Easy Watercolour Christmas Cards (Beginner NZ Guide)

A handmade card is the one people keep on the fridge long after Christmas. Watercolour is one of the easiest ways to make them: a few washes of colour, a simple shape, and the paint does most of the work for you.

This guide covers what you need, how to set up your cards, and four easy designs for beginners, from simple baubles to a Kiwi summer Christmas.

What you need

• Watercolour paints. We use Mont Marte Two Seasons Watercolours 18pc. Tube paints are easy to mix and go a long way.
• Watercolour brushes. A round brush for shapes and a fine brush for detail, such as the Gallery Series Watercolour Brushes 7pc.
• Watercolour paper. Ordinary card buckles when it gets wet. The A3 180gsm German Paper pad makes up to 60 cards.
• Masking or washi tape, a palette or old plate, two jars of water, paper towel, a ruler and a pencil.
• Optional: a gold or white gel pen for highlights and your message.

Short on time? Our Watercolour Christmas Card Kit puts the paints, brushes and pad in one box for $39.99.

Set up your cards

1. Cut each A3 sheet into four A5 pieces.
2. Fold each piece in half to make an A6 card. Score the fold with the back of a butter knife and a ruler for a crisp edge.
3. Open the card flat and tape the front panel down to your table on all four sides. This stops the paper buckling and gives you a clean white border when you peel the tape off.

Watercolour basics in two minutes

• Wet on wet: brush clean water onto the paper first, then touch in colour. It spreads into soft, cloudy shapes. Great for skies and backgrounds.
• Wet on dry: paint onto dry paper for crisp edges. Use this for shapes and detail.
• Light to dark: watercolour is transparent, so paint the lightest colours first and build up. Let each layer dry before painting next to it.
• Less paint, more water gives you soft pastel tones. More paint gives you strong colour.

Design 1: Simple baubles

1. Lightly draw three or four circles with pencil, hanging from different heights.
2. Fill each circle with clean water, then drop in red, green or blue at one side. Let it bleed across.
3. Once dry, add a thin line from the top of the card to each bauble, a small cap, and a white highlight with gel pen.

Design 2: Loose Christmas trees

1. Mix a deep green. Paint a row of tall triangles using quick zigzag strokes from the top down.
2. While still wet, touch in a darker green or blue on one side for shadow.
3. When dry, dot on baubles with red and gold, and add a small star on top.

Design 3: Snowy night

1. Wet the top two-thirds of the card and drop in dark blue and purple, letting them blend.
2. Leave the bottom third white for snow. Add a few small house or tree shapes in dark blue along the snow line once the sky is dry.
3. Flick white gel pen dots or a toothbrush of white paint across the sky for falling snow.

Design 4: Kiwi summer Christmas

• Pōhutukawa: paint a cluster of small red dots and short lines for the flower, with a few dark green oval leaves around it.
• Beach: a blue wash for the sea, sand-coloured wash below, and a little red Santa hat on a jandal.
• Pavlova: a white shape with a pale grey shadow, topped with red strawberries and green kiwifruit slices.

Finishing

Let the card dry completely, then peel the tape off slowly, pulling away from the painting. Write your message inside with a fine pen. If the card has curled, press it under a heavy book overnight.

Tips for kids and groups

• Tape the cards down for younger kids before you start, so they can go straight to painting.
• Give everyone one brush for colour and keep a second jar of clean water just for rinsing.
• Paint a batch on one design, then swap: it's quicker and everyone ends up with a set.

Get started

Everything in this guide comes in the Watercolour Christmas Card Kit. Prefer to build your own? Spend $30 on watercolour paint sets, such as the Watercolour Basics Kit, and add a Gallery Series Watercolour Brush Set 5pc to your cart free. Free NZ shipping on orders over $75.