Hello crafty people! I don’t know about you, but I love to ink smoosh (basically using marker or ink mixed with water on some acetate (usually some scrap packaging) that is then pressed into watercolor paper to make abstract blobs of color. Sometimes I have extra “watercolor” leftover, and I will add it to a new piece of watercolor paper for later. In addition, sometimes I will spray a stencil after using it on a project and flip it to get the leftover ink or spray onto the watercolor paper as well.
Both of today’s cards feature backgrounds made by adding a variety of colors and textures from past projects featuring ink smooshing and stencils. I die cut them and then used them with some other stamps and dies to make some fun projects.
Card #1
This card features an ink smooshed background created by adding some orange, sparkly, green, and gray smooshed areas as well as pressing a stencil with green ink activated with water sprayed over the stencil. Today, I die cut this watercolor panel with a stitched-rectangular die and then ink blended around the edges of the panel with my (very, very dry) black ink. (I really need to rein that ink pad!) I then die cut a sparkly black glitter cardstock with a slightly larger die that serves as a matte layer for the stitched rectangle panel.
Then I moved onto the rest of the card. I stamped the coffee cup on more watercolor paper with a black ink and then heat embossed it with a holographic embossing powder. I then colored in the cup with markers, and used a glitter brush marker to help blend the marker on the cup. After everything dried, I die cut the cup with the corresponding die cut. I then set it aside.
I then used a wonky circular die cut to die cut another piece of leftover watercolor paper from a past project (that had been sprayed with a dark pink spray). Before gluing the circular die cut onto the panel, I added two pieces of striped washi tape onto the panel with the intention that it would peek out from behind the circular die cut. The right edges of the washi tape were roughly hand cut as they were placed on the card panel. Then I glued the circle onto the center left edge of the stitched rectangular die and after the glue dried, I ran both through my die cutting machine again with the stitched rectangular die to trim the circular die cut and add the stitching as well.
Then I assembled the card. I attached the die cut cup onto the circle die cut with some foam tape for dimension. Then I put the panel into my stamping platform and stamping a sentiment on the lower right corner of the card panel with more black ink. I heat embossed the sentiment with more holographic embossing powder. Gold, black and white sequins were glued around the cup. Then I glued the stitched panel onto the black glossy (matte) panel. Finally, the whole thing was glued onto an A2-sized white card base.
Card #2
This second card was made with the leftover ink smooshed background leftover from the first card, which is why it is smaller. There was enough of the background left for this mid-sized die (which is the next largest die from the same wonky circle die set used in the first card). After die cutting the ink smooshed background, I ink blended the edge of the inside of the circle with more of the very dry ink pad and then glued it onto the frame of the circular die cut made out of more of the black glitter cardstock.
I stamped, heat embossed, and die cut the same coffee cup and then used markers to color in the image. Again, I used the same glitter brush marker to help blend the marker and to add some sparkle to the flowers, sleeve and lid of the cup.
This time, I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of watercolor paper with more of the black ink and heat embossed it before trimming it with my paper trimmer. I glued the sentiment onto the die cut circle and then added the die cut coffee cup with more foam tape. The circular die cut was then glued onto an A2-sized white card base.
To finish the card, sequins were glued around the lower left corner of the cup and the upper right part of the circle.
I hope that these cards inspire you to use some of the ink smooshed backgrounds you may have laying around to make some cards!
Anna York is from Oregon, US. She has been writing for TPC since 2023. Anna started paper crafting in 2008, had a break while her kids were small and started cardmaking again in 2019. Anna mostly makes cards. Her paper projects are often made in sparkly, whimsical style and she loves colors.