Month: October 2025

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AECP- Level 3 – Artists Watercolor 101 for Papercrafters

Welcome back to my blog.

This course is Artists Watercolor 101 for Papercrafters. I am really enjoying the watercolor classes and learning so much.

For this card I started by taping down the watercolor paper to my board to keep the warping to a minimum.

I tried the ombre technique with pink and blue watercolor paint with wet-on-wet painting.  You begin with a color on their side and then blend them to the center and create a third color. You try not to leave harsh lines and also not to overwork the color or paper.

I let it dry overnight and was very happy with the result.  When removing the tape be sure to pull it at an angle as to limit the tape tearing the paper.

I decided to add a floral stamp from Altenew’s Flower Arch – Craft Your Life Project Kit with white pigment ink and white embossing powder.

The white ink alone was pretty but the embossing powder adds such nice contrast.

After heat embossing I tested a couple colors of ink to see which looked better with the watercolor background. In the end I went with Altenew Berrylicious Fresh Dye Ink.

I cut the word “sending” from the Altenew Versatile Greeting 2 Die Set in two different areas of the blended ink, as I was planning on using an ombre on the word as well.  I did not like it as it did not contrast well enough.

I tested the orientation of the floral background as well as the sentiment placement in both horizontal and vertical directions.  I also heat embossed “BIG HUGS” from the stamp set on the scrap from the ink blended cardstock.

I cut the background down to 5.25″ x 4″ and used dimensional foam tape to add dimension to the back before adding it to an A2 card base. I cut 5 more sentiments from white cardstock, gluing and stacking them for dimension.  The BIG HUGS is popped up with dimensional foam tape.

I finished the card off with Altenew Mother of Pearl Gem Sparkles.  This is a simple card but I feel it shows off the ombre background very well.

This technique was challenging but so much fun to learn.  I hope you like the card and will see you back again soon.

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AECP – Creative Watercolor Media

Welcome Back!!  It has been a while.

I am now working on my Level 3 classes for my AECP.  This class is Creative Watercolor Media.  It was so much fun.  I love watercolor and I have so much to learn.

I chose to watercolor a beautiful floral stamp from Altenew called Statement Flowers. Using the Stampwheel 2.0, I stamped it using Altenew Obsidian black ink on Strathmore watercolor paper and then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.

The crisp clean stamping you get from this ink is amazing.

Using a medium-dark green from my watercolor paints, I started at the points closest to the flower using a wet-on-dry technique but I had a very wet brush.

While the paint is still wet I switched to a lighter green and painted from the tips of the leaves towards the darker paint.  Allowing them to mix and flow together.  Using the same technique on the flowers but starting with a dark orange-pink and moving to a medium yellow.

On the larger flower I painted the center first.  As you can see I got paint outside on the white area.  I was not too worried as I am going to cut the flowers out before I add them to a card base.

Then adding the yellow paint and pulling the colors together in the center.

This is such a fun technique.  I love how the colors flow together and mix to make a beautiful orange.

While this was drying, I cut a piece of kraft colored cardstock to 5.5″ x 8″. Then using the Altenew Woven Basket 3D Embossing Folder, I covered one side with Altenew Espresso Fresh Dye Ink.  I spritzed the cardstock with water and ran it through the embossing folder.

By adding the ink it brings out the depth in the embossing folder.

While that was drying, I stamped out a couple cute bees using the Altenew Mini Delight: Bee Kind Stamp.  I used the same black ink as before and also used the Altenew Fresh Lemon Fresh Dye Ink. I cut them out using the coordinating die.

I cut an A2 sized card base from Spellbinders Truffle cardstock and trimmed the embossed background to 5.25″ x 4″. I also cut a piece of Spellbinder Pop-Up Die Cutting Foam in Cocoa to 5″ x 3.75″ to glue to the background and provide dimension.

I attached the flowers to the background and trimmed them off.  Then  attached some of the leaves that were trimmed off under the flowers.  I cut the “thank you” sentiment from the Altenew Timeless Sentiments Die Set using a dark brown and a tan cardstock from my scraps. I backed the sentiment as well as the bee with some dimensional foam tape and attached them to the front of the card.  I added a some clear champagne drops from PinkFresh Studio and a bit of Glossy Accents to the bee’s body, as well as a bit of shimmer to the wings.

I hope you liked this card.  It was so much fun and I look forward to more water coloring soon.