DIY Watercolor Christmas: Easy painting ideas and techniques for cards, gifts and décor

by Ingrid Sanchez

Overview

Make the holidays the most artistic time of the year with this creative guide to painting festive ornaments, stockings, decorations, and more.

Here you’ll find a wealth of inspiration and techniques for all sorts of watercolor projects this Christmas! Starting with the materials and equipment you need for watercolor painting, you’ll learn how to create both traditional and contemporary color palettes for Christmas and discover a wide range of watercolor techniques.

Twelve creative projects follow, with easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorials so that even beginners to watercolor can jump right in. Learn how to paint your own Christmas cards, gift tags and gift boxes, create seasonal table settings, hand painted Christmas crackers and garlands, and unique hand-painted Christmas gifts including a watercolor wreath.

This inspirational book will also show you how to use watercolor primer products to paint onto glass baubles, 3D cardboard letters, wooden tree ornaments and more. And once you have the skills, who knows where your imagination will take you?

Finally, a gallery of additional Christmas motifs and designs that can be used for further inspiration can be found at the end of the book including reindeer, robins, mittens, snowflakes, stars, baubles, snowmen, candy canes, winter foliage, presents, decorations, elves and much much more!

Artist Ingrid Sanchez, aka @creativeingrid, shares her beautiful artwork and expert guidance in this unique celebration of Christmas in watercolor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781446380130
Publisher:	David & Charles
Publication date:	05/25/2023
Series:	DIY Watercolor , #3
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	122
Sales rank:	263,449
File size:	189 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Ingrid Sanchez is a Mexican artist and designer based in West London. She illustrates ­­­­­­and paints every day using watercolors and mixed media, gaining inspiration from nature. She runs workshops from her home studio as well as around the world including Amsterdam and New York. She has over 70,000 Instagram followers. This is her first book.

Table of Contents

Introduction 6 Materials and Equipment 8 Understanding Color 12 Basics and Beyond 18 Washes and Textures 20 Lines and Shapes 30 Experimental Watercolor 40 Project Preparation 54 Projects on Paper 56 Creative Christmas Cards 58 Winter Landscape 66 Traditional Wreath 72 Evergreen Reindeer 78 Robin Red-Breast 82 Supercool Snowflakes 86 DIY Projects 90 Little Stockings 92 Festive Letters 96 Party Crackers 102 Keepsake Boxes 106 Patterned Garlands 110 Galaxy Ornaments 114 Kirigami Decorations 118 Motif Gallery 122 About the Author 126 Acknowledgements 126 Index 127

Preface

Christmas is a wonderful time of year to use watercolors for décor, ornaments and gifts. We tend to think of watercolor for more summery themes and I’m perhaps best known for my floral paintings that epitomize the heady delights of the garden, but there is so much fun to be had with Christmas-themed designs in watercolor and that’s what I’m excited to explore with you in this book. Ever since I was a child I have loved painting in celebration of everyday joys and achievements, creating little notes to say thank you, congratulations or good luck. If you were sat at our table, it was not unusual to find one of my artistic gifts on your dinner plate, and my dad often found one of my painted surprises in his luggage when he was away on a work trip. As an adult I still enjoy creating cards and little paintings to surprise friends and family, and Christmas is the perfect time to make the most of that impulse to share and connect with others with our painting. Even though I am a full-time artist, I still paint and draw in my free time. You can say that painting is both my job and my hobby, and I would love to share a little bit of this passion with you. We’ll explore the basics of watercolors with a glimpse beyond to some of my favorite techniques, all done with the final purpose in mind, to create cards, wall art and decorations for one of the most magical seasons of the year – Christmas! I believe there is nothing more rewarding than creating something with our hands, but it becomes pure joy when we do it as a gift for others. I’ve also discovered that by painting festive decorations, such as tree ornaments, table decorations and hanging garlands, we can be sure that our homes reflect our own personal style. The way you approach your watercolor painting will be as unique as you are, so I encourage you to explore the different options I have offered for you to try. There are simple exercises to play and practice with to find out what works best for you. Be patient and enjoy the process. Happy Christmas painting!