Technique Tuesday| Acrylic Block Stamping

Watercolour is BIG news at the moment in card-making. Watercoloured backgrounds and images are really popular. At Stampin’ Up!® we have a great kit featuring the watercolour look (Watercolour Wishes) and have several stamp sets that allow you to look like a watercolour master without any of the mess – which is awesome, but I love playing with ink and water! But I understand that it can be a tricky look to pull off.

Well, today I have  quick and easy watercolour background technique for you that doesn’t even need a paint brush!

Stampin' Up! UK Acrylic Block Stamping Technique Tuesday Video Tutorial

This technique is super simple, but as always I have created a video tutorial for you.

The new Basic Black Archival Ink is great for this technique, it gives a crisp true black image, great for sentiments and silhouette images like the ones on the card above. But also it is awesome for watercolour techniques as it doesn’t bleed or run with water, and so has become my go to black for stamped imaged that I am planning to watercolour. This card would have worked just as well if I had used Memento or Stazon as the black stamping is done after the watercolour panel is dry.

My favourite card stock for this technique is the Shimmery White, as its slightly thicker than our standard Whisper White card stock, and allows you a little more time before the ink dries than Watercolor Paper. Plus, you get that lovely shimmery finish! I can see another packet of this coming home with me really soon!

Stampin' Up! UK Butterfly Basics Watercolour Stamping

Top Tips:

  • Pull out your Stampin’ Pierce matt to stamp on, to ensure a full block of colour
  • Ink up your Acrylic Block and stamp directly onto your card stock without water for a darker, more textured look
  • Add water to your inked Acrylic Block before stamping to create the watercolour effect
  • Allow the water to dry naturally, hit it with your heat gun, or dab off the water with a clean cloth for different effects
  • Stamp over your watercolour panel with a black inked imaged for a cool silhouette effect

The stamp set I have used on this card is Butterfly Basics – definitely one of my favourites this year – lovely for feminine birthdays and other occasions, and it coordinated with two die sets and several other sets of stamps too!


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Hannah Wilks

Stampin’ Up! UK Independent Demonstrator