Textured Cherry Blossom Background Card with Watercoloured Characters

Cut a six-inch square of mixed media card (approximately 140 gsm) and place it on a protective board.

Position the cherry blossom stencil on your card and secure it with tape to prevent slipping.

Ink the rose-coloured dye-based ink pad and push it into the stencil, working the colour through all the flower areas.

Deepen the flower heads by applying more colour with a circular motion, and darken the fine lines by pushing colour along the grain.

Remove the stencil and allow the first layer to dry, creating a soft pink background.

Reposition the stencil in a different angle and apply purple glitter texture paste using a small spatula, scraping it across the flower areas.

Ensure all flower heads are covered with the glitter paste and scrape any excess back into the container for reuse.

Heat-set the glitter paste with a heat gun to speed up drying.

Stamp the heads of the two Japanese lady characters onto white card using black dye-based ink, ensuring good spacing between them.

Activate the semi-moist watercolour palette with water and paint the first character's hair with brown, working around the hairline.

Paint the first character's outfit with vibrant blue watercolour, then add lighter blue to accent bands and pale yellow to highlight dragonflies.

Paint the second character's hair with brown and her outfit with blue, adding yellow accents to support the Ukraine theme.

Add skin tone to both characters' faces using the palette's pre-mixed skin tone colour, applying it delicately to the face area.

Heat-set the watercoloured characters with a heat gun and allow to dry completely.

Cut the card down the centre to separate the two characters, then die-cut each character head using a nesting square die.

Stamp the 'Sending Hope' sentiment onto white card and die-cut it using a smaller nesting square die.