There's something about the first frosty mornings that makes us want to put the kettle on, cue up the holiday playlist and pull out the paints. This loose, joyful watercolour winter wreath is the perfect cozy-season project: icy blue-white blooms, feathery pine, soft eucalyptus and pops of berry red, finished with a hand-lettered greeting in the centre.

In this step-by-step tutorial, artist Leslie Tieu (in collaboration with Strathmore Artist Papers) walks through every element of the wreath, from practising each botanical piece to arranging, filling and lettering the final card. Paint one as a framed piece for your entryway, or make a stack of handmade holiday cards your friends will actually keep.

Skill level: Beginner-friendly · Time: About 1 hour, plus drying time · Style: Loose botanical

Here's everything used in the video, plus our in-store picks where we carry something comparable.

• Watercolour paper or cards: Leslie paints her final piece on Strathmore 500 Series Ready Cut Watercolour Paper, Cold Press 8" x 10", a 100% cotton sheet that's pre-sized to slip straight into a standard frame. Making cards instead? Grab Strathmore Watercolour Cards, 5" x 6 7/8" (Pack of 6), made from 140 lb cold press 400 Series watercolour paper, or stock up for the season with Strathmore Watercolour Cards & Envelopes (50 or 100).
• Practice paper: Keep a separate pad handy for warming up each element. Opus Student Watercolour Cold Press 140 lb/300 gsm (Pack of 40) is acid-free, takes washes well and is priced for guilt-free experimenting.
• Watercolour paints: The video uses the Daler-Rowney Aquafine 24-colour set, which we don't currently carry. For a similarly broad, student-grade palette, try the Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolour Set of 20 x 5 ml Tubes. Want a step up in pigment strength? The Opus Essential Watercolours Mini Tin Set of 6 delivers professional-quality, high-pigment colour at an accessible price, and you can round out your palette with blues, greens and reds from Opus Essential Watercolours 8 ml tubes.
• Brushes: Princeton Velvetouch Series 3950 Round, sizes 4 and 8. These soft synthetic rounds hold a fine point for pine needles and lettering but give a beautifully full stroke under pressure. Prefer a dedicated watercolour brush? The Opus Galiano Watercolour Round holds plenty of water and snaps back to a crisp tip.
• Pencil: A light-touch graphite pencil such as the STAEDTLER Mars Lumograph 100 in HB or 2H.
• Kneaded eraser: General's Kneaded Eraser to lift your guidelines until they're barely visible.
• Compass (optional): The STAEDTLER Mars Comfort 551 Precision Compass makes a perfect wreath circle. A roll of tape or a small bowl works in a pinch!
• Also handy: Two jars of water, a paper towel and a mug of hot chocolate.

Before touching your good paper, warm up each element on a practice sheet. It's also the perfect moment to test colour combinations.

1. Paint the centre. Mix Payne's grey (or any deep grey) with a touch of blue. Use short, tapping strokes in a small ring to build the flower's centre.
2. Add the petals. Switch to a very watery wash of the same mix and paint loose petals around the centre.
3. Let it bloom. While the petals are still damp, touch them to the wet centre so the colour bleeds outward. That soft gradient is what makes the flower read as white.
4. Leave white space. Don't fill every petal solid. Small gaps of bare paper create a fluffy, frosted texture and suggest movement.

Artist tip: Instead of reaching for white paint, let the paper be your white. Shadows in pale blue-grey "describe" a white flower far more convincingly. If your mix looks too grey, pull in more blue.

Pine branches: Paint a thin main stem to set the shape, then flick tiny needles outward from the stem. Always pull from the stem toward the tip; it gives each needle a sharp, pointed end. Use very little water for fine needles, and alternate between darker and lighter greens so the branch looks natural.

Loose leafy sprigs: Paint a stem with leaves branching off, then add a few small leaves at the tip, angled as if they're reaching toward you.

Almond-shaped leaves: Two curved strokes with a sliver of white left down the middle to hint at the leaf's vein. This keeps them from turning into blobs.

Berries: Small, slightly irregular rounds, grouped in little clusters with thin stems. Test a few reds here. Deep, grey-tinged reds read moody, while a brighter pinkish red feels more festive.

On your ready-cut sheet or card, lightly draw a circle centred on the page using a compass, tape roll or bowl. Then roll your kneaded eraser over the line until you can just barely see it. It's there to guide you, not to show through your finished painting.

1. Start with your largest bloom in the upper left of the circle, using the same centre-then-petals technique you practised.
2. Move to the opposite side of the wreath and paint a second cluster. Keep the flowers front-facing; they're the stars of the piece and easiest to paint this way.
3. Add smaller flowers beside each main bloom for variety in size and shape. An uneven grouping (for example, two at the top and three at the bottom) keeps the composition lively and less symmetrical.
4. Picked up too much blue? Dilute it with clean water so the flower stays a pale, whitish blue.

Take your time here. Your flowers anchor the whole design, so it's worth slowing down to choose each placement.

1. Pine first. Follow the curve of your pencil guide with a pine branch, using a very light touch so the needles stay fine. Drop lighter greens into darker ones while wet and let them mingle on the paper.
2. Mirror (loosely) on the other side. Add a second pine branch opposite the first. Aim for balance, not perfect symmetry. A little imperfection is the charm of a handmade card.
3. Tuck in almond leaves around the base of the flowers to make them pop and fill gaps.
4. Add eucalyptus-style sprigs with plenty of water and just a dot of colour for soft, airy leaves that keep the palette light.
5. Step back often. After every few additions, look at the whole wreath and ask where it needs more fullness.

Palette tip: Mix your greens. A little blue plus green creates a gorgeous light forest tone, and a touch of Payne's grey deepens any colour. If you're working with a new set, swatch and mix before you start; the combinations are nearly endless.

Dot in your berries in small clusters wherever the wreath needs a pop of colour. Vary the cluster sizes; they don't all need to be groups of three. Then add thin stems, connecting some berries to the wreath so they don't look like they're floating.

Avoid muddy colour: Let the berries dry before painting stems. Wet red and wet green will mix and turn brownish. And if a berry lands in the wrong spot, simply add a few more nearby to rebalance.

1. Lightly pencil your phrase in the centre of the wreath, then lift the graphite with your kneaded eraser until it's faint.
2. Paint the lettering in your berry red to tie the palette together. Leslie mixes styles: a simple serif for "Tis the" and flowing brush lettering for "Season."
3. For brush lettering, use thin upstrokes (light pressure) and thick downstrokes (more pressure). A round brush like the Velvetouch gives you both from a single tip.
4. Keep your brush only lightly loaded. Too much water pools and thickens fine letterforms.
5. Finish with a small detail, like a tiny heart, to fill any leftover space.

Personalize it! A family name in the centre makes a thoughtful housewarming or hostess gift.

• Practise every element on scrap paper first. It builds confidence and lets you test colours.
• Let negative space (bare paper) do the work of white paint.
• Paint focal flowers first, then greenery, then berries, then lettering.
• Vary your greens and your flower sizes for a natural, lively wreath.
• Step back regularly. Loose painting is about knowing when to stop.

Choose a heavyweight cold press watercolour paper of at least 140 lb (300 gsm) so the card won't buckle under wet washes. Pre-folded Strathmore Watercolour Cards come ready to paint and include envelopes.

Leave the paper unpainted for the lightest areas and use pale blue or blue-grey washes to suggest shadow. Letting colour bleed from a darker centre into watery petals gives the illusion of a white bloom.

A size 8 round for flowers and leaves and a size 4 round for pine needles, berries, stems and lettering cover the whole project.

Absolutely. The loose style is forgiving, and practising each element first makes the final piece much easier. It's a lovely introduction to botanical painting.

Sketch lightly, then roll a kneaded eraser over the lines before painting. You'll still see a faint guide, but it disappears under the paint.

We'd love to see your winter wreaths! Tag @opusartsupplies and #OpusMakeitMerry on Instagram, and stop by any of our B.C. stores or shop online to gather your supplies for a season of handmade cards.

Tutorial credit: Leslie Tieu for Strathmore Artist Papers.