archival ink watercoloring...

here's part 2 of this series...

showing how to use a stamp, 

several different ways...

I started this sample the same way as the previous post...

I worked on watercolor cardstock...

and used the stamp from "unlimited art"...

I inked the stamp with Glacier White pigment ink, stamped it toward the bottom left and heat embossed it with 

Ranger's white embossing powder...

so far same as yesterday's card...

the previous post showed watercoloring with distress stains...

today, I'm switching to archival sprays & 

archival inks...

archival sprays???

to make the archival sprays, I added rubbing alcohol to the mister (¾ full) and added drops of the archival reinker until I liked the color...

I'll be using sunflower and sky blue...

make sure to choose colors that will work well together in areas where they might overlap...

I wanted to keep the background fairly light for this card...

remember...

 archival inks are translucent, as are distress inks...

if the background was super dark, it would limit the colors that you could use for the watercoloring...

I misted right over the stamped image & gave it a very quick dry...

next I chose the archival colors for the leaves & the flower...

you'll need rubbing alcohol...

that's what's in the distress sprayer...

when I'm painting/coloring with wet archival inks, I LOVE the detailer water brush...

I use the brush empty...

I like it because the bristles hold very little fluid, which gives me very good control...

if you're heavy handed...this helps a lot!

I love that the tip is still pointy & for me, I have much more success with it as compared to a regular paint brush...

 I'll ink my leaves with leaf green & the flower with gorgeous violet...

 

I swiped the corner of the 

violet archival pad 

onto the craft sheet...

it takes very little & you'll see a puddle of rubbing alcohol to the right...

next, I picked up some alcohol & some ink...

you can start very light & add layers or just paint one layer...

here's my first petal...

I kept painting until all the petals were colored...

then went back over them to darken the center of the flower...

this took less than 2 minutes...

you want to work fairly quickly as the watercolor paper absorbs the inky fluid quickly & the alcohol evaporates quickly...

I didn't find it necessary to dry each layer...

one thing you'll notice is that the alcohol doesn't warp the paper & there are no streaks...

the inks blend really easily...

to clean the brush, just dip it into the alcohol & tap it on a paper towel & the color is gone & it's ready for the next color...

on to the leaves...

there's leaf green archival on the left & 

a little alcohol on the right...

picking up color...

I added a layer to all 4 leaves, then went back & added a tiny bit of shading to the leaves, closest to the flower...

another layer of leaf green to add more shading ...

and the leaves are done...

because the embossing & background are white, the flourish doesn't really get noticed, so I darkened that area with sky blue...

better!

now to add more details...

I stenciled the borders stencil vertically toward the left side, using sky blue...

I avoided the flower/leaves...

it looks like this...

then stenciled again, horizontally with sky blue...

and so far, it looks like this...

here's a fun discovery...

I wanted to add some white dots to the background, 

but Glacier White is a beautiful bright white ink...

to make it more subtle, I swiped the pad onto the craft sheet, then

moistened the blending tool with rubbing alcohol, picked up some Glacier White & stenciled the polka dotty stencil...

I LOVE the result...

it's a very cloudy/chalky effect...

the dots are in the background, where they should be & not competing with the focal point...

used full strength, I was afraid that it would be too stark & the flourish would get lost again, being near that bright white ink...

here's a closer look...

I will be doing this lots more...

I stamped the sentiment toward the top right corner, with jet black archival...

and added pen stitching to accent the stenciled borders...

at this point I wanted a bit more color under the flower...

I stamped a portion of the flower/leaves onto a post it note & masked off the flower/leaves...

that's the post it note under the card...

then I added a bit of sunflower archival, with the blending tool...

looks better...

here's my accent pieces...

the new mat mini heart got inked 

with red geranium &

the mat mini button got a light layer of sunflower archival...

I spotted a

bundle deal for all 4 new mat minis...

it's a buy 3 get one free deal...

both mat minis got stamped with

the vintage text stamp... 

I used a vintage button & some black embroidery floss to tie them together...

I wanted some inky dots in the background, so I dispensed a few drops of broken china distress stain onto the craft sheet...

picked it up with the detailer water brush & tapped it over the card...

a few black glaze pen dots

and

here's my finished card...

super fun...

now for a side by side comparison...

here's the same stamp 2 ways...

same stamp...totally different result...

inks make a huge difference!

I think this also shows that stamps 

can be any style that fits YOU...

they can be

clean, simple, pastel...

artsy...

or bolder & bright...

I like that this is another way 

to use your archival inks...

archival inks are great for stamping, embossing, stenciling, making backgrounds & for this watercoloring technique...

and I'm L O V I N G the archival reinkers made into archival sprays...

REALLY   L O V I N G...

the next post will show this same stamp used with a different technique...

this one uses 

weathered white embossing powder...

I hope you're inspired to test out painting with your archivals or distress stains...

have a wonderful weekend...

make art!

wendy