Homemade Fall Birthday Card

Benetta
Silver Post Medal for All Time! 408 Posts

November 5, 2011

Using fall colors, and a cutout of a leaf, one can make an elegant birthday card for a friend, celebrating her birthday during the fall months. The finished Fall leaf card.

Approximate Time: 30 minutes

Supplies:

the printed pattern sheet
8.2 x 5.7 inch dark orange cardboard
5.2 x 3.2 inch light yellow cardboard
left-over pieces of cardboard in three fall colors, from which you can cut 6-8 strips from each color, sized 6 x 0.4 inches
I used dark orange, pumpkin yellow, and light brown strips. From one of these colors (I chose the pumpkin yellow), cut a strip sized 1.6 x 0.4 inches so that you will have a strip that will be wide enough to cover the stem of the leaf.
pair of standard scissors
Stanley knife (utility knife)
pencil
ruler
quick-drying glue
old gold acrylic paint
fine paintbrush
a light yellow sheet of paper
one matching envelope

Instructions:

Fold dark orange cardboard in half to create a card 4.1 x 5.7 inch ~ use the ruler to make the fold neat and smooth.

Cut out the leaf from the pattern sheet.

Quilt lines drawn on paper leaf for pattern.

Place it on the light yellow cardboard and trace around the edges.

Use the Stanley knife to slit a small opening in the leaf that you have traced onto the light yellow cardboard. Then, use the pair of scissors to cut out the rest of the leaf.

Stanley knife cutting center of leaf pattern.

Turn the light yellow cardboard around and follow the diagram to glue the strips into position across the leaf on the back of the cardboard.

Start with the wider yellow pumpkin strip. You alternate between the colors. First add a yellow pumpkin strip, followed by a dark orange strip, followed by a light brown strip, followed by a yellow pumpkin strip again, etc.