Gemma has a really cute idea for a Mother’s Day gift….you can make it today…while respecting social distancing and quarantine regulations. This idea can be modified for birthdays and other special occasions, like anniversaries, too!
Kelly Creates Supplies: Watercolor Project Paper pad, Aqua Brushes, Black Fineliner, Black Brush Pen and Eraser from the Deluxe Lettering Kit, Metallic Jewel Bullet Tip Pen “Amethyst”
Also available: Kelly Creates Washi Tape, Kelly Creates Water Brushes, Kelly Creates Palette
Other Supplies: Washi tape or masking tape, ruler, pencil, paint palette, water brush or paint brush
Mother’s Day has already happened in the UK, so I thought I would share this idea for those of you celebrating this weekend elsewhere.
Social distancing started only a few days beforehand and lockdown soon after, meaning a majority of people never got to see their mum on this special day. I, like many others, have kept in contact with family and friends through regular FaceTime, texts, calls etc and most conversations lead to one of us declaring ‘we’ll do that when lockdown is over!’ This is what inspired me for this tutorial, and of course, the sentiment could be amended to be suitable for other occasions such as a loved ones birthday and can be sent in the post quite easily.
STEP 1 – Take a piece of watercolour or mixed media paper. It needs to be durable as we’ll be using water mixed with ink. Start by drawing a large square and dividing the lower section of the paper into equal sized ‘tabs’. Just do this lightly in pencil for now.
STEP 2 – Cover the border of your square shape with tape. This will create defined edges for your watercolour and stop the colour bleeding. Also place four strips of medium and two wider strips of washi tape where your lettering will go.
STEP 3 – To make the watercolour background, I have created paint with four of the Aqua brushes ~ Lilac, Sky, Jungle and Blossom. Maybe think about using the recipient’s favourite colours. Using a water brush or paintbrush and water, start filling in the spaces with gorgeous colours. Apply new colours quite quickly so it blends in nicely. TIP Don’t forget to clean your brush in between to keep the colours looking clean.
STEP 4 – Make sure the colour is completely dry before you peel off the tape ( I’m not very patient so at this point, I make myself busy elsewhere in the house before I take it off too quickly and ruin it! ) you could also use a craft dryer if you have one. When dry, draw a straight line around the edge of the square using the same colour that you will use for the lettering. I have used the Kelly Creates Metallic Jewel Bullet tip pen in Amethyst.
STEP 5 – For this piece I have used a monoline style in two different forms: A tall skinny style which you can see the full alphabet below and soft, flowing cursive script similar to like you would use when brush lettering.
STEP 6 – Letter the rhyme leaving a small gap at the top and bottom so it fits nicely in the space. It’s fun to try out different types of lettering that you wouldn’t normally use. I think the two different styles complement each other quite well.
STEP 7 – For the Happy Mother’s Day lettering, I have purposefully gone out of the blank space just to give it a fun twist and make it less formal.
STEP 8 – Go over your pencil lines and create ‘cut away tabs’ by drawing dashed lines using the Kelly Creates Black Fineliner. You can add a little scissor detail too if you wish!
STEP 9 – Now to decide what activities you would like to do! As you can tell most of mine are food and drink related! This activity really makes you appreciate the little things like having a gossip over a cup of tea in the garden or playing a game of Scrabble. The activities you choose don’t have to be big or expensive, and remember, make them achievable because you are going to have to do them ALL very soon, right? I have chosen to letter these using the Kelly Creates black fine brush pen from the Deluxe Lettering Kit and keep to a similar style of the lettering we have just done for the Mothers Day style. This will keep it looking neat and consistent. Obviously stick to a style you feel most comfortable with. Erase any pencil marks.
TIP Try and shorten your phrases so that you don’t overload the page with too much text e.g rather than ‘Have a big family dinner together’ choose ‘Family dinner’
All that’s left to do is send to the lucky recipient and get excited about what you’ll be doing very soon when all this madness is over. Alternatively you could fill your tabs with things you can do now such as an online family quiz, dance competition or a bake off!
I hope you enjoy my tutorial, and if you do try it out please tag me on Instagram @lettersflowersandtea and tag #kellycreates too! I would love to read your comments here so feel free to leave one.
To shop the supplies Gemma used, click these affiliate links or visit www.KellyCreatesStore.com
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