Stamptember – No-line Watercolor Tag

Welcome back! ‘Tis the season for pencil bouquets, school supplies (my favorite), and going back to school. Many of us have little ones entering elementary school for the first time, which can be unsettling for us, and them.

Send your little one off with this lunchbox note/tag featuring Simon Says Stamp Spiritual Sentiments & no-line watercolor technique.

Let’s get started! I used Fabriano Artistico Extra White Hot Pressed Watercolor paper for 2 reasons: 1) it’s a brighter white than most watercolor paper and 2) the hot pressed surface has less texture than cold press. This makes it ideal for stamping.   

I stamped the adorable elephant from Simon Says Stamp Wild Cuddly Critters in Simon Says Stamp Barely Beige Dye Ink. This light colored ink is dark enough to see well while painting & will virtually disappear once you start to watercolor.

A Silver Brush Black Velvet #4 Round brush was used with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens in Green Gray & Turquoise Green for the no-line watercoloring. Using a wet pen on dry paper, I started by outlining the edges of the ears and drawing the ink inwards with clean clear water. 

Focus laying down color only where the shadows would lie, and draw the color in to shade. I used a Sakura Pigma Micron 01 pen to draw the eyes and pupils. 

I trimmed the watercolor paper with Simon Says Stamp All Dressed Up Tag dies using Audrey Blue for the topper and Fog Gray for the heart mini tag. 

I added clean clear water for a base for the little elephant to sit on and dropped in Turquoise Green with greater pigment underneath him to add shading. 

I assembled the tag and added Lawn Fawn Black Tie Lawn Trimmings to finish it off.

Supplies

Consider making a set of these lunchbox notes to have on hand when your little one needs a pick me up or some extra encouragement. Follow along with Simon’s blog here to see everyone’s wonderful creations! 

Thanks so much for stopping by. Come back soon for more inspiration & video tutorials! Go get your creative on and Breathe · Ink · Inspire.