Modern, clean and simple watercoloured Christmas card using Tim Holtz watercolour pencils  - handmade card by Debby Hughes

If you have been visiting here for a while, you know my love of watercolouring. However, it can be quite time-consuming, which is not ideal when you are planning on making Christmas cards. But, by paring back the design and keeping things clean, simple and modern, you can make watercolour Holiday cards without too much time investment.

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

Before I jump into more about this card, please check out the new Holiday Sparkle Release Simon Says Stamp. The Tree Lot Stencil and Holiday Horizon stamp set I used on this card are from the latest release.

modern, clean and simple christmas watercolour

Modern, clean and simple watercoloured Christmas card using Tim Holtz watercolour pencils  - handmade card by Debby Hughes

I recently spoke about the new Tim Holtz Distress Watercolour Pencils, and I had fun using them again for this card. I used the Tree Lot stencil to draw three trees in pencil. To create a clean, modern look, I made sure to space them equally and keep them straight. Of course, it becomes less critical later when all the splattering blurs the lines a bit, but a good base is essential when working with a simple design.

Modern, clean and simple watercoloured Christmas card using Tim Holtz watercolour pencils  - handmade card by Debby Hughes

I chose a palette of Speckled Egg, Iced Spruce, Kitsch Flamingo, Crackling Campfire and Walnut Stain. For each block, I scribbled the pencil and blended it with a wet brush. I used the brush directly to the pencil and added that to one side of the block to create a gradient. My aim was for a brown tree trunk, then pale blue and pink sections with deeper coral and blue-green areas for contrast. The deep coral of Crackling Campfire and blue-green of Iced Spruce made a modern take on a traditional red and green Holiday colour scheme.

To create a snowy scene, I splattered liberally with white gouache and a mixture of Perfect Pearls and water. All of the Distress line from Tim Holtz are water-reactive, including the watercolour pencils, and so the splatter made the edges of the trees less distinct, and some sections of the tree blended together. This extra layer of paint on a one-dimensional design creates more interest.

Modern, clean and simple watercoloured Christmas card using Tim Holtz watercolour pencils  - handmade card by Debby Hughes

For the sentiment, I chose a greeting from the Holiday Horizon set, stamped it in Versamark ink, and heat embossed it with Antique Gold Embossing Powder. Next, I trimmed the panel and foam-mounted it to a Neenah Desert Storm card base before accenting it with sequins and pearls.

Modern, clean and simple watercoloured Christmas card using Tim Holtz watercolour pencils  - handmade card by Debby Hughes

Well, that’s me for today. I will be back on Saturday with more from the new release. In the meantime, have you checked out The Creative Bundle yet? If you fancy some watercolour Christmas cards, I see an e-book from Madeline Kerrii as part of the bundle.

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available I use compensated affiliate links which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! Items marked with an asterisk (*) provided by a store or the manufacturer. You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

* SSS Holiday Sparkle Release
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* Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils
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Fabriano Cold-Pressed at SSS
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White Gouache at SSS
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Ranger PERFECT PEARL Powder
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Little Things From Lucy's Cards...
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Little Things From Lucy's Cards...
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Neenah Desert Storm 100lb Card
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Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD
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* SSS ANTIQUE GOLD Embossing Powder
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misti at Simon Says STAMP!
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Tim Holtz Tonic GLASS MEDIA MAT
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Dahle Self-Healing Cutting 9x12 Mat
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Tim Holtz Tonic GUILLOTINE
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METAL EDGE ACRYLIC RULER
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Crafter's Companion CRAFT KNIFE
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T SQUARE RULER
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Scor-Pal Mini Scoring Board
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SSS SMALL TEFLON BONE FOLDER
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* Tim Holtz MINI SNIPS Scissors
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* SSS FINE DETAIL SCISSORS
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Fiskars SPRING-ASSIST SCISSORS Micro-tip
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TWEEZERS
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3M DOUBLE-SIDED FOAM TAPE
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* SSS Perfect WHITE FOAM TAPE
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Gina K Designs CONNECT GLUE
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