Eucalyptus

One of my favourite techniques is to stamp using a mix of water-based inks, and then use those same inks to add colour to the image. For this particular card, I’ve used watercolour paper, which allows me to build up multiple layers without worrying about the paper tearing.

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Breaking Dawn

One of the things I love about water colours and water based inks is that you never quite know what you're going to get. For instance, I had intended to create a simple forest of trees with a pretty blue sky, but once I got some colour into the background I realised it looked more like a pretty sunrise over a tree-lined lake. A little extra yellow on the horizon line was all it took to complete the breaking dawn.

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Best Wishes

I created the background for this card by brushing some water-based inks over a piece of watercolour paper, then stamping over the top with the same inks and the small bouquet of flowers from the Cosmos set of clear stamps. I used the large stamp from the same set to add flowers down the right hand side of the panel, then coloured with white pencil to make them a little more vibrant.

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Watercolour Stamping

I created this lovely, soft image by spritzing three water-based inks onto a craft mat, then pressed my stamps into the mix of colour. After stamping the image and sentiments onto a piece of watercolour paper, I picked up some of the ink with a brush and added it here and there.

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A Little Something

You don't always need expensive mediums to colour your cards. In this video tutorial, I demonstrate how simple it is to use children's markers to get a great water-colour look:

A Little Something Video Tutorial

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Stamping Techniques

There are so many fun and fabulous techniques for stamping, all it takes is a little know how, some tools and a couple of hours to play. The new Eucalyptus clear stamps are great for a range of interesting techniques, some of which I've posted below. I prepared most of these for a demonstration at one of our fabulous local stores, The Crafty Chain.

The two photos above are examples of alcohol lift using inks, Yupo paper and an alcohol lift ink pad.

Applying watercolour markers directly to the stamp.

The four examples above are of stamping into or with paint and texture paste.

Emboss resist.

Stamps:

Eucalyptus clear stamps