Faux two-step stamping with Wildflower Designs

 

I have a really fun two-step stamping technique to show you today, using the Stampin’ Up!® stamp set Wildflower Designs, some Petunia Pop ink and a water spritzer.

Using a spritz of water, I turned Wildflower Designs into a two-step stamp.

It was a lot of fun – and mess – and I love the results. Read on to find out how I did it.

I began with a piece of Stampin’ Up!® Basic White cardstock then inked up the largest stamp from Wildflower Designs using Petunia Pop ink. Instead of stamping straight onto the cardstock, I spritzed it with water first. More water gives you a looser, more blurred effect. I experimented with stamping off onto scrap paper first and this resulted in a paler effect with a little more detail. Have fun trying different methods to see which you prefer. 

It’s important to make sure your stamp is fully dry before adding more ink as you don’t want to dilute your ink pad.

Once this was fully dry – a heat tool will speed things up if you’re short of time – I stamped on top in Blackberry Bliss, using the same stamp from Wildflower Designs, to create a faux two-step stamping technique. I didn’t use any stamp positioning tools or methods; just winged it. The relaxed and loose style of the watercolour effect meant that it doesn’t really matter that the outline image isn’t quite lined up. It gives it a more handpainted effect, I think. 

 

Once this was dry I used a Stampin’ Up!® water painter with some diluted Petunia Pop ink to splash across the white cardstock. I repeated this with Old Olive ink to add a tiny hint of green.

Again, this needs time to dry before mounting onto a narrow strip of Blackberry Bliss cardstock.

Behind this I laid a strip of double-sided tape then pleated the Petunia Pop ribbon on top, so the bottom edge shows a frill. I added another strip of double-sided tape on top of that to secure it. 

At the top of the card you can see some 2024–2026 In Color™ 6" X 6" Designer Series Paper in Petunia Pop, which is folded around the crease of the card for a seamless look.

The Wildflower Designs panel is then popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals to leave space for the bulky ribbon, and a greeting is stamped on Fresh Freesia in Blackberry Bliss. The sentiment comes from Simply Said, which is my favourite greeting stamp set because the words are plain and simple. I – along with my customers and almost everyone I know – much prefer these to the more sentimental sayings you often find in stamp sets.

This is die-cut with Happy Little Things dies (an Online Exclusive). 

 

To finish off, as I didn’t have any embellishments in the right colour, I used some pale ones and coloured them using a Blackberry Bliss Stampin’ Blend. This is a brilliant way of getting your embellishments to match your project.

I had some stamped Wildflower Designs images left over so decided to make a matching tag. For this I used Petunia Pop cardstock, which I cut into a tag shape using the Stampin’ Up!® Elegant Edge Tag Topper punch. I love tag topper punches because you can make tags, bookmarks and so much more as you can use any length of cardstock. 

 

I punched out the flower using a 1 3/4" circle punch from Stampin’ Up!®, decorated the bottom of the tag with some 2024–2026 In Color™ 6" X 6" Designer Series Paper in Petunia Pop and finished off as before with a stamped greeting from Simply Said and some hand-finished embellishments.

This birthday card is made using the same Wildflower Designs stamp set and indeed all the same products. Some of the flowers at the top right of this panel were a little smudged so I simply covered them with the greeting. 

Again, this comes from Simply Said and is stamped on Fresh Freesia in Blackberry Bliss and cut out using Happy Little Things Dies. I did this by masking each word off separately before inking and stamping separately onto two die-cut pieces. The shapes are then scored at the right and folded around the white and Blackberry Bliss panel. 

The Petunia Pop ribbon is added in the same way, on a strip of double-sided tape, and it’s all mounted onto a Petunia Pop card base with some 2024–2026 In Color™ 6" X 6" Designer Series Paper in Petunia Pop.

 

Inside the card I used one of my leftover panels of just the spritzed inking in Petunia Pop. It’s pale enough to write on and gives the card an extra surprise for the recipient. Let’s celebrate is from Simply Said stamp set, and stamped in Blackberry Bliss.

I hope you like my Wildflower Designs projects using this fun faux watercolour technique and maybe you’ll even give it a try!

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Frequently asked questions

Do you need special paper or cardstock for this faux watercolour technique?

No, you can use your standard Stampin’ Up!® Basic White cardstock. However, it would look great on watercolour paper too. Play around to see which results you prefer.

What ink pads work with this faux watercolour technique?

You can use any colour ink pad but it must be water based or it won’t dilute and spread the colour. Stampin’ Up’s Classic Stampin’ Pads are ideal.

Do you need special tools to create a spattered ink effect using Stampin’ Up!® ink?

It’s easy to create this spattered ink effect and you don’t need any special equipment. You can use a water painter or a standard paintbrush. Squeeze a Classic Stampin’ Up!® ink pad to create a pool of ink in the lid – with the new-style pads, hold them upside down to do this. If you don't want to dirty your ink pad, then press a clear stamping block into the pad to create a little palette of colour. Add some water using a wet paintbrush or a water painter then hold it horizontally over your project. Keep everything else away! Tap the brush and the ink will splatter across the paper. The more water you add to the ink, the bigger and paler the splatters will be. Less water results in darker, smaller spatters.

How do you get a pleated ribbon effect with Stampin' Up!® ribbon?

Lay a strip double-sided tape on the back of your cardstock. Then fold and stick the ribbon on top. You can keep turning it over to see what it looks like and if you aren't happy with it, then simply peel it off and stick it on again. A second strip of double-sided tape on top will help keep it in place.

What markers do you use to colour your Stampin’ Up!® embellishments?

You can use any permanent marker, or alcohol marker. This means if you don’t have Stampin’ Blends you can use a Sharpie. But if you want your projects to coordinate with your Stampin’ Up!® cardstock and inks, then Stampin’ Blends are perfect. The darker shades will give you the best results. Leaving the embellishments on their backing sheet, colour over them carefully, especially if using the brush end as you don’t want to damage the tip. Then allow them to dry on the sheet before using. Water-based markers will not work for this as the ink will simply bead and rub off.

How do you ink only part of a stamp?

You can do this several ways. For this project I used a piece of sticky note over the word I didn’t want to use, then inked up the other one. I removed the mask before stamping. You can also ink up words separately using Stampin’ Write markers. It’s important to use a water-based marker. If you use an alcohol marker the ink will dry instantly and not transfer to your project. It will also stain your stamp. Another way is to cut up your stamps! Because Stampin’ Up!® stamps are unmounted, you can always join them back together when mounting on the clear block.