How To Make Amazing Watercolor Cards By Mixing Colors

Learn how to make amazing watercolor cards by mixing colors! Introducing the new Simon Says Stamp Center Cut Holiday Floral Stamp Set.

Easy ways to improve watercolor and mix harmonious color schemes in this short cardmaking video tutorial. Watch here or in HD on YouTube. While you’re there I’d love it if you like, subscribe, and share this video with your crafty friends!

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WOW! Gilded Embossing

Heat embossing creates wells with short walls to contain the watercolor. If you’re new to watercolor, heat embossing the image can reduce the stress of individual areas bleeding into each other.

In addition, it can speed up your project by eliminating the need to wait for a petal to dry before painting the adjacent petal.

Here I used Gilded from the WOW! Trio Toteally Amazing. This is a gorgeous neutral embossing powder that is a blend of cream, platinum, and a touch of glitter.

Mixing Watercolors

While I won’t go into color theory, that’s a topic in and of itself, I share loads of color mixing in my video. I’ve listed the Daniel Smith Watercolor paints I mixed here for your reference.

Mixing custom colors allows you to easily create a harmonious and cohesive look to your watercolor card. Here all the colors are harmonious with the exception of the berries. I explain the deal with the berries in the video.

Up until this point, I mainly used watercolor straight out of the pan or watered down. However, the best way to get to know your paints and to extend their use is by mixing the colors.

While I considered swatching out a bunch of mixes, but that felt more like a chore. Instead, I decided to experiment with color mixing AND paint a project at the same time. All the mixing is shown in the video.

Although I share the color combinations here, you won’t know how much of each color to add unless you watch the video.

Poinsettias

• Quinacridone Pink + Viridian = dusky purple
• Quinacridone Pink + Sap Green = deep red
• Quinacridone Pink + Buff Titanium = soft opaque rose
• Pyrrol Crimson
• Viridian + Pyrrol Crimson = teal blue gray

Pine Leaves

• Viridian + Quinacridone Pink = dusky teal

Oval Leaves

• Serpentine Green Genuine
• Perylene Green

Holly Leaves

• Hansa Yellow Light + Viridian + Perylene Green + Poinsettia red mixture

Berries

• Quinacridone Coral + Quinacridone Pink

This mixture is warm compared to the other colors and feels off. Quinacridone Pink + Pyrrol Crimson are a better choice.

Sentiment Background

• Viridian + a bit of Quinacridone Coral = dusky teal
• Viridian + a lot of Quinacridone Coral = darker dusky teal
• Viridian + Pyrrol Crimson = teal blue gray

As you can see, almost all of the color mixes include either Quinacridone Pink and Viridian or both. Mixing new colors with the same two base colors creates a cohesive color palette.

In addition, mixing the shadow gray with two colors that were used throughout the piece, Quinacridone Pink and Viridian, enhances the harmony. Premixed grays such as Paynes gray, Neutral Tint, or Shadow Violet may be the wrong tone or hue and disrupt the harmony.

Finishing Touches

Finish off the cards by adding splatter to fill the background. For fine splatter use a #6-8 round brush. For larger drops use a #10 or 12 round brush. If you’re having trouble splattering, really wet your brush before loading with paint.

Finally, I splattered with the leftover red and green mixes and in addition to Buff Titanium. Finally, heat emboss the sentiment with WOW! Gilded Embossing Powder and it’s done.

・・・ Thank You ・・・

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