Watercolor pencils for Beginners

As you recommended I used hot pressed paper with 50 % cotton. The colors appear more even. I had much fun with this cute painting.
I tried to apply what I learned in urban sketching: First I sketched a tiny house (here I like the color of the windows) then I sketched an Alsacian house from a foto. (I also wanted to apply what i learned in the pen and ink class but I am still hesitating with my hatching - I always think I would spoil my picture.)
But maybe I should have used less colors in the right house? As I have 36 different watercolor pencils I am tempted to use them right away without mixing any colors.