Christmas cards, already? I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet in the states! But if you know me, you know that I make Christmas cards pretty much all year so that I have enough to send out to our very wonderful and large list of family and friends! By the time we reach November, I'm pretty much looking for a quick and easy type of card with maximum wow factor but minimum effort. Honestly, that's pretty much ALWAYS the goal!
This year, I really wanted to get more use out of my metallic watercolor set. I love this set of paints from Paul Rubens:
This is the second most expensive watercolor set I own (behind my artist-grade watercolors), and while I love it, I rarely get it out and play with it! I made it a point last weekend to just get it out and use it, and I ended up with some really great designs!
1. First, I cut black paper down to 4.25 by 5.5" squares. I ended up trimming a few of them down and leaving the others the size of the card front. I used Strathmore black mixed media paper for some of them and Astrobrights black 65lb cardstock for others. I did NOT buy expensive black watercolor paper for this project - so use what you have!
2. I painted! My first picture was a fir tree that I let dry and then spattered on lots of different colors. The second was a bunch of holly. The third was a round ornament that I used as the O in Joy. The fourth was a Christmas wreath that took me a little longer, but I just layered and played with leaf and pine shapes until I got it where I wanted it, and then added berries for a pop of color.
3. Assemble! For 3 of the 4 pictures, I added a sentiment (the JOY card didn't need one!). To do this, I used Christmas sentiment strips that I bought at Simon Says Stamp, and I die cut some words from a Christmas die cut set that I have from Newton's Nook. For this step, I'm using supplies I already have. If you don't have Christmas word die cuts OR premade sentiment strips, you could use stamps, write a sentiment with a gel pen, or paint a sentiment with brush lettering! The point of a handmade card is for it to look handmade, so don't fuss too much if it isn't perfect!
It felt really good to spend some time using some supplies that I don't use normally. I was really pleased with how all four of these cards turned out - and I can't wait until they spread some Christmas cheer to family and friends!
I hope this post gives you some holiday inspiration to get out there and create!
No comments:
Post a Comment