DIY Watercolour Ribbon - You Can Do It (Really!)

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial | Lorrie Everitt Studio

Looking for a little something special to add to your gift packaging and decorating? Try painting white satin ribbon using watercolour paints

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial | Lorrie Everitt Studio

DIY watercolour ribbons are not only a pretty handmade detail but they are also a great way to customize ribbon to match your decor, theme or packaging materials.

Here's how I do it:

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial | Lorrie Everitt Studio

Gather your supplies - Martha Stewart watercolour paint, white satin ribbon, water spray bottle, paint brushes, a protected work surface. 

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial | Lorrie Everitt Studio

1. Use small containers to mix the watercolour paint with water. Experiment with how much water to add to the paint and test on a scrap piece of ribbon. You'll need to be able to easily brush the paint onto the ribbon but you don't want to water the paint down too much that the colours become too faint when it dries. I recommend using a different paint brush for each colour of paint.

Tip: You can use a hair dryer to speed up the drying time to check for colour.


2. You should work on a protected work surface and keep a roll of paper towel on hand for clean up. Lightly spray the white ribbon with water before starting to paint.

Tip: Use tin foil on a counter top if you are painting longer pieces of ribbon.

3. The watercolour paint should be brushed onto the ribbon in a continuous manner so that when you change colours the paints overlap slightly. There is really no right or wrong time to change the colours - just keep in mind how you are going to use the ribbon and how many colours you would like to see.

Tip: If you are using the ribbon for decorating favours, you may want to cut the ribbon a little larger that what you will need and then paint the individual strips.

4. Allow the ribbon to dry completely before using. 

Good to know: I use a drying rack to hang my ribbon as they dried.
Do not place wet ribbon in the dryer. 


Now that you've made all of this beautiful ribbon ... here's some ideas for how to use it this Easter! 

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial and Easter inspiration | Lorrie Everitt Studio

Find my free download for the faux hand lettering on the glass container here.

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial and Easter inspiration | Lorrie Everitt Studio

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial and Easter inspiration | Lorrie Everitt Studio

Find the free download and tutorial for adding the hand lettering to this cake pop box here.

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial and Easter inspiration | Lorrie Everitt Studio

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial and Easter inspiration | Lorrie Everitt Studio

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial and Easter inspiration | Lorrie Everitt Studio

diy watercolour ribbon tutorial and Easter inspiration | Lorrie Everitt Studio

I hope that you paint some of your own watercolour ribbon. If you do, I'd love to see it! Tag me on Instagram using @lorrieeveritt so I can find your post.


diy watercolour ribbon tutorial and Easter inspiration | Lorrie Everitt Studio

Special thanks to my collaborator friends for this blog post:




diy watercolour ribbon tutorial | Lorrie Everitt Studio