From tutorials popping up on Pinterest to free cellphone wallpapers provided by beloved internet personalities, watercolor is having a well deserved moment!
Watercolor is one thing I never particularly exceled at. To be fair, I was probably at the same level as most of the other students in my elementary art classes, but that's exactly where I left it behind. I continued to relegate it to that timeframe of my life, considering it the art equivalent of the kazoo. Until I started seeing more and more beautiful artwork created by exceptionally talented people. In watercolor. After all this time, I've decided to dip my toe back into the multicolor swirly water. The great news is it hasn't been as disastrous as I thought. As a matter of fact, this experience has been so pleasant, I think you should give it a try, too!
To make your own cards, you will need:
- Watercolor paper (mine said it was acceptable for lots of mediums, including light washes. Sounded good to me!)
- Watercolors (I just used the basic primary color strip like you would buy for an elementary school kid. As a matter of fact, that's possibly what mine is left over from)
- A plastic cup for water (pro tip: don't grab an old one with a crack down the side. No need to get into how I know this....)
- A paintbrush (I think a teardrop shaped brush head that whittles down to a point is a nice place to start)
- Glue, scissors, ruler, cardstock, ways to embellish. All the usual suspects
First step: start painting the paper. I went with a series of simple stripes in matching colors I liked. Different widths, different saturations of water. A fairly dry brush dipped into barely wet paints predictably gives you a more saturated color. More water = lighter color. This would look lovely with any pattern you decided to approach. But stripes are a nice place to start. And I covered the paper in them to get this:
I didn't get too stressed about perfectly straight lines or perfection. After the paint has dried, it's time to cut it into workable pieces. I'm stuck on the 4.25 x 4.25 square cards so I trimmed them down into squares that I thought would be ideal for that.
After that, we're totally back to basics. Glue down on prepared card stock and embellish as desired. For this Thank You card, I trimmed and placed a sentiment sticker with a clear background. Very subtle and perfect for such a simple background:
I also thought it would be fun to experiment with stamping. The paper took the ink VERY well and I came out with a tranquil card that could work for any occasion.
I love that these can be customized to any color palette (easy wedding thank you notes), any sentiment (such as sympathy) and any size card. Let me know how you would use them!