You guys, I am SO excited for today’s post! I’m a big fan of anything rainbow (who isn’t??) and I love the look of white ink on bright colors, and this idea brings those two favorite things together! This concept came out of these DIY colorful watercolor envelopes that we did two years ago (!!), and I’m so excited to partner with Sakura of America to bring this rainbow watercolor wedding stationery inspiration to life. I enlisted Molly from Alchemy Calligraphy to work her calligraphy magic using Sakura’s Gelly Roll® Classic™ White pens (now available in three different weights!) on pieces of handmade paper that I painted with Sakura’s Koi Water Color Field Sketch Travel Kit. I’m so excited to share the results with you, along with the how-to so you can create beautiful rainbow watercolor stationery at home!

Okay, so there are two super exciting things happening here: first, the Sakura Koi Water Color Field Sketch Travel Kits allowed me to mix my ideal rainbow color palette. Since so many pieces of paper were involved, I wanted to translate my rainbow inspiration into several different hues of each color, from the palest pink to the deepest blue and plenty of non-traditional hues in between. I’m seriously loving the terra cotta color under the quote piece below, especially paired with shades of pale pink, peach, and deep blue. So good! And second, the different weights of the Gelly Roll Classic White pens are the perfect tool for creating different lettering styles and illustrations on the watercolor paper – and the white ink is totally opaque, so it’s super clear and crisp!

I mean, if you’re going to send out colorful watercolor envelopes, you probably want to incorporate some color into your wedding stationery, right? You can also totally use these ideas for baby showers, birthday parties, or any other event! Every party needs a bit of color and texture, no matter the size of the party! You can go full rainbow like I did, or focus on a few colors from your own color palette – with watercolor, you can easily mix your any color, so the sky is the limit! And the opaque white ink ties everything together so the entire look is cohesive.

To create the rainbow watercolor wedding stationery, we used Sakura’s new 48-color Koi Watercolor Field Sketch Travel Kit to mix and paint dozens of different colors on handmade paper in varying sizes. I used Sakura’s refillable water brush to mix the paint colors in the detachable easel, then a larger, wider brush to paint the watercolor onto the paper in smooth strokes – leaving the tiniest white border around the edge. Also, the amount of water that you use helps determine the vibrancy of the colors. I used less water when I wanted really deep or bright colors, and more water when I wanted a lighter or more pastel color. Keep a test sheet of paper handy so you can test colors first before painting, since the colors can look different in the pan than on paper!

So much rainbow gorgeousness! I had place cards, menus, and table numbers in mind when choosing paper sizes, so we used mostly 2.5×3.5″ pieces and a few 5×7″ pieces. The key to achieving really bright and vibrant colors is to use handmade cotton rag paper – mine came from Fabulous Fancy Pants and Silk & Willow. I tried painting on store-bought watercolor paper but just really wasn’t able to get the colors that I wanted! The handmade paper totally did the trick.

That mustard yellow right there is just singing to me! So good!

Once everything is fully dry, you can start lettering! The Gelly Roll® Classic™ White pens come in three different weights – 05 fine (0.5mm), 08 medium (0.8mm), and 10 bold (1.0mm) – so you can really have fun with different lettering styles and calligraphy. Fine lines are perfect for elegant calligraphy on a wedding invitation, while the medium and bold lines are fun for more non-traditional lettering on place cards and menus. You can also mix different lettering styles, from script to serif to all caps – the most important thing is to have fun with whatever styles you choose!

Is there anything better than beautiful watercolors combined with soft deckled edges? It’s just the perfect combination!

I love the way Molly from Alchemy Calligraphy added these sweet botanical illustrations to the table numbers! Such a fun way to dress up a simple table number design. I love the way the white ink pops against the watercolor, and the texture of the handmade paper also adds such a special and unique touch.

I feel like this quote would be perfect for a guest book, right? Ask guests to leave a note with their favorite marriage advice or even their own favorite quote about love!

So much fun rainbow watercolor wedding stationery inspiration, right??? You can pick up your own 48-color Koi Water Color Field Sketch Travel Kit here and Gelly Roll Classic White pens here – you’ll have so much fun creating beautiful and colorful stationery for your wedding or event!

 

Supplies: Sakura of America 48-color Koi Water Color Field Sketch Travel Kit and Gelly Roll Classic White pens

Calligraphy: Alchemy Calligraphy

Handmade Paper: Fabulous Fancy Pants and Silk & Willow

 

Photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

This post is sponsored by Sakura of America. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!