Custom Watercolor Striped Mat

Have you seen beautiful, custom mats that coordinate perfectly with the artwork? Well do I have a fun tutorial for you! I am going to walk you through creating a striped mat with watercolor pencils.

Mat board in white or off-white

Watercolor pencils that I grabbed from Michaels, if you need some, be sure to check out Michaels coupons, here.

T-square

Pencil

Mat cutter

Paint brush

Water

First - cut your mat to the desired size (this is going to be the outside of the mat, usually the same size as the glass of your frame.

Using the T-square, mark off your equal increments (I chose a 1/2" spacing). Be sure to create these pencil marks at the very top or side of your mat so that these pencil marks can be hidden under the frame.

Using your watercolor pencils and the T-square create your lines - I alternated pink and green.

With a wet brush, paint over your lines - if you are using two different colors, do one color first, and then rinse your brush and paint the second color. (If you have never used watercolor pencils, be sure to test this technique on a scrap piece of mat board.

Using the instructions from your mat cutter - cut your mat. Remember to cut the mat 1/8" or 1/4" smaller than your artwork.

Looking to mat and frame, check out this tutorial, here.