Make a Watercolor Flower Background with Stamps!

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Main

Hi there – Annie here today with a fun way to create a loose watercolor flower background using clear silhouette-style stamps. My gardens have been bursting with color lately and I wanted to try to replicate the look using bright colors and soft edges. These cards are the perfect way to send a sweet springtime hello!

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Foliage-Card
The images in the Spring Meadows Stamp Set are super versatile because they really can be used for either foliage or flowers. For this first card, I wanted to create a background that looked like some of the bright green shrubs sprouting outside my window, and the shades in Color Fuse Ink Set #11 were perfect for this.

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Foliage-Card-Background-Stamping

LOOSE WATERCOLOR SHRUBS

  • Trim a piece of watercolor paper to 4.125″ x 5.375″.
  • Ink up one of the silhouette stamps from the Spring Meadows Stamp Set with Melon ink (Color Fuse Set #11).
  • Holding a mini mister bottle about 6-8 inches away from the stamp, mist the ink with two spritzes of water.
  • Stamp the watered-down image onto the left side of the watercolor paper.
  • Repeat with different images from the Spring Meadows Stamp Set and ink shades from the Color Fuse Ink Set #11 until you have filled the left side of the cardstock. Stamp into dry areas for crisper images and wet areas for softer images and color mixing.

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Butterfly-Stamping

GILDED VELLUM BUTTERFLIES

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Butterfly-Coloring

  • Turn the vellum over to the backside and color behind the open spaces using Copic markers. Darker shades work best for this as the vellum will appear to mute the colors when viewed from the correct side.
  • Die cut the butterflies out using the coordinating Butterflies Are Free die set.
  • Shape the butterfly wings with your fingers. Gently bend the wings up from the body and then curl them back downward at the edges for lots of dimension.

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Foliage-Card-Detail

CARD ASSEMBLY

  • Stamp a sentiment from the Butterflies Are Free Stamp Set onto the background panel using Versafine Onyx Black Ink. Add clear embossing powder and melt with a heat tool.
  • Wrap the background panel with black twine on the left side and adhere it to a top-folding A2-sized white card base using foam adhesive.
  • Adhere two of the golden butterflies and a spray of gold sequins to the card front using strong liquid glue.

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Hydrangea-Card
The second card is a little more colorful than the first and was inspired by the hydrangea bushes in my garden. Although the steps are very similar, I changed a few things to obtain an even looser look for my watercolor flower background.

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Hydrangea-Card-Background-Stamping

LOOSE WATERCOLOR HYDRANGEAS

  • Trim a piece of watercolor paper to 4.125″ x 5.375″.
  • Ink up one of the silhouette stamps from the Spring Meadows Stamp Set with Blush ink (Color Fuse Set #5).
  • Holding a mini mister bottle about 6 inches away from the stamp, mist the ink with three spritzes of water this time.
  • Stamp the watered-down image onto the left side or bottom of the watercolor paper.
  • Repeat with different images from the Spring Meadows Stamp Set and the Odyssey, Azure, and Magenta ink shades from Color Fuse Ink Sets #5, #6, and #7 until you have filled the cardstock from the top left to the bottom right corners.

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Hydrangea-Card-Background-Splatter

  • For a little extra color and fun, smoosh each of the ink pads used to stamp the flowers onto a non-porous surface like a glass mat. Add a few drops of water to each.
  • Pick up the diluted ink with a small paint brush and then tap it over the watercolor background for a fun splatter effect.
  • Repeat with each color until you have the amount of splatters you like.

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Hydrangea-Card-Detail

CARD ASSEMBLY

  • Stamp a sentiment from the Frases en Espanol #2 Stamp Set onto the background panel in Versamark Ink. Add Mirror Gold Embossing Powder and melt it with a heat tool.
  • Adhere the background panel to a top-folding A2-sized white card base using foam adhesive.
  • Adhere two of the golden butterflies and a spray of gold sequins to the card front using strong liquid glue.

Rubbernecker Blog Loose-Watercolor-Butterfly-Cards-by-Annie-Williams-Final

 

SUPPLIES USED:
Rubbernecker Blog 50fb901c-93da-4dae-a887-4d94dc541d59

I hope you enjoyed this fun watercolor flower background technique and thanks so much for stopping by today. Be sure to check out Rubbernecker Stamps on Instagram or visit their Facebook Fan Group for tons of inspiration!

Leave a Reply