Easy DIY Watercolor Notecards
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Looking for a project that requires minimal supplies and even less money? These easy DIY watercolor notecards are quick to make and sure to brighten someone’s day!
If you follow me on Facebook, you know I often share freebies there as well as in my Facebook group. Today I’m going to show you how to actually USE some of those freebies. All of the graphics (as well as the font) used in this tutorial are completely FREE* – and the cards are SO easy to make. Create a design, print it out, cut on the Silhouette, and you are done! Heck, you could even cut them with a paper cutter if you wanted to! Let me show you how…
*Update, February 2022: The Watercolor Flowers in Cup graphic is no longer free, but is available for purchase. Check out the free Romantic Flowers graphics bundle as an alternative.
What You’ll Need
- Silhouette Studio software
- Font and Graphics (downloaded, unzipped, and saved/installed on your computer):
- Watercolor Splash Clip Art
- Watercolor Flowers in Cup (this bundle is no longer free; check out the free Romantic Flowers graphic bundle as an alternative.
- Timberly Script font
- White Cardstock
- Colored Cardstock (65# or greater), optional
- Adhesive, optional
- Printer
- Silhouette Cameo or Portrait
Basic Card Design
Open a new page in Silhouette Studio with the following settings:
Page Size: 8.5 inches x 11 inches
Orientation: Landscape
Show Print Border: ON
Show Cut Border: ON
Draw a rounded rectangle that is 4.25 inches wide x 5.5 inches tall. Make a copy of the rectangle and move it into the grey holding area.
Merge the PNG version of the clipart image(s) into your design page. Resize to fit within the rounded rectangle.
Blue (11) (seamless) PNG from Watercolor Splash Clip Art & Flowers-in-Cup_0000_Layer-4 PNG from Watercolor Flowers in Cup
Using the Timberly Script font, type the desired text. Weld the letters together. Fill the text with a color that coordinates with the clipart image. (Hint: Use the eyedropper tool in the Fill Color panel to select a color from the image.)
With the text still selected, make a small offset (somewhere between 0.03 and 0.05 inch). Fill the offset with white. Group the text and the offset together and change the Line Color to transparent. (You can omit the step of making an offset if you aren’t placing your text over the clipart.)
Position the text over the clipart, resizing the text as desired. Group the text and the clipart together and set to No Cut.
Center the design within the rounded rectangle and group the rectangle, text, and clipart image(s) together.
Option 1: White Cardstock Only
Align the two rounded rectangles at the top and slightly overlap them in the middle. Ungroup the rectangle from the text & image. Weld the two rectangles together. This is your card shape.
Group the card shape back together with the text and image.
Draw a vertical line down the middle of the welded rectangles that is slightly shorter than the welded shape. Change the line style to a dashed (perforated) line. Align the perforated line in the center-middle of the card shape. Group all parts of the design and card shape together.
Print the design on your printer and then cut on your Silhouette machine. (As long as you align your printed page carefully with the markings in the upper-left corner of your mat and load the mat properly, there is no need to use registration marks.)
Option 2: White + Colored Cardstock
A copy of the rectangle is not needed for this option and may be deleted.
Once you have aligned your text and image within the rounded rectangle, group everything together and resize the rectangle to 4 inches x 5.25 inches.
Print the design and cut on your Silhouette. Make sure all of the images and text are within the print border. (I was able to get 4 designs on one printed page by changing the orientation to Portrait.)
Cut a piece of colored cardstock to 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches. Fold in half. Adhere printed design to the front of the folded cardstock.
Like what you see here? Share the image below to Pinterest!
I hope this tutorial has inspired you to create something with a few of those freebies you’ve been collecting! If you have any questions about this project or any other project I’ve shared here on the blog, leave me a comment below or come join me over on Facebook. I always love hearing from my readers!
Until next time,
Lycia is a lifelong crafter whose goal is to help others find value, confidence, and joy in whatever they create. She geeks out on using technology to supercharge craft projects with Silhouette Studio, Design Space, Glowforge, sublimation, etc.! Lycia teaches these skills and more through online tutorials and videos as well as in-person classes at both the local and national levels.
Thank you for such a great ideas, & your instructions were very clear & concise. The cards you made were beautiful.