WATERCOLOR AUTUMN

I know I've talked about this technique in several of my posts. You know, the technique in which you ink up an acrylic block, spritz it with water and stamp it onto watercolor paper? It's probably one of the most unpredictable techniques you can do. No two will ever be the same. Ever.

Anyway, I've done this with smaller clear blocks, but never the E Block (page 217), which measures 3 7/16" x 4 7/16". This is the perfect size to use as a background for a card, because it encompasses so much space.

For this card, I used two of the new In Colors of ink: Berry Burst and Lemon Lime Twist. I brought the ink pads directly to the clear block, and using as small of a portion of the ink pad as possible, I randomly stamped the ink onto the block until most of the block was covered with ink. If course, when you combine green and red, which essentially this combination is, you will get brown where the colors overlap.

I was going for a fall-ish look for this background, so even a bit of rustiness, tans and browns was perfect for my purpose. 

After I spritzed the inked-up block with water, I stamped it down onto thick watercolor paper. I left it dry almost completely naturally because I love the look that is achieved with air drying. However, I did finish up the drying process with my Heat Tool. 

When I got my first look at the dried piece, I just wasn't sure if I liked it. There was a lot of white space, and not the near complete color coverage that I'd hoped to achieve. See? I mentioned that this is a very unpredictable technique, didn't I?

Gradually the look grew on me, and I set out to turn it into a card. In fact, I ended up liking it so well that I didn't want to cover up too much of it! Now, how much sense does that make anyway??

So, I grabbed some non-shiny gold metallic cardstock and went to work on a few elements for my card. Do you recall the splendid diecut leaves I used in the card in this post? Gorgeous, aren't they? 

For today's card, I used the same Thinlit, 

but I didn't remove the diecut pieces from the leaf. 

Using the same gold cardstock, I die cut a little "hello" for the bottom of the card.

Below is a larger picture of the intact gold leaf. Isn't it just wonderful?!?

This way of making a watercolor-look background for a card is so much fun -- and, of course, unpredictable. But, I don't think you can ever make a "mistake" with this technique. Each and every one of your attempts will possess a special beauty all its own.

Give this technique a try! 

Just a summary of how to do it: Choose a clear block. Cover it with ink in whichever manner you choose: ink pad direct to the block, as in my example, coloring on the block with Stampin' Write Markers, sponging the ink on. 

Once you have the block inked, spritz it gently with water so the ink starts to bead up and bleed a bit. You don't want it to be a sloppy wet mess, just get that ink moving with a little bit of personality. 

After spritzing, tip the block over and press it into watercolor paper. You can either lift it straight up immediately, or you can let the block sit on the paper for a few beats. Experiment! 

Then, if you are patient, you can let it air dry. If ink/water tends to gather at the edges, gently sop it up with a corner of paper towel. If you are not the patient type, grab your Heat Tool to finish up the drying process.

Watercolor

Smiles.