Create a watercolour background
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I’ve started this card by cutting down an A4 piece of water colour paper just a bit smaller than my card and using masking tape to attach it to my painting board; a glass mat would work well as well. Painting a whole piece is a great way of practising and you can use it to make embellishments, backgrounds, even die cut sentiments.
This background is simple and will work with any theme you like. Prep your paper with a light wash of water and choose your colours, here I’ve used purple with a small amount of silver to add some shimmer. Starting at the bottom add a dark layer of colour, clean your brush off completely then sweep the colour up the paper. Repeat this once more then let it dry. You may get a dip if the paper when adding more water, this will make the colour pool in one place, stop this by using a paper towel to absorb some of it. That’s it, just keep adding more layers until you have the gradient you want, I ended up having four layers keeping it quite dark at the bottom.
When you’ve finished and the paper is completely dry, you may want to leave it overnight, peel off the masking tape. Use a hair dryer to melt the glue on the tape to stop it ripping the paper. You’ll get a lovely crisp edge which you can keep as a boarder or cut off. Depending on the weight of the paper you’ve used you may find it has warped a little, you can either use an iron (on low heat) or press the paper under a heavy book overnight to flatten it out. A little warp doesn’t hurt and once you’ve taped it to your card it won’t be noticeable.
I’m still in love with the “Floral Fun” mini stamp set; it’s so versatile and makes perfect backgrounds. First I used the “Be creative” stamp from the “Creative Quotes” set, masked it and then used the flowers stamps in a coordinating ink to match the background. Making it really dense at the bottom and fading out.
Thanks for reading, see you next time.
What I’ve used:
- Imagine Design Create stamps- Birthday Balloons, Creative Quotes and Floral fun
- Watercolour paper
- Water colours
- Mixed inks
- Backing paper
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