Water Color Painting With Clear Stamps

I am totally loving my new collection of craft products from therm-o-web and excited to share water color painting with clear stamps! To create these darling post cards ,I used the Kindness on Purpose Set while relaxing outdoors on the rooftop of a high rise in Midtown Atlanta. I love that stamping and paper crafting is so versatile and easy to take on the go. While creating these post cards I learned some lessons that I am excited to share with you here.

Materials and Supplies Needed

Water Color Paper (I used precut post cards)
Acrylic Stamps (Kindness on Purpose Set by Me for therm-o-web)
Acrylic Stamp Blocks
Water Color Paints – ooly watercolor paint pods are my fave for the price
ARCHIVAL Black Stamp Pad (IMPORTANT so the ink doesn’t run when wet)
Paint Brushes
Water
Paper Towels
Black Permanent Marker (Fine Tip)

Water Color Painting With Clear Stamps Directions

Start by choosing the stamps you want to use. Peel them off of the acetate packaging and stick them on acrylic blocks. (When you are done with them, store them back on the original packaging.)

To apply the ink to the stamp, press the pad onto the stamp until it is completely covered. If stamping is new for you, practice on a piece of scrap paper before applying ink to the water color paper. For this post card, I stamped rainbows scattered all around.

Let the archival ink dry/set for a minute before beginning any painting. Once it has set, use water color paints to fill in and add color as desired. This is a great part of the project because there are no rules. It is not necessary to stay inside the lines.

As colors are added, it is okay to either apply them directly touching or spread them out. If you let them touch while they are wet, they will blend together which can create a beautiful effect.

If you don’t want them to blend — either let the paint dry OR do color segments that don’t touch. Often times when I am water color painting, I leave white space for balance.

Tips for Water Color Painting Using Clear Stamps

Make sure you start with clean stamps.
Use archival ink so the lines won’t bleed when the water color is painted.
Keep a paper towel handy. It is great for dabbing on paint when it runs to quickly fix a mistake.
Use clean water. Refill your water container and keep it clean.
Smaller brushes work better on smaller surface areas.