Feeling the holiday rush? Let's hit pause, and create a relaxing festive art project perfect for the christmas season. This handmade watercolor tape resist tree isn't about creating a masterpiece for a gallery. It's about giving yourself 20 minutes with some washi tape and paint to remind yourself how good it feels to make something with your hands. 

Whether you want to create a peaceful page in your journal, a festive piece to frame, or a heartfelt handmade Christmas card, this simple step by step watercolor tree tutorial is your starting point. It's the perfect beginner watercolor painting project for anyone seeking a moment of calm creativity. Using a watercolor resist technique, we'll create a beautiful washi tape tree design that requires zero drawing skill—just a willingness to play with color and enjoy the process. 

We'll use only need a few supplies, and the results are so pretty you’ll want to use them to make a whole batch of Christmas cards for your friends and family. 

What You’ll Need

Here’s what to gather before you start:

• Watercolor Paper: A piece cut to your preferred size. 5x7" for a frame, or 4.25” x 5.5” for a DIY Christmas card. Or use your watercolor journal (180lb or 300gsm)

• Watercolor paints – try red, green, and gold for a festive combo but choose whatever

• Watercolor Paintbrush : a medium round or flat brush will do 

• Low-Tack Masking Tape , Washi Tape or Painter's Tape.

• Water Container: For rinsing your brushes.

• Paper Towels: For blotting brushes and any excess water.

• Pencil (optional): For lightly sketching before painting.

• A Clean Cotton Cloth or Your Jeans (for the key trick).

• White glue and glitter (optional but fun!)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prepare Your Tape

The One-Minute Tape Prep

Take your masking tape and firmly stick a strip onto your jeans or t-shirt. Peel it off. This gentle de-tacking is the secret to clean lines and protects your paper. It’s the foundation of a stress-free experience.

Step 2: Create Your Tree Canvas

Tear three strips of the prepped masking tape. Place one as a wide base. Angle the other two from the ends of the base up to a point, forming a triangle. Burnish the edges—press down hard with your fingernail along every border.  The tape will create a mask for your tree, preventing paint from getting onto the areas you want to remain white.

Step 3: Paint the Tree

1. Mix some Juicy paint: Get a good puddle of your favorite color paint on your palette. Add water so it’s fluid, not pasty.
2. Paint Inside the Triangle: Paint over the exposed area inside the tape triangle. Go for an even coverage, or just paint stripes. Let the color be uneven—lighter in some areas and darker in others. Let it dry completely before moving on.

Step 4: Add Glitter (Optional)

If you’re feeling sparkly, now’s your moment!

Once your paint is completely dry, brush a little glue onto the parts of the tree you want to shimmer. Then sprinkle glitter on top — red, green, or gold look amazing.

Tap off the extra glitter and let everything dry for a few minutes.

Step 5: The Reveal & A Note on Imperfection

Once fully dry, slowly peel the tape back on itself to reveal your crisp tree shape.Take your time — this part looks amazing when it’s done right.

A gentle reminder: The goal is joy, not perfection. 

If instead of a crisp tree shape, you find a fuzzy, bleeding mess where paint crept under the edges, welcome to the club. I've painted this three times myself—first with tape that ripped the paper, then with paint seeping everywhere.  

Watercolor is a practice of gentle progress. Forget the perfect-instagram worthy version the first time round. 

Your first attempt is for exploration, the next one gets sharper. Plus, any imperfection simply adds to the unique, handmade charm of your work. 

If the tape starts to pull up the paper, stop and peel from the other direction. 

Step 6: Paint the Tree Trunk

1. Mix Brown Paint: On your palette, create a brown shade by mixing colors as needed.
2. Paint the Trunk: Use your brush to paint a vertical rectangle at the bottom of the triangle. This will be the trunk of your christmas tree. Allow it to dry.

Step 7: Finishing Touches

• The Star: Finish with a simple yellow star on top.
• Add a Greeting: Below the tree, write a holiday greeting such as "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy Holidays!" You can use a fine-liner waterproof pen or a brush pen for this. Experiment with different fonts or styles.
• Here are a few cute tree-themed greetings to try:
• “Hope your Christmas is tree-mendous!”
• “I’m pine-ing for you!”
• “Being your friend is a real tree-t!”

Want to Mix It Up? Try These Easy Variations 

The beauty of this tape resist watercolor technique is how easy it is to create different looks using the same simple steps.

Sunburst Tree

Arrange tape strips in a fan of diagonal lines inside the triangle. 

Once your tape design is ready, start painting the spaces between the tape using your favorite colors.

Let it dry completely before removing the tape.

This creates a beautiful, radiating stripe effect.

To complete your tree, use brown paint for painting a vertical rectangle for the trunk.

Zigzag Tree

Create Your Tree Canvas

• Tear three strips of your prepped tape and form a triangle.
• Place thin tape strips in a lightning-bolt or zigzag pattern inside the triangle.

• Use your brush to paint the exposed segments. Go for it! Let can let the color be uneven—lighter in some spots and darker in others. Let the color flow freely—watercolor is beautiful when it's uneven. While the paint is wet, you can drop in bits of other colors. 

Let it dry completely before removing all tape for a cool, graphic look.

Finish the tree off with a vertical rectangle.

Choose Your Own Adventure

You’ve created a beautiful watercolor washi tape tree, how you use it is up to you:

• Journal It: Paint it in your watercolor sketchbook. Write about your day or your hopes for the season around it.
• Frame It: Place it in a simple frame for instant, charming holiday decor.
• Send It: Transform it into a watercolor christmas card by attaching it to a card blank or folding the paper itself. Add a heartfelt message inside.
• Gift it: Use them as gift tags for presents.

Variations and Suggestions

• Different Tree Styles: Try making a wider or taller tree by adjusting the shape of the washi tape.

• Color Variations: Experiment with different colors.
• Additional Elements: Add gifts under the tree or a snowman beside it for more festive flair.

Wrap-Up

You did it! You took a quiet moment for yourself to create something beautiful. This beginner friendly project proves that  watercolor painting is about the joy of the process, not producing the perfect product. Whether it ends up in your journal, on your wall, or in an envelope as a handmade Christmas card, this piece carries the peace you felt while making it. Keep that feeling going—keep creating.