A Wonderful Day

Hello creative friends!

My card today was created using my yummy new Daniel Smith watercolor paints. I wish I had video’d the process of creating the background; but I’ll explain it as best as I can.

I began by stamping the tulips from Power Poppy‘s Peonies & Tulips clear stamp set onto a piece of Fluid 100 Cold Press 140 lb watercolor paper using black Staz-On ink. I then masked off the tulips by painting them entirely with watercolor masking fluid. When you do this technique, you want to be sure to use a paint brush you don’t really care about. That stuff is like glue when it dries. I learned a great trick from my friend Lydia to clean my brush off afterwards with Vaseline, and it works beautifully!

Once the masking fluid dried, I painted my background. I used a couple of shades of blue and purple and a great deal of water to keep the colors loose and flowing around the piece. I then dabbed on the still wet background with a paper towel, which softened the colors considerably, and left me with this almost other-worldly background. I could not have been happier with the result.

Once the background was dry (aka after I used my heat tool to dry it), I carefully peeled off the masking fluid. You don’t want to peel it off too fast, or you’ll rip your paper.

I then watercolored the tulips in some bold, complementary colors. This color palette is definitely outside my comfort zone; but I gotta say, I’m digging it.

Once I was done coloring the tulips and ground, I added some highlights using a bit of white gouache.

Keeping all of the card layers white, and adding very minimal embellishments allowed the artwork to have center stage with no competing elements. I think a clean design also gives the eye a chance to rest when you have such a bold focal point.

The sentiment was stamped in black, die-cut using a banner die, and then just the single word “wonderful” was lightly watercolored in a coordinating color.

Here’s a look at the Daniel Smith watercolors I used, in case you’re curious.

Inside the card I simply stamped the tulips in a pale lavender ink, and left the rest blank. I sometimes like to have a few generic cards on hand that I can use in a pinch for whatever occasion I need it for.

This Peonies & Tulips clear stamp set was one of the first Power Poppy sets I owned. I think you need it too, my friends. Or you can always grab the individual digital stamps instead. This weekend only they are on a crazy good deal!