Just Paint It Blog

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
    • My Stuff
      • My House
      • My Hubs
      • My Paintings
        • Illustrations
        • Murals
  • Projects
    • How To/PIY
      • PIY – Paint It Yourself
      • Quick Stuff
      • Tutorials
      • Videos
    • Techniques
      • Antiquing & Distressing
      • Blending Colors
      • Color Wash
      • Decoupage
      • Drawing
      • Dry Brushing
      • Faux Finishes
      • Glazing
      • Highlighting
      • Shading
      • Stenciling
      • Transfers
    • Home Decor
      • Accessories
      • Furniture
      • Holiday Decorating
      • Seasonal Decorating
    • Crafts
      • Dollar Store Crafts
      • Holiday Crafts
        • Christmas Crafts
        • Halloween Crafts
      • Kids Crafts
      • Seasonal Crafts
    • Paint Types
      • Chalk Paint
      • Chalkboard Paint
      • Glitter Paint
      • Metallic Paint
      • Pearl Paint
      • Specialty Paints
      • Spray Paint
      • Watercolor Paint
    • Paint Surfaces
      • Paint Canvas
      • Paint Fabric
      • Paint Glass
      • Paint Metal
      • Paint Paper
      • Paint Plastic
      • Paint Walls
      • Paint Wood
    • Submit Yours
  • Shop
    • A.R.T. – Art Related Things
    • Original Art
    • Pet Portraits
    • ClipArt & Printables
  • Portfolio
    • Pet Portraits
  • Contact

Create a Greeting Card with Watercolor Pencils

August 11, 2011 By Colleen Jorgenson 6 Comments

This is a ‘rewind’ project while I’m in the midst of a slew of new paintings. Enjoy!

102_2086w
You know when you get so used to using the same thing over and over again that you forget what you have? Like in the kitchen – we get into a rut with ingredients, tools, spices. Then you dig around in a drawer and – Aha! – you find a cool tool you bought years ago.

That’s what happened this weekend. I always send a Thank You card to my mural clients. So I was digging around in a drawer and found a package of watercolor paper cards. Hmmm, maybe I should paint a l’il quickie for the Disney Horse Mural client & her daughters. I dig around in another drawer and find my watercolor pencils!

I use acrylic paint so much I forget all the fun stuff I’ve bought thru the years.

 

102_2068w
If you’ve never tried these before, I highly recommend them. They are so much fun! You use them like pencils, then wet a paintbrush and your pencil strokes become watercolor. Cool beans, huh?

Okay. If you’re saying right now you’re one of those who can’t draw a stick figure. No worries. I’m really working on creating more painting tutorials. I was really encouraged to create more tutorials by Amy over at ModPodgeRocks because she thought people could use the line art patterns for anything – fabric, painting, blog backgrounds – all kinds of great stuff. I’ll be posting as I get each done. If there’s a design you’d like to see, please email me. I’d be happy to sketch it & do a step-by-step paint tutorial for you.

Back to the watercolor cards . . .
102_2069w
First, I sketched out some simple crowns and a wand then lightly filled them in with the watercolor pencils. Can’t draw? Just go to Google Images, enter the search term you want and print it off. Try ‘clip art’. Like, “Princess crown clip art”. You can find nearly anything you want.

102_2070w
You can use any paintbrush you’re comfortable with. I used a #6 flat and a liner, but anything will work.

102_2079w
Look at the bottom crown, on the right side. See the pencil strokes? And see how the rest of the crown now looks painted? That’s what the watercolor pencils do, with just water!

I thought this was too light. So I just added more pencil strokes to darken it a bit.
102_2080w
You can even blend colors if you want. Since it’s been so long since I’ve used watercolor pencils, I was just kind of playing around.

102_2082w
Then I added a bunch of swirls from the magic wand.

102_2083w
This is after I’ve gone over everything with a damp (not wet) paintbrush. I could’ve stopped right here.

If you follow my blog, you know I’m totally into Sharpies right now.
102_2085w
I’m just in love with my Sharpies. They’re so quick, compared to trying to get a fine line of paint. I added little shapes on top of the crowns, drew outlines around the swirls & crowns and that was it!

102_2088w
Then a little note to my client, thanking her for hiring me.

102_2086w
And if she wants to, she can frame the card for the girls’ room, because it matches all of their colors and princess decor.

Next time your in a craft store I hope you pick up some watercolor pencils for your crafting arsenal. They’re super user-friendly and I just bet you can come up with some great creative projects to share.

At a linky party. For all things paint-related. Starting in September. On Friday nights. Hosted by a blog that starts with ‘mural’ and ends with ‘more’. {hint, hint}

Filed Under: crafts, How To & PIY, Markers & Pencils, Paint Paper, Paint Surfaces, Paint Types, Tutorials, Watercolor

Comments

  1. Always Nesting says

    May 26, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    That is amazing that you make it look so easy! Woo Hoo! I’m really into cards right now because my Hannah, at 2, loves getting mail. I really need to try to make cards for her since, at 2, she’s an easy audience for my first tries Thanks so much for linking this project to Woo Hoo! Wednesday.

    Reply
  2. Kristi @ Creative Kristi says

    May 26, 2010 at 7:14 pm

    You DO make it look so easy! I love the effect! Just stopping by to say thanks for commenting on my painted ‘granite’ counter top post! To answer your questions: yes I did ‘practice’ on poster board first but my counter tops actually came out looking much better (must be b/c the surface was different) and I haven’t done many other ‘faux’ finishes…just simple ‘chair rails’ & painted floors (checkerboard style). I do have a few other ‘faux’ projects to try soon though!

    Reply
  3. a little lovely says

    May 27, 2010 at 5:00 pm

    you are so talented!!

    Reply
  4. Fawnda says

    May 29, 2010 at 11:11 pm

    Now this is just too cute! I love it! I agree with Amy about your PIY kits! : )

    Reply
  5. mommyofthree says

    February 7, 2013 at 2:51 pm

    What a cute card! You make it look so easy! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Mark Scott says

    June 19, 2013 at 12:35 pm

    This is really awesome card and here I came to know how to create greeting cards. As I thought this is a wonderful blog to create greeting card by using watercolor pencil.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    About Me

    Hi there! I'm Colleen, a self-taught artist, writer and blogger, among other things. You don't get to be old enough to order off the Denny's senior menu without accomplishing a few things in life. Read More…

    Recent Posts…
    • Patriotic Fourth of July Printables June 25, 2019
    • Camping Coloring Pages June 15, 2019
    • How to Paint Purple Iris January 28, 2019
    • How to Paint a Teddy Bear January 24, 2019
    • How to Paint Tulips January 21, 2019
    Comments…
    • D. S. Jackson on African – American Santas
    • Theresa Morrissey on African – American Santas
    • Kena on African – American Santas
    • Colleen on How To Paint a Simple Bow and Ribbon Streamers
    • Vicki on How To Paint a Simple Bow and Ribbon Streamers

    Subscribe via Email

    Get updated delivered directly to your inbox!

    Art Digital Downloads

    Archives

    Pretty Handy Girl Fun DIY Gifts!

    PHG_zazzle-banner

    Videos

    Error type: "Forbidden". Error message: "The request is missing a valid API key." Domain: "global". Reason: "forbidden".

    Did you added your own Google API key? Look at the help.

    Check in YouTube if the id muralmaker1 belongs to a . Check the FAQ of the plugin or send error messages to support.

    Instagram

    Google+

    Facebook

    Pinterest

    Etsy

    Copyright © 2021 Just Paint It!/Colleen Jorgensen · website by Houndstooth Media Group