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  • Balloon-Themed Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    , , , , ,

    Next time someone’s birthday creeps up on you, look no farther than this tutorial! Follow the steps below, and you’ll be rewarded with a festive card that will undoubtedly delight your recipient.

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    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 for making it:

    1. Prepare Your Card Stock

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

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    You can use a bone folder to ensure a nice, crisp fold.

    Next, use a white mechanical pencil to freehand draw an oval to represent a balloon. (You can mark the middle of the card with your pencil to ensure that the oval is more or less centered.) 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.

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    Don’t fret if your oval isn’t symmetrical — imperfection adds to the artistic nature of this piece!

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

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    The spacing of the guidelines here is arbitrary.

    At this point, you can dilute some white ink for water to prepare it for use. (Learn more about diluting white ink in this article.) 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.

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I like using elegant Janet Style calligraphy and lots of flourishes to make cards like this one.

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

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    Your curls and flourishes don’t have to be connected to letters. Feel free to use them to fill in any negative space!

    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.

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    Different sizes of stars enhance the celebratory nature of this calligraphy birthday card.

    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. (A Nikko G works well for this step.)

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    While I used a Brause EF66 nib to write the calligraphy in the balloon, I reverted to a Nikko G nib to make the balloon’s tail.

    Give the ink plenty of time to completely dry, then gently erase the pencil guidelines. Overnight is your best bet, but a couple of hours can be good enough in a dry climate.

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    Don’t be too hasty with erasing! If your ink isn’t completely dry, it will smudge. (Tip: If the ink smudges despite your precautions, you can disguise the smudges by painting over the smudges with sumi or India ink.)

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

    Calligraphy Birthday Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    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. 🙂

    I hope that you give this tutorial a try. It’s a fun one that many TPK readers have done a great job creating over the years! I have no doubt that yours will turn out beautifully, too.

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock

    This article was first posted in September of 2017. I republished it because it’s such a neat tutorial that I think it deserves another turn in the spotlight!

    *This post contains affiliate links to Amazon