It’s that time of the month again, Squirrels!!! *does happy dance*
In case you think I’m going mad; rest assured I have always been, all the best people are after all! 😉
Each month we have a blog hop where we challenge ourselves, and each other to create a masterpiece using randomly selected techniques/themes/products!
It’s an awesome way to use up those items that have been in your stash a *liiitle* longer than you’d like. Or, a perfect opportunity to try that technique that you’ve been eyeing for oh so long!
As it goes, today’s theme is smack bang in the centre of my wheelhouse; watercolour florals! Aren’t I the lucky one?!
I was so comfortable here that I even made a video for this one! I hope you’ll check it out!
I was inspired by some of The Squirrels, who expressed that this was something that they weren’t that comfortable doing. So I decided to show two SUPER easy ways to achieve a watercolour look, but without the time or energy you’d normally be investing!
This first technique is to simply create an ink smooshed background that you then stamp your focal image onto.
I used a mixture of Altenew Crisp Dye Inks and Distress Ink to build multiple layers of colour onto a piece of Distress watercolour cardstock. To achieve that layered look you need to dry off each layer before you move onto the next. (I use the lower speed setting of my Dual Speed heat gun from WOW.)
Once I was happy with the back ground, and it had *thoroughly* dried, I embossed this gorgeous Sunflower by Julie Hickey Designs using two beautiful embossing glitters from WOW.
I love this glitzy, sparkling and two toned floral, it certainly takes the focus of my card!!
My second card is even easier! I stamped the image onto some more Distress Watercolour cardstock using Altenew Obsidian ink. This is my favourite ink for watercolouring, I love the deep bold lines!!
I did stamp it twice because of the texture of the cardstock, so I left it around 30 minutes to really dry. I also tested it with a tiny bit of water to check it was dry before I soaked it.
Then I just put clean, clear water onto the petal, allowing the brush to go beyond the image so that I would have that sort of blown out look.
I dropped my pigments in; Mustard Seed, Wild Honey then Spiced Marmalade, all Distress Inks. I used the Mustard Seed across the entire petal and beyond, then put each of the darker shades closer to the centre, getting closer each time.
In order to keep the petals themselves defined, I painted every other one, then left them to thoroughly dry before I went back to paint the others.
I finished them both with Julie Hickey Alpha dies, Glossies and a sub sentiment from Altenew. Done!
As I said before, this is a hop, so please don’t forget to head over to the wonderful Marie, who will have some spectacular inspiration for you, I’m sure!
If you want to make sure you won’t miss anybody, then here is the full line up!
*Affiliate links are used, where available; this means that I may get a small commission if you purchase using one of these links, at no extra cost at all to yourself.A huge thank you goes to anyone who does purchase using my links, it is so highly appreciated. ?
 MINI MISTI Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Altenew | SBP |
 WOW Ultra Slow Drying Ink Pad Shop at: WOWUK |
 Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: Scrapbookcom | SBP |
 WOW Dual Speed Heat Tool Shop at: WOWUK | WOWUSA |
 Neenah 80lb Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Altenew |
 Neenah 110lb Shop at: Altenew |
 Altenew Pocketful Of Sunshine reinkers Shop at: Altenew |
 Altenew Bone Folder Shop at: Altenew |
 Gemini Jr Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Distress Sprayer Shop at: Scrapbookcom | SBP |
 Distress Watercolour Card 4.25×5.5inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | SBP |
 Tim Holtz Trimmer 8.5inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Lowercase Alphabet dies Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Be Happy Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Fiesta Trio Shop at: WOWUK | WOWUSA |
 Mustard Seed Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Wild Honey Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Spiced Marmalade Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Ripe Persimmon Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
They are both really beautiful ! Love the bold colours you used !
Gorgeous cards Tash! Yellow is one of my 2 favorite colors so both cards make *me* super happy! (I couldn’t help myself there!) I especially love the clean look of the 2nd card!!! That stamp is just amazing!!! ? And I so appreciate your efforts to help us feel more comfortable with watercolor. I used to watercolor weekly but I’ve let so much slide this year and have lost what skills I had and all of my patience for letting things dry! ? Anyway, love your bright, happy cards!!!
These are gorgeous! I appreciate the ease of these techniques, but I’m pretty sure I will leave watercoloring to the “professionals!” ?
You are truly inspiring Tasha! I enjoyed watching your video and I love all the cards you created!
Both cards are so gorgeous, Tasha!! Just love the bright colors, like sunshine 🙂