60 ideas

Easy Card Painting Ideas for a Blank Folded Card

Three painted fronts for a blank folded card, each with its colours and where the paint goes.

Show all 25

Tape on all four edges, colour washed right acrossAny two colours. Tape all four edges of the front, wash across everything, then peel. Wide flat brush.
Row of five dots that turn into flowers with pen stemsFive colours, green pen. One dab of a round brush each, in a row a third of the way up.
Crayon stars under a night washWhite crayon, navy, violet. Draw the stars small and press hard. One wash over the top shows them all.

Next step Paint the flower larger on canvas Tape shapes on a full canvas

All 60 ideas

Washes and skies 12

Aurora ribbons above a dark pine edge Greens, violet, navy, black. Sweep three curved ribbons while the navy is wet. Pines along the bottom edge.
Clouds blotted out of a wet sky Blue, white. Wash the sky, then blot cloud shapes with a scrunched tissue while it is wet.
Dusk lake with the hills mirrored upside down Violet, orange, navy. Paint the far shore, then drag a damp flat brush straight down from it for the reflection.
Hill line with one tree standing at the fold Greens, pale blue, umber. Sky wash down to a pencil hill line. The tree stands where front meets spine.
Misty mountains in three washes, palest at the back One blue grey. Paint the far ridge very thin, let it dry, then two darker ridges lower down. Round brush.
Rainbow wash from the top corner of the front to the far corner of the back Six colours. Open the card flat and lay diagonal bands side by side, each touching the last. Flat brush.
Sea wash with one white sail lifted out Blues, white. Wet the lower half and drop in blue. Lift a sail shape with the corner of a dry tissue.

Show all 60 ideas (53 more)

Washes and skies, continued

Starry wash with the moon masked by a paper circle Navy, violet, white. Hold a paper circle down, wash over it, lift it, then spatter stars from a toothbrush.
Storm sky clearing to a pale band along the bottom Slate grey, blue, lemon. Dark wash from the top edge, thinned with water as it nears the bottom. Wide brush.
Sunrise wash with a line of dark rooftops along the foot Peach, pink, grey, black. Blend the sky first. Roofs and chimneys along the bottom edge in flat dark grey.
Sunset bands that run off the right edge and carry on across the back Yellow, orange, pink, violet. Open the card flat and brush each band across front and back. Wide flat brush.
Wash that fades to bare card where the greeting goes One colour, clean water. Strong at the top edge, fading to nothing two thirds down. Wide flat brush.

Flowers and leaves 12

Autumn leaves tumbling down the front, the last one on the back Rust, gold, red, umber. Seven leaves at different angles. The last sits low on the back panel.
Bunch of flowers in a paper cone pointing at the bottom corner Pinks, yellow, greens, tan. Paint the cone first. Blooms spill over its top edge toward the fold.
Daisy chain round all four edges of the front White, yellow, green. Keep the chain a finger-width in from the edge. Cotton-bud centres.
Fern reaching in from the top corner toward the middle Two greens. Press the brush belly for each leaflet, smaller toward the tip of the frond.
Leafy branch crossing the front on a diagonal with one bird Umber, greens, blue. Branch from bottom left to top right. The bird sits where it is thickest.
Loose wreath of leaves with the middle left bare for words Greens, pink, yellow. Pencil round a jar lid. Dab leaves and buds along the line, never inside it. Round brush.
One stem up the fold with leaves opening onto the front Greens, white. Stem follows the spine edge. Five leaves point across the front, one press of the brush each.
Poppies growing up from the foot of the card, stalks cropped Red, black, green. Three flowers at different heights and one bud bending over. Round brush.
Pot plant on the front with a vine that carries on inside Terracotta, greens, cream. Pot at bottom right. The vine reaches the opening edge and picks up inside.
Single tulip with its bloom at the top edge and its stem to the bottom Red, green, yellow. Stem a little off centre, two leaves hugging it. Two strokes make the cup.
Three lavender stalks fanning from a painted ribbon Violet, green, cream. Stalks fan from a knot a third of the way up. Dab the florets with a cotton bud.
Wildflower meadow across front and back when the card lies flat Greens, pinks, yellow, white. Stalks from the bottom edge of both panels. Flowers thin out toward the back.

Tape and resist 12

Birch trunks kept bare by three strips of tape Blue, grey, black. Run the tape from top to bottom, wash over, peel, and tick the bark in black.
Crayon rain under a grey wash with an umbrella added last White crayon, grey, red. Slanted crayon lines first, then the wash. Paint the umbrella when it is dry.
Crayon stars under a night wash White crayon, navy, violet. Draw the stars small and press hard. One wash over the top shows them all.
Fish scales drawn in wax, shown up by a sea wash White crayon, teal, blue. Draw rows of small U shapes, pressing hard, then one wash over the top. Wide brush.
Garden view crossed by four strips of tape Blues, greens, pink, white. Tape a cross and a border, paint the garden over everything, then peel.
Paper circle masking the sun, rays brushed outward Yellow, orange. Hold a paper circle near the top corner and pull strokes away from it all round.
Real leaf held down as a mask, colour sponged round it Greens, gold. Hold a leaf flat and dab outward over its edges with a sponge. Lift it straight up.
Slanted bands, every other one left bare by tape Two colours. Lay tape strips a tape-width apart, paint between them, then peel. Flat brush.
Tape on all four edges, colour washed right across Any two colours. Tape all four edges of the front, wash across everything, then peel. Wide flat brush.
Taped triangles in three colours with white lines between Three colours. Criss-cross the front with tape, fill each shape, then peel. Flat brush.
Torn-paper mask for a mountain ridge, used three times One blue. Sponge along the torn edge, move the paper down, and repeat with a darker mix each time.
Wax-crayon greeting that shows when the wash goes on White crayon and two wash colours. Write firmly, then brush colour across. The wax keeps the words white.

Prints and dabs 12

Blossom dotted along a branch with a bundle of cotton buds Umber, pinks, white. Branch enters from the left edge. Tie five cotton buds together to print each cluster.
Bottle-cap caterpillar climbing over the top edge Greens, yellow, black. Print six overlapping circles in an arch. Pen legs, feelers and a face.
Cardboard-edge grass with dabbed flowers Greens, red, yellow. Print blades with the edge of a card strip along the bottom. Cotton-bud flower heads.
Cork-print balloons on pen strings tied in one knot Three brights, black. Print three circles near the top with a cork. Pen strings down to one point.
Dandelion head of cotton-bud dots, a few drifting onto the back Grey, white, green. Dot a ball of seeds on a stem. Loose dots drift over the fold onto the back.
Fork-printed lion's mane round a painted face Gold, orange, umber. Paint a round face, then print the back of a fork outward all round it.
Grapes stamped with bubble wrap, stalk added by brush Purple, green, umber. Press a painted triangle of bubble wrap, point down. Stalk and leaf by brush.
Leaf print with its stalk pointing at the fold One green. Paint the veined side of a real leaf, press it under scrap paper and peel it off.
Lemon-half print turned into a sun with pen rays Yellow, orange, black pen. Press a painted lemon half near the top of the front. Rays and a face in pen.
Pear-half print with a pen stalk and one leaf Greens, umber. Press a painted pear half in the middle of the front. Stalk, leaf and pips when it is dry.
Sheep whose wool is one sponge print, legs in pen White, grey, black, green. Dab a cloud of white with a sponge. Head and legs in pen when it is dry.
Sponge-printed trees along the bottom, tallest at the fold Three greens, umber. Cut a sponge triangle and print five trees. Trunks with the edge of a card strip.

Easy 12

Confetti dots thick at the top and thinning down the card Five brights. Crowd cotton-bud dots at the top edge and scatter fewer toward the bottom.
Dashed border a finger-width inside the edge One colour. Short strokes of a flat brush, a brush-width apart, all the way round the front.
Frame of four straight strokes with a bare middle One colour. Four pulls of a flat brush that cross at the corners, two fingers in from the edge.
Half the front painted and half bare, split on a diagonal One colour. Rule the diagonal in pencil and fill one side. The bare half takes the greeting.
One big initial filling the front in a single colour One colour. Pencil the letter so it touches the top and bottom edges. Fill with a flat brush.
One wide brushstroke across the middle with the greeting written on it One colour, black pen. A single pull of a wide flat brush from edge to edge. Write on it when dry.
Quarter sun by the opening edge, rays stopping at the spine Yellow, orange. Quarter circle in the top corner. Fan the rays toward the fold with a flat brush.
Row of five dots that turn into flowers with pen stems Five colours, green pen. One dab of a round brush each, in a row a third of the way up.
Stripes down the front, one brush wide, with gaps between Two colours. Pull each stripe from the top edge to the bottom in one stroke. Alternate the colours.
Three paint splodges given eyes and legs in pen Three colours, black pen. Drop three blobs, let them dry, then add eyes, legs and one smile.
Three see-through circles that darken where they cross Three colours, thinned. Let each circle dry before the next overlaps it so the overlaps darken.
Wavy lines across front and back in three blues Three blues. Open the card flat and run each wave across both panels. Round brush.

How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-09-30. Designs, colour lists and placement notes are our own suggestions for the front of one blank folded card, for any day of the year; each detail line gives the colours first, then where the paint goes on the folded sheet and the tool. Christmas, birthday and Valentine cards have their own lists and are left out. Facts were checked on 2026-09-30: a greeting card as a rectangular folded card with a picture on the front, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeting_card; transparent watercolour washes that let the paper show through, and paper as the usual support, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercolor_painting; acrylic paint thinned with water and used as a wash, and water-resistant when dry, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylic_paint; wax as a resist, and resist techniques in watercolour, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resist. We do not test card or paint: how much water a blank takes is on its label. No design repeats a title from another list on the site. Licence: own work

How it works

A greeting card is a folded rectangle with its picture on the front, so a design can wrap round the spine onto the back or stop short to leave room for words. These fronts are sorted by how the paint goes on.

Read the full guide

Wet paint on card

Watercolour is transparent, so the card shows through a wash and gives it light. Acrylic thinned with water goes on the same way, but it is water-resistant once dry, so a second layer will not lift the first. Blank cards differ in how much water they take: try a corner first.

Leave room for the words

Decide where the greeting goes before the paint does. Loose wreath of leaves with the middle left bare for words is planned round them, and a wash can fade to bare card. Wax resists a wash, so words written in white crayon show as the colour goes over them.

Open the card flat for anything that crosses the fold, and slip scrap paper inside so the back panel stays clean.
Prints and dabs suits a batch: mix one colour, print ten fronts, then add stems and legs in pen.

Questions and answers

What paint works on a blank card?

Watercolour and thinned acrylic both suit these designs. We do not test card or paint, so check the label on your blanks, try a corner first and use as little water as the design allows.

What is the easiest card to paint?

Wash that fades to bare card where the greeting goes is one colour and one wide brush. Tape on all four edges, colour washed right across adds a crisp edge with no drawing at all.

How do I add the greeting?

Leave space for it and write it in pen once the paint is dry. Or write it first: Wax-crayon greeting that shows when the wash goes on stays hidden until the colour covers it.

Are these cards for one occasion?

No, they are fronts for any day. Pen and pencil designs sorted by occasion are on things to draw on a card, and Christmas has its own card list.