My Watercolor Cards

It's been too long, way too long since I last posted anything on this blog. Truth be told, a lot has changed since 2012. And even though I am now a slightly different person, my passion for drawing and painting hasn't changed one bit. I used to paint T-shirts and I even took a course on hand-printing T-shirts and cards which was amazing. It feels great to learn the technical process of printing and see the fruit of my labour after a hard day's work.

Although I would love to continue printing/ hand-painting T-shirts, the gloomy London weather doesn't allow me to take nice pictures.

So now I make cards:

This is the first watercolor card I ever painted. I like cacti because they are such cool plants. They're not 'needy' (i.e. they're happy with very little water and light) and they come in so many interesting shapes and sizes. 

Why watercolor?

I never realized that I could make watercolor cards until I started experimenting with watercolor. I like the fact that watercolors are so unpredictable; I enjoy letting the medium take over part of the painting process and seeing what comes out. That means that sometimes I have to say goodbye to some of my beloved watercolor cards as the result is far from great, but practice makes perfect so I keep painting.

After painting the cactus card I realised I could explore other things, and to be consistent with the gardening theme, I painted another watercolor card, this time with other plants I found in my garden. 

I'm always on the lookout for ideas and I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Please let me know what kind of things you would like to see in watercolor and on a card. :)

Have a colorful day!

When life gives you lemons...

This T-shirt is the most popular in my shop. I think people like it because of its message. Everyone knows what it is about even though it's not necessarily obvious. Initially I was going to paint a jug of lemonade either on the back or under the lemons but I figured, open ended statements are a lot more fun. Then I googled the phrase and found a lot of funny alternatives, such as:

When life gives you lemons sell them on ebay


When life gives you lemons alter their DNA and make super lemons!!!


When life gives you lemons, ask for the receipt


Let me know if you know any funny ones.


*This T-shirt sold out. If you like it and you'd like on for yourself, please let me know below.*

My work

So this is what I do in my free time. I hand paint T-shirts. I don't use patterns and I don't usually plan my designs ahead. I just grab a T-shirt and I use it as a canvas. Hope you like the outcome.

You can find my shop on

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ElliesHandmade

I am open to suggestions and would appreciate any kind of feedback.