I don’t know about you, but I always buy gift tags around the holidays for presents. I thought about it the other day, though, and decided that I don’t need to spend money on gift tags because I have everything to make them myself.

That’s usually how this stuff starts, right? You see something and think I bet I could make that.

So, if you want to make your own you can follow along with my tutorial below. It’s quick and easy!

DIY Watercolor Gift Tag Materials

Pen
Ruler
Water
Scissors
Hole punch
Paint brush
Media paper
Watercolor paints
White crayon (if you want to experiment)

Note: Go to a craft store or art store to find media paper. It’s typically 80 lb. paper so it can be used with multiple mediums like pens, markers and watercolor paint.

Step 1

Measure and cut out your gift tags.

I cut mine to be 1.5″ wide by 3″ tall.

Step 2

Hole punch your gift tags and design accordingly.

I decided to try a variety of designs like rounded and angled edges.

Step 3

THIS PART IS OPTIONAL: If you decided to be adventurous, this is the step where you want to draw or write on your gift tags with white crayon. Make sure you press hard though, or it won’t come out clearly. In the image above, you can see that my attempt to write with the white crayon didn’t turn out very well and I pushed pretty hard.

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Now, brush on your watercolor paint!

If you’re not very familiar with this kind of paint, let me give you some tips:

• The more water you use, the lighter the color of paint will become.
• The less water you use, the darker the color.
• Use a smaller brush.

To get a gradient like I did in the image above:

1. Dip your brush in the water, then in the paint and back in the water.
2. Go over the entire gift tag with your brush.
3. Dip the brush back in the paint (without getting it wet again) and paint the top portion of the gift tag. If you get a harsh line dip the brush back in the water and brush a line or two of water over the line. That should help to blend it more.

Write your message on your gift tags and you’re finished!

You can get as fancy as you want to. I chose to keep them more basic for this tutorial but I am definitely planning to make some for Christmas presents so I’ll show you a more artistic version next month.

Hope you guys enjoyed my gift tags!

Happy crafting!