Zany Watercolour Background for Zany Zebras – and an introduction to the new Water Painters. I have a different project and very different video for you today. This started off as simply one of those ‘I don’t have it all planned out’ videos, but ended up almost more of a technique and information video. So, if you want to know all about the new Water Painters and how to make a watercolour wash background, this is for you. If you want to see a fun card, this is also for you.

I started out by making the background for the card. I used Shimmery White Card because I wanted the smooth finish (and that little bit of sparkle is always a plus!) Using lots of water on this card is amazing, but it really helps if you add water to both sides of the card so it lies flat. I added the inks using the wide Water Painter. This is a great brush for covering large areas. I have been a little concerned that ink appeared to move back up the barrel, but I found something out that put my mind at rest. What? Well that is much easier to explain on the video than in words, so you will want to take a look. Trust me, it was a game changer.

Once I had added the ink the card needed a long time to dry, and I mean a long time. Even helping it along with my Heat Gun it took about 30 minutes. When it was ‘mostly’ dry, I put my F Block on it to help keep it flat.

While the watercolour is drying there is plenty of time to get on with the other parts of the card. I chose to heat emboss the sentiment in White on Basic Black. Because I wanted the ‘zany’ and the ‘wild’ to come across as much as possible, I cut the words apart and added to add them on Dimensionals later.

The Zebra was pretty simple, just stamped in Tuxedo Black on Whisper White Card. Now, I deal with this in length in the video, but, unless you are covering the whole of your Shimmery White Card with a wash, please use it for any additional stamping too. Shimmery White Card is not pure Whisper White, nor is it Very Vanilla, so keep that in mind. Me being me, I fussy cut the Zebra out. The one I chose was a particularly easy little chap to cut out, especially if you keep the tail as part of the body. Cutting round the tail is beyond what I would be comfortable doing if I also wanted it to be popped up.

Once the Watercolour background was dry, I trimmed it down to the finished dimensions. This gets rid of any strange edge that you might have after the watercolouring. After adding a piece of Coastal Cabana Ribbon, I added this to a piece of Basic Black card using LOTS of Black Dimensionals to help keep it flat. This was then added to a Gorgeous Grape Card Base with Multi Purpose Liquid Adhesive. The finishing touches were to add the Zebra, words and a few Elegant Faceted Gems. I am loving the clear ones from this pack, they take up whatever colour you put them on because they are, well clear!

Time for the Video!