Tutorial: How to Make Art Party Watercolor Decorations

When I was planning the mini art party that I shared with you yesterday, I wanted to add a few party printables. But, I also didn’t want to spend my mini budget on printables. So, I bought two dollar store sets of watercolors and the girls and I painted our own art party watercolor decorations. I’m sure you know how to watercolor, but here’s a little tutorial about how to turn your watercolors into party decor.

art party watercolor decoration Supplies

• Watercolors
• Paint brushes
• Cardstock
• Printer
• Trimmer or scissors
• Single hole punch
• 3/8″ ribbon

art party watercolor decoration Instructions

1 – With a large brush and as little water as possible, paint whatever design you choose on cardstock. I wanted brush lines and clear colors without overlap. We painted several different color combinations and styles, but mainly kept to straight lines.

2 – Allow the paper to mostly dry. Place wax paper between the sheets and press them under a large, heavy book for an hour or so to take the curl out of the paper.

3 – Trim the paper into the shapes you want. I used my Silhouette Cameo to make quick work of this step: a rounded rectangle for the “Art Party” banner, flags for the cupcakes, circles to line the ramekins, and long rectangles for wrapping soda bottles.

4 – Leave one sheet untrimmed. Create a Word document with your guests’ names. (I used the font “chalkboard.”) Run that watercolor sheet through your printer, then hand trim the placecards. I had to gently press my painted sheet flat so the printer would grab it. After the sheet is printed, trim it to size. I allowed about an inch border around each side of the name.

5 – Using the Silhouette Cameo and the chalkboard font again, I had the machine trim out the words “Art Party.” I used the letters onto the banner using a thin bead of Aleene’s Thick Tacky Glue. Layer the banner flags with wax paper, and press them under the big book to keep the glue from curling the flags.

6 – Use a single hole punch to add a hole to the two upper corners of each banner flag. Then, run your ribbon through the banner. I attached my banner to the tablecloth with safety pins from the underside of the tablecloth.

And here are the finished banner, bottle wraps, ramekin liners, and placecards at the mini art party. This was a fun project to do with the girls and they enjoyed making their own designs. In fact, they haven’t stopped with the watercolors and are busy making name tags for their dolls.

To see more photos from the party, click here.