The March My Greeting Box featured colourful spring designs, and a new technique – watercolour! I was a little nervous about trying watercolour, as it’s not something I’ve done properly before. (A vague memory of art lessons at school doesn’t count.) But as it’s nearly Easter and I wanted a card for family, I decided it was time to put on the big girl pants, face the watercolour, and make a card!
I chose the Watercolour Masked Card, as I liked the bright blocks of colour and the flower on the front. I also like the optimistic sentiment, as it’s not been very Springlike so far!
The first thing to do was to cut the watercolour paper, tape it down onto a mat, and add the masking tape. This would separate the blocks of colour. I decided to make a pattern that was similar, though not identical, to the one on the instructions.
The instructions said to use the acrylic block from the starter kit in November’s box as a palette. At first I wasn’t sure about this – wouldn’t the colours all run together? But actually, you only needed a tiny blob of each kind of paint, and I made sure to put them in the corners so there would be plenty of space.
The instructions were very clear. First wet the section you were going to paint, then use a tiny bit of water to thin out the paint on the palette. You could add more or less water to make the paint lighter or darker to create a graded effect.
I also realised that it would be useful to have four different water pots, rather than faff about changing the water every time I wanted to paint a different colour. Eggcups were perfect!
I found that if I was patient and careful, and didn’t add too much paint at once, it was quite easy to create the fading colour effect.
I also didn’t plan which colours would go where when I started, but I decided I didn’t want the same colour next to each other. Fortunately it worked out very well!
The next bits I did slightly out of order. The instructions said to let the paint dry, then do the stamping, colouring, and final assembly. I decided I would do the flower stamp part while I was waiting for it all to dry.
The pot and flower stamps were separate, so you had to carefully line them up. You can see my first effort on the left, when I didn’t put enough pressure on the stamp. Fortunately the second go was a success!
I’ve just bought these lovely Zebra Midliner Highlighters and this was the perfect opportunity to try them out! (By the way, if you like doodling or bullet journalling I really recommend them. I’ve used them for my April spread and they look fab.) I didn’t do the same colours shown on the instructions, though I copied the stripey pot.
The unsuccessful flower stamp turned out to be very useful for trying out colours. I’ll definitely remember this for the future.
This cutting out is really fiddly – there’s no room for mistakes – but when it’s done it looks fantastic!
The paint was dry by the time I finished, and it was time to stamp the sentiment. I was really nervous about this because it was directly on the watercolour paper, so again, no room for mistakes! It did seem to come out oddly smudgy, but it’s not the end of the world.
All that was left now was the final assembly. The flower cutout is stuck on with foam tape so it stands a little bit proud of the surface. Then cutting out and sticking on a lovely bright yellow background, and adding a few little flower sequins. I’ve used tweezers when applying jewels on other cards, and while it’s not a problem to use your fingers, I prefer the tweezers.
Finished!
I feel a bit braggy when I finish one of these cards because I’m always amazed at how well they turn out.
Not that I can take much credit though, because the My Greeting Box designs are so beautiful, and the instructions are incredibly clear. Things have only ever going wrong because I’ve not followed the instructions properly.
I’m also feeling a lot less scared of watercolours now! I’m really looking forward to making the other two designs, and maybe they’ll encourage the spring weather to arrive.
This is such a lovely therapeutic and creative thing to do. There’s something special about making a beautiful card for somebody. I think this box would be a lovely gift for anyone who would like to explore creativity, without the anxiety of starting from scratch. It would also be very good for teenagers, a great way of getting them away from the screens and doing something in the real world instead!
I’m giving this card to my aunt, who is hosting Easter this year. She is something of an artist herself, so I really hope she likes it!
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Want to read some more? You can find all the My Greeting Box posts here!
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