The holiday season gives calligraphers a time to shine! You can use your dip pen (and the occasional paintbrush) to create wondrous things that will light up any recipient’s mailbox. Today, I’ve rounded up all of TPK’s Christmas calligraphy and art tutorials to compile an inspirational list.
1. Cut-Out Ornament DIY Holiday Card Tutorial
The design on this card has a fresh, festive look, with plenty of beautiful greenery and shiny gold dots.
The most unique aspect of this card 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.
2. Flourished Calligraphy Reindeer Tutorial
Calligrapher Maureen Vickery of PenDance Studio popped by the TPK blog to show us how to create this fabulous reindeer! You can switch up the message on his belly to reflect whatever will resonate best with your recipient.
3. Free (Super Cool) Hand-Drawn Printable Gift Tags
I love wrapping gifts with a creative flourish. However, with a toddler running around, it can be difficult to put in the time to make my gifts pretty. That’s why I made these printables for you — and for me!
4. How to Wrap a Gift with Artistic Flair
A unique presentation can make a gift that much sweeter! In the How to Wrap a Gift with Artistic Flair article, you’ll find a tutorial video and suggestions for creating memorable wrapped gifts.
5. Triangle Fold Holiday Card Tutorial
Artist and calligrapher Phyllis Macaluso came up with this pocket-sized holiday card concept. The card doubles as an ornament when it’s neatly folded up!
6. Fir Branch Gift Tags Tutorial
Use watercolor paper, waterproof ink, and green watercolor to create this earthy and elegant gift tag.
7. Pretty Mrs. Claus Printable Envelope
If you find yourself pressed for time, you can use this printable holiday envelope to send holiday greetings. It features a 1920s era Mrs. Claus and “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” lettering!
8. 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.
9. DIY Holiday Card + Artistic Envelope Tutorial
This card has a cool 3D component because of the banner. I love how it stands out from the vibrant red roses!
10. Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable Gift Tags
This tutorial teaches you how to paint a simple holiday wreath. The tutorial also features printable gift tags that enjoy ample seasonal popularity on Pinterest.
11. Snowman Gift Tags
These printable snowman gift tags turned nine years old last month — I can’t believe it’s been that long since I first made them! They feature a basic acrylic illustration that pairs well with almost any wrapping paper.
12. Circular DIY Christmas Card Tutorial
Rarely do we see circular cards, and the flourished “Happy Holidays” script and the sparkling gold watercolor add to the card’s sophistication.
13. 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.
14. Embellished Winter Greeting Card Tutorial
If you’re looking for a greeting card motif, you’ll enjoy this tutorial! It combines gold and green watercolors to make a shimmery card that is so wintery you can almost smell pine tree in the air.
15. Christmas Tree Holiday Envelope Art Tutorial
I love the way that snowy white ink makes the address stand out from the metallic tree in this holiday mail art! You can add vintage Christmas-themed postage stamps to amp up the magic. (Learn about where to find vintage postage stamps here.)
16. Tasteful Twist-Out Tree Holiday Card Tutorial
Elegant white flourishes, a Christmas tree cutout, and glittering stars take this card to the next level! (This is my current favorite holiday card on the site … sooo pretty.)
17. Calligraphy Christmas Ornament Tutorial
I love using watercolor paper to make Christmas ornaments! Just use the cutout provided in the tutorial to make an ornament shape, then decorate the paper ornament in your own signature style.
18. Night Before Christmas Card Tutorial
Modern Calligraphy author Molly Suber Thorpe wrote this simple, fun tutorial for the TPK blog. It relies on handmade paper and metallic watercolor to make a festive Christmas calligraphy greeting!
19. “Joy” Elegant Gold Christmas Card Tutorial
This card combines matte black cardstock and sparkling gold watercolor to make a classy, irresistible holiday card.
20. Free Holiday Calligraphy Exemplar
This one-page worksheet offers a basic alternative to TPK’s holiday calligraphy worksheets. Use it to practice writing out four popular holiday greetings!
21. Kid-Friendly DIY Paper Ornaments Tutorial
This tutorial is the perfect kid-friendly project that will produce heirloom DIY paper ornaments! Make it with your littles or enjoy a relaxing evening making ornaments yourself.
22. How to Make an Ornament-Themed Calligraphy Christmas Card
This Christmas card features the flourished ornament elements from the TPK Holiday Calligraphy Worksheet 2022 Edition. Enjoy the video tutorial below!
23. Festive Bough Calligraphy Flourish Tutorial by Phyllis Macaluso
Phyllis Macaluso is known for her beautiful flourishes and embellishments. In her Festive Bough Calligraphy Flourish Tutorial, she walks us through exactly how to make delicate flourishes ourselves! The tutorial includes a very helpful free PDF that will come in handy every holiday season!
24. Beautiful Watercolor Fir Wreath Mail Art Tutorial
A watercolor fir wreath is a quick motif that never fails to look festive! Put it on an envelope, and you’ve got one gorgeous piece of mail art.
25. 6 Simple Ways to Make a Calligraphy Christmas Tree
‘Tis the season to adorn your paper goods with festive motifs like flourished Christmas trees! In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through six different ways to draw a simple calligraphy Christmas tree.
26. Nico Ng’s Hand-Lettered Christmas Card Tutorial
You can always count on Nico Ng for a polished hand-lettering design, and he doesn’t disappoint in this Christmas card tutorial!
So, there you have it! These Christmas calligraphy tutorials can help to boost your creativity this season, as well as make for some very happy recipients. I hope that you enjoyed this list and that you feel inspired to make at least one of these beauties. Thanks so much for reading TPK, and have a great weekend!
Warmly,
This article was first published in November of 2017. It has been updated to reflect all the fresh holiday tutorials on the site.
