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  • Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    , , ,

    Watercolor wreaths add elegance and artistry to any project: snail mail, wedding materials, and bullet journals, to name a few. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how relaxing wreaths are to draw! Put on a good podcast, have some hot tea, and go to town on making a beautiful watercolor wreath of your own with this…

    Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Everyone loves a watercolor wreath, and I’ve got the Google Analytics to prove it. The Woodland Watercolor Wreath tutorials are among the most popular posts on the TPK blog, and the Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial goes viral every December! Today, I want to show you how to make an elegant nest-like wreath! It combines several different branches and colors to make a harmonious border that is relaxing to make and interesting to look at. Ready to get started?

    1. Make a Pencil Draft

    Every successful piece of art or calligraphy starts with a draft! Use your favorite pencil to sketch out an oval or a circle, then make a draft of your calligraphy or hand-lettering inside.

    Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I am making my artwork on a piece of Stonehenge watercolor paper that I cut to 5″x7″. Feel free to use any brand and size of paper! (Watercolor paper is best for this tutorial, but mixed media/drawing paper could work, too.)

    2. Start “Nesting”

    As I mentioned, this watercolor wreath reminds me of a nest. You add branches here and there until the piece looks full and finished! Here’s a “cheat sheet” chart of the different branches you can make, and the steps you’ll take to create them:

    Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    With the chart above in mind, start by creating any of the branches above. It’s easiest to use the watercolor calligraphy technique to draw the branches! However, you can use a tiny paintbrush if you’re uncomfortable using a dip pen.

    Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    Make sure the stems of your branches follow the contours of your pencil oval/circle!

    After you have illustrated the first little piece of the wreath, add another piece. It’s completely your choice which style of branch you draw next!

    Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Continue building the wreath by adding an illustration here and there. Try to let the flora overlap! Overlapping branches gives the watercolor wreath an abundant, rich look.

    Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Once you’ve worked your way around the circle, you can go in and add some dots in any color you like. I personally love glittery Arabic gold, so I’m dotting that around my piece. There’s no rhyme or reason to the dots; you can put them anywhere around the watercolor wreath.

    Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    Any gold watercolor will work for this purpose! It’s easiest to make these dots with a size 1 paintbrush.

    3. Write Text

    Many watercolor wreaths exist to frame text. In my case, I wanted a piece of artwork to put in our bedroom, so I chose to write a quote from Singin’ in the Rain! It’s just a little reminder to start the day off on the right foot. Whatever quote you choose, write it in watercolor calligraphy! Once the watercolor dries, you can erase any pencil draft lines.

    Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    The piece will look cohesive if you write with a couple of the same colors that you used to make the wreath. I used Kaitlin Style calligraphy and Sans Serif lettering to write this quote!

    I love this watercolor wreath! I’ve used it to make greeting cards, place cards, and framed artwork for my home. It can beautifully accentuate any piece!

    Botanical Watercolor Wreath Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    This greeting card features Kaitlin Style calligraphy and Garamond hand-lettering.

    The secret to making a beautiful wreath? Just keep the “cheat sheet” chart in this blog post in front of you, and build up the wreath with branches from the chart until you’re satisfied with how it looks!

    Other Watercolor Wreaths

    If you’re a watercolor wreath kind of person, then — first: hi, you’re amazing, and welcome to the club! Second: I’ve got a wealth of tutorials you’ll love!

    Woodland Watercolor Wreath Tutorials: Part III | The Postman's Knock
    This is the wreath from the Woodland Watercolor Wreath Tutorials: Part III.

    Here is a list of watercolor wreath tutorials on the TPK site:

    I hope that you enjoyed today’s tutorial, and that you have time to peruse some of the other TPK watercolor wreath tutorials as well! After all, weekends with watercolors are the best kinds of weekends. Have a good one!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock