March Christmas cards: Watercolor wishes

My Christmas cards are a little different this month. I wanted to do a little bit of (easy) watercolor painting, so instead of creating a bunch of cards that are all the same, I made four cards, each with a different layout.

For the first card, with the gold star, I made lines of watercolor paint radiating from the center of the paper to the outside edges. When the paint was dry I cut out the panel with a stitched rectangle die and then splattered it with gold paint. I tried a few different options for the focal panel, but I finally decided on a large star cut from gold foil card stock, black "merry" die-cut, and "and bright" sentiment strip. I layered the panel on a black card base and finished with three gold sequins.

For the Christmas lights card, I first cut the watercolor paper with the stitched rectangle die. Then to make the lights, I painted oval or egg shapes around the paper, changing the direction of the shapes. When the paint was dry I used a Micron pen to draw the ends of the lightbulbs and the string connecting them. I attached the panel to a blue card base and added a few sequins and a "merry and bright" sentiment strip.

For the Christmas tree card, I did a watercolor wash with green, aqua, blue, and navy in a triangle shape. When that was dry I die cut the panel and added small dots of gold paint, a few gold sequins, and a gold star to the tree. I adhered the panel to a green card base and added a gold die-cut "merry" along the bottom of the panel.

The ornament card was the one I was most nervous about since I wanted a more realistic look. I started by die cutting the panel and painting the pine branches across the top. (In retrospect, I think I should have added a few more branches to make it fuller.) Then I painted the three basic ornament shapes and let them dry.

Next I used a small brush and gold paint to add the details and tops on the ornaments. (I think I may have held my breath during that step!) I used a ruler and a Micron pen to create the strings, and stamped "merry & bright" in the lower left corner. I attached the panel to a red card base and finished the card with a few gold sequins.

It was fun to do something a little different for my March Christmas cards, but I'll probably be back to something more usual next month -- I think it would take me forever to make all my Christmas cards this way!

Thanks for stopping by!