Tutorial: DIY Postman Thank You Card

- November 22, 2017

Whenever I hear stories of mailmen forgetting to deliver mail or UPS recklessly throwing packages onto people's porches, I always am reminded how great the postal workers in my area are. If you're anything like me and frequently order packages online, postal workers become an integral part of your life. This may sound dramatic, but I get super excited when I see a package in my mailbox or on my doorstep when I arrive home from work, just as the online tracking had predicted. Or when I receive a letter I had been expecting, tucked safely away in my mailbox.

With cold weather well on it's way, and the holidays approaching, I thought a DIY Postman Thank You Card would be the perfect tutorial to create.

1. Gather your supplies

For this tutorial you will need a waterproof black ink pen (I like Sakura Pigma Micron Pens in Size 01), watercolors of your choice, a small watercolor brush or two and a blank watercolor card of any size. I used an announcement size card. You can make your own by cutting a piece of watercolor paper 7 inches x 4.875 inches, then folding it in half so it measures 3.5 inches by 4.875 inches. Just in case you have some confusion concerning the use of a ruler (not speaking from personal experience or anything), the 0.875 measure is the following notch on the ruler. Alternatively you can buy these pre-made from Strathmore (I'll probably take this route next time...).

2. Sketch your mailbox and banner

Begin your DIY Postman Thank You Card by drawing your standard mailbox shape with a little flag, a thick wooden post, and a swishy banner. You can make this banner say anything you want.

3. Add the ink details

I used my waterproof ink pen to trace the U.S. Mail and Thank You letters. You can personalize the mailbox by adding numbers inside the box if you'd like. Let the ink details dry for a few minutes then erase any pencil guidelines that are visible around them. Note: If you're unsure whether your ink pen is waterproof or not, you can skip this step for now. After you've painted the card with watercolor and let it dry completely, you can go back to add the ink details.

4. Paint with watercolor.

I started with the mailbox edges, which I painted a dark blue. Once dry, I used a lighter blue for the mailbox front and side. For the flag I used a classic red color and for the post I used a medium brown shade.

Once the first layers were dry, I used a darker brown color for the post edge and painted thin vertical lines to mimic a wooden post. I also used a medium shade of blue to outline the mailbox shape.

Finally, I painted the banner a light turquoise blue.

Once dry, I added a darker turquoise shade to define the edges and inside folds.

5. Add more watercolor details

You can stop at step 4, but I thought it could be fun to add some holiday themed details, especially if you're giving this thank you card around the holidays!

I first added some pine leaves using a dark green color and thin V shaped lines.