EASY FAUX WATERCOLOR WITH SILHOUETTE STAMPS

Most of you know that watercolor is my jam. All day. Every day. But, what do I love even more? Getting gorgeous loose and expressive watercolor results with minimal effort. Yes my friends, this is an easy one, and one of my favorite techniques.

The star of this show is that background! Don’t you think? I started by inking up our Winter Silhouette stamp with Candied Apple and Rustic Wilderness Oxide inks. I used the dauber method to apply my ink. I prefer this method because I can at least retain control over where the ink starts. I pick up a little ink on a finger dauber and then dab it on the stamp where I want it.

Once my stamp was inked, I sprayed it with water using the Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer. You can experiment here, different amounts of water will give you different results. I stamped the wet stamp onto some Vicki Boutin Foundations paper at the top, then sprayed again and stamped at the bottom. You’ll notice that some of the ink mixed and created brown. To encourage the ink to move even more, I simply sprayed certain areas of the paper with a little more water.

Once that layer dried, I added another layer of stamping. This time I took a script stamp inked in Weathered Wood Oxide, sprayed it with water and stamped randomly. I added more water to the stamp in between impressions to vary the crispness of the stamping. After allowing that layer to dry, I added some random splatters of water and left it to dry.

And of course, I couldn’t resist using my newest obsession – a few splatters of WOW! Perissa embossing powder. I added some stitching around the perimeter of the panel and then she was ready for a focal point and greeting. Honestly, you could choose to use any focal image or greeting at this point. Like I said at the beginning of this post, the background really is the star. Even a simple die cut sentiment would look great.

I choose to create a layered sentiment. I started with a bit of torn vellum and layered the negative of a die cut “merry” using our Christmas Tag Die over top. I die cut “Christmas” using the same die and layered that as well. I treated “Merry” with a bit of ink smooshing in Weathered Wood Oxide and “Christmas” with a little Candied Apple. I added some messy stitching and a few sprigs of greenery from our Under The Mistletoe die.

I’ve got to say, I do really love how this card turned out. And it was so fun to create! There is a certain freedom and anticipation with this technique since you really have limited control of the outcome. But it almost always turns out amazing!

Thanks for stopping by today, you can find the featured supplies used on today’s card below.

Featured Supplies

Some of the products used in this post were provided to me for free. I am not under any obligation to use or review these items unless otherwise noted. The following is a list of the featured supplies used in today’s project(s) along with links to purchase for convenience. Please note, this list contains affiliate links. Use of these links when shopping provides me with a small referral commission at no additional cost to you. Use is never expected, but always appreciated. Thank you for your support! ❤️

Precision Heat Embossing Tool Gun Hero Arts Shop at: SSS	EK Success CRAFT TWEEZERS Precision Tip Shop at: SSS	Wplus9 Christmas Tag Die Shop at: WP9	Wplus9 Dove Grey Cardstock Shop at: WP9
Bazzill 40 LB VELLUM 8.5 x 11 White 25 Sheets Shop at: SSS	Tim Holtz Tonic GLASS MEDIA MAT Shop at: SSS	Gemini Junior Shop at: SSS	Under the Mistletoe Die Shop at: WP9
Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer Shop at: SSS | EH	Gina K Designs Connect Glue Shop at: SSS | GKD	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Candied Apple Shop at: SSS	WOW! Embossing Glitter Perissa Shop at: SSS
Tim Holtz Oxide Ink Pad Rustic Wilderness Shop at: SSS	Tim Holtz Oxide Ink Pad Weathered Wood Shop at: SSS	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad Vintage Photo Shop at: SSS	Winter Silhouette Shop at: WP9
Tim Holtz Tiny Text Christmas Shop at: SSS