My children have always loved to make greetings cards for birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and really any occasion. My older daughter came up with this idea, because she'd seen a card like it in a shop, but wanted to create her own messages for her Dad. You could use this technique for any kind of occasion though, not just a birthday.
Time: 15 minutes
Age: Over 10's
Level: Medium
Materials
Blank greetings card (any size, but a large one will be more challenging to fill)
Coloured pens (very fine fibre points work best)
Have a think about the kind of messages you want to write, and start to plan your card. You'll want different sizes and orientations of letters all over the card. It's a good idea to start with a central message that's quite big, as it acts as a good focal point.
Fill in your card from the focal point outwards. Remember to vary the size. You can also use little pictures to add interest. We've kept the font the same, but you could use fancier letters, lower case, upper case. Let your imagination go wild!
Once you've filled in the whole card in pencil, now's the time for colouring. You'll need 5 or 6 colours.
Go over the pencil lines in a coloured pen or pencil.
Try not to let the same colour touch. This will keep the card interesting.
Colour in the little pictures too. Bright red reserved for these looks good.
Once you've coloured in all the pencil lines, leave it for a few minutes to make sure the ink is dry.
Then using a soft rubber, rub out the pencil lines. This will brighten up the card and make the colours really pop.
