Faux Water Coloring

Today we are going to get messy on our craft mat!!!  Everybody loves the water color look but not everyone can water color.  Here is a way to get a water color effect using distress inks and water.

Ink Smooshing

Here is my card:

I love playing with distress inks (and I really love the new oxide inks but more on those later).  I can be messy and it doesn't matter!  Ink smooshing is a fun way to create a card!  There is more than one way but I chose to put my ink on my acrylic block.

I dug out my Tim Holtz Distress inks Broken China, Dried Marigold, and Ripe Persimmon.  I simply swiped each pad across my largest acrylic block it that order.Then I spritzed my block with water.  I believe I ended up with more water towards the top but that's OK - we don't make mistakes lol!  Just opportunities for embellishments!

I took an A2 size piece of white card stock and laid it on the craft mat and quickly flipped the block over on the card.  If you put something heavy on it for awhile it will smooth out nicely and smoosh.

Another method is to swipe your mat with ink then spritz with water then lay the card stock down and push to smoosh the color.  They really look like you did some water coloring.

After my card stock dried I trimmed my panel down to 3 3/4 x 5 and stamped it with an image from Inkadinkado "Beach" set several times in my MISTI (if you don't have one, you don't know it but you are missing one!)  I embossed the image with Whispers clear embossing powder.  I mounted my image on orange card stock and tied with some black twine.  I put the panel on a yellow card stock base and lightly inked the edges black.  I don't make a whole lot of masculine cards but I think this would work.  Now go.  Get your ink.  Add water and play!

Gracie