Watercolor DIY Fun!
Hello, hello! It’s Jenny from Hank + Hunt with a little DIY that both the Mr. & Mrs. To Be can join in on to personalize their wedding. I am so happy to be a part of TWIPS and instantly said ‘yes, yes YES!’ when Naomi asked if I wanted to contribute a little DIY for the fabulous new blog. Anything watercolor makes me swoon, so I was thinking- how could we incorporate that into a wedding? Take any plain paper and paint a little bit of gorgeousness into the design. Use them for flags, table numbers or favor bags…or better yet…the decor! I want to share an easy update that anyone, artist or never touched a paint brush kind of couple can do. Watercolor lanterns! Soft pops of color have found a beautiful home on simple white lanterns. This DIY is super budget friendly, too. All you will need is food coloring, white lanterns and a paint brush. Cheap, peppy but oh so pretty. You will love the results because it is IMPOSSIBLE to mess this up. Cross my heart.
Food coloring comes in an array of colors and shades, is very inexpensive and is easy to dissolve in water. You can use either liquid or gel, just let the gel sit a little longer in the water to dissolve. Mix drops in containers that are wide enough to dip a side of the lantern in. For soft colors use a few drops, for stronger tones, use LOTS.
Lantern folded, dip the edges in the colors of your choice. The longer it sits, the stronger the color will be. Let drip off or pat with a paper towel. Let dry, still folded on a sheet of parchment or newspaper. Once you are done coloring, open the lantern and use a hair dryer to dry. You can let dry by air, but it will absorb the color and tint more of the surface area. I did this to get a pale base color for the lanterns.
With the lanterns either folded or unfolded paint dabs of color across the surface. This is the fun part, mix colors in your palette or do monochromatic, it’s your call.
Dry again with the hair dryer. Done. I used little lanterns for my DIY, but can you imagine what some large or GIANT paper lanterns would look like? Heaven.I can’t thank TWIPS enough for letting me share a little watercolor inspiration. Enjoy!
Jenny is the editor of Hank + Hunt a blog filled with amazing DIY and party ideas!
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Ah, such a great idea. It’s the perfect way to add that hint of color without it being overwhelming.
this is absolutely inspiring!!!! sooo gorgeous!!! i’m on such a tie-dye craze right now i’ll have to try this!!!
LOVE! What a fun way to jazz up those already-lovely paper lanterns!
What a great way to dress up ordinary lanterns! I love the watercolor look!
Very very cool!! I’m considering a bookworm inspired Bday party for my soon to be three year old. I am imagining a line of these across the ceiling with a cute pare of those giant sunglasses. Love the Blog too
Hi Jessica! The ones I used are 8″ and I found them at Michaels a few months ago, in Reno. Since not all stores carry the same products, for example, my new local Michaels doesn’t have them, I am placing my next order with Luna Bazaar {www.lunabazaar.com}. They have a great selection of sizes and the prices are excellent! It’s gonna take some restraint for me so I don’t end up with a bazillion.
What a fun project!
This looks like so much fun! Where do you get your plain paper lanterns from? xo
too fun! jenny you are so creative!
LOVING this colorful idea!! fun project for sure.
xoxo, chrissy
The Perfect Palette
What a fabulous way to add some beautiful, handmade detail to your event! Jenny is so creative!
Jenny- you are so creative! I love this and it would be a great project with kids even to help customize their rooms!
Soo cool! I think I’ll be doing this for my home!
I am with Jessica – totally takes me back! I loooove tye dye!
Love the fact that you can’t possibly mess this up! Great idea, thanks for sharing
Off to check out your blog now!
I love this fun DIY! So colorful and tie-dying just makes me smile!
What a great idea – I love lanterns as decoration at weddings but this is a really great way to customise them to your wedding theme, love it xx
This is totally bringing me back to my tie-dyeing days when I was younger. Very cool.