Creating a Greeting Card Background with Ecoline

Project by Shelly Kim, Founder of Letters by Shells

Materials

  • 3-5 Royal Talens Ecoline Liquid Watercolors (different colors; I used: 337, 640, 545, 508, & 801)

  • Talens Art Creation Watercolor Postcard

  • Paint Brush

  • Cup of water

  • Painter’s Tape or Masking Tape (.5” in width)

  • Scissors (optional)

Techniques

  1. Apply 4 pieces of tape on the postcard. The tape will be applied in different sections such as the top, bottom, and then 1/3 from the top and bottom. The goal is to have a pattern: taped area, non-taped area, etc. Optional: if you cannot find masking tape that is .5”, feel free to cut the tape in half.

  2. The areas that do not have the tape will be painted using the Royal Talens Liquid Watercolors. Dip your paintbrush in water and apply some water on the exposed areas of the postcard. The goal is to paint 1 row at a time and cover the entire section with a nice sheen of water.

  3. After the entire section has water, start dipping the paintbrush in 1 color of the Ecoline Liquid Watercolors and then paint on the postcard where the water is. Notice once the paintbrush barely touches the postcard (area with water) the watercolor paint should start spreading. The watercolors will continue to spread where the water is. Optional: I added a few touches of gold here for an extra pop

  4. Repeat this process by rinsing your paintbrush in water and choosing another color. Then paint on the area where the water is, etc. The goal is to fill the entire section before moving to the next section of the postcard.

  5. Optional: If you are noticing a pool of water, you can leave it alone or dab a napkin in the area that has the water

  6. After the piece has dried, very carefully remove the tape starting from the left and right. If the masking tape is very sticky, you will most likely see the first layer of the paper being peeled from the tape. When this happens, I do not worry too much about it since they are handmade cards.

Tips

Feel free to have fun and experiment – Using the paint brush start painting strokes on the postcard where the water is located to see the paint spread even more! During this process, it’s also important to work a little fast in order to prevent the water from drying up.


You are all done! In the areas where there is no watercolor paint, you can hand-letter in those areas!

EcolineRoyal Talens