This past weekend I got to spend some time creating art in my mom's art studio. I feel so fortunate to be able to live close enough to my mom that I can just drop by on a Saturday and spend quality time doing something we both love. Art to me is one of the most therapeutic activities. It calms and quiets the mind, which is so needed right now with the chaos of the holidays in full swing.

Anyways, I decided to share one of the projects we worked on; greeting cards. My plan is to give the set in the pics away as a gift in itself but you could also write in them and give as individual cards anytime throughout the year. This project includes very little and can be done within an hour. I think it took me around 30 minutes to complete this set.

Materials:

Panpastels. We used these ones. You only need around four colors max. It is best to limit the colors to a few that are used throughout each card so they are all tied together and look like a package set.
Makeup sponges or the sponge that comes with the panpastels.
Protective coating. We used Workable Fixatif. If you don't want to buy something for this step you could use hairspray instead. It really does work to seal the pastels!
Blank cards and envelopes. We used Paper Accents cardstock, which can be purchased here.
Stencil of choosing. Mine was purchased from Stencil Girl and can be purchased here. There are so many fun options and can be chosen depending on the holiday or person who is being gifted.
String to wrap the cards up with if given as a set.

Instructions:

Grab a card!
Choose one or two background panpastel colors. I used lighter colors for the background and brighter/darker colors for the stencil image. Dip the sponge in the panpastel and fill in the background as little or as much as you would like.
Put down the stencil on top of the background you have created and choose a color or two to fill in the stencil with. Dip a clean sponge into the panpastel and pat over the stencil as much or as little as you want to create a design of your liking.
Spray the card lightly once over with the protective coating to seal in the pastel so that it stays in place and the image doesn't schmear.
If given as a set, grab the string and wrap up the envelopes and cards and tie in a bow.
As simple as that! You can also decorate the envelope or inside the cards as well.

*A quick tip: it is best to first practice on a separate piece of paper before drawing on the card. It took me a few attempts with different colors to get it all just right.

A big thank you to my mom and Aunt Charlene for teaching me this technique! I am lucky to have two fabulous artists living nearby who are happy to teach a newbie.

diy greeting cards