DIY Lavender Postcards with Faux Washi!

Hello Graphics Fairy friends! I’m Diana from Dreams Factory and I’m happy to be here again to share another DIY project with you! Today, I will show you how to make these super chic DIY Lavender Postcards with Faux Washi with a subtle touch of gold. We’ll only use a handful of supplies to make these beauties, which have a lovely vintage vibe. I love offering you different options when it comes to further embellishing these projects and this one is no different!

You can decide if you want to just print and use these or take the longer route and add some gold on top.

I’ve actually had this project on my mind for quite some time! Lavender is one of my favorite flowers and I couldn’t let the summer go by without giving it the place it deserves. I used different lavender images, one more beautiful than the other and I created this amazing faux gold washi effect on some of the edges. I would say that the faux washi embellishments make their overall appearance more intriguing. The postcards will look great if just printed and used, but they won’t have that lovely shine gold usually has. So to make them more vibrant, you’ll need to add some gold touches on top.

The postcards that I included in our free printable come in several different sizes, so you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. I used some amazing French postcards to make the bases and then I added all this beautiful lavender. And some bees, here and there. I also included a few additional postage stamps that can be cut and glued on top.

—-> Click HERE to Download the Full Size Printable PDF <—-

DIY Lavendar Postcards Supply List:

• white cardstock paper
• home printer
• scissors
• thinning shears (optional, to cut the stamps)
• mini distress inks
• blending tool with foams
• paper glue
• a glass dip pen (or a calligraphy pen)
• DecoColor gold marker or gold watercolors
• a scrap piece of plastic or acetate

Step by Step Tutorial:

Start by printing your printable on cardstock paper. Depending on how you are planning to use the postcards, you could also print them on regular printing paper.

Use your scissors to cut each of your lovely postcards. If you prefer to give them more of an irregular-shaped edge, you could also tear them.
If you have some, use thinning shears to cut the additional postage stamps and create that specific perforated edge they usually have.

Use your favorite brown distress ink to distress the paper. You can simply go all around the edges, but if you want to go more into deep with the distressing process, you can also perform other distressing techniques.

I like to start with rolling the corners inward, then I unroll them. You can also fold the paper here and there, create some small tears to add more grunginess. Even go all over the edges to fold and unfold the paper to break some of its fibers. Add more distress ink to highlight some of these beautifully aged areas.

Use a little bit more of your distress ink to go all over the stamps if you find their edges to be too white. Then use paper glue to glue them on the postcards where you want. You could also leave a few postcards without any additional glued stamps if you prefer.

If you want, you can stop at this point and use your super chic postcards as they are.
But if you want to add some amazing gold touches, you can try the technique I’m suggesting below. For this, we’ll need a gold marker (I’m using my favorite Decocolor), a glass dip pen (or a calligraphy pen) and a scrap piece of plastic (or some acetate).

Press your gold marker on that scrap piece of plastic a few times to release some paint and make a small puddle of gold.

Use your glass dip pen to pick up some of this gold and then start painting over the lines and the arrows of our faux washi tape. The glass dip pen will allow you to paint even the most delicate details, I can’t wait to use it on other projects, too!

You might need to repeat the puddling process a few times, the paint will dry relatively quickly on your plastic, especially in these hot summer days.

I find painting all these small details quite relaxing and the final results will make everything worthwhile! The finished postcards look absolutely amazing, don’t you think?

If you prefer to use other types of paint, you can! Use liquid gilding leaf or gold watercolors. Just make a few tests on a scrap piece of paper first to see if you will love how these would look.

I initially thought about adding some clear duct tape on top to make our faux washi even more realistic. But then I realized I don’t necessarily like the glossiness of duct tape, so I’ve decided not to. For the sake of experimenting, you can try using it and see if you like it or not.
Or maybe use some matte clear tape if you have any around.

The faux washi looks so beautiful even without the gold paint on top, so remember that you can still choose the option to take the 5-minute quick-and-easy route to make these, if you prefer.

As another suggestion, if you choose not to add the gold paint on top, you could use some Glossy Accents dimensional medium to ‘paint’ over each line and arrow. This will create a small raised effect that will add some dimension to our project and will instantly highlight our faux gold.

The postcards can be included in so many of your creative projects! Use them as they are or turn them into gift tags that can accompany thoughtful presents for friends and family. You can hang them by your drawers or use them to decorate small boxes, paper bags, even some jars or vases. Use a small stand to display them in your home, along with other vintage decorative items that you can find in thrift stores or flea markets. These will look amazing when paired with old books, angel statues or even some lavender scented candles.

Of course, your beautiful junk journals could benefit from these little vintage gems! Add them to lavender, floral or just summery-inspired themes!

I’m really happy with how these turned out and I think the distressed paper adds so much character to the final pieces. It’s really fun (and quite relaxing) to perform all these distressing techniques and watch the paper transform right under your eyes! A flat, regular printed paper turned into these beautifully torn and aged treasures? Yes, please!

Not to mention all that gold painting that adds so much charm to the finished pieces, making them even more beautiful and intriguing! So, I hope you will love this project and decide to give it a try!

You might also like my DIY Spring Postcards HERE. 

Happy crafting,
Diana | Dreams Factory