Watercolor Techniques

I had this brilliant idea the last time I used the Altenew Magnolias for Her stamp set, but I didn’t have the courage to carry it through. This time I took the plunge and cut up my watercolored die cuts after painting them.

The card above on the left was the inspiration card. I had curled the petals but was left wanting more dimension. Thus, today’s card was born.

The watercoloring was based on Altenew Academy’s Stunningly Simple Watercolor Techniques class. It is a wet on wet technique. I colored this over a couple weekends and I definitely benefitted from this class!

First, the flowers were stamped and clear heat embossed, then I put down a thin layer of clean clear water, and dropped in color.

Altenew Magnolias for Her Watercolor Card

I dropped Mijello Misson Gold Ivory Black paint at the base of the petals and where there would be a shadow. Bright Clear Purple was dropped in at the tips. The leaves were done with sap green and Hooker’s green.

Tip: watercolor dries back more than you think. I added 3 layers of color to the first flower before realizing I needed to be bold and use more pigment.

Once the watercolor was dry. I used a craft knife to cut around the edges of a couple petals of the purple flowers. This allowed me to pull those petals up to add extra dimension.

I added a die cut sentiment and grounded the flowers with a strip of grey cardstock stamped with My Favorite Things Etched Flower Background, and added sequins.

I hope you enjoyed this card. It was a labor of love and took several weekends to complete. I learned a lot about watercoloring and gained the confidence to use more pigment!