You can make DIY Christmas cards with watercolor even if you don't draw at all! Start with a card that's already outlined, add color with a couple of simple tricks, and you'll have a handmade card ready in about 15 to 20 minutes. Here's exactly how I do it, plus my favorite tips for making your cards look extra special.
Why I Love Making Christmas Cards
I started making Christmas cards in my early years of elementary school. My class was big, between 40 to 50 kids, and I wanted every single classmate to get a card from me. So every Christmas I made at least 40 - 50 cards!
Each year I came up with a new design and almost mass-produced them, which is a lot of cards for a little kid. One year I cut up thick board paper, splattered green and white paint all over it with a toothbrush and wrote my message on top. I kept it up until my very last year of elementary school.
When I opened my art business 7 years ago, Christmas cards with my own holiday artwork were some of the very first cards I offered. I know so many of you love sending cards every year, and I wanted to make it easier. That's why the drawing is already done on my Christmas card kit. You don't have to worry about what to draw or how to draw it. You can just pick up your brush, start painting, and proudly share what you made with your friends and family.
What You Need to Make DIY Christmas Cards
You don't need much to get started:
- Watercolor paper cards (regular cardstock peels and gets buckled, so real watercolor paper makes a big difference)
- Watercolor paint (red and green are a must for Christmas cards, plus brown, yellow and turquoise are great additional colors to have)
- One round brush
- Two jars of water, one for cleansing warm colors and another for cool colors
- A paper towel
- Envelopes
If you're wondering which paper to buy, I shared my thoughts in Paper Matters, But Don't Break a Bank For It. And if you're brand new to watercolor, here's how I set up my painting space so everything is within reach.
How to Paint Your Own Christmas Cards, Step by Step
Let's use the winter tree as an example. It's one of the easiest and most fun cards to paint, because you're mostly adding a bunch of green leaves!
1. Mix a few different greens
Instead of painting every leaf with the same green, mix a few shades first. Start with your sap green, then try these:
- Add a little red to the green, and it turns into a brownish, mossy green.
- Add a little turquoise to the green, and you get a beautiful minty green. This one is my favorite!
Red and green are opposites (complementary colors), so you might worry about muddy colors. Here, that brownish green is exactly what we're going for. Just keep an eye on how much red you add. A little red keeps it green with a brownish tint, but almost equal parts of red and green will turn it close to brown. (If you'd like to learn more about this, I wrote about avoiding or creating muddy colors.)
2. Paint the leaves with all your shades
Now fill in the tree with a swooshing motion to make marks that look like curved dashes, switching between your greens as you go. Using several shades instead of one green all over makes the tree look more realistic and gives it so much more depth.
3. Leave tiny white spaces
This is my favorite little trick. When you paint, leave some tiny white areas unpainted instead of covering everything. It gives your painting some breathing room, and it makes objects look shiny. This works especially well on ornaments, since most ornaments are shiny, and on the candle too.
4. Let it dry, then add your message
Watercolor dries pretty quickly, in about 30 minutes. Once it's dry, write your message, slip the card into its envelope and send it off!
Here's a fun extra that isn't in my sample photos: on the back of the card, sign your name or paint a tiny motif, like a little star or a sprig of holly. It makes the card feel even more like yours.
Easy Christmas Card Ideas to Paint
If you're looking for ideas, these four are the ones I chose for my kit, and each one uses the tips above:
- A winter tree: lots of leaves in mixed greens
- A wreath: the same mossy and minty greens, with a pop of red
- Ornaments: bright colors with tiny white spots so they look shiny
- A candle: a warm glow, with a little white left unpainted
Painting Christmas Cards Together
A lot of my customers buy several card kits so they can sit down with family or friends for a fun art session. They always tell me how fun it was to paint together with their loved ones, without the stress of figuring out what to paint or how to draw it.
If you're planning a holiday get-together, give everyone their own kit and set out some snacks. It's such a cozy way to spend an afternoon, and everyone goes home with cards ready to send!
“My daughter and I just painted these cards, they were easy and fun to do!”
- Katie, Etsy customer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make watercolor Christmas cards if I can't draw?
Yes! Start with pre-outlined cards so the drawing is already done for you. Then you only need to focus on adding color, and the tips above will help your cards look lovely.
How long does it take to paint DIY Christmas cards?
About 15 to 20 minutes per card, so roughly an hour for a set of four. If you're chatting with friends and family and having a good time, it might take a little longer, and that's half the fun.
How long should watercolor dry before I write in the card?
About 30 minutes. Once the paint is dry, you can write your message and seal the envelope.
Can I still design my own Christmas cards with a kit?
Of course! You choose the colors, how you mix your greens and where you leave little white spaces, so no two cards turn out the same. You can also sign the back or add a tiny motif of your own.
What paper is best for watercolor Christmas cards?
Use real watercolor paper, ideally heavyweight cold-press watercolor paper. It holds the water without buckling the way regular cardstock does.
Ready to Paint Your Own Christmas Cards?
If you'd like to skip the drawing and go straight to painting, my DIY Christmas Card Watercolor Kit comes with 4 pre-outlined cards, paint dot cards, kraft envelopes, a Watercolor Basics guide and my painting videos to follow along. I hope you have a wonderful time painting them, just like I loved making mine for my classmates all those years ago.
Happy painting!