This Father’s Day bookmark and card set is a great handmade gift idea for kids to make! Kids will love making this easy project for dad or grandpa. This is a great gift idea that younger kids, as well as older kids, will have fun creating.

There are so many fun watercolor techniques for kids to try! Take a look at my collection of watercolor painting for kids for more fun and creative ideas.

Using a resist technique is always an easy and fun art activity for kids of all ages that really creates a wow factor at the end. Kids love to see their designs appear and the colors mix together as they paint over their paper. Check out our watercolor resist citrus painting for another fun idea!

Create your Father’s Day bookmark and card

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Supplies

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolor paint (I used a paint set and liquid watercolors)
• Paintbrushes
• White oil pastel
• Paint palette
• Water dish
• Wooden board and painter’s tape (optional)

Instructions for your Father’s Day bookmark and card set

1. First, you want to prepare your watercolor paper. You can use a pencil and ruler to draw the dimensions of the card and bookmark.

The paper that we used was 11 x 15 inches, cut in half so each piece was 11 x 7.5 inches. One piece of watercolor paper can make 2 sets of cards and bookmarks. 

Measure 2 inches for the bookmark and draw a pencil line like in the photo below. So this will make your card 9 inches wide, mark the fold line for your card at 4.5 inches.

2. If you are using a wooden board, tape down your watercolor paper. This is an optional step. If you don’t have a wooden board, you will still want to put tape down where the fold line is on the card, to keep a nice clean edge.

You do not need to put a piece of tape where the bookmark is. 

You can learn more about the best beginner watercolor supplies for kids here.

3. Have kids draw out a design using white oil pastel. Kids can choose to draw doodles, line designs, write in a message to dad, “I love you, their name and date, or whatever they like!

There are two parts to this painting, the card, and the bookmark, so remind kids to treat each part separately and not to write words over both parts. 

Remind kids to press firmly with the pastel for the resist technique to work really well and to keep the design fairly simple.

4. Choose 2 – 3 colors for your design, you can use watercolor paint straight from a paint set or mix up some colors in a paint palette. Just remember that your paint will dry a bit lighter, so I always like to make my colors really bright and bold.

Have a scrap piece of paper on hand to test out your colors first. Paint your paper with a clean brush and plain water. You want the paper to be wet but not soaking.

5. Paint your paper, using one color at a time, letting the wet paper help to mix the colors together and create interesting designs. This is called a wet on wet technique. Kids love to see their designs appear as they paint!

I love the bold bright colors of the watercolors and the way they mix together on the paper to create unique and interesting patterns. 

You can read more about different watercolor techniques by taking a look at these 5 easy watercolor techniques for kids.

Once kids have finished their painting, let it dry completely. I always like to let it dry overnight.

6. Cut out your bookmark, trimming off the white edges if you like. Fold your card in half to finish it off. 

This Father’s Day bookmark & card set makes such a great gift idea. Kids can create their own special designs and words for this project to make it truly unique!

More Father’s Day crafts kids will love

Make an Easy Father’s Day Keychain Craft

Easy Popsicle Father’s Day Card with Printable

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