Today I’m sharing a card I made for my Doodling With Debby series at Simon Says Stamp. This month I’m creating a messy watercolour background using the Wake Up And Makeup set from Simon Says Stamp. The joy of a background such as this is it is simple to paint; you don’t need to worry too much about being precise with a loose, messy style adding to the effect. I’ve linked all supplies at the end of this post. Compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.
VIDEO
Watch below or in HD on YouTube.
MESSY WATERCOLOURED BACKGROUND
The idea for this card started when I was with a group of crafting friends and started to play around with the Wake Up And Makeup set (see the video for a peek at my first attempt). I sort of liked how this card went but it got to get a bit grungy, and I didn’t think that suited makeup. Also, I didn’t like the fact that there were only two pops of blue. So, for today’s video, I redid this card but kept the mistakes I made last time in mind. This time around I used a more extensive selection of the images from the Wake Up And Makeup set and loosely watercoloured around the makeup for a fun, fresh teal blue background and as for the makeup, I chose a warm colour palette of reds, pinks, oranges and yellows to contrast with the teal background.
I placed a piece of cold pressed watercolour card in the full-size Misti. I’m using the full size rather than the mini so that I can have the images off the edge to create a dynamic pattern. I arranged a selection of the images, keeping them close together but not overlapping and varying the angles. I then stamped them twice in Versafine Onyx Black ink to get a good impression on the textured card.
Now once the stamps were inky, I used a piece of acetate to protect my card while I arrange the stamps for a second time. This way you don’t get any accidental inky smudges. Once the new position is determined, I then picked up the stamps with the door of the Misti and removed the acetate before stamping onto the card. I filled in any more significant gaps between the makeup with the heart image and then taped the card to a board in preparation for watercolouring.
Thinking back to my first attempt at this card, I liked how I’d added the effect of makeup sprinkled onto the background and the mascara streaks too, and so I added those in first before filling in the rest of the background with a loose teal blue wash. I didn’t worry about covering every inch of the background but loosely moved the colour around, leaving gaps around the makeup.
While I’m painting, I have a tissue in one hand so if there are areas where the colour has gone down too intensely for my liking, I can sop up some of the colour for a softer look. I certainly did this for some of the hearts and that dropper bottle too. The colour on the bottle wasn’t quite what I was after, so I dampened the paint again with a wet brush and then picked up some of the colour.
I used a dilute black for the caps and areas which I think would be silver and then for the makeup I used some lovely warm colours of reds, oranges and pinks. In the same way for the background, I really tried not to go for a precise look, I added blocks of colour and not painting right to the edges for that messy look. And the result is that this watercoloured background was rapid and straightforward to create.
Moving on and I wanted to add some splatter in places. Firstly, for the makeup brushes and I chose a dilute red for this and generally over the whole panel in teal to match the background. Then I added more splatter in the form of my favourite perfect pearls solution. This added a lovely sparkly finish to the card. As the teal background had dried its colour had lightened slightly and so to balance with the depth of colour of the makeup pieces, I added a second layer of teal and then more perfect pearls splatter to finish. I dried the panel with a heat tool and then used a white gel pen to add a few highlight details. With the background now complete I ran it through my die cutting machine with a Wonky Rectangle die for a fun stitched detail to the edges.
For the sentiment, I picked out the ‘Hello Gorgeous’ greeting and lined it up on a piece of black card in the Misti. I treated the card with an antistatic powder bag to prevent embossing powder randomly sticking everywhere and then stamped the sentiment in clear embossing ink before sprinkling with white embossing powder and heat setting. I trimmed the piece to a banner and added foam adhesive to the back. I then removed the adhesive backer and added some silver thread I’d looped around my fingers to the back. I then added the sentiment to the watercoloured background offset to the lower left using a T square ruler to ensure I had it on straight. I then added more foam adhesive to the back of the panel and added it to a side folding A2 card base cut from Ivory card. I find this card a good match for the warm white of watercolour card.
As a final accent you can’t beat a bit of bling, and so I added a trio of Opalescent Diamonds from Little Things By Lucy’s Cards and kept them in place with Gina K connect glue. Comparing the first attempt next to my finished card and I certainly prefer the brighter colours and teal background of the final version.
SUPPLIES
You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available I use compensated affiliate links which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer. You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.
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PIN ME
Summary of the project which gives all the views of the card in one photo :D I’d love if you pinned and called by on Pinterest :D
Lovely card Debby, when I saw your card for the first time I thought, “wow someone has been messing around with their makeup”. LOL.
Thank you for showing this fun card.
Debby, your work is nothing less than fabulous – ALL THE TIME! I love messy watercolor and it really fit the bill with this stamp set! I also appreciate showing us the panel you had created first and weren’t as happy with – thank you. Our ideas don’t always translate to paper the first time around. I’m always happier when I grant myself the time to remake a card and incorporate the changes I think it needs. What a great stamp set and a wonderful card!