Happy Wednesday!

For my first card idea I picked this one, which has been really popular on Pinterest. Since I posted it about a month ago it has been repinned almost 500 times!  Watercoloring is one of my favorite things to do, I think of it as grown-up coloring. It brings me back to my box of crayons and my coloring books as a little girl, so relaxing! It’s also a pretty easy technique for any level of stamper, there really is no right or wrong way to do it. You can just stamp and color or if you are feeling adventurous you can add some depth and shadows. I also love the layout of this card, the way the corners are rounded on two sides of each square, it really makes a beautiful focal point to the card. Have fun creating!

’til next time!!

~Jo

Supplies Used:

Sizes of cardstock:

Elegant Eggplant  – 1 piece (5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″, scored at 4 1/4″)

1 piece (3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″, cut into 4 squares 1 3/4″ x 1 3/4″)

Tip Top Taupe – 1 piece (4″ x 5 1/4″)

Shimmery White – 1 piece (3 1/4″ x 3 1/4″

Directions:

Attach Tip Top Taupe panel to the Elegant Eggplant card base and set aside.

Stamp your flower and butterfly from the Best Thoughts stamp set onto the Shimmery White cardstock using the StazOn pad. This stamp set is an exclusive hostess set, with any qualifying workshop or individual order of $150 or more you can purchase this set for $10.00! The StazOn pad is perfect for watercolor as it is a permanent ink and will not bleed.

With your ink pad closed, squeeze the pad to create a nice pool of ink in the cover. Use your Aqua Painter to pick up the ink and color your image. It makes it so easy to watercolor, no need to keep dipping your brush in water, it’s right in the pen!  If you want to have some sections of the image appear darker, apply the watercolor in layers, this way the cardstock won’t get too wet. I apply a base layer, then after it has dried a little I go back in and apply more color to create some depth.

After the panel is dry, cut into four equal squares of 1 5/8″ x 1 5/8″.

Sponge the edges using Tip Top Taupe ink. I also like to add a little to the white area so it creates a nice antique look.

Use the corner rounder on each small square, as shown in the sample, this creates that interesting four panel effect.  Then mount each on the Elegant Eggplant squares using Fast Fuse adhesive. I found that it was easier to round the corners of the Elegant Eggplant squares after I attached the stamped image. Attach each section to the card using the Stampin’ Dimensionals, this gives it a nice raised look.

Last step, stamp your greeting in Elegant Eggplant using the Happy Birthday image from the Butterfly Basics stamp set and now you have a lovely work of heart!