Balloon lettering looks cute on EVERYTHING….especially cards! Chasity is here today sharing some super sweet balloon lettering ideas with detailed step-by-step instructions.
Kelly Creates Supplies: Small Black Brush pen, Black Fineliners, Aqua Brushes, Paradise Watercolor Pencils, Deluxe Lettering Kit, Watercolor Ink Set 3 (white), Watercolor Lettering paint brushes, Palette with pipettes, Dream pens, Watercolor Practice pad, Watercolor Project paper pad
OTHER SUPPLIES: Paper trimmer, adhesive, Buenos Dias –patterned paper, Washi tape, enamel dots; white and yellow card stock.
Hey there lettering Friends! It’s April and spring is in the air here in Utah! How is the weather where you are? I sure am ready for sunshine and flowers!
I have a really easy tutorial to share with you today. I have been seeing some incredible illustrations of balloons on social media, so I wanted to create some fun balloon lettering that was easy to achieve with Kelly’s awesome products!
I am going to show you how to make balloon letters with Kelly Creates Aqua Brushes and her Paradise Watercolor Pencils. I got great results with both! Did you know that the Kelly Creates brush pens are water soluble and can be used to create watercolor effects?
First, start with the Kelly Creates Watercolor Practice Pad. This grid paper is really helpful for planning your designs. Sketch out some bubble/ balloon letters. Be sure to make them round and curvy like balloons! Add little triangles to the bottoms of the balloons.
I chose 3 words: party, spring and happy. Play with the placement of the letters. Try positioning the letters at different heights like a real bunch of balloons. Once you have the look you like, draw the balloon letters onto a piece of Kelly Creates watercolor paper from the Project Pad.
I used the ruler and pencil from the Kelly Creates Deluxe Lettering Kit. Lightly sketch the balloon letters. Add the light streaks and the balloon stem triangles.
The first technique I am going to share with you is using the Kelly Creates Aqua Brushes. I outlined each letter with an Aqua Brush. Next, using a Kelly Creates Size 1 Watercolor Lettering paint brush, add some water to the inside of the letter and blend the outline color inward.
Add more water if needed. Remember to blend inward but leave the balloon lighter towards the center to give it dimension. The outline edges should be darkest. If you want to add more color from the Kelly Creates Aqua Brush you can add more at this time. NOTE: Let dry completely before adding more colour.
Once you are happy with the look, move on to the next letter and repeat the process. One thing I love about the Kelly Creates Aqua Brushes is that they work very similar to watercolors. They blend really well, and the watercolor paper helps with the blending because the paper doesn’t tear.
Keep repeating this process with each letter. I followed a kind of rainbow color palette for the word “happy”.
Once you have that completed the entire word, let the letters dry completely. I used the eraser from the Kelly Creates Deluxe Lettering Kit and erased any pencil lines I could still see once it was completely dry.
Now, I want to show you the same technique, but using the Kelly Creates Paradise Watercolor Pencils. First, outline the letter and lightly color in towards the center. You don’t have to colour in the the centre of the letters.The outline should be quite dark for contrast so you might draw around the edges a few times with the Paradise Pencils.
Then using the same Kelly Creates Size 1 Lettering brush, add water around the edges of the letter, blending towards the center, leaving the center lighter.
If you want to add more color, while the letter is still wet, outline the letter again. You will see that the pencil goes on much darker when the surface is wet. You can always layer on more colour even after it is dried completely, which I recommend.
Once you get the desired effect, use the same process on the rest of the letters. I followed the same rainbow pattern with my colors, but the Paradise Watercolor Pencils have a lighter look, just perfect for creating a pastel word “spring”.
Let this dry completely, and erase any pencil lines that you can still see. Next, we will add some highlights to the balloons where the light would hit. I used the White ink from Kelly Creates Watercolor Ink Set 3. It’s opaque and is perfect for adding highlights. NOTE: The White ink is much thicker consistency than the other inks because it is actually a ‘gouache’ so you might need to dilute it a little with water in your palette or use it as is for more opacity.
With the Kelly Creates Lettering #1 brush paint short white lines around the curves of each balloon letter to create more dimension. I used the White Ink on both the Aqua Brush and the Watercolor Pencil balloon letters.
Now, let’s add some fun details. I used the Kelly Creates Black Fineliner 005 and outlined the balloon letters in “happy”. I like to have crisp, clean outlines. Outline each letter and the tiny triangular stems.
For the Paradise Watercolor Pencils balloon lettering, I wanted to add a little more detail, so I outlined the letters first, and then drew some hatch strokes to emphasize where there are curves and bends in the balloons. This really makes the balloon letters POP! (pun intended!)
Lastly, I added some additional words in brush lettering and turned these balloon letters into… you guessed it! CARDS! I love to make handmade cards!
Using Kelly Creates Dream Pen ‘Daybreak,’ letter the word “happy” above spring. I really like to mix letter styles in my projects. Add balloon strings using the Kelly Creates Black Fineliner 05. Draw highlights on the word ‘happy’ with the Kelly Creates White Moonlight Marker.
Next, add some patterned paper, cardstock and washi tape to create a springtime card.
Going back to the “happy” Aqua Brush balloon letters, add the strings to the balloons. With the Kelly Creates small brush tip black pen, letter the word “birthday” or any word that goes with ‘happy.’ You can try ‘anniversary, holidays etc.’
Add highlights and put together with fun, bright papers and embellishments to create a handmade card.
Thanks so much for stopping by today to check out this fun tutorial. I hope that you grab some of your supplies and try this really cute balloon lettering! Share with us what you create. I can’t wait to see it!
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To see more of Chasity’s creative crafty lettering projects, visit her Instagram @chiciscre8ive
Shop the supplies Chasity used by visiting KellyCreatesStore.com or clicking the affiliate links below.
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