Mixed Media Gel Press Christmas Cards

It is that time of the year to get a few more cards made, so I wanted to make a set of cards that I could sent out that were flat to fit in an envelope with regular postage but also make a ton of them with some mixed media on them for a bit of fun.

I was compensated for this post. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.  Various companies provided me with some product to create this project.  The opinions I share are solely my own.

Check out the video on how to make these cards with myself and my special guest my daughter Catherine!

I start with sections of the Derwent Academy Heavyweight Acrylic Paper Pad that I then added layers of Derwent Academy Acrylic Paints with a gel plate.  I kept with same colors for each card - reds, blues, yellow, pink, purple, and orange, plus we made a ton of green ones for the trees.  my daughter had a blast helping me make all these background papers.  Even after we were done making the cards, she went back and made a ton more background papers for fun!

Next the trees were cut, this is a super hard job or cutting triangles, hehe.  I then took the  Derwent Academy Water-Soluble Markers and added in black definition to the trees and the background card.  The we took similar colors to the background paper, usually 2 colors of markers, and made circle ornaments on the trees and also added color the paper mat behind the gel plate layer.

The trees were run through the Xyron 3" Sticker Maker to turn them into stickers and then placed on the front of the card.  My daughter and I both had out own Xyron Tape Runner to apply adhesive to each layer of the card to hold them all together.  She had a blast with her own tape runner.  Last was a stamp in the top right corner, but instead of ink I used the same black Derwent marker as before to color the stamp.

For the background of the card I used both a kraft and white base, they both look great!!  In 1 hours we made a total of 14 mixed media cards, that rocks!!  Best part if that my daughter and I had a blast creating together.

Just look at my little artist so happy playing with paint - plus she cleaning it all up when she was done!!!

Supplies Used

Interested in the supplies I used in this project?  Most are listed below and some are affiliate links, which generates a me little commission (at not extra cost to you at all) when you click on the link and make a purchase.  Affiliate and product disclosure can be found here.

Xyron Tape Runner Refil Shop at: AZ	Tonic Paisley Edge Dot & Drop Die Shop at: SB	Xyron tape runner Shop at: AZ	Fiskars Scissors 8" Shop at: AZ
Neenah A2 scored card paper Shop at: SB	Fiskars Paper Trimmer Shop at: SB | AZ	Kraft A2 Cards Shop at: SB	Xyron 3" Sticker Maker Shop at: SB | AZ | LFL (UK)
Non Stick Craft mat Shop at: AZ	Black Craft Mat Shop at: AZ	Round Stamp Block Shop at: O	Tonic Dies Shop at: B
Derwent Brushes Shop at: O	Derwent Academy 20 pk Markers Shop at: O	Derwent Academy Twin Tip 8pk Markers Shop at: O	Derwent AcademyMarker Paper Pad Shop at: O
Waffle Flower Christms Tree Stamp Shop at: SB | O	Derwent Acrylic Paints Shop at: O	Derwent Acrylic Paper Shop at: O	Gel Plate Shop at: SB
Brayer Shop at: SB

EASY Marker Watercolor Backgrounds for Cards & Ornaments

Ever wonder how easy it is to get a water color look on paper without the fuss of using watercolor paints?  Check out how using Derwent Academy Water Soluble Markers and Marker Paper pad to make Christmas Cards and Snowflake Ornaments.

Various companies provided me with some product to create this project.  The opinions I share are solely my own.

Here is the video to learn how fun this watercolor technique is and how to make these fun snowflakes.

I started by using the Xyron Creative Station Lite with the Double Sided Laminated Refill  to make a small couple of sheets of laminated paper.  Use a white or just off white paper that is not super flimsy, the Derwent Watercolor Paper Pad was super for this!  All you then need to do is pick out a couple of colors from the Derwent Academy Art Markers and color them onto the laminated sheet and spray with a little water.

The laminated paper repels the marker and the water help add some more liquid to the color to help transfer it to the Derwent Academy Marker Paper Pad.  This paper held the color wonderfully and it made a really cool watercolor effect.

Change up the colors of the makers to get some really cool effects on the papers!

I used the first batch of solid color watercolor backgrounds to make some Christmas cards with a calligraphy JOY using the Derwent Academy Twin-Tip Markers on the brush side of the pen, but I am super new to calligraphy and they just did not look quite right.  I am not going to throw them away, but it got me to thinking of what else I could possibly make the watercolor paper I had just made.

So I dug into my dies and found this really cool snowflake die set that can be made into ornaments.  So off I went to make some foil and watercolor ornaments in a variety of colors!  The first one used the blue and green watercolor paper which I die cut into a small snowflake and then outlines with the blue and green makers and paired with Rinea foiled papers in silver and Tonic Nuvo Drops accents.

On the back I stamped out Merry Christmas using the Derwent Academy Twin-Tip Markers brush tip in blue to ink the stamp and stuck the whole snowflake together with the Xyron 3" Sticker Maker.

I repeated the same idea of a snowflake as above but this time with the purple and red watercolor background.  I used a purple marker to accent the snowflake and a red maker to stamp the in the back and paired it with more Tonic Nuvo drops and Copper Rinea Foiled paper.

For the next batch of snowflakes I did not add the stamp to the back, and this time I used the watercolor paper in the middle of the snowflake cutting and pairing it with different colors of Rinea Foiled paper in lavender and turquoise.

There are so many other fun idea you can make with this easy background watercolor paper using Derwent Markers, these are just a few for the holiday season!  What will you make with your watercolor paper?

Supplies Used

Interested in the supplies I used in this project?  Most are listed below and some are affiliate links, which generates a me little commission (at not extra cost to you at all) when you click on the link and make a purchase.  Affiliate and product disclosure can be found here.

Shareasale Shop at: O	Tailwind Shop at: O	Swingline Paper Trimmer / Cutter, Guillotine Shop at: AZ	Fiskars Scissors Shop at: AZ | LFL (UK)
Rinea Foiled Paper Shop at: O	Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops Shop at: SB | T | LFL (UK)	Xyron Creative Station Lite Shop at: AZ	Cuttlebug Shop at: AZ
Cuttlebug Plate C Shop at: SB | AZ	Sizzix Shop at: O	Sizzix Dies Shop at: SB	Umbrella Inks Shop at: SB
Xyron Laminate 5" Refill Shop at: AZ	Jute trim Shop at: AZ	Xyron 3" Sticker Maker Shop at: SB | AZ | LFL (UK)	Black Craft Mat Shop at: AZ
Tonic Studios Shop at: T	Piercer Shop at: AZ	Round Stamp Block Shop at: O	Derwent Watercolor Pad Shop at: O
Derwent Academy 20 pk Markers Shop at: O	Derwent Academy Twin Tip 8pk Markers Shop at: O	Derwent AcademyMarker Paper Pad Shop at: O