3D Leaf Card Tutorial

I can’t believe it’s almost August, and I have only sent out two packages for the snail mail challenge. I knew that needed to change, so this morning I decided to make this unique 3D leaf card. I’m going to show you how I did it, then share some other projects I have been working on recently as well!

First, I drew several leaf outlines in various sizes.

Next, I used a hobby knife to cut them out. You could certainly use scissors if that’s what you have, but next time you’re at the store, you might consider picking up a hobby knife. They are cheap and always come in handy for something!

Once all the leaves were cut, I arranged them on a 5″x5″ piece of slate card stock. {I chose size 5″x5″ so I could send the card in an A7 envelope.}

After ensuring all the leaves would fit, I painted or drew on each leaf using watercolor, a marker, or a Sakura glaze pen*. You can use whatever your heart desires, though!

*The Sakura glaze pens didn’t work so great for this project … they don’t dry quickly enough, and when they do dry, they are still a little sticky.

I colored on both sides of my leaves since I knew I wanted my leaf edges to turn slightly up once they’re glued on the card.

I knew that I wanted to draw something on my leaves, and finally I decided on writing “leaf” in a different language on every piece. I felt this would add visual interest, along with some sort of metaphorical broader statement about all cultures being connected somehow. {Yes, it’s projects like these that bring out the over-analytical English major in me!}

Once I wrote on every leaf, I rearranged them again on the card.

I picked each leaf up one by one, careful to leaf the others undisturbed, and bent them down the center, like so:

Then, I added a line of Elmer’s glue along the spine.

And I glued the leaf, spine down, to the card.

I continued in this fashion until all the leaves were glued.

Once all the leaves were secure, the card looked a little empty to me, so I started to add doodles. I used a calligraphy pen and white ink here, but you could just as easily use a gel pen, such as Sakura gellyroll.

I also pinched opposing sides of the leaves toward each other in order to give them dimension once I was sure the glue was dry.

Next, I whipped out the Finetec gold.

Then, I added a little more white, plus a friendly greeting. If you’re making this as an art piece for your home, you of course can skip adding the greeting.

And voilà! A unique, arguably educational 3d leaf card.

To give some extra personality to the envelope that I paired with the leaf card, I used my beloved “Do Not Bend” stamp. I really love the effect it gives the finished piece.

And here’s what was in my outgoing mailbox today:

I made the Twiggy postcard last night while watching Air Disasters on Netflix. This was a bad idea for two reasons: 1. I was so distracted I forgot to document my process, and 2. As with Shark Week, which convinced me against ever going to the beach again, I will probably board every plane from here on out with hesitation. Nevertheless, making the postcard was simple: I took a watercolored piece of watercolored paper, and drew on it with Sakura glaze pens. They have a really interesting finish, and they’re scented like strawberries.

I have also been working on some watercolor wedding envelopes.

I really like how unique these envelopes are, and I think the wedding guests will all be pleasantly surprised at the presentation. They are accompanying a watercolor sunflower suite that I designed, so altogether it’s a sweet but sophisticated natural country “look”.

Finally, I got some shipping stamps and stickers in that I am so excited about.

Needless to say, I have been putting the stickers and stamps on every outgoing package. I could mail a brick {which is not fragile, cannot be bent, and doesn’t need to have a specific side up}, and I would still use a sticker or a stamp … or both. What can I say, I love sending out pretty packages!

How is your August Snail Mail Challenge going? One snail mail letter, and I’ve completed it. I have noticed some gorgeous work on Instagram and Facebook, and I can’t wait until the end of the month to give away the spatter watercolor tree postcards to a challenge participant. {To participate, simply tweet or Instagram a piece of your outgoing mail art with hashtag #tpkchallenge. You can also share your work on the TPK Facebook wall.}

Thanks again for reading — and, by the way, if there’s a post you’d be interested in seeing on the TPK blog {e.g. a short video of me doing calligraphy, how to illustrate with a certain medium, etc.}, don’t hesitate to comment or email me {[email protected]}. I love fresh blog post ideas, and I know you’re all incredibly creative, so this is the best place for me to ask what you’d like to read about!

Until next time,

*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon