Gosh, we are in full-on summer mode here! The weather is uncharacteristically kind for a Scottish summer, and I am enjoying as much time in my garden as possible – it is a beautiful inspiration when pulling out my paints. I fell in love with watercolours years ago; they are my go-to medium whenever I want to make a card. The new Just A Note release from Simon Says Stamp has this Summer Bouquet Stencil I was itching to use my paints with. 

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon just a note release

Before I jump into this card, please check out the new Just a Note release from Simon Says Stamp. The Summer Bouquet Stencil and Plant Sentiments set I used for this card are included in the release.

try a fun alternative way to use a stencil

The Summer Bouquet stencil has a lovely grouping of flowers. It was just a case of how to transfer them to a watercolour card. You could blend a light ink such as Antique Linen through the stencil, which would act as a light, water-reactive base and lay the design onto the card. However, I chose to use watercolour pencils and trace each area. I used a green pencil for the leaves and a light pink pencil for the flowers. Once I added the paint, I used Daniel Smith watercolours; the pencils would blend with the colour and disappear to give a no-line watercolour look.

I trimmed the watercolour panel to fit on a card base cut and scored from a Neenah Desert Storm card slightly larger than A2. I trimmed the panel to be half an inch shorter on one edge and added a piece of watercolour card I had painted in stripes. I glued this to the back of the main panel and then added stitching for detail.

I splattered the main panel with white gouache and left-over paint before sprinkling sequins and eggshell pearls.

I chose a greeting from the Plant Sentiments set, stamped it in Versamark ink on an Ivory card, and heat embossed it with Antique Gold embossing powder. I trimmed it to a skinny banner and adhered it over the panel with foam tape.

Well, that’s me for today. I hope you liked my summer garden-inspired use of a stencil. It certainly was fun, and it’s great to have as many ways as possible to use our supplies. 

I will be back this weekend to take part in a blog hop. I hope you will join me then. In the meantime, I hope you can squeeze in some creative time.

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.