Happy Tuesday everyone!!! I hope you have survived the fabulous turkey feast and shopping craziness! Now it is back to the craft room to prepare for the next holiday!!! This technique is super fabulous for Christmas Cards and cards all year long!!!
I just love the shades of blue this card has and, without the snowflakes, I can dream of blue water and white sand on the beach! I said I can dream…..I know that doesn’t exist in Illinois especially this time of the year!!! Let’s get started on this amazing technique!
SUPPLIES NEEDED: Shimmery White Cardstock, Aqua Painter, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, VersaMark, Stamp Set of your choice and embellishments
I started with a Bermuda Bay card base. Then I took a piece of Shimmery White Cardstock (4″ x 5-1/4″) and went over the entire piece with the Aqua Painter to wet it down a little. This will help the color bleed and sort of prime the paper. You don’t need to soak it but just a little brush of water over the top. Now pick up some Bermuda Bay Ink and watercolor wash over the paper. You can go to the edge or leave a border. That is all up to you! Now allow this to dry by setting it aside or using the Heat Tool!
Side Notes while it dries……I use Shimmery White cardstock because of the fabulous shimmery look but also because it is a little bit thicker than Whisper White but not as thick and textured as Watercolor Paper. Watercolor Paper has too much texture so it won’t get a nice stamped image for clear embossing. Also, when you are using the Aqua Painter, you can either press your ink pad into the lid and use that as your color palette or you can press a clear block into the pad and use that. I prefer using the clear block because it isn’t as messy and I can easily clean it up. You could also drop re-inker onto the clear block and do it that way as well!
Once it is dry, you will stamp all over in a solid image stamp set with VersaMark Ink. I used the snowflake from the Tin of Tags Stamp Set. Apply Clear Embossing Powder over the top and set it with the Heat Tool. You can see a tutorial on Heat Embossing here. Now that your embossed image are set, they will hold the color underneath. Using your Aqua Painter, you will gently brush over the entire cardstock like you did in the beginning but this time with no color on your brush. You are just adding water which is lightening the watercolor wash that you applied earlier. The color is still being held under the images so they are popping more now. That is the Reverse Watercolor Technique!!!
Once your watercolor is dry, you can add it to your card base. I used Fast Fuse for a strong hold since the cardstock is warped a little. For the greeting, I used the Tin of Tags Stamp Set and stamped onto Whisper White. Using the Layering Circle Framelits, I die cut the greeting as well as a scallop in Bermuda Bay. I adhered these together and added loops of Metallic Silver Thread to the back and then placed it on the card front. For the Metallic loops, just wrap it around your finger as many times as you wish (8-12 times). Then twist the loops in the middle to create a figure 8 and place it on the back of the greeting. Using Stampin’ Dimensionals to secure it to the back of the greeting and then add it to the card front! I still thought it needed a little bit more bling so I added some Rhinestones all over! Love it!!!
Be sure to check back tomorrow as I will be sharing another sample using this technique! Tomorrow’s sample is a card for any time of the year!
If you would like to see this in action, check out the Video Tutorial below or click here. Don’t forget to give it a thumbs up if you liked it and be sure to subscribe if you are new!!
Happy Stampin’
~Laura
