How to Add Colorful Watercolor Techniques To Cards

Adding watercolor techniques to handmade cards and crafts is so much fun because no two projects will ever look exactly the same. If you like to experiment and play with watercolor, you will absolutely love today's ideas! All of today's cards were inspired by a blog post over on the FSJ blog last week. If you haven't seen it, I want you to pause, hop over there to check out the tutorial, and then come right back. (Don't forget to come back - okay?) 

The FSJ blog post does a great job of showing step by step how to make a watercolor background that starts with a Create-a-Palette ink pad, along with Liquid Colors. The FSJ Create-a-Palette is an empty ink pad which can be loaded with Re-inkers or Liquid Colors (dye based liquid inks.) There are five sections, so you can add 5 different colors to make all kinds of cool ombre or rainbow color palettes. If you have other brands of rainbow ink pads (as long as they are dye ink and not pigment ink) you can use this same technique! 

The Create-a-Palette I used for the Merry Christmas card is loaded with the following Liquid Colors: Limeade Splash, Fresh Forest, Catalina Splash, Cool Pool, and Limeade Splash (Yes, this pad starts and ends with Limeade Splash!)  

For the first card, I followed the same directions on FSJ blog post, but i got the Color Splash watercolor sheet very wet before I smooshed it together with the clear block loaded with color. The more water you spritz onto the inky block, and the more you add to the paper, the more your colors will blend and bleed. It's all about playing to find what you like!

To finish off that first card, i added an embossed tree, a sentiment on a strip of vellum, plus some little finishing touches. I didn't want to go too crazy because I want that gorgeous watercolor to show! (I really like the pop of pink though, because it really balances out with all that green!)

Next up, I used the same technique, but I used a lot less water. I did spritz my watercolor paper with some water, but i kept the water mostly at the center of the paper, and i blended it with my finger a little, so that it wouldn't be totally saturated. My colors still blended really nicely, but you'll see it doesn't bleed as much. (I really like both effects!) For the apple crate, I used a practice sheet that I had been playing with these same colors. I didn't love the way it came out, but it was perfect for those red apples. 

And here's the Create-a-Palette I used for this card. It's loaded with the following Liquid Colors: Candy Apple, Rich Coral, Peaches & Cream, Orange Creamsicle, and Lemon Drop. 

Last up, is probably my favorite! I took this technique a step farther. I only inked up half the block with the colors. And I only got half of the color splash sheet wet. (But I got that half VERY wet.) I smooshed only half the sheet with the color, and immediately stood it up and let it drip down. I repeated the process a few times until I really got as much drippy mess as I liked. While it was still wet, I splattered it with Sparkle Silk. The snowflakes are embossed on vellum, so they are the perfect accent, without overshadowing those gorgeous wintery colors!

This Create-a-Palette was loaded with: Catalina Splash, Cool Pool, Lovely Blue, Pretty Amethyst, and Lavender Fusion Liquid Colors. (Remember - when using watercolor techniques, the pad MUST be loaded with dye inks. FSJ's True Color Fusion Re-Inkers can absolutely be used in these pads, but you cannot mix them with water!)

So, what do you think? Does this crazy watercolor mess get you excited to create, or does it stress you out? I like that this kind of mess is kind of a controlled mess. Just keep some baby wipes handy, and you'll be okay, I promise! I hope you feel inspired to pull out some different supplies, or to try something new - I'd love to see what you make with this watercolor smooshing technique! If you have questions, I'm always happy to help. Shoot me an email, get with me on social media, or comment below! Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Note: In the photos of the Create-a-Palettes I used, you can see that I stamped an image to add to the lid of my ink pads. That way I have a quick visual reminder of what the color palette looks like. (FSJ's ATS sized background stamps are a great size to stamp for the lid of your ink pads.) 

Supplies used on today's cards:

Create-a-Palette Ink Pads

Liquid Colors

Color Splash Watercolor Sheets

Sparkle Silk
All Year Long Stamp Set
All Year Long Die Set

Did you miss the original tutorial for these projects, plus one more piece of gorgeous Christmas inspiration on the FSJ blog? Go check it out!