Though the holiday season is a joyous occasion, it has its downsides! Namely, this time of year often gets so busy that creative block starts to creep in as other things fill up our minds. Thoughts like “How am I going to get all my work done before I take time off for the holidays?” or “What gift should I give to X?” can lead to stress that doesn’t exactly get your creative juices flowing! If that’s mentally where you are right now, you’ll appreciate these eight holiday tutorials. When you have a free moment, sit down and create one of them. Making art and/or calligraphy will relax you and get you feeling fresh for taking on more holiday challenges (like buying those exorbitantly priced last-minute plane tickets … yuck)!
1. Cut-Out Ornament DIY Holiday Card Tutorial
I think that this is one of the most creative tutorials on the TPK website! The design on the card has a fresh, festive look, with plenty of beautiful greenery and shiny gold dots.
In order to create the Cut-Out Ornament DIY Holiday Card Tutorial, you’ll need watercolor paper, watercolors, and an X-Acto knife. If you don’t have an X-Acto knife, it’s well worth seeking out!
The most unique aspect of the card, however, is the fact that it doubles as an ornament! The recipient can pop the middle out of the card and hang it on his or her holiday tree.
Try to make this ornament out of 140 lb. watercolor paper. That way, it will be durable enough to last for several holiday seasons!
2. Printable Holiday Envelopes
If you find yourself pressed for time, you can take advantage of these printable holiday envelopes. They provide instant mail art that features a 1920s era Mrs. Claus and “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” lettering!
Try using walnut ink to write the recipient’s address. The vintage, slightly faded hue will pair well with the Mrs. Claus illustration!
3. Artistic Ornaments-Themed DIY Christmas Card Tutorial
The secret behind this unique-looking card? Your breath! While the watercolor is still wet, you blow on it to create artistic spatters. This is one of my favorite holiday tutorials because of its simple and surprising technique!
Feel free to use this technique on projects besides holiday cards! These ornaments also look great on mail art and in bullet journals.
4. Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable Gift Tags
The simple holiday wreath presented in this tutorial will come in handy for a variety of holiday and winter-related applications. You can use it, for example, on gift tags, bullet journals, mail art, and sketchbook journals, among other things.
I love using the Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial for gift tags. The tutorial includes a free gift tag printable, just in case you don’t have the time to make gift tags yourself!
5. DIY Holiday Card + Artistic Envelope Tutorial
If drawing or illustration doesn’t come easy to you, don’t be intimidated by this card. The banner comes from a free printable, and the vintage rose motif is 100% traceable!
You could easily use this concept for other holidays like birthdays or Easter. Just modify the banner message accordingly!
6. Snowman Gift Tags
These printable snowman gift tags turn four years old later this month — I can’t believe it’s been that long since I first made them! They feature a fun and simple acrylic illustration that pairs well with almost any wrapping paper.
If your printer can’t print on cardstock, print these gift tags off on regular paper. Then, glue them on to a cardstock backing!
7. Circular DIY Christmas Card Tutorial
To me, the Circular DIY Christmas Card Tutorial represents pure elegance and uniqueness. Rarely do we see circular cards, and the flourishy “Happy Holidays” script and the sparkling gold watercolor add to the card’s sophistication.
If you’re hesitant about your ability to write “Happy Holidays” like this, don’t worry — the calligraphy is traceable!
8. DIY Holiday Gift Tags Tutorial
If you enjoy midcentury modern motifs, then you’ll appreciate the DIY Holiday Gift Tags Tutorial! The ornament-themed gift tag even includes a little bit of aluminum foil at the top to represent a cap and hook.
You can use a regular pen or a dip pen to create the fun designs on this ornament gift tag.
So, there you have it! These eight holiday tutorials can help to boost your creativity this season, as well as make for some very happy recipients. If you have any questions or observations about any of the tutorials, I would be glad to hear from you in the comments! If not, I hope that you enjoyed the post and that you feel inspired to make at least one of these. They’re all fun and approachable for a variety of skill levels!
Thanks so much for reading TPK, and have a great rest of the week!
Warmly,
The artistic ornaments are definitely my favourites. Having fun blowing ink! This is just enjoyable. It is so simple too, for someone like me who is not good at drawing.
My favorite is Number 3. The ornaments really give color, and vibrancy to the calligraphy. It’s beautiful!
I love number 4!! I think I will use it this year!!
My favorite is the first one! Pine trees are one of the few things I can draw. 😉
My favorite tutorial is the Artistic Ornaments-Themed DIY Ornament Card. The ornaments can be done so many different ways and then it looks totally different. The result is always the same though – a beautiful card that I can’t wait to give.
My favorite card to make was #1 as it is super cute and I believe my family will love that they get to put my artwork on their Christmas tree this year and for years to come.
Thank you for the step-by-step instructions AND pictures. 🙂
I love the holiday ornament card tutorial! A great way to display the card too.