Studio Katia • COPIC Coloring Over Distress Smooshing Background

Hi friends,

Today I want to share a card made using Studio Katia Together We Bloom stamp set. This set has several very beautiful floral images and you know me – floral stamps are my favorite to work with.

I’ve been wanting to try this technique for a long time, since I first time saw Kelly Latevola showed it. The main idea of this technique is to create a background using Distress Inks and then color over with COPICs.

I don’t know what is my problem, but for some reason I always was thinking that these two cannot be combined. Which is absolutely not true.

To start my card off I created an distress ink smooshing background using Worn Lipstick, Mustard Seed and Moved Lawn onto a Tim Holtz watercolor panel. I pressed each ink pad onto a sandwich bag, sprayed them with water and placed the panel on them. Then I turned the paper with the bag over and with my fingers smudged inks as I wanted it all over the panel. I learned this trick from Kristina Werner when was at Simon Says Stamp CREATE event a couple weeks ago.

Then I stamped floral cluster using COPIC friendly Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink. I used masking paper to create masks for my flower to stamp them not overlapped. I tried to stamp flower over yellow and pink inks smooshing, and leaves over green. On the other hand I didn’t try to be very precise, which was almost impossible even if I’d try. I got parts of flowers stamped over green ink, and leaves over pink and yellow. As you can see in the end result – it didn’t really matter.

The flowers and leaved then were colored using COPIC markers. The flowers stamped over yellow ink I colored with yellow markers, used red markers to color over pink ink and leaves were colored with green.

After I finished my coloring I trimmed the panel to 3.75 x 5″. For the sentiment I choose very beautiful Thank You from Thank You So Much stamp set which I also stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink. This was an epic fail decision as my sentiment blended in with stamped florals. This happens with me all the time – after so much work put into a card I can ruin it with the last action. Of course I didn’t want to discard this card and all that work I invested in it. So I added shadow to the sentiment using white gel pen and this seemed to improve the situation. With the same pen I also added several dots around the florals. Along with color droplets, which I made with the same inks and small brush (just diluted some ink with water, picked up with brush and sprinkled all over the panel).

Also I covered the floral images with Clear Wink Of Stella. Of course it’s not visible on photos, but it is in real life.

I added several clear droplets of different sizes. Sometimes people as me what adhesive I use for these transparent droplets. I always use Ranger Multi Medium Adhesive in Matte finish. It dries clear and is not visible through clear droplets. Plus – this is very strong adhesive. I always use it for small non paper embellies like sequins, dots etc.

Lastly I foam mounted the panel onto a white card base I made out of Neenah Solar White cardstock. To  mount my panel I used a piece of white fun foam, cut a bit smaller then the panel, which I adhered with very strong Xtreme adhesive (it works great for stubborn surfaces, like foam or watercolor paper).

I really like the result I get. And of course I should give all credits to Kelly, who I learned this technique from.

Have a wonderful day!

SUPPLIES

If you’re interested in the supplies I’ve used – they’re listed below. Where available I use compensated affiliate links (which means if you make a purchase I will get a small commission with no additional cost for you). Click on the letters below to go to a favorite store: Simon Says Stamp (SSS), Scrapbook.com (SC), Amazon (AZ), etc.
I truly appreciate your support!

Neenah Classic Crest Smooth Solar White Cardstock 110 Lb Click A Shop: SSS | AZ	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock Click A Shop: SSS	Studio Katia Thank You So Much Stamp Set Click A Shop: SSS | SK	Studio Katia Together We Bloom Stamp Set Click A Shop: SSS | SK	Ranger Tim Holtz Worn Lipstick Distress Ink Pad Click A Shop: SSS | SC
Ranger Tim Holtz Mustard Seed Distress Ink Pad Click A Shop: SSS | SC	Ranger Tim Holtz Mowed Lawn Distress Ink Pad Click A Shop: SSS | SC	Tsukineko Memento Luxe Tuxedo Black Dye Ink Pad Click A Shop: SSS | SC	Simon Says Stamp Masking Paper Click A Shop: SSS	Quilled Creations Precision Tip Empty Applicator Bottle Click A Shop: SSS | AZ
Ranger Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue Click A Shop: SSS | AZ | SC	Tombow Xtreme Permanent Adhesive Tape Runner Click A Shop: SSS	Ek Success Craft Tweezers Precision Tip Click A Shop: SSS | SC	Martha Stewart Mini Scoring Board Click A Shop: SSS | AZ | SC	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer Click A Shop: SSS | SC
Tonic Studios Mini Guillotine Paper Trimmer Click A Shop: SSS | AZ	Kuretake Zig Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush Marker Clear Click A Shop: SSS | SC	Ranger Studio Paint Artist Brushes Click A Shop: SSS	Uni-ball Pen Signo Gel White Click A Shop: SSS	Studio Katia Clear Round Drops Large Click A Shop: SSS | SK
Studio Katia Clear Round Drops Medium Click A Shop: SSS | SK	Studio Katia Clear Round Drops Small Click A Shop: SSS | SK	Studio Katia Clear Round Drops Mix Click A Shop: SK	9 X 12 White Fun Foam 12 Pack Click A Shop: SSS