No-Line Watercoloring with Distress Inks

Hello, all! Today I wanted to share with you a card that I made while I was out of town at a crafting retreat. I watercolored images from Waffle Flower’s Always stamp set using Distress Inks.

(Wondering what I used in this video? Everything is linked to multiple sources in the thumbnails at the end of this post, or in the text below. Compensated affiliate links used when possible).

I first attempted to watercolor these images on hot press watercolor paper using Inkon3 Fade Out ink, however the lines of the stamping were becoming jagged and bleeding. Such a strange reaction! I was using Distress Inks to watercolor, so before I gave up on the hot press paper, I tested it with traditional watercolor paints. There wasn’t as much bleeding or jagged edges. Hmm. Strange.

In the end, I moved to Arches cold press watercolor paper. The texture of the watercolor paper seemed to disguise the jagged edges of the stamped lines. Because of this experience, I don’t think I’ll use the Inkon3 Fade Out ink for watercoloring in the future (even though it claims it is waterproof). I think I’ll only use it for use with Copic markers. I think it’s a great ink for that purpose–just not watercoloring. For no-line watercoloring, I’ll stick with Antique Linen Distress Ink, as shown in this video.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the video! Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies

Compensated affiliate links used when possible. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer. All other items were personally purchased. Items below are shown in the order they appear in the video.