DIY Watercolor Cards

Hello everyone!

It's the season of giving and almost everyone I know are getting gifts for their loved ones whether they celebrate Christmas or not. During gift giving it's always nice to slip in a note to thank the person or just give him/her your well-wishes. What better way to thank them than to make your very own thank you or greeting card? 

This project is super fun and easy to make and it doesn't take too much of your time. You can probably find all the materials at your home.

You would need some:

1. Thick White paper  (I used a 200gm paper and cut them into 74mm by 104mm) 
2. Paint of your choice
3. Paintbrushes
4. White crayon or candles

Let's get started!

Firstly, using your crayon or candle, write or design your personal greeting on the card. You can get even make it season by drawing some Christmas trees or reindeers. 

Next, just get creative! Mix your paint with water and start painting. I cannot exactly remember the water to paint ratio as different colors required different amounts of water so you might want to test it out on a used paper before trying it out on your actual card. You need to mix it with water so that when you paint over the design, it can be seen and doesn't get covered by your paint. 

I got my sister to join in the fun as it was super simple to make. We decided to make a few cards as I just went on a craft haul and I wanted to test the colors of my paint. 

This project can be done with your family members, friends and even children. Please use a newspaper as you do not want to get paint all over your floor (I learnt it the hard way). Above are several ideas in case you're looking for inspiration! To achieve different strokes, you can try them with different brushes or even sponges.

These are great not only for holiday season but any time of the year. Also, you can save some money on greeting cards. It is always nice to receive a card and it makes it extra special when it is handmade.

Merry Christmas!

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DIY Open When...

Hello lovely people!

This is a long overdue post. I had been so busy with school I was not able to find time to post anything. Now that I'm having my holidays I'm gonna try to stay more committed. 

In my previous post on DIY Scratch Cards, I had mentioned that I made scratch cards according to different emotions. So in this post, I would like to share with you how I organised them and a sneak peek of some of the cards that I made. 

All these were personally designed by me in Photoshop CS6. I made 7 different sets. This one is for my best friend to open when she is feeling happy. The words use on the cards are inspired by Pharrell William's Happy. The empty spaces were for me to write any quotes or messages.

This one is my favourite because they are all cheesy pick-up lines which both Roslina and I really love. Each card is personalised and it took the longest to design.

A closer look on one of the cards.

I put all of them in a small gift bag which I got at Daiso. They came in a packet where 35 bags cost $2. I sealed all of them with some of my favourite stickers. The labels were also designed in Photoshop CS6. 

Since this is the month of giving, I have uploaded a printable of the labels and 3 designs from the cards that I have designed. Feel free to download and use it if you plan to do this project for your loved ones. This can be a great Christmas gift especially if your loved ones are here to visit and have to travel once the holidays are over. If you would like more of these designs do comment down below as I might consider selling these. 

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DIY Scratch Cards

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I've posted a DIY tutorial and there is a fun project I had been wanting to share with you. This project was part of my best friend's 21st birthday gift so I had to hold on this post for a while. Some time last year I was just scrolling through Pinterest and I came across a project where the receiver had to scratch off the cards to find out what their gift was. I thought it was a really interesting project and I wanted to put my own spin to it. 

These scratch cards are all categorised according to different emotions. For instance, if my best friend is overwhelmed with happiness she gets to scratch one of the happy cards. They contain a mixture of quotes and personal messages. I made a few different types which will be shared in another post. 

In this tutorial, I will share with you how to create this "scratch off" effect on any type of scratch cards. For this project, you would need:

Cards

There are a few printables available online for you to download and print out. If you are interested to see how mine looks like, leave a comment!

- Clear Contact Paper or Clear Tape
- Acrylic Paint (I used gold and silver)
- Paintbrush or Sponge
- Dishwasher liquid
- Scissors

Now, let's get started!

1. Cut out some contact paper or clear tape to cover the part that needs to be scratched out.

2. Gently cover the area that you want your receiver to scratch off.

3. Mix your acrylic paint with dishwasher liquid. 

The ratio is about 2:1 (for every 2 drops of paint, you would need 1 drop of dishwasher liquid). 

Mix them gently as you do not want too much bubbles forming.

This step is optional. 

I pasted some tape over the card as I wanted the painted area to be clean and neat. I could not find paper tape in my house so I used paper tabs instead. It definitely was not as effective as a paper tape, but it did a decent job.

4. Using a paintbrush or sponge apply the paint and dishwasher mixture over the area.

I used a sponge as it was more even as compared to the paintbrushes I had on hand. Do not worry if you can still see through the words. I applied 2-3 coats to completely cover the area. 

Once you are done, leave it to dry and it will look something like this.

In the image the first card is not completely covered due to the insufficient paint and bright lighting.

This is a fun project where you can do with a group of friends or family. There are so many different occasions where you can do this. For example, Birthdays, Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, Parties and etc. If you did try out this project, tag me in any of the social media platform because I love seeing different versions of this project.

Get creative and have fun! 

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DIY Birthday Card Ideas

Hey! I have been blogging about food, food and more food so I thought I shall share some DIY ideas for a change.

 Is your friend's birthday around the corner? No idea what to get for your mum/sister/dad..(oh you get it)? Don't fret! Well, I love making my own gifts as compared to buying a gift from gift stores. I just feel that there's more sincerity and it will definitely be different from the other gifts that your friends or family members get because it's more personal. I was really happy with this particular birthday project for my bestfriend and I thought why not share some ideas since there's always birthdays around the corner.

There was once I had gone to Typo (Subsidiary of Cotton On) and they had this shelve where it displayed all these super adorable birthday cards. Obviously I was tempted to get one myself but I thought why not make some myself since it is more personalized and of course, CHEAPER. This project was really fun and the end product turned out to be amazing. I made 12 mini cards in total and it took me about 3 days to complete all of them. All you need for this project is Photoshop with  your favourite brush/font/pattern sets (I'm using the cs6 version) and lots and lots of inspiration and passion.

Side note: I got my most of my brushes and patterns from http://www.brusheezy.com/.

Check out http://www.dafont.com/ for a variety of fonts.

Before I say anything further, do take a look at my work!

I wanted it to be really cute so the measurement of the cards were 6cm by 7cm. It is a good idea because you can write a message at the back and the receiver can bring them wherever they want because it's really compact.

It can be also be used as wall decorations! I'm sure we don't like studying in a dull and boring space so you can choose to present it to them by decorating their space with these cute little motivation cards.

There were lots of moments where I ran out of ideas but thanks to Google, I managed to find some really pretty cards and cute messages to help me work with my designs.

"I moustache you a question. But I'll shave it for later." Hahahahaha, moustache puns are adorable.

Roslina loves balloons and she's a fan of leopard prints. So, that explains the leopard and the hot air balloon. You can play around with the subjects in the card according to your friend's/family members' likings.

 

Lastly, you cannot go wrong with simple flowers and MEMES. Memes are so cute and hilarious, you definitely got to add them in birthday cards.

I printed all 12 of them on an A4 size 250gsm matte paper for less than $2 at a local printing store and it all turned out great. If you were to go to a gift store or card store to purchase them individually it's gonna cost you way more.

There are so many ways to present these cards. I presented them in a self-made explosion box which I plan to share really soon. But you can choose to present it with a small cake, frame it up or even as simple as slotting it into a pretty envelope, it is totally up to your preference. Cards are so versatile because you can give them on so many occasions such as Valentine's Day, Birthday's, Graduation etc. I never get sick of cards because every time I get one it's different. A card will never go wrong and what is amazing is that it is personally made by you. Best part is, it is cheap and yet it has so much sincerity! 

I welcome any comments and questions on how to go on about doing this. Please credit if you were to repost any of the designs because I know watermark pictures are a pain and it destroys the picture. If you are interested in any of my designs, feel free to comment or contact me via FB/Twitter/Instagram/Email (click on the connect page on the top for more information) and I will try my best to get back to you guys. I hope you will have fun making your own! Ciaoz.

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