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Get creative with TPK’s free printable birthday card! This tutorial shows you how to embellish it with vibrant ombré colors and festive gold flakes.
Today’s free printable birthday card brings you intricate hand-lettering that you can personalize however you want to! Print it on colored cardstock or white paper, then use watercolors, markers, crayons, or colored pencils to add a splash of personality. Even if you don’t know someone with a birthday coming up, it’s a great project to have fun with and practice your skills. Then, keep the card on hand for when a birthday does come around!
My birthday was last weekend, and it was the best birthday I’ve had in years. Having such a good day served as a reminder that it feels amazing when people remember your birthday. I’ve been a little scrambled when it comes to acknowledging birthdays over the past couple of years, so I sat down this week and made an updated birthday list.
Everyone on the list is special to me, so I’m keeping it close at hand to ensure that I always know whose birthday is coming up. If you don’t have a similar list, consider making one! There’s a birthday tracker page in The Letter Writer’s Complete Resource, or you can easily DIY one. Today’s birthday card will be going to the person whose birthday is next on the list.
You can follow along with me to decorate today’s birthday card in the ~7 minute video below. First, download the Hand-Lettered Birthday Card Printable. Then, print it off, and we’ll embellish it together! Prefer written instructions with photos? Keep scrolling.
Before you begin this project, you’ll need to assemble a few items. Remember that this card is a bit of a blank canvas: you can embellish it however you want to. The supplies and instructions in today’s tutorial only represent one of many ways to do it. Here’s what I used:
To make this birthday card, start by printing off the Hand-Lettered Birthday Card Printable (it’s free!). I recommend printing it on a heavy light-colored paper, card stock, or watercolor paper. Today, I used fine art paper. The paper is admittedly spendy, but it’s got a great texture and a luxurious weight.
Next, cut out the card along the guidelines. Using a paper cutter will give you the cleanest lines, but scissors work well, too.
Now, fold the card in half. Doing this will give you a 5” x 7” (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm) birthday card that’s ready for a bit of color!
You can use the medium that you are most comfortable with to add color to the card. Anything from watercolor to wax crayons will work! Today, I chose to use vibrant Greenleaf & Blueberry watercolors. For an ombré effect, you can begin by painting with dark blue on the bottom of the letters, then work your way up to a light blue, a medium green, and a light green.
For some variation and luxury, it’s a good idea to incorporate gold into the piece. Arabic gold watercolor is a great medium for that!
Finish up by filling in the rest of the letters on the card with blue and green as well. Then, if you want to, you can add a few gold dots as subtle accents.
At this point, you can consider the birthday card finished if that feels right to you! Otherwise, move on to step three.
I’m not known for being a minimalist. If you’re in the same boat, I entreat you to acquire some gold foil flakes! They’re cheap, sparkly, and have a lot of project potential (see the Quick + Stunning Gilded Gift Tags Tutorial.) Once you have those flakes, apply some glue to the edges and the corners of your birthday card. Then, press foil flakes into the adhesive.
Give your glue a couple of minutes to dry, then use an old paintbrush to brush off any excess gold flakes. And, voilà! You’ve got a festive, sparkly card that’s ready to make a loved one feel special and seen.
Once you’re finished coloring, you can put the birthday card in a pretty envelope and send it! (If you’ve got some extra time and want to make mail art to tuck this card into, you can browse tutorials here.)
Remember that the watercolor and gold technique is only one of many ways to approach this project. Feel free to experiment with mediums and techniques! I’ve also had good luck embellishing this birthday card using colored pencils.
Really, no matter how you approach it, the card will end up looking cool and unique. After all, I’m just providing the base design: it’s up to you to give the card some vibrancy and liveliness! I encourage you to play around to make this project your very own.
Have a great weekend, and thanks very much for reading TPK!
Warmly,
*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon
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