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  • Let’s Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    — 207 Comments

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    This Parisian-themed greeting card is a wonderful way to say “I’m thinking of you” to someone who shares your love for travel! You’ll find that the tutorial comes together very quickly if you have a printer. All you need to do is cut, glue, tie, and you’re all set!

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Today’s “Let’s Go to Paris” greeting card tutorial offers the perfect springtime hello. It’s artistic and creative, and plays to two (arguable) truths: first of all, springtime brings out the travel bug in a lot of us. Second, Paris is absolutely stunning this time of year! To make this card, you’ll just need a printer, paper, scissors, and some glue.

    1. Print Out the 5″ x 7″ Rosy Arc de Triomphe Illustration

    You can find the 5″ x 7″ (127 mm x 178 mm) illustration in the Printable Rosy Arc de Triomphe Illustrations packet. Try to print it off on a neutral color of cardstock like gray or kraft.

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    This illustration took quite a while to create, so I’m asking a nominal fee ($4.00) for it. You can find it by clicking here! If that’s not in the budget right now, you can download a simple (free) outline of the Arc de Triomphe here.

    2. Cut the Illustration Out

    Next, you’re going to cut the illustration out. Try to cut slightly inside the guidelines if you want your illustration to be smaller than the card you’re going to glue it to.

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I cut about 1/4″ (12 mm) inside of the guidelines to make the illustration smaller than 5 “x 7”.

    3. Glue the Illustration to a 5″ x 7″ Card

    Either DIY a 5″ x 7″(127 mm x 178 mm) card by folding a 10″ x 7″ (254 mm x 178 mm) piece of white cardstock in half, or grab a readymade blank card. Use a glue stick or liquid glue and a paintbrush to apply an even layer of glue to your illustration, then glue the illustration on the card.

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I prefer to use UHU glue sticks for this kind of project. The glue stick is nice and big, so it’s easy to apply evenly!

    4. Add Gold Accents (Optional)

    If you happen to have some gold watercolor handy, you can use it to accentuate some features of the Arc de Triomphe. This step is completely optional, but it will add some eye-catching sparkle to the greeting card!

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    No gold watercolor? No problem! You can always enter this weekend’s giveaway for a Finetec Golds palette. 🙂

    At this point, your Paris greeting card is technically finished. If you’re pressed for time, you can send it just like this! If you’ve got a couple of extra minutes, though, you can add the planes in the next step.

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    This multi-purpose greeting card looks stunning just like this!

    5. Add Airplane Silhouettes

    Now, print out the Airplane Outlines PDF, preferably on a light-colored piece of paper that’s conducive to lettering or calligraphy. I printed mine out on 80# drawing paper (which I cut to fit my printer).

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    You can find this Airplane Outlines PDF for free by clicking here.

    Next, cut out one of the airplanes.

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    These airplanes are simple enough to cut out with scissors — no hobby knife needed!

    If you want to, you can add some visual interest and motion to the airplane with gold watercolor. Start by applying generous dots of gold to the nose and the jets, then blow on the dots to spread them out!

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    Blowing on the watercolor to make it spread suggests motion in the finished piece.

    Write “Let’s go to Paris” on the white and gold airplane, and add a few flourishes if you want to. Then, use a white pencil to draw an outline around your white airplane onto a black piece of cardstock.

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    If you don’t have any black cardstock, you can skip this step. The card will still look cool with just one airplane! I used Janet Style calligraphy for the white airplane, but you can use any lettering style that appeals to you.

    Cut out the black airplane, then you’re ready for the next step!

    6. Tie It All Together

    Now, you’ll want to tie a thin piece of string or ribbon around your card. Make a knot or a bow on the back of the card.

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Flip the card over, and tuck the backs of the airplanes under the string. Make sure the wings remain on top of the string!

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I love how the black airplane resembles a shadow. It feeds the illusion that the plane is flying over the Arc de Triomphe!

    Once you’ve completed this step, you’re officially finished creating your “Let’s go to Paris” greeting card!

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Other Uses for the Rosy Arc de Triomphe Illustrations

    I have a goal to create a new printable illustration every month for the TPK blog. Like this illustration and last month’s Lace Butterfly piece, each work will be created with pen and ink. It’s fun to use the dip pen for more than calligraphy!

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    In addition to the 5″ x 7″ illustration, the Printable Rosy Arc de Triomphe Illustrations packet includes two other versions of the Arc. You can find 2″ x 2″ (51 mm x 51 mm) circular Arc de Triomphes, which are fantastic for making envelope seals or gift cards.

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    You can use the 2″ x 2″ circular Arc de Triomphe printable to make a DIY envelope seal. Just cut out one of the circles and glue it to the back of an envelope! Try outlining it in black and adding some flourishes, as I’ve done here.

    You can also use the illustration to add some Parisian charm to your home. Print out the 5″ x 7″ or 8″ x 10″ PDF from the packet on a piece of light-colored paper, then cut the illustration out along the guidelines. Then, use the instructions in the How to Frame Artwork on the Cheap tutorial to DIY a professional-looking frame job.

    Let's Go to Paris Greeting Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    The original Arc de Triomphe illustration hangs in our bedroom. I used the steps outlined in the How to Frame Artwork on the Cheap tutorial in order to frame it!

    No matter how you choose to use the Arc de Triomphe Illustrations, I hope that you enjoy them! Remember, there’s a free basic outline of the Arc that you can download here if you’d like to skip purchasing the packet. I always like to make sure that you have a free alternative!

    Thanks very, very much for reading TPK, and enjoy your weekend!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock