Ink Blending and Bleaching – Wisteria Slimline

Hello my crafty friend, it’s Amanda from Pear Blossom Press again! Have you seen the gorgeous new Wisteria Vines slimline die yet? It is beautiful, and versatile too! Today, I’m sharing a fun technique combining ink blending, and bleaching, to color the background behind the wisteria leaves and petals. Don’t worry, there is no actual bleach involved, just water.

To start, ink blend a panel in colors of your choice. This technique works best with bold colors and a heavy application of ink, so don’t be shy. I used Worn Lipstick, Seedless Preserves, and Wilted Violet Distress Oxide inks, along with my i-Brush Blender Brushes.

Next, you’ll want to figure out what areas you want to bleach. For this card, I die cut the Wisteria Vines slimline twice from white cardstock. I discarded the inner pieces, and glued the first layer onto the ink blended panel (don’t glue the second layer on yet). Alternatively, you can stamp and heat emboss an image with white powder.

With your outlined image in place, you can begin to bleach the areas by painting on clear water. Let the water sit for a few seconds before absorbing it with a dry towel.

The longer you let the water sit, the more color will be lifted when you pick it up with the towel. I painted a few petals at a time, before coming back with my towel.

As you are painting and removing water, color might transfer onto the die cut. That’s why I waited until I was finished before gluing the second layer on top. This way, my finished card has nice clean lines, and a bit of dimension.

To pull the card together, I glued the panel to a white slimline card base. I added a black die cut sentiment (stacked three layers high), and a few black gems near the bottom. That’s it, easy peasy!

I hope you’ll give this technique a try. If you want to add more sparkle, instead of bleaching with clear water, you can use a sparkle pen. It will still lift the color, and leave glitter behind as you absorb it up.

Remember I said the Wisteria Vines slimline die is versatile? Check out the way I used it for these cards!

Thanks for stopping by today! I’ll be back soon with another fun card to share. You can find the sister article to this post over on my blog… pearblossompress.com

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