Handmade Archives - Lost in Colours

Handmade Natural Dye Garden Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks

A Beginner’s Guide to Eco-Printing: Learn How to Create Art with Natural Materials!

25th January 2023

In 2019, I discovered the art of eco-printing while on a week-long camping trip to the coast of Algarve in Portugal. Despite writing an article about my experience at the time, I never got around to publishing it until now, four years later! During our trip, we came across a small village called Alté. It was so charming that we decided to make a stop and explore the village. As we were strolling through the narrow lanes of this charming…

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Handmade Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks Painting & Sketching

Which paper is best for writing with (Natural) inks?

17th January 2023

Paper is a versatile medium produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibers extracted from wood, fabric rags, grasses, or other plant sources in water. The water is then drained through a fine mesh to leave the fiber evenly distributed on the surface, followed by couching, pressing, and drying. There are many different types of papers available today. The range of papers that work well with water- and alcohol-based natural inks is too vast for this article to explore. In…

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Handmade Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks

How to Make Watercolor Binder

17th May 2022

A step-by-step guide to making gum Arabic based watercolor binder for handmade watercolors The use of Gum Arabic as a binder dates back to ancient times. The presence of Gum Arabic increases watercolor brilliancy, gloss, and transparency, giving greater depth to each color. It slows down the drying time of paint, and can also be used for controlling spread when painting wet-on-wet. Watercolor paint is made by dispersing pigments of any colour in different proportions with acacia gum binder. The…

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Farewell to 2020: My year in review!

8th January 2021

The year 2020 was unlike any other in our lifetime! It was a year filled with trials and tribulations for everyone. In hindsight, it has been a year that I will remember the most for it gave us once in a lifetime opportunity to look at life in a very profound and unique way! I reflect on 2020 by not fixating on the tribulations and personal loss but instead acknowledging their existence, honoring the thoughts and feelings that were a…

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How to make twig pens and brushes!

6th June 2020

Elder (Sambucus nigra) or Holler as it is called in Austria grows very commonly as a shrub or small tree. Its natural habitat is on river banks and in wet woodlands. The fruits and flowers of the Elder have long been used in traditional Austrian medicine. In fact, Elder is an absolute classic whether it is made into a syrup, roasted, or cooked into a marmalade, one or the other of these delicacies can almost always be found in an…

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