Fast & Simple DIY: Watercolor Card

I feel like I've been having to write and give cards for the last couple of months. Whether birthdays, holidays, thank you cards or what-have-you, I've been rejecting the idea of store-bought cards. Not only can they be expensive, but they don't always convey what I want. So I've been challenging myself  to make my own, and loving the results. Here's a simple idea I used recently that was so quick and simple I had to share. 

Here's what you'll need:

watercolor paper (or a similar higher pound paper)

watercolor paints, brushes and water

mechanical pencil and scratch paper

fine-point pen (I'm using a Prismacolor pen)

I started by practicing some lettering for my greeting to get the perfect alignment. I then used my mechanical pencil (using a mechanical pencil is important as it won't smear much when wet) to mock it on my water color paper (already cut and folded to the perfect size of course.)

Before I started watercoloring my actual piece, I practiced with some color options on a scrap piece of paper. I wanted to make sure that my colors would mix and play well before committing to them. Once I have my colors decided on, it was time to paint the actual card. I went for simple oval shapes that would subtly overlap in the middle. I used quite a bit of water to keep the colors light.

I let it dry and then carefully went over the pencil lines with my pen (I erased the lines underneath after the ink was dry.) After both the paint and ink was dry, I left it to rest for a bit under some heavy books to press it flat. And that's was it – fast and simple!