Watercoloring Die Cuts with Color Fuse Inks

May 17, 2020 | Color Fuse, Rubbernecker, Watercolor | 4 comments

Watercoloring die cuts like the flowers and foliage on this project is a fun technique for coloring images.  I used hot press watercolor to cut the flowers and foliage and used Color Fuse inks to color them.  Hot press watercolor paper is very smooth and is the perfect base for creating gorgeous color and shading.  For this project I used the Organic Shapable Daisy, Flower #5 (large leaves), Wreath Set and Tiny Flower Buds. I used Color Fuse Set #5 for the flower and Color Fuse Set #11 for the foliage.

The Card Base

• Cut an A2 sized white card base and a 5.25″ x 4.00″ white card layer.
• Emboss the white layer using a pretty patterned embossing folder. Note:  I used the Starry Night embossing folder and I believe it is now retired.
• Apply strips of mounting tape to the back of the embossed layer and attach it to the card base.

Watercolor the Flower and Foliage

• Cut the flower and foliage sections using hot press watercolor. I cute two sections of flowers, five sections of the fern image and one section of the large leaves.
• Spritz each section with a mini mister to create a wet base on the paper.  Note:  I mist one section at a time and then add color.
• Squish the ink pad on a palette.  Note:  I like to use an acrylic block but you can also apply the ink on a regular watercolor palette or craft sheet.
• Pick up the ink off the palette using a water brush and paint the image.  Note:  I use a water brush filled with water but you can easily use a regular watercolor brush.
• The Color Fuse inks are wonderful and create gorgeous colors on the images. I got so involved with coloring that I only remembered to take a photo of coloring the flower but I used the same technique to color the foliage.

Shaping the Flower and Foliage

• Place the flower sections face down on the molding pad and roll over the petals using a large round stylus.
• Turn the flower sections face up on the mold pad and push down in the center with the small round stylus.
• Attach the flower sections together using glossy accents. Note: Check out my flower shaping tutorials if you would like to videos of how I shape my flowers.
• Cut the tiny flower buds using white cardstock.
• Place the tiny flower buds face up on the molding pad and form using a small tipped stylus.
• Attach the small flower centers and tiny flower buds to the flower center using glossy accents.
• Place the fern sections face up on the molding pad and gently form the tips using the leaf tool.
• Use your fingers to gently roll and curl the large leaves.

Arrange the Flower and Foliage

• Attach the large leaves to the card base using glossy accents to create the foliage base for the flower.
• Attach the flower to the card base using a double layer of mounting tape to hold it up above the foliage.
• Tuck the fern sections under the flower and attach using glossy accents.
• Cut a few branches from the Wreath set using white cardstock.
• Tuck the white branches under the flower and attach using glossy accents.  Note: I thought the white branches added another interesting element to the arrangement.
• Stamp the With Love sentiment on a thin strip of white cardstock using Nocturne ink.
• Tuck the sentiment strip under the foliage and attach to the card base with a strip of mounting tape.

Do you like watercoloring die cuts for your cards?  I was so happy with how my colors turned out on both the flower and foliage.  The Color Fuse inks created such vivid colors on my images and I love how the colors pop off the embossed white background.  Check out my Paper Flower Shaping post to see another technique using Color Fuse inks to color my flowers. You can find tons of inspiration for watercoloring die cuts on Pinterest. Thank you for coming by and I hope you have a great Sunday.

Here are the Rubbernecker products used on this project.

5301-05D Organic Shapable Daisy Die [ RBB ] 5175-05D Flower #5 Die Cut [ RBB ] 5217-03D Wreath Set Die [ RBB ] Tiny Flower Buds Die Cut 5147-10D [ RBB ] 3308 Kittie Says Phrases #1 [ RBB ] Color Fuse Set #5 [ RBB ] Color Fuse Set #11 [ RBB ]

Here are the tools and supplies used.

Hot Press Watercolor Paper Pad 9×12,… [ ELH ] Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight,… [ ELH ] Long Large, ZIG Watercolor BrusH20 [ ELH ] Ranger Mini Mister, Individual [ ELH ] Susan’s Garden Tool Kit, Elizabeth… [ ELH ] Amazon.com: McGill Paper Blossoms… [ AMZUS ] VersaFine Clair Ink Pad, Nocturne [ ELH ] Ranger Non-Stick Craft Sheet [ ELH ] Scotch Foam Mounting Tape [ ELH ] ATG Double-Sided Refill Tape, 2 pk, 1/4″ [ ELH ] ATG Kit, Advanced Tape Glider [ ELH ] Mini Glossy Accents, Ranger Accents [ ELH ] Embossing Gun (Wagner), Hero Arts [ ELH ] Tonic Maxi 12 Inch Guillotine Paper… [ ELH ] Teflon Bone Folder, Essentials by Ellen [ ELH ] Scor-Pal Measuring & Scoring Board 12×12 [ ELH ] Crossover II Fabric & Paper Cutting… [ RBB ]