Today I have a super-easy and fun way to create soft, watercolor looks with stamping.
I’m using the Altenew Watercolor Halftone stamp set and three colors of dye ink: Bamboo, Ocean Waves and Coral Bliss. You can do this with lots of different colors, but I suggest keeping the number to three at maximum so it doesn’t create mud.
Simply tap on the ink colors, starting with the lightest one—for me, that’s Bamboo. Add a bit of the middle color to some areas of the stamp (for me that’s Ocean Waves), then finish with the darkest color (Coral Bliss here). Mist the stamps with water, then stamp. I find a MISTI is the best for this, because sometimes I want to go back and re-stamp. Practice makes perfect, as sometimes you’ll find you over-mist and get a really blurry image, or under-mist for the opposite effect.
Note: Get to know your water mister—some have a very light misting, where others can be more like a firehose! Try holding it farther away from your stamps if you find the water is too much, or practice on scrap cardstock if it’s your first time trying the technique.
I used a smooth cardstock, like Neenah Classic Crest, but you can also use watercolor card.
You can leave this as is, or make a watery wash of Jet Black and spatter it on top of the floral piece for extra visual texture.
The stamped sentiment is also from the Watercolor Halftone set, stamped onto a strip of white card and mounted up on foam tape. Then I I simply put my stamped cardstock onto my card base. Another option is to mount the floral piece onto a coordinating piece of colored cardstock before gluing it to the card front.
I finished off the card with sequins in various sizes and a bow tied in gold embroidery thread for a bit of extra dimension. It’s a simple technique and one that I love for floral stamps like this. I hope you get a chance to have a go with it yourself!
