If you have a lot of ink pads or re-inkers in your stash and are looking for more ways to use them, then this technique is just what you’ve been looking for as you can use your re-inkers to watercolour. Whatsmore, if you’ve wanted to get that watercolour look but don’t have any watercolour paints then this technique is a great way to achieve it. You can use your dye inks to watercolour in, and pair it with heat embossing to make it that one step easier for even a novice watercolourist.
I created this card after taking the Creative Watercolour Media class on Altenew for my AECP level 2. I really enjoyed this class as I always reach for my watercolour paints, but this class showed multiple ways to get that ‘watercolour’ look using alternative media. It’s another good example of stretching your supplies and using re-inkers for other than just reinking your ink pads.
PRODUCED AS PART OF MY DESIGN-TEAM WORK FOR BUMBLEBERRY PAPERCRAFTS - SEE END OF POST FOR MORE DETAILS
Setting up for watercolouring with reinkers
Start off by placing a piece of watercolour cardstock into a MISTI stamping tool. Next, position a variety of stamps from the Altenew Wild & Free stamp set onto the card and stamp in clear embossing ink.

Cover the stamped images in WOW! Platinum embossing powder and heat set ready to watercolour in. To use your inks, you need to add ink to a palette – an acrylic stamping block works well for this, ad once you’re finished you can easily wipe these clean. Add drops of ink from your re-inkers or smoosh an ink pad down onto block to transfer the ink. For this card, I used the following colours: Juniper Mist, Daydream, Stone Blue and Queen for a Day from Catherine Pooler Designs.

Adding the colour using your re-inkers to watercolour
To reduce the amount of ‘work’ you have to do with the colours, it is easiest to use the wet on wet technique. First of all, apply a layer of clean clear water to one petal. Next, use a brush to dip into your in on the block and add the colour to the base of the petal. The wet water of the petal will then spread the ink out. You can go in and pull the colour out and soften up the petal.

Allow that petal to dry and move onto another petal, just make sure this petal is not right next to the one you have just painted. This will prevent the colours bleeding into each other, but as we have heat embossed the petal this is even less likely to happen.

Bringing the card together
Once all the elements are painted, fussy cut the images out – you can use the coordinating dies if you don’t mind the white outline. For the background, stamp the Altenew Dainty Swiss Dots stamp in Blackjack Catherine Pooler ink onto a white card panel. Trim the panel down and add this to a white card base.

Use varying depths of dimension and liquid adhesive to add the flowers to the card along the left-hand side. Add a heat embossed the sentiment from the Dainty Swiss stamp set offset to one side. Lastly, finished with a selection of sequins to embellish the card.







Supplies
Using your re-inkers to watercolour
Affiliate links used at no extra cost to you at these shops: Altenew (ALT), Scrapbook.com (SB), Hero Arts (HA), Picket Fence Studios (PF), My Favourite Things (MFT), The Little Paper Tree (LPT) and Craft Stash UK/US (CS UK/US).
Get an extra £1 off when you use the code: TLPTVERITY at The Little Paper Tree.
All other shops are not affiliated links: Bumbleberry Papercrafts (BP) and WOW! UK/US (WOW UK/US).
Wild & Free – Altenew Shop at: ALT | SB | CS (UK) | CS (US) | BP | Dainty Swiss Dots – Altenew Shop at: ALT | SB | BP | ![]() Daydream Reinker – Catherine Pooler Designs Shop at: CPD | SB | LPT |
![]() Juniper Mist Reinker – Catherine Pooler Designs Shop at: CPD | SB | LPT | ![]() Stone Blue Reinker- Catherine Pooler Designs Shop at: CPD | SB | ![]() Spruce Reinker – Catherine Pooler Designs Shop at: CPD | SB |
![]() Grass Skirt reinker – Catherine Pooler Designs Shop at: CPD | SB | LPT | ![]() Queen for a Day Reinker – Catherine Pooler Designs Shop at: CPD | SB | LPT | ![]() Twilight Ink – Catherine Pooler Designs Shop at: CPD | SB |
![]() Twilight reinker – Catherine Pooler Designs Shop at: CPD | SB | ![]() Twilight Bundle – Catherine Pooler Designs Shop at: CPD | ![]() WOW! Clear ultra slow drying embossing ink pad Shop at: CPD | CS (UK) | CS (US) | WOW (UK) | WOW (US) |
![]() WOW! Clear ultra slow drying embossing ink refill Shop at: CS (UK) | CS (US) | WOW (UK) | WOW (US) | ![]() WOW! Clear ultra slow drying embossing ink pad & refill Shop at: CS (UK) | CS (US) | WOW (UK) | ![]() Opaque Bright White -WOW! Embossing Powder Shop at: CS (UK) | CS (US) | WOW (UK) | WOW (US) |
![]() Metallic Platinum – WOW! Embossing Powder Shop at: CPD | CS (UK) | WOW (UK) | WOW (US) | ![]() Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb Cardstock Shop at: SB | BP | LPT | ![]() Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80lb Cardstock Shop at: BP |
Original MISTI – My Sweet Petunia Shop at: ALT | CPD | SB | HA | BP | ![]() Gina K Designs – Connect Glue Shop at: BP | ![]() Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam squares 1/4″ white Shop at: CPD | SB | BP |
![]() WOW! Dual Speed Heat Gun (UK version) Shop at: CS (UK) | WOW (UK) | ![]() WOW! Dual Speed Heat Gun (US version) Shop at: CPD | WOW (US) | ![]() Teflon Bone Folder – Lawn Fawn Shop at: BP |
![]() Tim Holtz 8.5 Inches Comfort Trimmer – Tonic Studios Shop at: SB | CS (UK) | CS (US) | ![]() Trim and Score Board – We R Memory Keepers Shop at: SB | CS (UK) | CS (US) | ![]() QuickStik – We R Memory Keepers Shop at: CPD | SB | CS (UK) | CS (US) |
Creative Watercolour Media – Altenew Shop at: ALT |
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DISCLOSURE
This post was produced as part of my design team work for Bumbleberry Papercrafts have not been paid to make this post, but I am given supplies from Bumbleberry Papercrafts to use. However, I create projects with creative control and produce projects I am proud of and with products that I love. The information provided is based on my own personal experience – I am not an expert.
2 thoughts on “Using your re-inkers to watercolour”
I did something similar using the same stamps!! My arrangement is totally opposite though!! I love your card, love the colours. You know I love everything you make!
Thank you for entering your gorgeous work to the AECP assignment gallery.