How to Draw a Thank You Card With a Modern Dandelion Drawing

Homemade thank you cards are always happily received in a mailbox, but they are being sent less often due to digital cards sent electronically. 

For those of us traditionalists, that is a sad thing, indeed!

Handmade cards, especially hand drawn thank you cards, are a fun way to show artistic talent and creativity, while making a special card to say thank you for your kindness and support.

What can you draw on a handmade thank you card?

Depending on artistic ability, almost anything can be drawn on a card. Some great ideas for a thank you card sketch are hand drawn flowers, mason jar designs, and adorable cartoon animals.

Check out the handmade mason jar birthday card tutorial.

Keep checking back for more easy handmade card ideas and tutorials using flowers, cute cartoon animals, and other simple patterns and motifs.

Follow the written directions below to create a homemade dandelion thank you card that you will be proud to send!

WHAT YOU NEED to make A Homemade thank you card:

• Package of card stock note cards and envelopes
• Number 2 pencil
• Large pink eraser (Pink Pearl is recommended)
• Permanent fine tipped marker (Sharpie fine tip pen is recommended)
• Watercolor markers  (Artist's Loft Watercolor Dual-Tip Markers were used in this tutorial)

INSTRUCTIONS for making a handmade thank you note with a modern dandelion drawing:

STEP 1: beginning the stem of the dandelion drawing

Fold the note card on the crease and turn the card to a horizontal position where it will open from the bottom.  This allows more space for the extended lines on the dandelion portion of the handmade thank you card.

It is not necessary to center the design on the card.  For this example, the stem of the dandelion design is drawn in the center of the front of the card.  

Using a number 2 pencil or any light pencil, the thank you sketch starts at the bottom of the center of the note card. Draw a line, curved slightly to the right.  The line should stop half way up the card.

Next, add the second portion of the stem to add dimension to the flower.  Begin 1/2 inch to the right of the main stem, and draw a short line, curved to the left and stopping approximately 1 1/2 inches up the stem.

Add a small circle to the top of the long stem on the homemade thank you note sketch.

STEP 2: add dandelion seeds

The next step in the thank you sketch is to lightly draw 8 seed stems from the circle at the top of the main flower stem.  Start the stems at a point on the circle, making sure they are all approximately the same length.

It is easiest to begin with a seed stem opposite the flower stem that was drawn in step one. Give each of the seed stems a slight curve to add interest.

Next, add two more seed stems across the center of the main stem circle starting point.  Add the rest of the seed stems for the dandelion thank you card approximately the same distance apart.

The seeds should form a circular shape.

Finally, add oval shapes at the end of each seed stem.

step 3: enclose each oval

To add a final detail to the thank you sketch, enclose each oval in a tear drop shape. On the dandelion seed tips, make a tear drop shape around each small oval shape.

step 4: add additional seeds

Between the seed stems that have already been hand drawn, add shorter seed stems to fill in the dandelion shape.  These seed stems should all be about the same length.

Add the ovals and tear drops as instructed in steps 2 and 3.

Add a few more dandelion seed stems that are shorter in length than the ones just completed.  This should fill in the circular shape you're making of the dandelion.

step 5: add the home made thank you card sentiment

In the open space to the left of the dandelion, write the greeting card sentiment that you prefer. "Thank you" or "Thank you for your kindness and support".

If necessary, use a ruler to draw a straight line or two if there is concern the words will not be straight.

Many people are intimidated by hand writing the text.  My advice is to go very slowly.  Samples of fonts are on the internet and can be carefully hand copied if you feel your handwriting is not up to par.

Remember, the artist's eye is much more critical than than the eyes of others!

step 6: outline with permanent marker

It is important to use a fine tipped permanent marker to outline the design and sentiment.  If the marker is too wide it will make the dandelion design look childish and unprofessional.

It must be permanent or the black will bleed into the other colors that are added in the next step.

Carefully trace the pencil marks that have been sketched.  Remember that this does not have to be exact since the pencil lines will be erased later.

Continue until all of the lines have been traced with the fine tipped permanent marker.

step 7: Erase all pencil lines

It is important to use a good eraser, such as the pink eraser shown below.  It does not smudge and erases lines easily and cleanly.

Keeping the card on a hard, flat surface, gently erase all of the pencil lines on the front of the card.

Is your eraser dried out?  Click to visit our tutorial on How to Make Dried Erasers Work Again.

Brush the eraser remnants away and check to see if any pencil lines were missed.  Completely erase any pencil lines remaining.

step 8: add color with watercolor markers

Now is the time to color the homemade greeting card.  This tutorial gives an example of colors that can be used and how to spread out the colors for the  dandelion flower.

Feel free to experiment with other colors to make this a one of a kind handmade card.

Begin with one color and add more colors.

Notice that each color is used in both the inner circles and outer ovals.

Here a fourth color is added to the dandelion design.

Finally, the dandelion seed have all been filled in with color. If desired, one color from the dandelion seeds can be used to color in the center circle and trace the stem.  However, this is not necessary.

Your handmade dandelion greeting card is finished!

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