Hello everyone! I am so excited to be part of the Wild Whisper Design team this year and am excited to share creative ideas with you all! This week I wanted to share with you an easy card design using the “Feel the Beat” stamp set. My challenge to myself this week was to simplify and challenge myself to see what I could do with one stamp set, some watercolor pencils and ink.
I purposely chose neutral colors for this guitar card. You can really alter the look of this card depending on the colors that you choose. I wanted to create a more masculine card because I find these cards more challenging to come up with a strong design.
If you have never used watercolor pencils before, I would suggest giving them a try in your project this week. They are a fun, versatile, and forgiving medium that are relaxing to color with. If you do not have watercolor pencils on hand, there are many other ways you can color these images, including colored pencils, markers, and inks.
In this video tutorial, I provide a step-by-step tutorial on how to make this fun card. I also share some tips and techniques to get great results with your watercolor pencils.
If you are interested in written instructions, they are also available below.
Stamping the Image
Start by cutting a piece of white cardstock to 4 ¼ inches by 5 ½ inches. Using Wild Whisper Designs “Feel the Beat” stamp set and Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink (or another waterproof ink), stamp the guitar at an angle onto the cardstock. Repeat until you have a repeated pattern covering the entire piece.
Stamp Musical Notes and Guitar
On another piece of paper, stamp the treble clef and musical notes. Also stamp another guitar image that will be the focal point for this card.
Color Images with Watercolor Pencils
Using watercolor pencils, I used Derwent branded pencils, color in the guitars using Copper Beech, Terracotta, Brown Ochre, Golden Brown and Gunmetal. When using watercolor pencils, the coloring does not have to be perfectly consistent as you will be wetting and blending the colors with a brush. By varying how much pencil you add to the image, this can also create more intense or more subtle color. Make sure to color in the guitar that will be used as the focal image.
Blend Images with a Watercolor Brush
Blend images by adding water with a #2 watercolor brush. This will wet the color and allow it to blend. Make sure to pull the color with the brush to add a beautiful blend. This is an opportunity to add more water or less water depending on the intensity of color desired. After you have colored in all the guitar images, set aside to dry fully. Also blend color on the guitar image that will be used as the focal image.
Adding Musical Strip to Card
Take a piece of black cardstock and cut to 4 ¼ inches by ¾ inches. Add the three musical notes to a stamping block in a staggered pattern. Using Tim Holtz Distress Ink Picket Fence, stamp the musical notes in a repeated pattern across the card. The intent is to have a subtle stamped image that will not compete with the other images on the card but provides texture.
Stamp the Sentiment
Stamp the sentiment from the stamp set “Music is the sound of my soul” onto a piece of white cardstock. Cut the piece of paper into a square shape and round the corners with a corner punch. Add it to a piece of black cardstock and cut around it and round the corners to create a frame for the sentiment.
Assembling the Card
Before you assemble the card, fussy cut around the focal guitar image, the treble clef, and musical notes. Set aside. Start assembly of this card by cutting out the cardstock layers that will go behind the guitar paper. Cut a piece of black cardstock 4 3/8 inches by 4 5/8 inches. Cut a piece of brown cardstock 9 ½ inches by 6 inches and fold in half. Adhere the black paper to the brown card back and adhere the stamped and colored guitar paper on top. Add the black strip one third up from the bottom of the card and add the sentiment and guitar to the card. Finish off by adding the musical notes and treble clef to the project.
What Do You Think?
I would love to hear what you think about this card design and if you have any questions about using watercolor pencils. If you are interested in this Wild Whisper Designs Feel the Beat Stamp Set, please use DTNADINE at checkout to get a 10% discount on your order.
If you want to learn a bit more about watercolor pencils, please visit my website Hop-A-Long Studio. I hope that you have time for some creative self-care this weekend and make sure to stop by the Wild Whisper Designs blog soon for more creative ideas.
