Loose watercolor Mod Floral

One thing I want to work on with my cardmaking is to do more watercolor techniques. Not realistic watercolor painting -- I'm not that skilled -- but really just using all my watercolor supplies more often. I got a start by using watercolor markers with the fun Mod Floral die from Ellen Hutson to create a soft, feminine birthday card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Cake (Essentials by Ellen)
Paper: Gray Granite, Grapefruit Grove card stock (Stampin' Up!); watercolor paper (Strathmore)
Ink: Gray Granite (Stampin' Up!); Soft Peach, Gold, Apple, Olive Green Brushmarker Pro watercolor markers (Karin)
Accessories: Mod Floral die (Essentials by Ellen), clear shimmer spray (Avery Elle), jute twine (May Arts Ribbon), rhinestones (Stampin' Up!), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

I love that the cluster of die-cut flowers is large enough to be the focus of a card, but you could also trim it down to make a smaller grouping. (The die does also cut out a few individual buds and leaves, which I used to add some dimension by layering them onto parts of the large cluster.)

I die cut the Mod Floral die from watercolor paper and applied a light layer of water to the paper. Using watercolor markers I added peach to the flowers, yellow to the flower centers, and green to the leaves. I used a "loose" style and wasn't very particular or careful; I just went back and forth between the markers and plain water, moving or adding color until I was happy with the result.

 

Once the watercolor was dry, I spritzed the die cut with shimmer spray and then adhered it (and the extra layered pieces) near the upper left corner of a light gray card base. I wanted to bring in a little more of the peach color, so I added a strip of Grapefruit Grove card stock along the bottom edge of the card front. I stamped the birthday sentiment using gray ink in the open lower right corner.

When I poked out the flower centers from the die cut, I noticed that they looked like little cross stitches. I decided to go with that and glued three of them in a row just above the strip of Grapefruit Grove card stock. For the rest of the embellishments, I scattered some rhinestones around the flowers and tied a length of jute twine around the bottom of the card.

Do you have favorite watercolor techniques (or tips) for cardmaking? Leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks for stopping by!