Paint and photoshop

A while back I stumbled upon this tutorial about how to make a repeating pattern on photoshop.
I stored it in my mental list of things to do when I am on holiday.

Faced with a rainy afternoon last week, I picked up my paintbrushes and had a go.

The idea is very simple. Paint some patterns with watercolours. I chose organic shapes and then various 'splodges'. That well known technical term!

I then scanned this whole document to my computer.

Once I had opened it in photoshop I extracted each shape and cleaned them up a bit.

I then opened a new document and copied and pasted to my hearts content, adjusting the hue, the size and rotation of each shape. It was incredibly fun to sit and play with things I had painted on a screen.
I loved that I could duplicate bits I liked and delete the things that weren't so good!
It also surprised me which shapes I had painted that were really useful 'fillers' on my design.

Once I created my pattern I followed the tutorial steps to 'tile' it and create a repeat.

I am thrilled with how these turned out. I printed both patterns off and made two little notecards.

My next plan is to make a pattern for some place cards for the table on Easter Sunday. Watch this space!

Isn't the internet a wonderful thing! A whole new world of craft awaits!