I made this Rosh Hashanah “palette” card a few years ago just for fun, but never got around to sharing the tutorial. It was inspired by the wonderfully creative team at Mr. Boddington, whose charming paper goods first sparked the idea. While this exact version isn’t easy to recreate (I added the typewritten text digitally after scanning it into Photoshop), I hope it serves as inspiration for your own take.
The beauty of this project is that there isn’t a right or wrong way to make it. Use the basic process below as a jumping-off point and create a version that’s uniquely yours. It’s a relaxing way to reflect on the holiday and a sweet craft to make with kids, too.
Dream up your palette
Choose 12 little things that remind you of Rosh Hashanah, then assign each one a color. They can be foods, smells, songs, prayers, family traditions, memories, places, people, feelings, sounds, objects, inside jokes, weather, or tiny moments that somehow only seem to happen on the holiday. (Mine included things like “music you can taste, see, and smell” and “forgetting the tickets.”) The more oddly specific, the better—makes it YOUR palette!
Paint your swatches
Paint 12 simple circles (or squares, or blobs—whatever you like!) and let them dry completely. Easy!
Add the labels
Once everything is dry, label each color beneath the swatches. A fine-tipped pen works beautifully. If you’d prefer a cleaner look, you can do what I did: scan your finished watercolor page, add the labels digitally, then print the final version onto nice cardstock. Either approach works wonderfully.
Shana tova!