Handmade Lily Pond Notecards with Gelli Arts® by Mary Beggs Bosley - Printing Projects handmade lily pond notecards

Hello there! Mary here today, to show you how to create handmade mini impressionist lily ponds using Gelli Arts® Handmade Card Kit and finished with your favorite art supplies. These are so much fun to create, you’re going to want to make a lot! They can be turned into beautiful notecard sets, for a special Mother’s Day gift.

Here are the steps to creating your own mini impressionist lily ponds with Gelli Arts Handmade Card Kit:

Using a heavyweight paper, cut out a variety of simple lily pad shapes. (I recommend 140lb watercolor paper.) Set your lily pads aside.

Add a variety of greens, yellow and white acrylic paint around your plate, using the included craft sticks. (This will be your lily pad layer)

Roll out paint with your brayer. Scatter your strokes, trying not to overblend your paint, to capture an impressionist look. Make a print.

Now, add a variety of blues, plus white and lavender around your plate (or experiment with your own color choices, this can be taken in many directions) Again, try to lightly blend your paint with your brayer, rather than blending into one solid color.

Add your lily pads to the plate and make a print (while the paint is still wet) using your first print. You can fill in any unpainted edges with a small paint brush and the colors you just used.

Once your print is dry, you can use your favorite art supplies to add some finishing touches. Paint pens, chalk pastels, or acrylic paint with a small paint brush are all great options and can be used in any combination. Add lines, dots and dashes in the water to mimic reflections. And of course, a few lilies for a colorful addition!

After you make one, you’re going to want to make more! These can be glued to folded blank cards to be given singly or in a group for a special Mother’s Day gift.