DIY Floral Watercolor Greeting Cards: A Beginner's Guide

Welcome to our beginner's guide to using watercolors in greeting cards! no matter your skill level, follow along to dive into the colorful world of card-making. Watercolors offer a versatile and accessible way to add charm and personality to your handmade cards, allowing you to unleash your creativity and bring your designs to life with ease. In this tutorial, we'll walk you through a simple greeting card design and discuss watercolor techniques, materials, and tips to help you along the way. Get ready to create stunning greeting cards that will delight your friends and loved ones. So let's dip your brush into a world of endless possibilities and let your imagination flow!

• Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart By Varada Sharma Designs
• Free Cricut File - Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart
• Acrylic Stamp Block
• Pigment Ink Pad
• Watercolor paper
• Watercolors
• Embossing Powder
• Heat Tool
• Envelope
• Address Stamp (optional)

To get started, gather all of your materials so you have them accessible. First, fold your paper in half vertically. Now grab your clear stamps of choice; we are using a beautiful floral stamp set in partnership with Varada Sharma Designs.

Using clear stamps is easy, simply peel your stamp from it backing sheet and place it onto an acrylic stamp block. The photopolymer is slightly tacky, so your stamp can easily stick and be removed from your stamp block.

Second, ink your stamp with pigment ink. Pigment ink is water-resistant, which is great for use with watercolors. Pigment ink is also slow-drying so make sure the ink is dry before exposing it to water.

Tip: Use a heat tool, if you have one, to speed up this process.

Stamp your floral design onto the front flap of your greeting card.

Next, sprinkle black or clear embossing powder over the stamped impression. Thoroughly coat the ink. Save the excess powder by funneling it back into your container. 

Tip: Use a paintbrush to wipe away any stubborn powder crystals to ensure a clean look.

Then, using a heat tool, heat set the embossing powder. You will see the crystals melt and harden into place. Move your heat tool in a circular motion, 6-8 inches from your surface. Your embossing powder will set in just a few moments.

Now it's time to add your watercolors, which is the fun part! If you have never used watercolors before, don't be shy, in this project we are going for an uneven look and color outside the lines.

Once your brush is dipped with your selected color, start in the center of your flower and push your watercolor toward the outer edges of the petals. Keep dipping your brush into the water to lighten the color over time.

Continue to dip into the watercolors for a darker shade or keep working with the light-washed color for shading in your next flower bud design.

Next, using the same technique with the water and watercolor, we will add green to the leaves to get varying shades of green throughout the leaves.

Finally, with a small fine detail paint brush, use a darker watercolor shade for adding details. Use less water and more pigment to outline the lines within the flower and add dimension.

To create a sky-like background for your florals, we will use blue watercolor to create a splattered look. To do this, dip your brush into the watercolor, then into the water and start flicking the brush with your finger over your design. Repeat the splattering more at the top of the card to create a higher density of blue at the top and a lower density further down the card.

Lastly, stamp the sentiment of your choice once your watercolors have dried. Within this stamp set, there are many phrases you can use to show your thanks and gratitude.

Now you're ready to create your own floral watercolor greeting card for all your friends! Don't forget to follow our blog and socials. Show us your version of this card, or share a new creation with us! Tag us @RubberStamps_com and use #StampWithUS to enter our monthly giveaway! Winners receive a $25 credit to use at our shop!