July is World Watercolor Month! So, to celebrate, we will focus on three different ways to create a watercolor background for your cards using the watercolor wash technique. It’s a very simple technique and a great way to create a colorful background. The cards feature products from the Christmas Lights Bundle and the Brightest Glow Bundles from Stampin’ Up! However, keep in mind you can use any stamp set or supplies you have on hand with these card layouts.
Watercolor Wash
Let’s talk about how to create the Watercolor Wash. This technique requires the use of a watercolor painter or brush so that you can spread the ink and water across the paper. I recommend using watercolor paper for this technique. This particular paper is able to withstand the use of a combination of water and ink without distorting the paper. The first way you can use this technique in your card making is to simply brush the water and ink across the paper. Simply add a drop of ink to a tray and then add a little bit of water to the ink to dilute it. Use the water painter, or brush, to grab some of the diluted ink and spread it across the watercolor paper. Basically, you are “washing” the ink across the paper with a bit of water. Let the water-colored background dry, then heat emboss an image over the top. This is the technique I used to create the first card.
The second card features the same watercolor wash technique. The only difference is that I embossed the image on the watercolor paper first. Once the embossing is complete, then simply use the watercolor wash technique with a bit of Night of Navy ink. This is a great emboss resist technique because the ink and the water will seep around the embossed image highlighting the beautiful white snowflake image.
Multi-Color Wash
The fun thing about the Watercolor Wash technique is that you can use any color or colors to create the background. The first two cards showcase the use of one color. This last card idea features the use of multiple colors to create the background.
The process for creating this watercolor wash is the same as what I described earlier. The only difference is that we will be using three colors instead of one. Start by added the lightest color first. In this case, the light color is Fresh Freesia. Wash the Fresh Freesia ink randomly across different parts of the watercolor paper. Next, wash a bit of Balmy Blue ink across the paper and then add a bit of Night of Navy. You can also add a bit of watercolor splatter to the background too! I recommend watching the video to learn how to add the splatter.
Tutorial & Supplies
Now you have three different ways to use the Watercolor Wash technique in your card making. For a complete list of supplies and all the step-by-step instructions for these cards, feel free to download the printable tutorial.
I hope you enjoyed this technique, and it has inspired you to get creative! Be sure to watch the video to see this technique in action. Have a fun and creative day my friends! ~ Lynn
The pictures don’t come through in the emails anymore. I have to click the comment link to open it up in safari. Then I can see the pictures.
Hi Lisa, this is related to the email program you use. My gmail and Outlook account will do this too. Basically, your email “hides” the pictures. Usually at the top of the email there is a little message. My Outlook mail program says “Click to download pictures. To protect your privacy, Outlook prevented the automatic download of pictures into this message.” When I click on the message, the pictures are automatically added to the email.