Nothing says “I love you” like a hand-painted card! And it is so easy to make something special that can be ready in just a few minutes. Seriously.  Watercolor is such a great medium because it’s so versatile and dries quickly making it easy to get a whole stack of gifts done in less than an hour.  I know you will enjoy this easy watercolor Valentine card! This is one of four tutorials/patterns I’ve made this year for YOU so stay tuned!

All of the patterns are available in the Resource Library. If you don’t already have a password, you can sign up HERE to get yours and then get started right away!

I designed this project with the busy mama/grandma in mind so I hope it will bring you lots of enjoyment and fun. In fact, it’s the perfect project to invite the kids to join you!

Paint with Me

Notice I said paint and not draw? I’m taking the drawing part out of the equation (and I have many more of these types of projects planned for you!). Let’s not get caught up on the drawing part yet (unless of course, you want to).  Just enjoy the watercolor painting process. You will learn so much as you just experiment without the pressure to draw the perfect picture. One skill at a time, I say. So with that out of the way, let’s get started!

Supply List

For this project, I am using two different kinds of reds found in my palette. Below are the colors I used (I circled them). Don’t worry if you don’t have Winsor & Newton brand of paints (although if you are in the market for inexpensive but high-quality paints I wholeheartedly recommend this set), most watercolor colors have the same name across brands so just look for the names in whatever you have. If you are using a pan that doesn’t have names, just try to get close to these colors as you paint.  Just keep your color palette limited and it will turn out great!

Note: For a nice traditional Valentine red I used a mixture of 1/4 cadmium red with 3/4 alizarin crimson (not an exact science, just mix until you get a color you are happy with).  

1. Print Out Your Pattern

If you are already a member of the Lily and Thistle tribe, you can access the pattern in the Resource Library with your password (found in every email I send to you) HERE. If you aren’t a member of our creative community, you can sign up and grab your password HERE or you can fill out the form below.

2. Trace Your Pattern

There are so many ways to trace your pattern.  You can use graphite paper, a window, an iPad or you can even purchase an inexpensive light board. I did a post all about tracing HERE.

Just remember not to push down too hard when tracing. You want your lines to be visible enough to guide you as you are painting but not so dark that they distract from your watercolor.

3. Paint!

Watercolor is such a forgiving and fun way to get into painting. Just pretend you are coloring in a coloring book but with paint instead! Remember more water equals lighter, pastel-like colors, less water equals darker, more vibrant colors. Just have fun and don’t overthink it. For this one, I made you a video! I’m still new at video so I hope this is helpful for you. Please let me know if you have any suggestions! I’m posting to YouTube so if you’d like to be notified of new videos, you can subscribe HERE.

4. Give to Someone You Love

Now go and give someone you cherish a bit of LOVE! I hope this will be a fun little project and provide many happy memories. Please let me know if you have any questions. I am so happy to help.

Happy Valentines Day!

If you are looking for more Valentine’s Day watercolor tutorials, you can find them here to spread more love! Enjoy 🙂