Easy Watercolor Tissue Paper Technique for Beautiful Handmade Card Backgrounds

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Have you ever created a background that turned out even prettier than you imagined? That's exactly what happened when I started experimenting with watercolor tissue paper! This simple rubber stamping technique combines a few drops of re-inker, water, and ordinary white tissue paper to create one-of-a-kind backgrounds full of gorgeous color and texture.

This week, I'm sharing how to make these colorful backgrounds along with four handmade card ideas featuring some of the brand-new Stampin' Up! Online Exclusives. Every background turns out a little different, making each card truly unique.
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Read more to watch the video tutorial, see all four card ideas, and grab the free downloadable project sheet!

Watercolor Tissue Paper Technique

This technique is surprisingly easy, but it creates backgrounds that look like you spent hours making them. You can see the full video tutorial right here. 

Get the FREE Project Sheet

Basic Steps

1. Add a few drops of your favorite Stampin' Up! re-inkers onto the Stampin' Glass Mat Studio (or another non-porous surface).
2. Lightly spritz the ink with water.
3. Use a plastic knife to drag back and forth through the ink, creating streaks of color.
4. Lay a piece of white tissue paper over the ink and gently tap it so it absorbs the color.
5. Carefully lift the tissue paper and place it on scratch paper.
6. Allow the tissue paper to dry completely. (You can speed this up with a heat tool, although it still takes a little patience.)
7. Apply an Adhesive Sheet to a piece of Basic White cardstock.
8. Crumple the dry tissue paper, then gently smooth it back out.
9. Adhere the tissue paper to the adhesive-covered cardstock to create a beautifully textured background panel.

One of my favorite things about this technique is that no two backgrounds are ever exactly alike. Simply changing the colors or how much water you use gives you completely different results.
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Don't forget to download the free project sheet below so you have these instructions handy when you need them.

Supplies for this Fun for Fall Card

Watercolor Tissue Paper Fall Card with the Fun for All Bundle

This is the card I'll be creating during today's Stamp with Me Tuesday! I used the adorable Fun for Fall Bundle from the new Stampin' Up! Online Exclusives to create this cheerful fall card.

The background combines Golden Glow, Pumpkin Pie, and Real Red re-inkers, creating rich autumn colors that are perfect behind the sweet scarecrow. I stamped the scarecrow in Basic Black and colored it with Stampin' Blends before die cutting it.

One of my favorite little details is the sentiment. Instead of using the Rounded Rectangle Punch normally, I only punched the top portion of the sentiment. That leaves the top corners rounded while keeping the bottom corners square - a fun way to get a different look from a punch you probably already own. A little Linen Thread finishes everything off perfectly.

Butterfly Card with the All Aflutter Bundle

The bright, cheerful colors on this background made the perfect home for the All Aflutter Bundle, which we'll be using for my July Online Card Class.

For the watercolor tissue paper, I blended Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Melon Mambo re-inkers. The butterflies were stamped in Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie before being punched out with the coordinating All Aflutter Punch.
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I kept the focal point clean and simple by layering the butterflies onto a Basic White circle cut with the Stylish Shapes Dies. A few Sunset Sparkle Sequins add just the right amount of sparkle without taking away from the colorful background.

Supplies for this Butterfly Thank You Card

Friendly Foliage Card with Monochromatic Greens

For this card, I wanted to see how the technique looked using shades of a single color family, and I absolutely love the result.

The background was created using Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, and Old Olive re-inkers, giving it incredible depth while still keeping everything coordinated.
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The Friendly Foliage Bundle has an unique set of dies. The coordinating dies not only cut out the leafy image, but they also remove the negative space inside the frame. I layered Lemon Lime Twist cardstock behind the die-cut image so all of that beautiful detail really stands out against the background. A sentiment punched with the Three Banners Punch and a few Shimmering Dots complete the card.

Supplies for this Leafy Card

Floral Birthday Card with the Lovely Arrangements Bundle

My final sample shows another fun way to use this technique.

Instead of simply using the watercolor tissue paper as a background, I adhered it to Basic White cardstock first and then stamped directly onto the finished panel before die cutting the flowers. The tissue paper becomes your patterned paper!

I used Barely Blush, Crisp Cantaloupe, and Calypso Coral re-inkers to create this soft floral background before stamping the flowers in Basic Black. After die cutting them, I arranged them on a clean, layered birthday card and finished it with a few Sunset Sparkle Sequins for extra sparkle.
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This card really shows how versatile this technique can be. You can use the finished tissue paper as a background layer, or you can stamp and die cut directly from it to create completely custom embellishments.

Supplies for this Floral Birthday Card

Give This Rubber Stamping Technique a Try!

If you've never experimented with tissue paper and re-inkers before, I hope you'll give this technique a try. It's inexpensive, easy to do, and every background comes out with its own unique personality. Whether you love bold autumn colors, cheerful butterflies, lush greenery, or soft florals, this technique adapts beautifully to almost any style of handmade card.

If you make one of these cards - or create your own version - I would love to see it! Share it with me on social media or in our community so we can all be inspired by your creativity.