Dec 2022 Update: I am still using this paper for watercolor cards of any occasion but it seems this year I've been asked by many who know I make watercolor greeting cards, to my surprise, many have requested if I could make the December cards in a particular theme. These people previously did not care and come from all backgrounds, but, many asked if I could focus on a particular theme that has to do with a certain little boy being born. I just found that interesting. Anywho, I had to start making these cards back in October so I did not sit for days and get burned out making card after card (like cramming for an exam). It allowed me to grab a few packs of this paper on sale, too (planning ahead). Doing it ahead of time made me be able to enjoy watercolor card making here and there, not rush, rush, rush and still, to this day, this brand of 140 lb cold press paper that I use offers the best results and stability for watercolor greeting card making. It beats the pants off of that famous 100% cotton paper that has been around for a long time, but I do use that cotton paper for portraits, landscapes, pets, etc that I paint for others, friends, family, or myself. I've sent off many of my watercolor cards and still have about 17 more to do. Since I first started doing this, I did finally buy a wonderful and awesome "scoring board" that folds in half, is about 12" x 12" when open, and also is a combo paper cutter. The bottom has a slot for that plastic thing that you score paper with. Amazon had a really good deal on one so I got it. I love that thing! I'm adding two current photos of the two greeting cards I just finished on my painting area. These cards are for personal use. I find an image that inspires me to do my own spin on it....I only buy the 140 lb paper of this brand. This brand of watercolor paper is sold in 140 lbs and 90 lbs. Oh, I also found a used returned pack of large envelopes the size of greeting cards on Amazon for a few dollars. Pack of envelopes looked new. Price was cheap and I got many that I cut my paper the size I need to fit in them. Amazon is like a one stop shop and the really good deals are out there if you are patient. ********************** UPDATE: I added another pic. Some watercolor cards I've painted on this inexpensive paper were using those super cheap, round, dried cake watercolor paints in the plastic palette with the clear plastic lid, about 36 colors. (A niece bought them for me and, naturally, I showed her how much I loved them.) Just be aware, cheap paints might act more like a stain, which means lifting and a few other things watercolor is known for might not work as well, or at all. Know the challenges of different paint. In the pic I uploaded, I blurred out the samples I painted using more expensive watercolor paint because we all know they will perform better, but I wanted to show how even super cheap paints performed. It did just fine on this paper --the lemon, pair, and doughnut. My bird pic I added was made with higher end watercolor paints, like with my incomplete deer pic. I've used other cheap paper for making watercolor cards. Even the well known, more expensive cotton cold press brand, but this cheap paper holds it shape better, less buckling or wonky, warp bending after painting on it. I hope my review may have given a little better insight. It can be overwhelming to decide what paper or paints to spend your money on when budgeting. Other reviews were helpful to me on a few things. That's why I tried to give as much info as I could in case it helps anyone else. Good luck out there, watercolor friends! ********** I wouldn't use this for regular watercolor painting, but for kids it would be fine. I would and do like it for smaller projects like watercolor card making. It's a bit more durable with a card stock paper feel to it. The price is very good for the amount you get. I added a pic of a Christmas card I was making on this paper, a deer. It wasn't finished but it gives you an idea of how it was looking before I completed the little painting. There are two different kinds of watercolor paper for this brand. One is 90 lbs. One is 140 lbs. I don't get less than 140 lbs. I simply folded the paper over it in the center, carefully. I then used a round handle of a paint brush to force the crease down smoother. At that point I placed a Christmas card over the top of it to know the size to cut this folded over watercolor paper down to. If you don't have a paper cutter you can LIGHTLY use a pencil to trace around the edges of a card to know the size to cut it down to with scissors. I had a pack of Christmas cards I got from the dollar store. I didn't really care about the cards in it but I used the envelopes for my homemade watercolor cards. Paying a dollar to have 25 envelopes was fine with me, rather than making them or buying some. So, I traced around the edge of the cards that were made for the envelopes, to make sure my homemade cards were the size needed for the envelopes. Keep the paper you cut off that you don't need when making your Christmas, birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day various special occasion greeting cards. The scrap leftovers can be used for making book markers or as test samples to see how your paint will look when mixing your own colors, testing out some new paint or some kind of watercolor idea or technique. If you are really crafty or want to take the extra time in doing it, with the extra cut off scrap paper, you could paper craft more fancy stuff onto the card or inside of the card. I just surfed for Christmas images to use for personal use to get an idea of what to sketch out but if drawing is not a strong point for some of you, I've told some people that I have taught watercolor to that they can simply pull up an image on their computer screen, for personal use or educational purposes, tape their watercolor paper over it, carefully, and lightly trace over an image. It might help the darker the room is (night time or closed window shades) to better trace, since watercolor paper is thicker, but that might help some of you. That way you don't have to waste time and money printing out an image, taping it to a window and taping your paper over it to trace over the image (the back light acts like a "light box"). It is also not a good idea to keep erasing something you are sketching on watercolor paper, because it will usually effect the paper when painting, and not in a good way. Maybe some out there will like this for the "cheap watercolor paper" category. I only like it for watercolor card making. As soon as you get this watercolor paper, identify the back side of it on all sheets because it isn't easy to tell what side is front or back after it starts getting shuffled around. It is all loose in shrink wrap. Once you open this paper, it's individual sheets. One rule of thumb I always do when I get paper, especially for non-cotton cheap watercolor paper, but always write 3 things on the back of each sheet of watercolor paper. Write the brand, the weight of the paper, and if it is cold press, hot press, rough, etc...just in the corner on the back somewhere. If you stick with watercolor painting, in time, you'll see why that was a great habit to get into.
