Stock up! USA orders $85+ from the Supplies Shop ship free! →

Shop Now

  • Super Quick Flourished Ampersand Art Tutorial

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    — 20 Comments

    , , , , , , ,

    If you’re looking for a quick gift idea or a meaningful piece of home decor, try making this flourished ampersand art! With the help of a free printable and a light box or a bright window, it will take about 20 minutes to create.

    (Super) Easy Flourished Ampersand Tutorial

    Creating ampersand art is a wonderful way to celebrate togetherness, making it perfect for gifts or home decor. Today, I’ll walk you through a quick tutorial that will result in a cool and pretty flourished piece! You can use the motif for a greeting card, put it in a frame for display, or include it as part of your next snail mail packet.

    1. Gather Your Supplies

    To create this tutorial, you’ll need a few key supplies. They’re listed below this photo.

    Supplies for Ampersand Art
    1. Flourished Ampersand Art Template (printed on whatever paper is in your printer)
    2. Watercolor palette of your choice
    3. Ziller ink
    4. Watercolor paper cut to size 5″ x 7″ (12.7 cm x 17.75 cm)
    5. Paintbrush (size 3-ish)
    6. Your favorite pen holder + nib
    7. Light Box or a bright window

    *If you don’t have a light box, you’ll also need a pencil and a green colored pencil. 

    2. Trace Over the Flourished Ampersand Art Template

    First, center your piece of watercolor paper over the Flourished Ampersand Art Template. Place both the template and the watercolor paper over a light box. Next, use your dip pen and Ziller ink to trace over the dots on the template.

    Tracing to Make Easy Flourished Ampersand Art
    It’s important to use Ziller ink for this tutorial because the ink is waterproof.

    Next, use your dip pen to trace over the flourishes on the template. I chose to use a Brause EF66 nib + oblique pen for this project because the nib is so flexible. The Brause EF66 never fails to make nice, contrast-filled strokes.

    Tracing to Make Easy Flourished Ampersand Art

    Once you’re finished, your ampersand will look something like this:

    Flourished Ampersand Art on a Light Box

    If you don’t have a light box, use a bright window as your “light box”. Trace over the template (but not the dashed ampersand outline) in pencil onto the watercolor paper. Then, use your dip pen and ink to trace over the pencil lines. 

    3. Add Watercolor

    Now, moisten a pale green watercolor. Give the water a minute to penetrate the color, then use a wet, large-ish paintbrush to mix the water into the paint. Then, paint over the ampersand.

    Flourished Ampersand Art on a Light Box
    I used a size 3 paintbrush for this step, but any large-ish paintbrush size will work.

    Continue to paint until the ampersand is filled in with watercolor. Once the ampersand is complete, you’re finished!

    (Super) Easy Flourished Ampersand Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    If you don’t have a light box, continue to use your bright window as your light box. Get out your green colored pencil and draw very faintly around the ampersand’s outline. Then, fill in the green colored pencil outline with watercolor.

    And, incredibly, that’s it! This project is so quick that you could make a couple of ampersands in different colors. Or, if you want to, you can reference the Flourished Ampersand Art Template as an example to make your own letter with watercolor and flourishes! Enjoy!

    Warmly,

    This tutorial originally appeared on the TPK Blog in September of 2021. It has been modified to include clearer instructions and updated photography.

    *This post contains affiliate links to Amazon