Watercolored Flowers with Cutting Dies

One of my current card making favorites right now is stamps with matching cutting dies.  I never enjoyed fussy cutting so the dies are perfect for me.  I recently received the last set of Distress Oxides inkpads and I wanted to try out the color palette.

 

 I started by gold heat embossing flowers and leaves from two different stamp sets onto watercolor paper.  I added Oxides ink using a paintbrush.  First I swiped a little ink onto my glass mat, then I used a watercolor brush to pick up the color.  I start with the lightest colors first, then move to the darker shades.  I made sure to color past the lines just a bit to avoid a white ring around the diecuts.  You could color perfectly within the lines as well and use the qhite border as part of the design.  Next, I used the matching dies to cut out the shapes.

 

Once I was finished coloring the flowers and leaves, I used the remaining ink to create the coordinating background.  I just swiped the watercolor paper over the ink on the glass mat and smooshed it until it covered the entire piece of paper.  The background colors are a little more subtle and it was a great use of leftover ink. I also flicked a few drops of water onto the ink since Oxides react so well with water.  I used a heat tool to dry the background and trimmed it to fit on a standard card front.

 

Then I arraned the flower bouquets.  A great tip for arranging small pieces is to use Press-N-Seal over the pieces once you have the design you like.  Then you can keep the design intact while you apply the adhesive.

I love how the purple background turned out a little darker than the flowers.  It makes the light purple really pop.  

 

I added a foam sheet to the backs of the backgrounds and then mounted them on 110 lb white cardstock. The 10 lb cardstock really makes a difference in the feel of the cards.  I used lighter paper for years, but now I will always use the heavier stock for my card bases.

I left the cards without sentiments so that I could add the appropriate message when I needed them.  In the end, the peach and coral card received a feel better sentiment in matching gold embossing powder.  The metallic gold is a nice accent to the pretty watercolors.