Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for May 2017. We are thankful you stopped by to take a look at our 2017 Blog Hop monthly themes. This month we are featuring projects that are “stepped up” by using textures or fun techniques. We hope to provide you with lots of ideas and that you enjoy our creations.

You may just be starting the Blog Hop or may have come from the previous link from the Line-up on the Pals Blog Hop listing shown below.  The full lineup will help you move along from blog to blog so you may see all the projects.

For today’s “stepped up” by using textures or fun techniques theme, I created a card using the watercolor wash background technique.  This technique is trending and I am so happy because I love using it.  A vast variety of my creations use a watercolor wash background.  This one just happens to feature a New 2017-2019 In-Color: Lemon-Lime Twist, my personal favorite!

A visual of the products needed are always nice to have. Below are the few things you need to created a watercolor wash background.

Here are the Supplies Needed to create a Watercolor Wash Background:

Watercolor Paper 122959
Aqua Painter
Classic Ink Refill
Classic Ink Pad or Similar to hold Ink

A few tips for you to help create a watercolor wash background as shown above:

1) Start Light; stay light on the ink, heavier on the water; apply with aqua painter to a wide area of coverage to start.
2) Add Debth: slowly add more ink with the aqua painter; lighter on the water this time; apply to smaller areas of coverage, working your way out; stopping about 1/2 in. before the edge of the previous layer.
3) Tip: you can always add more color as needed; it’s nearly impossible to take color away

• Retiring and 40% Off:  I used the Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper as part of the background layers and the envelope.  Black pairs so well with the new In-Color Lemon-Lime Twist, this was the first thing I grabbed to go with my card.

• Stampin’ Up!’s Watercolor Paper paired with the Aqua Painter are a must for the watercolor wash background technique.  It allows you to easily blend and spread your colors to your liking, I highly recommend them to get a good result.
• The Banner Triple Punch makes cropping the flagged end of the black banner a breeze.

• The splash of black dots over the watercolor wash background was created using a stamp from the Gorgeous Grunge Set.  This set is retiring May 31st, so scoop it up while you can!  I will miss it in my collection.
• The final pop to this card was added using the Metallics Sequin Assortment, which is retiring and also marked down 40%.

Thanks for visiting. To continue with the hop, please refer to the Blog Hop Line-up below. We hope to see you on next month’s Pals Blog Hop!

1. 1. Mary Fish at Stampin’ Pretty
   2. Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom
   3. Karen Gooch at Inker’s Workshop
   4. Nicole Watt at Pixel Maven’s Retreat
   5. Julie DiMatteo at The Paper Pixie
   6. Lynn Tague at Beyond Beaches & Blessings
   7. Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose
   8. Peggy Noe at Prettypapercards
   9. Susan Itell at Simple Stampin
   10. Jeanie Stark at Just Stampin’
   11. Stesha Bloodhart at Stampin’ Hoot! ——  YOU ARE HERE!
   12. Debbie Mageed at Secret Stamper
   13. Jackie Beers at Blue Line Stamping
   14. Karen Hallam at Karen’s Stampin’ Habit!
   15. Becky Retzer at Just in Thyme
   16. Patti MacLeith at Papercrafts by Patti
   17. Karen Zaring Browning at Stamp With Me KZB
   18. Jennifer Michalski at Stamping Serenity
   19. Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin’
   20. Lisa Pretto at InkBig Academy Stamps
   21. Rae Harper-Burnet at Wild West Paper Arts
   22. Angela Curry at Kindred Stampers
   23. Shawn de Oliveira at ShawnStamps.com