How to Make a Birthday Card

Do you think store bought cards are impersonal? Follow this guide to make the best card your loved one has ever received.

Making a homemade card shows that you think they are worth the time you put into it, but so often it just looks like you didn't want to spend money. Keep reading for a simple but elegant homemade birthday card to show them how much you appreciate them.

• Heavy paper (white)
• Fine tip black pen
• Sharp pencil with an eraser
• Markers
• Ruler

Tips:

• I usually use a piece of photo paper because it's heavy and shiny enough to make your card look store-bought but it doesn't smudge
• My favorite writing tool is the black PILOT Juice pen, it's super fine and perfect for this project
• Make sure your eraser won't smudge the pencil
• I use the Tombow Dual Brush pens, but even Crayola markers would work

Fold your piece of paper in half, hamburger style. Using the ruler, find the middle of your paper and draw a horizontal line across it. Measure a centimeter below the line you just drew and make another horizontal line. Draw another line an inch and a half above your two middle lines, and another and inch and a quarter below your two middle lines.

Tip: Draw very lightly with the pencil, you will need to erase these lines later

Write your loved one's name or nickname very lightly in PENCIL between the guidelines, leaving the middle strip blank.

Take a step back and check the letters you drew in the last step: are they even? Redraw your letters as needed until you are happy with them.

Tip: Taking a picture can give you a different perspective. Try snapping a photo of your work after drawing the letters to check if they're the same size, slanted, centered, etc.

Write the person's name by tracing over the pencil letters you made in the last step, in a MARKER this time, still leaving the middle strip blank. Once you have outlined the letters, wait for a few minutes before erasing the pencil lines so you won't smudge the marker.

Tip: Go slow and take your time. Be sure to test your markers, erasers, pens and pencils on a separate paper before using them on the actual card.

Using the same marker as before, color in the lines. Remember to keep the middle strip blank.

Tip: Be careful! Go slow so you won't go outside the lines.

With a PENCIL, start lettering "happy birthday" in the blank middle space, starting in line with your first letter and ending in line with your last. Try to keep it in the middle strip, not going below or above those lines.

Take a step back and look at your lettering again, then redraw until you're happy with how it looks.

Go over the "happy birthday" you did in pencil in the last step, this time in pen. If you are confident in your faux calligraphy skills, feel free to show off here.

Write whatever you want to say in the inside of the card. Lastly, sign your name.

And there you have it! A gorgeous card for your friend or family member. You can use this design for any occasion: anniversaries, thank you's, graduations, and so on.