Unicorn Card Tutorial: Stenciled, Foiled and Watercolored Background

Hello, it’s Gracie Chavez from Graciellie Design with a new tutorial to share, this time with a fun and trendy unicorn mixed media card with lots of shimmery goodness and of course lots of color!

TCW sent me this fun harlequin stencil not long ago as a gift. It’s one of those basic patterns you must have in your collection and I absolutely enjoy using it to create distressed harlequin patterns on my projects! You’ll find this post is sponsored by TCW but know that all the opinions found here are completely my own.

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Stenciled Unicorn Card Tutorial

Step 1. Place the TCW202 Stencil Harlequin 6 x 6″ on an A2 white card panel. Secure with tape if desired.

Step 2. Using a palette knife apply a thin coat of Deco Foil Transfer Gel. Try not to cover the entire card panel uniformly, that way you will get a distressed look in the end.

Step 3. Remove the stencil and let the Transfer Gel dry completely. Wash the stencil and palette knife right away.

Step 4. Cut a piece of Ocean Blue Deco Foil large enough to cover the stenciled card panel, and wrinkle it until you get lots of small cracks on the transfer foil sheet.

Step 5. Spread the wrinkled piece of foil and smooth it. Place the foil on top of the stenciled card panel.

Step 6. Run the card panel and foil through a laminator. Once it’s cooled down peel off the foil sheet to reveal a crackle pattern on the stenciled harlequins.

Step 7. Now place a Amethyst Watercolor Deco Foil sheet on top of the card panel (without wrinkling it) and run it though the laminator again to cover the Transfer Gel that had not been foiled yet. This technique will give your foiled surfaces a two toned distressed effect and a unique look to your stenciled patterns.

Step 8-9. To add depth to the stenciled panel, use a waterbrush to apply a few layers of watercolor paints in two tones of blue and purple.

Step 10. Optional: Once the watercolors are dry you can add even more depth to the background stamping it using an Art Foamies pattern and purple dye ink.

I thought this background looked magical so I went ahead and embellished it with a unicorn theme. I cut an SVG unicorn image on my electronic cutter from turquoise cardstock. But of course it couldn’t be plain, so I embellished it with lots of shimmer…

Step 11-12. Apply Mixed Media Adhesive to the unicorn SVG and spread it with the help of a brush.

Step 13. Pour Iredescent glitter on the SVG cut and shake the excess.

Step 14. Optional: Color the glitter unicorn cut with solid tempera paint (or gelatos) in blue and purple and outline it with a Silver oil based marker.

Step 15. Finally add a foiled sentiment to your card. Print a Magical Wishes Digital Stamp on vellum using a laser printer (which is foil reactive). Cover the vellum with Amethyst Watercolor Deco Foil and run it through the laminator. Rip the sentiment to create a distressed banner and attach it to your card panel.

I adhered the panel to a turquoise card base and added a few rhinestones here and there to finish off the design. This magical unicorn card has so many interesting details, foiled stenciling in two colors, watercolored wash effect and that sparkly unicorn and foiled sentiment on vellum tie this mixed media piece together.


I made this card while anxiously waiting for my TCW DT package which includes the most amazing new stencil designs and of course the new collection includes a unicorn stencil! If I had had the new TCW738 Unicorn stencil it would have been even easier to finish off this card. All I would have needed to do was stencil the unicorn design with medium and cover it with glitter! Yep, it would have simplified the process for sure!

Hope you enjoyed today’s tutorial. Leave me a comment below letting me know what your favorite texture on this card is? Is it the two toned foil stenciled pattern? Perhaps the colored glitter on the unicorn? Or, maybe the watercolor wash? It was so much fun to make this project. Do tag us on social media if you try out any of these techniques! Until next time.

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