Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial

I love this calligraphy birthday card tutorial because it requires very few supplies. You can make it with black cardstock and white ink — as I’ve done here — or you can switch it up with a lighter paper and a dark ink! No matter what color scheme you choose, the swirls and stars are key. The more you include, the more festive your card will be! Here are the steps:

1. Prepare Your Card Stock

First, cut a piece of black card stock to 7″ (178 mm) tall by 10 inches (254 mm) wide. Fold the cardstock in half.

Next, use a white mechanical pencil to free-hand draw an oval to represent a balloon. Don’t worry if the oval isn’t perfect! Once you’ve drawn the oval, make a little shape at its base to represent the tie at the bottom of a balloon. Finish up by drawing a wavy line that extends to the bottom of the card.

Finally, use a ruler to make several randomly spaced diagonal guidelines within the balloon.

At this point, you can dilute some white ink for water to prepare it for use. (Learn more about diluting white ink in this blog post.) Once your ink is ready, move on to the next set of steps!

2. Fill the Balloon Outline with Calligraphy

The defining element of this calligraphy birthday card is, of course, the calligraphy. Begin by writing “Happy” in the upper left corner using Janet Style calligraphy. End the “y” with a tail that turns up and ends in several curls to fill out the top of the balloon.

Continue to write the words to the “Happy Birthday” song. Use the guidelines to make words of different sizes, and add flourishes and curls wherever you can within the balloon outline!

Once you’ve written all of the calligraphy, add in stars and additional flourishes to fill out the space. The more elements that are inside the balloon outline, the more the card will look like a balloon from afar!

3. Add the Balloon’s Tail

To finish up your calligraphy birthday card, use a fine-tipped nib to write “and many more” along the wavy line at the bottom of the card.

Give the ink an hour or two to completely dry, then gently erase the pencil guidelines.

Make a cool envelope to accompany your calligraphy birthday card, and send!

Of course, you can customize this concept however you see fit. Use a different font style, a different ink (or faux calligraphy), or even a different shape (like a birthday cake)! No matter how you choose to modify, your recipient will love the result and will be happy that you thought of him/her. 🙂

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I hope that you give this tutorial a try — it’s a fun one! If you have any questions or suggestions about it, please feel free to contribute in the comments. In the meantime, have a great weekend, and thanks for reading TPK!

Warmly,