This card is a project I filmed for my Doodling With Debby series at Simon Says Stamp. This month I’m painting the gorgeous Spring Flowers Background from Shimon Says Stamp and giving tips and tricks for no-line watercolouring. I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

NO-LINE WATERCOLOURING TIPS & TRICKS

VIDEO

Watch below or in HD on YouTube.

KEY INGREDIENTS

• Simon Says Stamp Spring Flowers Background
• Simon Says Stamp Summer Roses
• Watercolours – I used Daniel Smith paints

STEP BY STEP HOW TO

The video will give a more explicit guide, but here’s a breakdown:

• Stamp the Spring Flowers Background in Antique Line Distress Ink on Fabriano Artistico Watercolour card.
• Watercolour – I used Daniel Smith paints.
• Splatter with White Gouache and a solution of Perfect Pearls.
• Deepen the shadows with coloured pencils.
• Trim the panel to fit on a card base cut and scored from Ivory card and add with foam adhesive.
• Stamp the large ‘enjoy’ sentiment from the Summer Roses set in Versamark Ink on Ivory card and heat emboss with Antique Gold embossing powder.
• Die-cut the greeting with the matching die.
• Stamp a coordinating greeting with Versamark ink on Black card and white heat emboss, trim out to a skinny strip.
• Add the greeting with foam adhesive.
• Accent with Eggshell Pearls held in place with Gina K Connect Glue.

TAKEAWAYS

Just some of the hints and tips I discussed in the video are:

• Choose a light, water-reactive ink such as Antique Linen – as you paint, the water in the paint reactivates the ink, and it blends with the paint to give a no-line look. If you are using a watery, pale colour to paint, for example, the edges of a petal, make sure to bring your brush over the stamped line a few times to get the ink moving.
• A good watercolour card makes all the difference when watercolouring, whether it be no-line or not. I was recently practising a freestyle piece at home and grabbed multiple pieces of watercolour card on which to practice, and the results on the better-quality card were noticeable. I used Fabriano Artistico watercolour card, but another favourite is Arches. I choose a cold-pressed paper which has a slight texture because I like that look and the texture helps hold the water and allow more time for working.
• Moving onto the paint, I like Daniel Smith watercolours, and I used them on this piece. However, I also love all sorts of other watercolour media from Distress Inks to Karin brushmakers to Mission Gold watercolours, Altenew watercolours, my list could go on and on. I think what I’m trying to say is that the watercolour medium you use is less important than the paper. If you want to invest in just one thing, make it the watercolour card you are using, and you will see the benefit.
• It is helpful to use two paintbrushes. Paint is expensive, and I don’t want to continuously be washing my brush out and losing all the paint. So, I keep one brush with a concentrated mix of paint and one with clean, clear water to draw the paint out over the rest of the area.
• Let’s talk about colours for a moment. I chose an analogous colour scheme of reds, oranges and yellows. These are colours next to each other on the colour wheel and work together harmoniously. The leaves and berries in comparison are complementary colours with the green being complementary to the red and the purple to the yellow. These pops of complementary colour liven up the colour scheme. I think the berries are one of my favourite bits!

Please watch the video to get all the hints and tips on my experience with no-line watercolouring.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

No-line watercolouring is one of my favourite techniques, and I have a lot of other examples I could share with you. Here’s just one though using the Center Cut Flower Background set. You can find the original post here, and there’s a video with this one too.

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.

* SSS SPRING FLOWERS BACKGROUND [ SSS ] * SSS SUMMER ROSES Set [ SSS ] * SSS SUMMER ROSES [ SSS ] * SSS SUMMER ROSES Wafer Dies [ SSS ] Daniel Smith at SSSS [ SSS ] FABER CASTELL POLYCHROMOS at SSS [ SSS ] Winsor Newton WHITE GOUACHE [ SSS ] Ranger PERFECT PEARL Powder [ SSS ] Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad ANTIQUE LINEN [ SSS ] Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD [ SSS ] SSS EMBOSSING POWDER WHITE [ SSS ] * SSS ANTIQUE GOLD Embossing Powder [ SSS ] Fabriano Cold-Pressed at SSS [ SSS ] SSS Black Card [ SSS ] * SSS IVORY Card [ SSS ] Little Things From Lucy’s Cards… [ SSS ] PAINTER’S TAP [ SSS ] * Hero Arts Misti at Simon Says STAMP [ SSS ] * Hero Arts MISTI MINI BLACK [ SSS ] Hero Arts MISTI MINI MOUSE PAD [ SSS ] * Hero Arts MISTI BAR MAGNATE Black [ SSS ] 3M DOUBLE-SIDED FOAM TAPE [ SSS ] SSS SMALL TEFLON BONE FOLDER [ SSS ] Gina K Designs CONNECT GLUE [ SSS ] Tim Holtz Tonic GLASS MEDIA MAT [ SSS ] Tim Holtz Tonic GUILLOTINE [ SSS ] Scor-Pal Mini Scoring Board [ SSS ] EK Success CUTTER BEE Scissors [ SSS ] TWEEZERS [ SSS ] T SQUARE RULER [ SSS ] Precision Heat Embossing Tool Gun [ SSS ] Ranger ANTI STATIC POUCH [ SSS ] SSS Embossing Powder Storage [ SSS ] Crafter’s Companion GEMINI JUNIOR… [ SSS ]

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