I’ve recently been captivated by a lot of watercolor videos on Instagram, nothing complicated, just some super-easy ideas that I could try with my Stampin’ Up! products! Here is one idea I saw online somewhere made into this Biggest Wish Watercolor Birthday Card.

Here is how I did the watercoloring on this card with my Stampin’ Up! ink pads and Water Painters. I started by stamping the two words in the Biggest Wish Stamp Set with Stazon ink (which is waterproof) on the Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper. The watercolor paper started out larger than you see on the finished card. Make sure the Stazon ink pad is well-inked before stamping on this textured watercolor paper.

After stamping the words I covered “Happy” with a piece of 1″ wide cover up tape. There are probably different brands you can use or washi tape might work if it is wide enough and not so sticky that it tears the paper when you remove it. This tape worked well for me. I placed it with a space above the word “Birthday” so the color had space to go above the word. Then I placed another strip of tape below the word leaving a space for the color.

I used several colors of ink in the Brights family and my Water Painter to pick up some ink in the ink pad lid and painted over the word “Birthday”. The tape kept the ink from going anywhere else except in that open space. When you finish with the watercoloring in the lid of the ink pad, be sure to use a paper towel to clean up the excess water in the lid so it doesn’t get into the ink pad. You can also use reinkers in the lid if you need more color. See the photo below.

The colors I used were Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Pumpkin Pie, and Coastal Cabana. You can use whatever colors you like!

When I removed the tape, you can see that I had straight lines of watercoloring across the top and bottom of the word “Birthday”. You wouldn’t have to do it this way if you wanted the color to be free-flowing. See the photo below.

I might even try making a similar card, but using a different watercoloring technique with my inks and Water Painters. It’s just something fun and different. You could also use Watercolor Pencils! Or use Stampin’ Blends markers for the same effect. Don’t you love all the creative possibilities with stamps, ink, and paper?!

To make the card, I played around with the colors before deciding on this design. The card base is Daffodil Delight with a layer of Melon Mambo cut at 5″ x 3 3/4″. The next layer is Coastal Cabana, 4 3/4″ x 3 1/2″, but I felt it needed a little “something”. I decided to use the Cane Weave Embossing Folder. However, I didn’t exactly like the “cane weave” look with this particular card so I turned it over to the other side and I think it gave a textured look without looking like a cane weave so obviously. I also trimmed down the watercolor paper to 3 7/8″ x 3″ so some of the embossed texture of the Coastal Cabana would show around the margin.

Since it is a birthday card I wanted it to look festive so I added quite a few Iridescent Adhesive-Backed Discs in three different colors. That didn’t seem like quite enough, so I stamped the little group of “plus marks” in the Biggest Wish Stamp Set in the corners.

Once you have the design idea for this card, it’s pretty easy to make. Get out some ink pads or reinkers and an acrylic block plus a small paintbrush or Water Painter and have some fun with watercoloring!

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