Ink Smooshing. Am I right? Yah. It’s soooo fun. Sooo addictive…. Have you tried smooshing in some unusual color combos? How did that go? Did you end up with a brown mess? Hmm…. those darned complementary (or contrasting) colors! This tutorial will help you have success in ink smooshing any colors you can dream. Purple & green? No problem! Blue & orange? You got it. Let’s get started!
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supplies for ink smooshing in contrasting/complementary colors
You don’t need much to achieve great results, and you probably have everything you need! Of course, if you need to do some shopping, I always have supplies linked below and at the end of the post. But, before you shop, be sure to check out my Crafty Sales page for any deals you can take advantage of at your favorite crafting haunts.
- Watercolor Cardstock
- Watercolors (liquids, pans or pencils – or any inks that you want to smoosh!)
- Water & Brush
- Smooshing surface (silicone mat or glass or plastic surface)
- Water Spray Bottle
- Heat Tool

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steps to ink smoosh in contrasting/complementary colors
- Apply first color to smooshing surface, spritz with spray bottle and smoosh color onto watercolor card.
- Clean smooshing surface.
- Dry watercolor card with heat tool.
- Repeat steps with a contrasting color, working to add the color in an un-colored area of the watercolor card.
- Continue process until desired look is achieved.

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watch the technique tutorial
My How To tutorial videos are filmed with real-time narration. You can pull out your supplies and follow along because there’s no editing, except for drying time. Pause when you need to, but otherwise, get ready and create right along with me!

See this technique in action!
Here’s a recent project that features the complementary/contrasting color ink smooshing technique.
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