Use leftover scrap paper to create an adorably unique handmade birthday card in this tutorial. You can use extra pieces of scrapbooking paper, or even recycle old birthday or greeting cards by using small strips of them to build a fun & funky cake for the card!
Materials:
- scrap paper
- 8 1/2 x11″ card stock
- sheet of decorative paper (at least 5×7″)
- tacky glue (or any type of crafting glue)
- double-sided permanent adhesive mounting squares
- paper cutter (or scissors)
- Optional (for inside of card):
- additional piece of decorative paper, at least 5×7″
- ink pad
- “Happy Birthday” stamp
- corner rounder
Directions:
Choose scrap paper pieces to use to create the cake, candle, and flame. Paper scraps that are in the same color family and have varying pattern sizes work best. Small scraps should be at least 1/4″ wide and 3-5″ long. Also choose a large sheet of card stock to serve as the main part of the card, and a decorative piece of paper to go behind the cake.
Fold large sheet of card stock in half to create the base of your card, trimming if necessary to fit in your envelope.
Cut sheet of decorative paper to be slightly smaller than the front of the folded card stock (about 1/8″ smaller on each side looks best). This will be the front of your card.
Cut scraps for the cake into strips that vary in thickness from 1/4″ to 1/2″. Arrange strips horizontally in the order they will be in to form the cake – don’t worry about length yet.
Tear the top (vertical) side of each strip.
To create the cake, start with the bottom layer; tear a strip of paper on the left and right sides to be about 4″ long. Continue working up the cake, tearing the sides of each layer to be slightly shorter than the strip below it. Glue each strip in place on to the card. *Tip: use glue only on the bottom edge of each strip, so that the strip above it can be “tucked” in to the top to create a stacked look.
Cut the scrap paper that will be the candle on the cake to an appropriate size and glue on to card.
Use a small scrap of yellow (or orange) paper, and tear it into a flame shape. Glue to the top of the candle.
Attach to the front of the folded card stock using glue or double sided adhesive.
Optional: You can embellish the inside of the card with pretty paper and a stamped happy birthday message as well.
Cut another sheet of decorative paper to fit inside the card (the same size as the decorative paper on the front). Make sure the pattern is not too bright or busy, so that you will be able to see the message you write on the inside. Attach the paper to the inside (right side) using glue or double sided adhesive.
Stamp (or write) Happy Birthday on another small scrap of paper. Use a corner rounder on the scrap paper (or any other decorative cutting) and attach to the inside of the card using double sided adhesive.
Voila! Your card is complete! To create an envelope to go with your card, see the handmade envelope tutorial.
