I adore painting of all descriptions! Traditional watercolour, Gouache and I’ve even started exploring acrylics recently in my sketchbook where I play with new ideas. More to follow on that another day I’m sure! For today, I have two cards using Gouache and watercolours mixed to give a colour palette inspired by current home decor trends. I love those warm terracotta and ochre colours! Also, today’s post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the new Crafty Hugs release from Simon Says Stamp. More on the hop below. I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.
LIMITED COLOUR PALETTE
Above and below, you’ll find summary photos of these two cards. I used my favourite white Gouache, mixed with Daniel Smith watercolours and other gouache paints I have to get these six colours. The cream and yellow ochre are the same mix just more white in the cream, and I did the same for the teal blue. I kept mixing a deep teal and then used a sample of that with more white to create a lighter colour.
KEY INGREDIENTS
- Simon Says Stamp Center Cut Hexagon Floral
- Simon Says Stamp Hexagon Greetings
- White Gouache + Watercolours
STEP BY STEP HOW TO FULL PANEL HEXAGONS
- Stamp the Center Cut Hexagon Floral set in a spot of light ink such as Barely Beige on Ivory card. Keep application as light as possible for the barest of impressions to follow.
- Stamp the Center Cut Hexagon Floral set again in Black ink on scrap paper as a reference.
- Inspired by trending home decor, mix white Gouache with watercolours to create a limited colour palette.
- Paint the base layer of colour. Hopefully, you can still see the floral design through the base layer, if not, then tape the black reference print to a window and line up the painted panel on top. In areas that are not visible, carefully draw the design in lightly with a pencil.
- Paint the details of the hexagon design. Where necessary, simplify the design such as the hexagon edge details where I opted for a single line of colour around each hexagon rather than the stitched look on some.
- Trim the panel to be slightly smaller than an A2 card base and add to a Neenah Desert Storm card base with foam adhesive.
- Stamp a simple greeting from the Hexagon Greetings set, again in a light ink and paint over with Gouache. Trim and add to the card with foam adhesive.
- Embellish with a trio of Nuvo droplets in Bubblegum Blush and Duck Egg Blue.
STEP BY STEP HOW TO THREE HEXAGONS
- As before, stamp the Center Cut Hexagon Floral set in a spot of light ink on Ivory card. Keep application as light as possible for the barest of impressions to follow.
- Stamp the Center Cut Hexagon Floral set again in Black ink on scrap paper as a reference if need be.
- Inspired by trending home decor, mix white Gouache with watercolours to create a limited colour palette and paint the hexagons.
- There is a matching die available that cuts close to the edge of the hexagon. However, I chose to trim out with a ruler and craft knife to leave a wider border, so the hexagons stood out from the background.
- Stamp the Diagonal Stripes background in clear embossing ink on Neenah Desert Storm card.
- Add the trio of hexagons with foam adhesive then trim the kraft card to fit which results in a card slightly larger than A2.
- Attach the kraft panel to a card base cut and scored from Ivory card.
- Embellish with a trio of Nuvo droplets in Bubblegum Blush and Duck Egg Blue.
TAKEAWAYS
This detailed painting took a little time, but the time spent was worth it as I loved getting that folk art painterly look. You want to mix Gouache to a relatively thick consistency, adding only a touch of water to get the mix suitable for painting. Test your colours on a scrap piece of paper first as they dry darker so you will need to adjust your mix accordingly. A simple, inexpensive synthetic paintbrush is ideal as an expensive watercolour brush would be too soft to work well with the thicker mix of Gouache. You want a brush with a little resistance to the bristles. Pick a small brush and work slowly. I painted in all the foliage in the deep teal first. Then went in with all the peachy/pink, slowly working my way around the design. It doesn’t have to be perfect! I think it would be impossible to do this perfectly. However, when it is all done, the imperfections, I think, actually add to it, giving it a quirky look.
FURTHER EXAMPLES
I don’t believe in reinventing the wheel, so here’s a few examples of this technique that I’ve made in the past.
Here’s another example of painting over a stamped image with Gouache and a limited colour palette using the Lunch Box Notes 2 set. The original post can be found here.
One more for the day, here’s a card I loved making. The Gouache over the daisy from the Daisy Bouquet set stood out beautifully from the kraft background. You can find the original post here.
BLOG HOP
As mentioned above, today’s post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the new Crafty Hugs release from Simon Says Stamp. Hopefully, you’ve arrived here from Laura’s blog but if not then a good place to start is Simon’s blog. As with all good hops, there are offers and giveaways!
- Simon Says Stamp are giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from blog comments. They’ll choose the winners over the weekend and post on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday, the 3rd of June.
- Use code HUGS4U to receive a Rainbow Shattered Glass Deco Foil free with any purchase. Offer valid until 31st of May at 11.59 pm ET.
Now it is time to hop on over to Yoonsun’s blog.
Simon Says Stamp Blog
Laura Bassen
Debby Hughes
Yoonsun Hur
Heather Hoffman
Bibi Cameron
Barb Engler
Sidnie Des Jardins
Cheiron Brandon
Laurie Willison
Caly Person
Betty Wright
Bobbi Lemanski
Lea Lawson
Preeti Chandran
Lin Brandyberry
ONE LAST ONE
I’m going to finish off here with one more inspiration using the Crafty Hugs release and the So Beautiful set that I shared yesterday. You can find the original post here.
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 (*) 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
This combo is so soft Debby, and as always you were able to put it in a wonderful way! Difficult to choose but I love the last card, it is really precious! Thank you for sharing your talent with us and giving us the opportunity to win a fabulous prize!
amazing design!
Really beautiful cards