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[For Seniors] Handmade Summer Greeting Cards: A Collection of Lovely Summer Motifs
Some older people may send summer greeting postcards every year.
A shochu-mimai is originally a greeting card sent to express concern for the recipient’s health during the hot summer months, and the custom is said to have started in the Edo period.
Store-bought postcards with illustrations are lovely, but how about trying a handmade one this year? A heartfelt, handmade postcard is sure to bring a smile to the recipient’s face.
In this article, we introduce charming motifs to draw on your summer greeting cards.
It’s packed with ideas featuring classic symbols of summer, like sunflowers, shaved ice, and watermelon.
Give it a try with love for your dear family and friends!
[For Seniors] Handmade Summer Greeting Cards: A Lovely Collection of Summer Motifs (1–10)
Summer greetings with shaved ice
Shaved ice topped with strawberry or melon syrup is especially delicious on a hot day, isn’t it? Some senior care facilities may also serve shaved ice as a snack.
So let’s try making a summer greeting card featuring shaved ice, one of the treats we crave in summer.
In addition to drawing shaved ice on a postcard, you can also create it using items like kitchen sponges or bubble wrap used for packing.
With a bit of creativity, you can make summer greeting cards adorned with all kinds of shaved ice designs.
Summer greeting card with sunflowers
We’re pleased to share an idea for a handmade card that captures the brightness of summer: a “Sunflower Summer Greeting.” Draw the sunflower’s outline with a brush pen, then use paints to color the petals and center—this hand-drawn touch adds a special warmth.
The slight bleeding and roughness become part of the charm, creating a soft, gentle impression.
Add a line wishing the recipient good health to make it a heartfelt piece.
Sunflowers are summer blooms that brighten anyone’s mood.
It’s a summer greeting that delivers joy: the pleasure of drawing and the happiness of sending, all in one card that truly reaches the heart.
Watermelons and mosquito coils
Speaking of summer foods, watermelon also comes to mind, right? How about adding a watermelon illustration to your summer greeting card? You can also draw other items you often see in summer, like mosquito coils.
Watercolors are fine to use, but here’s a neat idea.
Before painting with watercolors, sketch your underdrawing with a candle.
A “resist” technique means drawing or coating the areas you don’t want to paint with wax.
The wax repels moisture, so those parts won’t take on color.
For a watermelon, apply wax to the seeds; for a mosquito coil, to the spiral.
It will give you a clean finish.
Give it a try using this as a reference!
Morning-glory summer greeting
There are probably some older people who, upon seeing morning glories, think, “Summer has arrived.” Morning glories are a flower that represents summer.
Try adding them to your summer greeting cards.
Draw morning glories with a brush pen and then color them with watercolors.
If you add light and dark shading to the petals, the expression of the painting will deepen considerably.
Morning glories are vivid in color yet also have a delicate, softly nuanced feel.
A summer greeting card featuring morning glories that captures those qualities is sure to delight the recipient.
Summer greeting cards made with eraser stamps
Let’s try making summer greeting cards using stamps carved from erasers.
The erasers you find in the stationery section are soft and perfect for older adults to make stamps with.
Of course, they’re easy to carve with a utility knife or carving tools, but you can also use safer substitutes.
It seems you can make eraser stamps using a clay spatula and toothpicks as well.
Try creating eraser stamps with summery motifs like watermelon, shaved ice, or sunflowers.
Simple summer greeting with watermelon
We’d like to share an idea for a “Simple Watermelon Summer Greeting” that lets you feel the season by making the most of traditional Japanese materials.
Paste a thin sheet of washi onto a postcard, then use red and green paints on top to express the colors of a watermelon.
The natural bleeding and unevenness become part of the charm, creating a refreshingly handmade look.
Add a short note of concern for the recipient’s well-being on a separate small piece of washi, and layer it over the painting to finish.
This piece gently updates the custom of midsummer greetings, which has continued since the Edo period, into a form suited to modern times.
Along with the quintessential taste of summer—watermelon—a heartfelt card delivers both seasonal greetings and warmth.
Goldfish summer greeting card
At summer festivals and fireworks displays, you often see stalls for scooping goldfish.
Goldfish scooping is a hallmark of summer and popular with children.
Many older adults may also remember enjoying it with their families.
Goldfish bowls and aquariums have a cooling feel as well.
So why not send a summer greeting card featuring goldfish? Pairing a message of concern about the heat with an image of goldfish can help convey a sense of coolness.
Try drawing the goldfish with a brush or creating them with torn-paper collage.