Art Feathers & Stones NZ - Cotton Rag paper ThelittleartcornerIN - Khadi Rag Paper Handmade and crafted journals: ThelittleartcornerIN - Journals BohemianRaspberryArt - Journals Blue Pine Arts - Journals Lotus Blue Book Art - Journals here Ethel's Nest (New Zealand Maker) - Journals here Bound for you - Journals here New Zealander's only for the below links: DAS WATERCOLOUR PAD (BROWN TEAL) 12 SHEET ARCHES WATERCOLOUR NATURAL WHITE PAD 300GSM COLD PRESSED 12 SHEET BOCKINGFORD PAD WATERCOLOUR 200GSM 20 LEAF Watercolor Brushes I recommend that you have at least a few sizes of the round brushes (2, 6, 8), 1 flat for washes, and a quill that holds much more water/paint ratio. Jackson's : Icon : Synthetic Sable : Watercolour Brush : Quill : No.3/0 The Pigeon Letter's Synthetic Cruelty Free Brushes here Silver Brush Black Velvet Round here KUM Memory Point Brush Lettering / Round here Princeton Artist Brush, Neptune Series 4750, Synthetic Squirrel Watercolor Paint Brush, Quill, Size 4 here Raphael Kazan 803 Quill Mop Brush, 3/0, Natural here Polina Bright brushes here Rosemary and Co brushes here Nfinity Arts brushes here Schimoni Art by Fibonacci Brushes here New Zealander's only for the below links: PRINCETON REAL VALUE BRUSH SET-GOLDEN TAKLON SET OF 5 PRINCETON SNAP! SERIES 9650 BRUSH SHORT HANDLE GOLD TAKLON ROUND PRINCETON BRUSH SELECT ARTISTE SERIES 3750 ROUND SELECT SYNTHETIC JASART BRUSH GOLD SYNTHETIC SHORT FLAT HANGSELL JASART BRUSH GOLD SYNTHETIC ROUND DA VINCI CASANEO W/C ROUND BRUSH - here I hope the above list has been helpful. I know that it can be overwhelming starting out in the beginning but I assure you that once you have a few good quality brushes, some lovely and inspirational paper and of course paint, you are going to really enjoy yourself. Remember, don't rush the process. Take your time. Enjoy it! Explore the basic techniques and get familiar with your tools and practice shapes, and brush strokes before diving into more complicated pieces of art. Start out nice and small, and develop your confidence with your tools. All the best, Stacey. If you would like to suggest materials such as brushes and paper / journals, please comment below. Thank you.

Have you always wondered how watercolor paint is made? Before I dived into making my own watercolor paint, I would watch videos on repeat of other paint makers mixing colors. I was mesmerized by it. It was a relaxing process just watching it. I began to grow more and more curious about how it all worked and whether it was something that maybe I could try out. Once I discovered that making watercolor paint required a few things here and there and that I could access these myself, I purchased the basic tools locally. I am based in New Zealand. I used Pearl Ex pigment sample size pots, a glass chopping board, palette knives, empty pans and store bought binder. I didn't have a muller at this stage. I am self taught. I learned by trial and error and it would have been wonderful at the time to have a pal that I could ask for guidance but at that time, I did not know many people in the art community. There was very little online in terms of recipes, guides and videos. There were maybe 2 videos on YouTube back then in 2018 and they were not deconstructed in a way that was easy to understand nor were they purposed for teaching, more so sharing. Fast forward 4 years, and what a ride! I have continued to make watercolor paint and now I teach it. I launched my online watercolor paint making course last year on the platform class101.com This website is where you can purchase courses from and then complete them at your own pace online. This course is such a great price for the content you get too! You have access to a choice of purchasing the course with the materials or without. The course itself encompasses these topics and they are broken down into chapters. Tools Color Theory Real time paint making demonstrations Shooting your own reference photos I,e,testing the paint Mixing two pigments together Mattes pigments - specifically neon pigments Bonus section - making friends in the art community Each chapter is super packed with loads of video content with class notes attached that you can watch and even rewatch at your own pace. During the time that you are a student, you can access my guidance through the student portal by asking questions or commenting on your progress. If you would like to take this course, all you need to do is click on the link below and purchase the class. Purchase course here! Once you commence the course and want to share your progress, you can share via the platform itself or you can share on Instagram using my hash tag #makewatercolorpaintwithstacey and @stakiwicolours - this is a great way for me to see your progress and share it on my account for others to reach out and connect with you too. For anyone wanting to learn specific skills regarding making watercolor paint in shorter video format as opposed to a comprehensive course, please do feel to comment on this post with your suggestions. Some suggestions so far are how to make a paint that separates or how to problem solve with specific pigments that are prone to cracking. I look forward to seeing you on the course or your suggestions below for more content you'd like to see. Stacey.

So we have talked about paper and the significance of understanding how the type of paper influences the effects we see in granulated paint. Let’s talk about the causes behind the properties of granulating paint. According to the dictionary; Granulate means; “form (something) into grains or particles.” Where watercolor paint is concerned, it means; 1. Heavy pigment particles that settle into the paper indentations. 2. Light pigment particles settle together due to attraction. (often referred to as flocculation) Generally, the rule of thumb applies that the denser (heavier) the pigment particles, the more likely it is to granulate. Essentially this means that it really boils down to using specific pigment types because not all pigments are the same in their densities and due to this, we have pigments that granulate and pigments that do not. So, if it is only the type of pigment that causes granulation to happen then this poses two questions. 1. What are these pigment types? 2. Why do I appear to have a granulated effect with pigments not deemed traditionally granulated? Or why do I get a granulated effect when I mix random colors together on my paper? What are the pigment types? These are usually the pigments that are not as finely milled. Some brands may finely mill their pigments so that they do not granulate or they are mulled for a longer duration of time which leads to reduction in pigment particle size. Ultramarines. Some ultramarines can vary between brands such as Ultramarine Pink. Cobalt’s. This includes Cerulean blue as well. Earth tones. This is also dependent upon whether the pigment is synthetic rather than natural. Generally the natural earth pigments have dramatic granulating effects. Also, don't forget Potter's Pink and Caput Mortuum. Most oxide pigments too! Some backs. Black iron oxide is the most granulating of blacks. Lamp Black does not generally granulate. Gemstones. These are made from stones and vary depending on how they are processed. I have worked with pigments that are much coarser and this leads to a dramatic granulated effect. Why do I appear to have a granulated effect with pigments not deemed traditionally granulated? Or why do I get a granulated effect when I mix random colors together on my paper? This effect is often mistaken for a different scientific phenomenon called flocculation. Flocculation is difficult to spot unless you understand what causes it. Flocculation occurs when pigments become electrically charged or attracted to one another and have the tendency to clump together. When they clump together on the paper, they cause the appearance of granulation. This is how a color that does not normally granulate can appear to. So, granulation is the appearance of visible particles of pigment on the paper due to the uneven settling of the sediment. Flocculation is the mutual attraction of small particles of pigment into groups that create ‘patterns’ on the paper. So, because the two processes of causation are different, this deems each a unique phenomenon. There is very little information and research conducted on both of these effects, especially flocculation but it is possible to tell the difference visually. Here are images below that show you examples of flocculation: Images credit to https://rachelarmington.com/painting-lessons/lovely-flocculation-and-granulation/ Here are images below that show you examples of granulation: All four images are examples of a granulating paint whereby the pigment particles have settled into the watercolor paper indentations. The effect is often a bit more consistent in appearance than the effect of flocculation where it is more a random occurrence of mutually attracted pigment particles. Some argue that flocculation is a "subset" of granulation itself. (Paper used here is coldpress Arches/Bockingford) I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Let me know your thoughts or questions that you might have around this topic. What topic are you interested in next? Stacey x

Welcome along to a new blog post with a focus on watercolor paper. This particular article itself was released at the beginning of March 2022 with early access granted to the Kiwi Colour Club forum members. What you should know is that this article was written in mind for the 'Granulation on my Mind' Kiwi Colour Club with an aim to provide information regarding how paper can make a substantial difference to the way granulating paints behave but it also highlights the way all watercolor paints behave in an environment where they are better supported. When I first began using granulating paint two years ago, I felt disheartened that it did not look like everyone else's or the picture from the website. I shared this with a fellow painter and she explained that there is a technique in achieving the visual result that I was not seeing. I couldn't believe it! Here is this fabulous product with no explanation for how to unlock its brilliant potential! I am here to share with you everything I know about this so that you can enjoy your watercolor paints as much as you like! So, lets break it right down to the basics! First off, let's talk about paper! Watercolor paper is unique in its ability to handle watercolor paint. It has a special job and that job is to absorb the water + paint. Essentially, the thicker the grams worth of paper, the better it will absorb the paint. Let’s apply that logic to granulating paints too – the thicker the paper, the more noticeable the results. Let’s also note here that the quality of the paint is crucial too. Granulation is best achieved with artist grade pigments. This means that student grade or lake based (plant or dye) are not ideal for achieving granulated effects because they lack the density (weight) to behave like a granulating paint. This does not deem it poor quality, but it just means that it will not have the ability to granulate unless paired with another granulating pigment itself. This particular effect that occurs is called Flocculation which I will talk about in the next article coming soon. So, essentially, you cannot achieve a granulated effect with all paints. They need to be made with specific ingredients not generally rendered by student grade or lake-based pigments. Righto! Paper. The rule of thumb is, the thicker the better, and more noticeable the result for granulating paint. Granulating paints and their respective pigment particles are denser (heavier) and coarser. Due to this, they will sink and settle into the dimpled texture of the watercolor paper itself. This is what you can see as the paint dries in an uneven layer. It is much more noticeable on cold pressed or rough paper because it is less smooth than say, hot pressed. It may be possible to see granulation on hot pressed paper but it will be a less dramatic effect. Another important factor is whether the paper is sized. This simply means that the way the paper is treated during the process of being made can affect the way watercolor paint is absorbed. Simply put, sized watercolor paper is what you want when working with granulated paint. Un-sized is similar to that of a paper towel. It will not control the way the watercolor paint is absorbed. Sized paper is when some form of material (usually gelatin) is added during or after the process of paper making that controls the way the watercolor is absorbed into the paper. So, below I have included some fabulous YouTube videos and articles to get you started. Cold pressed is a great place to start. 100% cotton Cold pressed and acid free. Rough is generally more expensive but renders such beautiful results. Here is an article on sized paper: Here is an excellent and informative article about watercolor paper: This video by Mako @makoccinos (on Instagram) is incredibly informative and discusses the different kinds of watercolor paper and the difference between sized and un-sized paper. This is a basic overview on watercolor paper in general by Paul Clark Please feel free to link me more fabulous articles on paper with a focus on quality. Email me at mrsstaceydodd@hotmail.com The key take-away here is that I want you to be able to enjoy your watercolor paints to their fullest potential by using the appropriate tools, i.e. paper! When I first started to use watercolor paints, I always went for the cheapest paper that was often smooth and non absorbent. Paper is absolutely crucial in getting beautiful results from your paint babies. Below is a video that I compiled from videos that were kindly donated by Laurens from @dirtyblueshop. These videos include sized paper and un-sized paper. The two paints used are Potters Pink and Black Iron Oxide. The sized paper is Hahnemuhle, 300 grams cotton cold pressed. The un-sized is from a local paper mill in the Netherlands. The last image is Stonehenge Aqua Hot Pressed Legion Paper I hope you found this article informative and helpful. I wanted to start off with paper as the focus first so that you can apply the information you've learnt into your watercolor practice sooner. The next article will be released soon with information pertaining specifically to granulation and how this event occurs. Kiwi love to you all, Stacey.

Yes! You read that correctly! Kiwi Colour Club will be returning very soon. This post will tell you all the details you need to know before you sign up. One thing first! It's going be different this time! It will be one theme for a 6 month period. It will be a subscription where you will be automatically billed each month by your choosing of either PayPal or credit card. Spots will be limited because I am a one woman operation. There will be no extra spots during the 6 month period like last round. This became too difficult for me to manage and I guess the first time around I was able to add more up to a certain amount I felt comfortable with managing and so now I know the amount I can manage and will set it at that! The trickiest part was the catch ups so I would like to avoid that this time around. Moving on to the good stuff! The theme? "Granulation on my mind" The theme will be entirely focused on Granulating paints. Each color will be exclusive. This means that each color I send you, will be brand new to the collection and possibly not released at all depending on how they are received and used. Your feedback will be incredibly helpful here! Each member will receive 2 exclusive granulating half pans every month. The first lot will be sent out in February 2022. You will have special access to a part of the Stakiwi Members website forum to post and share your findings. I will be on the lookout for how you will be using the colors and what feedback you might have. From here, I can give away random spot prizes, feature art work on my stories or main grid! This will be a great way for you to meet and make new likeminded arty farty friends too! The other fun part of the forum? Learn more about what granulation is and the difference between granulating and flocculating paints. Learn how to use a granulating paint for effect such as how to achieve a granulating wash. Learn what forms of watercolor painting would granulating paints be best utilized. What tools I recommend for using with granulating paints. Each month you will receive 2 exclusive watercolor paints alongside a newsletter that includes details about the paints themselves such as the pigment names and corresponding codes. I may also ramble on about things like what the color reminds me of. The amount per month will be the price of two half pans plus shipping. This will be $25 USD per month. If you are wishing to have tracked, this can be selected but it will cost approximately $36.26 but this will depend on where it is shipped. Once all spots are taken, that's it until next time! If there are spots left over, I will advertise this and then close them a week before I send out the first round of colors. Each paint will be unique and may or may not include shimmer incorporated into a matte base. Predominately, the focus will be on matte paints. I will be using excellent quality pigments that are lightfast. I am really excited to be offering another round of the Kiwi Colour Club. It was super popular and well received last round. The mattes Kiwi Colour Club was very popular and so this is another reason I am focusing on mattes. Also, you should know that I am a self confessed pigment nerd and I absolutely LOVE any opportunity to work with new pigments or new combinations of pigments. I get such a BUZZ when I make a new color and even more so when I see you enjoying them in your art ventures. If you are interested in kiwi pans or whole pans, this will be offered in limited amounts when you purchase your spot. First in, first served. Spots will become available in two rounds on the website. If you miss out the first time, you can come back for the second release! Thursday 6 Jan 10am NZT Wednesday 5 Jan 1pm PST Wednesday 5 Jan 4 pm EST Wednesday 5 Jan 10 pm CET Friday 7 Jan 10am NZT Thursday 6 Jan 1pm PST Thursday 6 Jan 4pm EST Thursday 6 Jan 10pm CET If there is anything else you would like to know, please leave me a comment and I will get back to you as quickly as I can!

Hello! It has been a long long long time since I wrote a blog post. I thought that I would compile all the new products and colours that will be hitting the shop update this weekend! Shop Update: Sunday 5th December 10am NZT EST Saturday4pm 4th December PST Saturday 1pm 4th December Check out all the new and existing restocked colours. New Colours include all the chameleons, Ele-mint, Indian Yellow Genuine (rare pigment PY153), Laven-deer, Blue-tiful, Manganese Violet, and Indanthrone Blue PB60. New Brush rests and mini sets have been added. These mini sets are individually picked and filled ceramic pans. Look at this fabulous new custom made product unique to Stakiwi Colours where you can swatch all your Stakiwi Colours on quality swatch tiles with cute kiwi resists! These were made in collaboration with Emazing Artistry Shop. Loads of new dot sample cards are also being updated! Check out this fabulous demonstration video using the Stakiwi Colours kiwi swatch tiles! Some exciting NEWS - There will be a new collaborative palette being made with Keiko from Aloha Watercolors. It will be an EPIC set! I will also be looking at launching a new Kiwi Colour Club Subscription with limited spots. If you do not want to miss out, I highly recommend that you are following me on Instagram or Facebook to stay the most up date. If you do not visit Instagram often, I recommend turning notifications on for my account which will alert you of new posts. Here is a direct link to my instagram

Welcome to rainbow month! To celebrate pride month and the beginning of summer somewhere in the world, our June challenge is going to be a bit different than the previous months. The colors will be all shimmers and a color-shift of your choice as the bonus color and we’ll combine abstract watercolor patterns with lettering. These colors will be available to order in the next shop update. June 6th NZT 11am June 5th EST 7pm Colours available from Stakiwi Colours Yellow Shimmer - Yellow Brick Road Blue Shimmer - Duck Blue Green Shimmer - Emerald City Pink Shimmer - Either Love Potion or Enchanted Orchid Colorshift - Abalone ( Chameleon) or Pixie (Duo-shift) Colours available from Aloha Watercolors Yellow shimmer (Starfruit or Banana) Pink shimmer (Akala or Pualani) Blue Shimmer (Blue Hawaii, blue ginger or Blue dragon) Green Shimmer (Waipio or Green flash) Colorshift (any of the Goddess sets, or Nai'a, Nightshift etc.) For all of you who have no or little experience with lettering, don’t worry. We have practice sheets for you with different lettering layouts that you can use as inspiration And if you’d rather just do watercolors, you can stick to creating the abstract watercolor pattern. Our guest host is @letteringwithsuzy who loves lettering with watercolors. Week 1: Lettering quote: Love is love. Watercolor pattern: hearts Week 2: Lettering quote: Make it rainbow. Watercolor pattern: rainbows Week 3: Lettering quote: Aloha is a state of mind. Watercolor pattern: palm trees Week 4: Lettering quote: Somewhere over the rainbow. Watercolor pattern: Wizard of Oz related Bonus: Lettering quote of your choice, pattern of your choice These are the lettering sheets that you can download as a zip file and use with tracing paper or a lightbox. Many many thanks to Keiko from Aloha Watercolors for putting these beautiful pieces together. Please tag us both in your June creations and tag @alohakiwichallenge alongside with the hashtags so that we can find you. #alohakiwichallenge and # alohakiwiJUNE2021 We are very EXCITED to see what you create!

Hello dear Alohakiwis! Please enjoy the below tutorials. Special thanks to Keiko for hosting her fabulous YouTube channel. Go and check out her other wonderful tutorials. Click the image below to go straight there! Special special thanks to Akshaya @tempest.in.a.teacup as our guest host this month! Not only is Akshaya a Consultant psychologist working with children with special needs - she's also an extremely talented artist creating dreamy, detailed watercolor paintings. In her own words: "creating watercolor art is almost a meditative, wholesome process for me. Over the years, I've come to adore handmade paints and the uniqueness of each colour.” We hope you, dear alohakiwis, get inspired by our ocean vibes prompts and dive in with us. 🤿 Please tag us @alohakiwichallenge @alohawatercolors and @stakiwicolours so that we can see all your beautiful creations!

Hello everyone! My name is Emilirose and I am the proud creator of Pluck n’ Place. I teach 1st grade by day and do brush lettering by night! My husband (A.K.A my personal Prince Charming) and I live in the USA in the state that is known for stunning sunsets and cactus…Arizona! I discovered brush lettering back in 2016 when I attended a Pinterest Convention. They were offering a brush lettering for beginners’ course…after that I was hooked! Lettering has been one of my biggest passions, I love exploring new lettering techniques and using all the amazing types of supplies. Another passion of mine is animals. When I was younger animal facts were what popped out of my mouth 90% of the time. If I wasn’t playing with my LARGE abundance of stuffed animals then I probably had my eyes glued to the TV watching Animal Planet (my favorite show was Steve Irwin’s show: The Crocodile Hunter). My love for animals’ seeps into my business with my themed animal swatch kits. Right now I have my desert themed kit up for sale in my shop but I have so many more I want to release in the future! All the animals are hand drawn by me! I adore lettering their names and giving quick facts about them. BUT the most important reason why I wanted to incorporate animals into my business is to bring awareness to the amazing creatures we share this planet with! These creatures aren’t able to advocate for themselves…that is why 5% of my proceeds will ALWAYS goes to Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, the protection of wildlife and wild places is paramount! Pluck n’ Place: Organizing fanatic- YUP that’s me! Organizing gives me great joy. Now with that said let me paint you a mental picture…sitting at my desk ready to create a lettering piece but needing to figure out which colors to use. I am lovingly glaring at my all my art supplies (Tombow, Karin, and watercolor tin). I love all the colors, but I know the cap color is not a perfect replica of the color the pen produces on paper. Soooo I get out scratch paper and I have to try to pick colors I think will look good together then swatch them next to each other. BUT THEN if I didn’t like one color and want to sub in a new one I would have to repeat the process. HOT MESS! That is what my brain would yell every time I looked at my scratch paper swatches. Above image- I like to call this the ‘Stone-Age Technique’ of figuring out your color palette. Don’t get me wrong ‘Stone-Age Techniques’ work fine but why not make your life easier AND have more fun…it’s time for you to PLUCK n’ PLACE your colors on an interchangeable palette until you have found your perfect color scheme for a lettering piece! Pluck n’ Place Kits: My interactive swatch system is perfect for a variety of art supplies… TOMBOW KIT This kit allows you to have all 108 colors on individual swatch tiles. Each swatch tile has the corresponding number that goes with the brush marker. KARIN KIT This kit allows you to have all 82 (that includes the neon and metallic colors) on individual swatch tiles. Each swatch tile has the corresponding number that goes with the brush marker. BLANK KIT This one has 30 blank swatch tiles for you to use for any art supply, including watercolors (YUP the cardstock I use is watercolor paint friendly)! B&W (Black and White) KIT This kit allows you to swatch out a color on a black and a white tile so you can see how the color looks on both. ANIMAL THEMED KIT Instead of the rectangle swatch tiles this kit uses adorable animals that have been hand drawn by me! The backing page is designed to showcase the animal’s habitat. THEMED MINI SWATCHES Instead of rectangle swatch tiles there are themed tiles that are on a mini swatch (6 tiles total). For example, in my shop now I have a ‘Gem Swatch’. These mini swatches give you an opportunity to put colors together that suit a theme. *In October I will be releasing a Fall swatch where people will be able to swatch all their favorite fall colors! Many of these will be Limited. Edition so grab them while you can. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about me and my small business! If you would like to see how I use Pluck n’ Place products check out my Instagram @emazingartistry If you would like your own Pluck n’ Place Kit(s) check out my Etsy shop or via my Linktree on my Instagram.