After spending most of last week working on the new Beth Style calligraphy worksheet, I wanted to make a nice little project to celebrate being finished. I also needed something special to send to my mother-in-law for her birthday! This paper craft letter fits the bill for both: it’s quick, artistic, and a delight for anyone to receive! While I’m using the letter in this tutorial as a card, you can use it for many things, including gift tags (’tis the season) and bookmarks.
1. Make the Letter
To make the letter — the backbone of this paper craft — you’ll start by making a large printout of that letter. The size depends on what you plan to use the letter for. If, for example, you are making a card, you’ll want to make a letter that is about 5″ tall. For a gift tag, it needs to be much smaller, maybe 3″ tall. You can use any font that most appeals to you; the font I used here is a bolded Arial.
Next, use a pair of scissors to cut out the letter.
Use a pencil to trace around the cutout on a piece of cardstock or watercolor paper. I used white cardstock here, but you can use any color that appeals to you!
Once you have traced the letter, cut it out.
If you want to, you can skip the printing step and simply free-hand draw a letter directly on your cardstock. No matter how you choose to do it, the end result should be a cardstock letter. At this point, you can set your letter aside and move on to the next step!
2. Draw the Paper Embellishments
To make paper embellishments for the letter, you’ll want to choose 3-4 different colors of paper to create the embellishments from. You can use a pencil to draw little botanicals that look like the ones below:
(These are butterflies on an old book page!)
If you choose to draw on dark-colored paper, you can use a white mechanical pencil. The white pencil isn’t necessary, but it does make it easier to see the lines! The circles on the paper below will serve as centers for the flowers (which will be made out of the pink and white papers).
3. Cut Out the Embellishments
Once you have everything drawn, it’s time to cut all the embellishments out! Cut-outs this detailed are a headache to make with scissors, so you’ll definitely want to use an x-acto knife. A self-healing cutting mat like the green one pictured below isn’t necessary, but will make life easier!
X-acto knives basically work like super sharp pencils. You’re going to use the x-acto knife to trace along the lines you drew to make the embellishments, and the embellishments will pop right out of the paper!
You do, of course, need to exercise caution when using an x-acto knife: they’re sharp! When you’re finished, make sure you put the lid back on. 🙂
4. Color in the Letter (Optional) and Glue on Embellishments
Now that you have cut everything out, it’s time to assemble! The first thing you’ll want to do is add some color to your letter. I used brush pen markers for this; I would have used watercolor, but moisture causes paper to curve as it dries! If you like your letter white or you have a letter made out of colored cardstock, you can skip this step.
Next, use tiny drops of glue to start putting your paper embellishments on the letter. If you want to, you can spruce up the embellishments with a pen as you place them! I used a white Gelly Roll pen in the photo below.
Continue to glue elements on the letter. As you glue, you can use your fingers to pinch flower petals and butterfly wings upwards! That pinching gives this paper craft some nice dimension.
Once you have placed and glued all of the elements, you’re finished!
If your paper craft is acting as a card, then you can make a pretty, matching envelope to go with it! The envelope below utilizes Beth Style calligraphy and simple floral illustrations to correspond with the letter.
If you made your letter as a gift tag, you can punch a hole in the top and thread a string through it. A bookmark can be left as-is!
Regardless of what you plan to do with this floral letter, I know you’ll really enjoy making it! There’s nothing more relaxing than cutting out and placing shapes to make a beautiful paper craft. 🙂 If you have any questions or suggestions about this project, please feel free to comment below! Otherwise, have a fantastic day, and thank you for reading TPK!
Warmly,
*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon