How to Tint Papers and Die-cuts to Suit Your Color Palette

Hello there, Michelle Short here, and I am delighted to be back on the Spellbinders blog using the Beautifully Imperfect Collection. This is such a beautiful collection for all sorts of papercrafts – cards, scrapbooks, mixed media, etc., filled with dies, embossing folders, papers, rub-ons, die-cut shapes, plus lots more! Whilst this isn’t my go-to style for card making, I tend to prefer clean and simple designs, I loved playing with this collection to fit it into my own style!

JUST BECAUSE

My first card uses the Beautifully Imperfect Die Cut Shapes. Whilst I love the colours in this collection, I wanted to bump up the pinks and aquas with some colour tinting. To make this card:

• Pick flowers and leaves from Beautifully Imperfect Die Cut Shapes and fussy cut them out with scissors.

The die-cut shapes have a border of off-white paper around them. I did not want that on my card, so I cut it off, but you can leave that there if fussy cutting is not your thing.

• Using a blending brush, blend Magenta BetterPress Ink onto the flowers, covering the whole flower but focusing more saturation at the base of the flower/petals.
• Using a Blending Brush, blend Turquoise BetterPress Ink onto the leaves.

• Stamp distressed line pattern from Sculpted Scripted Floral Clear Stamp & Die Set onto the front of an A2-sized white card base with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.
• Adhere leaves on top, using Bearly Art Glue.
• Adhere flowers using foam squares.

• Stamp sentiment from Typewriter Adventure Sentiments Clear Stamp Set onto Raven ColorWheel Cardstock using Versamark ink.
• Apply White Detail Embossing Powder and heat set.
• Cut into strips and adhere to the card with foam squares.
• Adhere heart from Beautifully Imperfect Die Cut Shapes above flowers using foam squares.
• Finish by adding dots around the flowers with a Black Fine Liner Pen.

TIP: With colour tinting, you want to make sure that the colours that are already on the die cuts are similar to what you want the finished result to be. For example, the flowers were pink and cream, and I made them a more vibrant magenta pink. The leaves were green and cream, and by adding ink on top, I changed them to have a slightly more teal tone. You wouldn’t want to start with a blue flower and try and add pink to tint, unless you wanted purple as the finished result! 

CELEBRATE IN YOUR OWN STYLE

My next card uses the Beautifully Imperfect 6 x 6” Printed Paper for my focal point, again using colour tinting to change the colours on the paper slightly. To make this card:

• Take a floral sheet of paper from Beautifully Imperfect 6 x 6” Printed Paper and fussy cut the image out using scissors.
• Using Ink Blending Brushes, blend Magenta and Turquoise BetterPress Inks on top. Focus the pink where there is already pink on the flower, and turquoise where the blues and cream colours are.
• Cut pieces of alphabet and paint splatters from Beautifully Imperfect Rub Ons, and using a popsicle stick, transfer them in random places (using the flower as a guide) onto the front of an A2-sized white card base.

• Adhere the flower on top using foam squares.
• Stamp sentiment from Sculpted Scripted Floral Clear Stamp & Die Set onto Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.
• Die cut out using coordinating die. Die cut die again another two times and adhere them behind the stamped one (for dimension) before adhering to the card.
• Finish by adding dots around the image using a Black Fine Liner Pen.

TIP: This printed paper is nice and thick, but if you were to try this with thinner paper, you may want to adhere the image first to cardstock and then fussy cut out before adhering with foam squares, to give the image more stability.

TORN PAPER HUG

For my last project, I’m using Beautifully Imperfect Die Cut Shapes again, along with color tinting but this time in a more subtle way. To make the card:

• Take two butterflies from Beautifully Imperfect Die Cut Shapes and fussy cut around them with scissors to cut off the border.
• Using blending brushes, blend a little Magenta and Turquoise BetterPress Inks onto them, coming in from the tops of the wings, as well as the bottom of the wings.
• Die cut tag from Essential Tags Etched Dies from Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock.

• Place tag inside Distress Mix 3D Embossing Folder and run it through Platinum Six.
• Tear bottom of tag off using fingers.
• Thread black twine through the top and tie in a bow.
• Adhere tag to white A2-sized card base with foam squares.

• Adhere butterflies on top, adding a small amount of Bearly Art Glue behind the bodies and folding their wings up slightly.
• Stamp sentiment from Sculpted Scripted Floral Clear Stamp & Die Set onto Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.
• Die cut out using coordinating die. Adhere to tag using thin foam tape.
• Die cut Even Zig Zag Die from Tangled Threads Etched Dies from Raven ColorWheel Cardstock. Cut to length and adhere beside tag on left side.
• To finish, add dots around sides of tag using Black Fine Liner Pen.

TIP: Adding an extra point of interest (the zig-zag die cut) on the left side of the tag balances out the design with the sentiment overhanging on the right side.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my projects today, and I have inspired you to tinting paper to fit with the colour scheme of your project! Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!

Other Supplies

Thin foam tape, Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink, Hero Arts White Detail Embossing Powder, Altenew Fine Liner Pens, black twine.