I love watercolor anything, so I decided to make a simple set of watercolor notecards with lined envelopes! They’re super easy, especially if you stick to a very simple pattern, like I did here. Of course, get as elaborate as you wish!

Materials: Watercolor paints / cards and envelopes / paintbrushes / pretty paper for envelope liners (I used thin wrapping paper) / stamp / ink pad / scrap paper / cup of water / paper towel / scissors / glue

1. Lay your cards out on your scrap paper/cardboard, and fill your cup with water.

2. Get your paintbrush wet, and drop a few droplets of water into your selected color to activate the color.

3. Dip your paintbrush into the paint, and drag the brush across your paper to create your first stripe. Paint front before the card’s left edge to past the card’s right edge.

4. Select your other paint colors, and repeat steps 2 and 3 until you’re satisfied with your design. (I chose to do three stripes that corresponded with colors in the paper I’m going to line the envelopes with, but go crazy!)

5. Lay your cards aside to dry.

6. Grab one of the envelopes, and a piece of scrap paper. Open the envelope, and with a pencil, lightly trace the envelope flap onto the scrap paper. Make sure to trace the body of the envelope too.

7. Cut out the traced outline. Tuck it into your envelope to make sure that it fits. I had to trim the sides ever so slightly, and shorten the “body” part of the template. (Yes, I used a magazine subscription insert. Reusing materials at its finest!)

8. Trace the liner template onto the opposite side of your liner paper. Cut it out, and fit it into your envelope. Glue the flap of the liner onto the flap of the envelope, making sure that you don’t glue it over the adhesive part of the envelope flap.

9. Carefully fold the envelope and liner to create a create in the liner.

I also stamped a little pink bird on the flap of my envelope (I am craving the springtime!), so you can get creative with the envelope too.

10. When your cards are completely dry, they may be a little wavy. Put them under a stack of heavy books for twenty-four hours to flatten them out. (A quick trick to tell if your paper is dry is to touch the paper with the back of your hand. If the paper is cool, then the cards are not yet dry.)

11. Tie a bow around your cards and envelopes!

Different types of paper will have different results. I used cards from the card section at Michaels, but want to experiment with watercolor paper too.

(All of my supplies I got from Michaels, except for the scrap materials. Those were straight out of the recycling bin.)