• Holiday Wreath Watercolor Gift Tag Tutorial + Free Printable

    This unique holiday wreath watercolor gift tag is vibrant, artistic, and comes together in a series of simple steps.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    Follow the steps outlined in this tutorial to make a beautiful handmade holiday wreath watercolor gift tag! Pressed for time? Feel free to print out a free gift tag template instead.

    This holiday wreath watercolor gift tag tutorial will disprove those who swear that they cannot use watercolors! I’ll walk you through this project step by step, and you’ll be delighted at the results. Keep in mind that while I used the wreath for a gift tag, it can be painted on anything. Sketchbooks, envelopes, DIY cards, and place cards can all benefit from this wonderful motif.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Supplies Needed

    You’ll just need a few supplies to make a holiday wreath watercolor gift tag:


    1. Prep Your Watercolors and Your Paper

    This project doesn’t require fancy watercolors. Really, all you need is a nice, rich red paint and two tones of green: one dark, and one light. Use a blunt art syringe to apply water to these three colors, then let the water soak into the paints as you move on to the next step.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    I used artist grade watercolors from Greenleaf & Blueberry for this tutorial (this palette is an older edition and no longer available). However, a student grade palette like this one would work great, too.

    First, cut out a small piece of watercolor paper. Find a round object (I used an ink bottle), and trace around it with a pencil. The resulting circle roughly predicts the size of your watercolor holiday wreath.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    The circle I drew here is about 2.5″ (6.35 cm) in diameter.

    Next, use an eraser to get rid of most of what you just traced. Erase until you can just barely see where your pencil lines were.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    If you prefer, you can skip this step and simply draw an extremely faint pencil line around your circular object.

    2. Paint the Berries

    Few things evoke the holiday season more than vivid red berries. If you want to paint a realistic (-ish) berry, the trick lies in including a light spot. To achieve that, you should first use your red watercolor to paint an open circle somewhere on or near the pencil outline that you drew earlier.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    The berries on the left are finished examples. To draw a realistic red berry, begin by drawing a circle like the one shown on the right.

    While the paint outline is still wet, use your paintbrush to draw a “U” shape within the top of your red circle. The “U” shape should look something like the one pictured below.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Now, fill in the rest of the circle with red watercolor paint. Congratulations; you’ve just painted a berry!

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Continue to paint clusters of berries on different areas of the circle. Once you’re finished, your piece will look something like the photo below.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    Be sure to vary the numbers and sizes of berries within each cluster!

    3. Paint Leaves

    Simple dark green leaves add a nice contrast to the berries. To paint a leaf, start by using your dark green watercolor to make a partial almond shape. Leave one side of the almond shape open, as shown in the photo below.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Next, fill in the left half of the almond shape with paint.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Finish up by filling in the right half. Be sure to leave a white line in the center to signify a vein.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Continue to paint dark green leaves in random places around the berry clusters. The leaves should all be different sizes, and their colors will slightly vary due to different water levels in the paint.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    4. Add Pine Boughs to Your Watercolor Gift Tag

    If you ask yourself what differentiates a holiday wreath from other types of wreaths, your answer will probably be “pine boughs”. Luckily for us, pine boughs are remarkably easy to paint! Start by using the same dark green watercolor that you used in the last step to create a slightly curved “V”.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    While the dark green paint is still wet, use a light green tone to paint another “V” that locks into the “V” that you just made. The light green paint will automatically blend with the dark green paint.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Continue alternating colors for the “V”s, stacking them one on top of the other to bridge the gap between berry clusters.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Once you finish, you’ll be impressed with your beautifully blended pine boughs!

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    And voilà: you’ve painted a fabulous and simple watercolor holiday wreath!

    5. Finish Your Holiday Wreath Watercolor Gift Tag

    Truthfully, the applications for a project like this have no limit. You can paint a watercolor holiday wreath anywhere, and I hope you use it for a variety of projects from mail art to casual sketching! For the purposes of this tutorial, though, I want to show you how easily you can make this wreath into a gift tag. All you need to do is cut around the edges of the wreath, then calligraph a name inside.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    I used all-lowercase Kaitlin Style calligraphy and iron gall ink to write a name inside this gift tag.

    Punch a hole in the top of the wreath, then run some baker’s twine through it. Voilà! A super-artistic and quick holiday gift tag.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    I used a 1/8″ hole punch to make the hole in this gift tag.

    Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial + Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Printable Watercolor Wreath Gift Tag Template

    If you like the concept of this holiday watercolor wreath but you don’t have the time to create it, you can print off this free gift tag template. The template includes nine 2.5″ holiday wreaths for you to print, cut out, and write names in. Feel free to print it as many times as you need to in order to embellish your holiday gift presentations!

    Printable Watercolor Holiday Wreath Gift Tags | The Postman's Knock

    DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE GIFT TAG TEMPLATE

    I hope that this post encourages you to pick up a brush and give this project a try! Even if you feel intimidated by watercolor paints, I think that you’ll find this wreath to be a blissfully simple introduction to painting. If this project ignites a love for watercolors, consider enrolling in TPK’s Ultimate Beginner’s Watercolor Online Course. In it, you’ll learn everything from how to draw simple patterns to how to paint a portrait.

    Enroll in the TPK Ultimate Beginner's Watercolor Course

    Thanks very much for reading TPK; I appreciate that you’re here … I know that there are a million other websites you could be on right now, and a thousand other things you could be doing! So: thanks for giving me a little chunk of your time, and have a wonderful, creative day.

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock

    This article was first posted in November of 2016. It has been updated to include new photos and clearer information.