First off, let me just say that I am absolutely in love with this watercolor thinking of you card. I love pastels, and I love floral designs, so mixing the pastel stripes and this beautiful stamped flower design just speaks to my heart. When I first started designing these backgrounds, I originally thought that I wanted to make them into birthday or baby shower cards. However, given everything happening in the world, it felt more appropriate to turn them into thinking of you cards. So let’s dig into exactly how I made it. I’ve posted all of the materials and a full overview of everything I did to achieve this look. So, let’s dig in!
Thinking of You Card – Materials Used:
This blog may use affiliate links when they’re available. If you choose to make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. I don’t make recommendations lightly, and will only link to products I know and trust.
Taylored Expressions 3/4” Stripe Stencil Set [Taylored Expressions]
Sakura Koi Watercolor Field 48 Color Sketch Set [Amazon]
Canson XL Mix Media Pad, 7″X10″ Side Wire [Amazon]
ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape – 1.88-Inch by 60-Yard [Amazon]
Uchida Embossing Heat Tool with Stand [Amazon] [Scrapbook.com]
Misti Stamp Tool Original Size Stamp Positioner [Amazon]
The Stamp Market – Friendly Bunch Stamp Set [Scrapbook.com]
Hampton Art Floral Sentiments Layering Stamp Set
Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black [Amazon] [Scrapbook.com]
Lawn Fawn – Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables Die Set [Amazon] [Scrapbook.com]
Sizzix BIGkick Machine [Amazon] [Scrapbook.com]
EK Tools EK Scoring Board 12×12 [Amazon]
Fiskars Recycled Bypass Trimmer, 12 Inch [Amazon]
Nuvo Glitter Drops – Red Sunstone [Amazon] [Scrapbook.com] [Tonic Studios]
Nuvo Glitter Drops – Emerald City [Amazon] [Scrapbook.com] [Tonic Studios]
Nuvo Crystal Drops – Blue Babe [Scrapbook.com] [Tonic Studios]
Nuvo Crystal Drops – Morning Dew [Amazon] [Scrapbook.com] [Tonic Studios]
Nuvo Crystal Drops – Dandelion Yellow [Amazon] [Scrapbook.com] [Tonic Studios]
Nuvo Crystal Drops – Sugared Almond [Amazon] [Scrapbook.com]
Neenah Solar White Cardstock [Scrapbook.com] [Amazon]
Scor-Pal Scor-Tape – 1/8″X27 Yards [Amazon]
Scrapbook Adhesives Initially Repositionable Mounting Squares [Amazon]
Watercolor Thinking of You Card – Tutorial:
Step 1.
First, I cut my Canson XL mixed media paper into 4 sheets that were slightly larger than an A2 sized greeting card.
Next, I laid my Taylored Expressions 3/4″ stencil on the table face down and laid my paper on top of the stencil. I grabbed my ScotchBlue painters tape and ripped off two pieces of tape about 3 inches long each and used that tape to stick the paper to the stencil. Then I flipped my paper/stencil combo over and I was ready to go.
Step 2.
I used my Koi watercolor paint set to make this thinking of you card, and if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t put too much thought into the colors I used. I had several colors already on my mixing pallet that were waiting to be utilized so I just picked my favorites and went with them. Here are the colors I ended up using: 052, 024, 032, 173, 143, 108.
I wanted the stripes to have a subtle gradual fade. So as I was painting, I kept adding water to the paint to make it lighter and lighter. Also, something to note, I didn’t use any kind of spray adhesive on my stencil. I wanted the strips to have a messy look to them, so I wasn’t too worried if some paint got under the stencil. I just wanted a more general shape.
This is my first time using the taylored expressions plastic stencil and I have to say, I’m a fan. It was easy to use, easy to clean. the paint didn’t really stain the stencil, and it just overall makes for a really classy looking design. I would absolutely recommend it.
Step 3.
Moving on. I carefully peeled the paper from the stencil and removed the painter’s tape. The paint was still wet, so I had to be very careful. Once I had removed the stencil, I used Uchida heat tool to dry the paint.
Tip – If you do this at home, DO NOT use a heating tool with the stencil still on the paper. You will likely melt your stencil.
Step 4.
Once it dried the paper was a bit warped, so I ended up sticking it under a really heavy book for a few days to help flatten it out. After that, I added a border to each background using the Lawn Fawn outside in stitched rectangle stackables die set. I used the largest rectangle in the set and ran it through my Sizzix Big Kick machine with each background. It made them all the perfect size to fit on an A2 greeting card, and it left a delightful little stitched outline around the rectangle.
Step 5.
Now that the background had been trimmed down to size, it was time to stamp the floral design from The Stamp Market’s Friendly Bunch stamp set. Using my Misti stamping tool and a jet black archival ink pad from Ranger, I stamped the floral design down first. Then I added the thinking of you sentiment from Hampton Art to the lower left-hand side.
Tip – Click here to view more stamping technique tutorials.
Lastly, I trimmed a sheet of Neenah Solar White cardstock to be 8.5×5.5 inches, then scored it and folded it in half to make an A2 sized greeting card base, I used Scor-Pal Scor-Tape to secure the stripes design to the card base.
Well, that’s it for today! I hope you found this tutorial helpful. If you’d like to view more watercolor tutorials, you can find them here. Check it out, and follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest for the latest updates! You can also shop all the handmade cards that I’ve designed here.