Category: background

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Watercoloring background Uncategorized

Learn to Watercolor Easily: Start With a Watercolor Wash to Make Beautiful Cards!

Blue card with watercolor wash background, pink circle, succulent die cuts, reading "wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been" by Mark Twain, designed by CJ Card Creations
This card features a Pacific Point watercolor wash and the Potted Succulents Dies, both of which are retiring on May 1.
Blue card with watercolor ombre background, pink circle, succulent die cuts, reading "wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been" by Mark Twain, designed by CJ Card Creations
This card features a Pacific Point watercolor wash with the Stepping Stones stamps and the Potted Succulents Dies, both of which are retiring on May 1.

Have you seen beautiful watercolor projects and thought, “That requires more talent than I have!”? Well, let’s set the record straight – a watercolor wash is an easy and fun way to start watercoloring!

Getting started

First, the paper you use is critical to your watercoloring success. The Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper from Stampin’ Up! is made with cotton fibers and is very high-quality. It comes in 5″ x 7″ panels.

Next, you need to have water (as I practice and watercolor more, I’m finding a jar of water to be really helpful). The Water Painters have a hollow barrel to fill with water and squeeze through the brush as you paint. The barrel holds enough water for small projects, but you’ll have better control of the quantity of water by using a jar to dip your brush in. Water Painters from Stampin’ Up! come in a set of 3, each with a different type of brush. For a watercolor wash, the wide, flat brush is my preference.

You can see the ink pad lid used as a palette here, along with the fine tip Water Painter.

You’ll also need a rag or a few paper towels to clean your brush and to soak up excess water from the brush and from your project.

Finally, you need ink! For this week’s Facebook Live, I chose to use Pacific Point (one of the retiring colors). I squeezed the ink pad to transfer some ink to the lid and used that as a palette. You can see this process in the video. You can also use a drop of ink from the Reinker if you’d rather – just be sure to dilute it sufficiently.

The process

I cut the Fluid 100 to 3 3/4″ x 5″ for this project. Then, I painted the panel with clear water to get ready for the ink. Adding ink to a wet surface prevents blobs of ink that are difficult to spread. Finally, I picked up ink with the Water Painter and painted the panel. I added a lot of ink at the bottom of the panel and then spread it out and diluted it as I worked towards the top of the panel. Watercoloring is great because you can add and remove color as needed to create the look you want.

It’s important to let your watercoloring project dry completely before doing anything else to it. You can either let that happen over time, or you can speed up the process with a Heat Tool. Using the Heat Tool also allows you to dry from both sides of the panel, helping to flatten it out if it curled some during the painting process.

Because you’re watercoloring, it’s important to use a solvent-based ink like StazOn for any stamping that you don’t want to bleed. Once my panel was dry, I stamped my sentiment (from the Stepping Stones stamp set) in StazOn Black ink. While this isn’t strictly necessary for this project, because the watercoloring was dry when I stamped, it’s good practice to use the proper inks so it becomes habit.

The Finished Project

Finally, I decorated my project using the White Frayed Ribbon and die cuts (from the Potted Succulents Dies) from Mint Macaron, Pacific Point, and Dry Brush Metallic 12″ x 12″ Specialty papers. I arranged the die cuts on a 2″ circle of Blushing Bride Brushstrokes 12″ x 12″ Specialty Paper.

I hope you enjoyed today’s project! If you need to purchase any supplies to create your own watercolor project, I’d truly appreciate it if you shop my online store. And, if you make a project with a watercolor wash, I’d love to see it in my CJ Cards Stampers Group over on Facebook!

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background stamp background

Learn to create your own beautiful background for card projects using just stamps, ink, and paper

Daisy Garden background stamp mounted on a block
Background stamps can be used to add visual interest to your projects.

If you’re looking for a way to add texture without using a Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine, look no further than your stamp collection! While Stampin’ Up! does offer true “background stamps”, you can turn virtually any set of images into a unique background with my tips.

Background Stamps

Background stamps are typically large (slightly larger than an A2 card front) and allow you to cover the entire panel of cardstock with one stamp. Depending on the look you’re hoping to achieve, you can stamp in the same or slightly darker color as the cardstock, or you can use bright colors on Basic White cardstock for a more dramatic effect.

To use a background stamp successfully, I have two methods for you to try. First, you can leave the stamp mounted in its case. With the stamp face up, hold the ink pad and apply ink all over the stamp. Then, lay a piece of cardstock on the stamp. Cover your cardstock with a piece of scrap paper and rub all over the stamp to make sure the ink transfers evenly. Remove your scrap paper, lift your cardstock, and look at your beautifully stamped panel!

For my second method of using a background stamp, pull out your Stamparatus. Mount your background stamp to one of the clear plates. Place a piece of cardstock that is larger than the stamp on the platform and secure with magnets. Ink stamp as described above, then flip the plate to stamp the image. Once you’re satisfied with the stamped image, remove the cardstock panel and trim to desired size.

Stamparatus holding cardstock in place to stamp accurately each time.
The Stamparatus holds cardstock in place, so stamping an image multiple times and stamping multiple panels become easy tasks!

Using the Stamparatus for background stamps is my preferred method for two reasons:

  • First, if the image doesn’t stamp as completely or darkly as desired, it’s easy to repeat the process until you achieve the desired results.
  • Second, while there are blocks that are large enough to hold a background stamp, these can be difficult to hold and maneuver. Achieving a full image is also more challenging because you can’t rub over the stamp as easily.

The Stamparatus does the stamping easily with the plate and hinges. Once you’ve flipped the plate onto the cardstock, it’s very easy to rub over the back of the plate, ensuring good contact between the cardstock and all points of the stamp. I’ve also written a full post about the uses of the Stamparatus.

Repeated Image Stamping

You can also choose smaller stamps to create your own background. For this method, I start by choosing two or three different sized stamps. While all three can be from one stamp set, you can also mix and match stamp sets, creating endless possibilities.

To make this technique more visually appealing, be sure to rotate the stamps between each stamping. Also, stamp off the edges of the cardstock panel, creating the impression that the pattern continues outside of the panel. Using these tips also creates a more random look to the background.

For one of my favorite examples of this technique, I use a flower, a leaf, and a small texture stamp (like a cluster of dots for a flower center). I use one ink color for each stamp. Starting with the largest stamp and working to the smallest makes it easy to cover the panel evenly. After finishing with the largest stamp, begin to fill in white space with the mid-sized stamp. Finally, fill remaining gaps with the smallest, textural stamp. Using this method allows you to create your own piece of Designer Series Paper to coordinate with your preferred color scheme and style.

light blue card with white background covered in green foliage, yellow flowers, and blue berries with green and white tags on front featuring a 3D yellow flower and the sentiment "thinking of you"
Stamp your own background design

I hope you’ve found these tips about stamping backgrounds helpful! For video tutorials, make sure to follow the link below to watch my YouTube series on backgrounds for card projects.

Youtube background series

Categories
Designer Series Paper background Project layers

Learn To Effectively Cut and Use Designer Series Paper From Stampin’ Up! For Your Next Paper Crafting Project

Several projects, a stack of designer series paper, and a piece of designer series paper on the Stampin" Trimmer ready to be cut.

Designer Series Paper (also called patterned paper or DSP) is any piece of paper that has a design printed on it. Stampin’ Up! sells DSP that is two-sided, meaning that one side has one pattern, and there is a different pattern on the other side.

Aside from their high quality, Stampin’ Up! products overall are wonderful because of the color coordination across product types. This means that the colors of cardstock match the colors of ink, which match the colors in the Designer Series Papers.

Several projects, a stack of designer series paper, and a piece of designer series paper on the Stampin" Trimmer ready to be cut.
Designer Series Paper ready to be cut with Stampin’ Trimmer.

Your chosen piece of DSP can be one of several layers on your card, the main image on your card, or just a small piece that also inspires your card’s color palette. Using multiple patterns of DSP on your project adds visual interest. The more you use your DSP, the more you’re going to love it!

Before the First Cut

DSP is sold in packs with several designs, sized in 6”x6” or 12”x12” pieces. The colors within a pack of DSP all coordinate and are consistent throughout the pack.

To start, choose a piece of DSP and have a project in mind (card vs. 3D vs. scrapbook page), as the type of project can impact what cuts you make. You will also want to pay attention to whether your piece of DSP has a particular orientation – that is, do the images have a clearly defined top and bottom. If so, make sure that you also decide on the orientation (portrait or landscape) of your final project before cutting that DSP.

Cutting 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper

To create a standard A2 card, the first layer is typically 4” x 5 ¼”.  Because of this, I like to make the first cut at 4” on a 12” square sheet.  This will help maximize how many usable pieces you have from one sheet because, unless you plan well and/or are doing a One Sheet Wonder, there will inevitably be some scraps that seem too small to bother with. 

Once that 4” cut is made, you can rotate the strip of DSP 90 degrees and cut at 5 ¼”, giving you two full layers from one strip. That 1 ½” x 4” piece is great cut in half, leaving two ¾” x 4” strips to add to the card liners to carry the imagery through the entire project (insert image)!

In the case of a directional piece of DSP to be used for a landscape card, you will want to cut at 4” parallel to the top of the sheet of DSP. For a portrait orientation with directional paper, that 4” cut will be perpendicular to the top of the sheet of DSP.

Cutting 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper

If you are using DSP that is 6” x 6”, your cutting results will change just a bit. Here, I cut at 4” first (again paying attention to directionality if needed), as this preserves the length of the remaining 2” piece. Then, I trim off that bottom ¾” x 4” piece to use for the card liner.

With the 2” x 6” piece, you can cut it into three squares to arrange on another card. Or you can do one of my favorite card layouts, which uses a 2” x 5 ½” strip of DSP adhered to the left side of the card front. At this point, I toss the remaining ½” x 2” strip, as my craft room only has so much space and I have limited time to create! However, I have seen lots of beautiful projects using all different sized strips of DSP, so that is another avenue you can explore.

Another cut that makes exceptional use of your 6” x 6” paper is to cut into equal quarters. These squares then make wonderful smaller layers for your project or work well on samplers.

Using Designer Series Paper on Projects

I shared a couple of ideas for using your DSP as I discussed the cutting process. There are, of course, many more options!

  • Panels of DSP can be dry embossed with an embossing folder and your Stampin’ Cut & Emboss machine to achieve additional texture on your project without adding layers.
  • I often forget that I can stamp directly ON my DSP! It just seems like the paper is perfect as it is. However, some patterns really lend themselves to stamping. For this, I like to use Memento Black or a dark ink that coordinates well. This is also a great opportunity to use your Stamparatus (the stamp positioning tool from Stampin’ Up!), as you can easily guarantee straight stamping and you have the option to stamp 2-3 times to get the image/sentiment as dark as you want.
  • DSP from Stampin’ Up! is much thinner than the cardstock, so using it doesn’t add significant weight or thickness to your projects. Keep this in mind as you score your Designer Series Paper – it takes much less pressure to achieve a good score line. If you apply too much pressure when scoring, you can punch a hole in or tear the DSP.
  • Many DSP patterns from Stampin’ Up! coordinate with dies, too. This allows you to die cut an image from the DSP rather than stamping and coloring the image yourself. For this, I recommend trimming out the section you want to use with your paper snips. Then, just that small piece runs through your die cutting machine, preserving as much of the original piece of DSP as possible for other uses.
  • Another great use of DSP is to punch or die cut shapes of different sizes to layer with cardstock on your project. Circles work great for this process.
Several projects using Designer Series Paper cut out with a punch
Designer Series Paper can be punched out for focal images on projects.

If you’ve found these suggestions and tips helpful, please join my email list! As a thank you for signing up, I’ll send my FIVE favorite card sketches to use as inspiration for your projects.