creating with janna- hand drawn greeting cards

Hello, my name is Janna Werner, and I am a mixed media creative from Oldenburg, Germany. I started my creative journey in 2010, at that time I discovered Alisa´s blog – I have been following here since and signed up for many of her online classes. Alisa´s creative process and projects always amaze me and they definitely influenced my work.

I recently joined Alisa´s Watercolor Blooms class and thought it would be fun to incorporate the shapes and colors into a papercrafting project – hand drawn greeting cards.

I made two different version, for the first I am drawing directly onto the card, for the second I cut out handdrawn shapes and arrange them in a dimensional setting.

Before I start drawing on a card, I like to practice in a sketch book. I try to come up with different shapes, patterns, colors and pens. If I mess up – no problem, it is a sketch book, right?!

No need for fancy pants, you can absolutely use cheap felt pens. I prefer edding and ecoline brush pens, as well as KOI markers as the tips are more flexible and easier to handle. For starters cheap pens are a great alternative, promised! 

I draw in my sketch book, before using the markers on a project. Each brush pen and marker tip is different. As you can see in the photos, I draw leaves by pressing the tip onto the paper. The more flexible the brush is, the bigger the strokes and therefore the leaves.

After trying out the pens and deciding on the colors I would like to include in the drawing, I come up with a tiny scribble – just to get an idea what the drawing could look like. Then it is time to transfer the scribble onto the card and start drawing until I am happy with the result. I place the bouquet in the center of the card, with the flowers arranged diagonally for a more interesting look. The handwritten sentiment, Alles Liebe’ is German and means lots of love’.

I also use flowers and leaves on the second card, but this time I use scissors to cut them out. Instead of outlining the shapes just as I did in the previous card, I rather leave a small white border. This allows the elements to breathe and adds a more subtile look to the project. The dimensional bouquet appears more vivid and interactive than the one on the other card. The white branches where cut with a die cutting machine.

I glue the elements onto the card base, using liquid glue as well as dimensional foam dots for more depth. I write a sentiment with a black brush pen and create a small banner from it. 

These are two easy to create cards, both unique and very different from one another. As you can see, I worked with very simple shapes – inspired by nature. I highly recommend checking out Alisa´s Watercolor Blooms and Cut & Create online classes , there are tons of inspiration.

Thanks so much for joining me today, I hope this tutorial inspires you to get your markers and brush pens out and start drawing. I would love to see your projects, scribbles and process photos, so please tag me on Instagram with @jannawerner

Love, Janna

http://jannawerner.de