Gold Leaf Thanksgiving Card

If you can’t see your friends or family this Thanksgiving make sure to check out this wonderful Gold Leaf Thanksgiving Card that you could send near or far. Make sure to check it out!

This card takes just a few papers, a few cuts, and some printed out text. I use what I have and you should too. For the stickers, I would substitute the Gold Leaf paper and die cut it, since I have a die. If you are going to use a punch for the paper make sure to use text-weight. The envelope is Crush, White Corn, A7 envelope, which is 5.25″ x 7.25″, so your final card is 5″ x 7″ folded. Keep referring to the photos.

Instructions:

1. Cut your Crush, Hazelnut, 92lb cover to 7″ wide and 10″ long. Score and fold it in the middle.

2. Cut your Curious Metallics, Gold Leaf, 92lb cover to 4.5″ x 6.5″ and using 1/2″ ScorTape, center it on the card front. This leaves a 1/4″ border around the Gold Leaf.

3. Using Astroparche, Sand, 65lb cover, print the Thanksgiving message of happy words. Spray it using an acrylic spray sealer. I handle my paper a lot of making cards, so I spray it when I print it, especially with laser printing. Don’t spray directly onto the paper; instead, spray over the paper letting the mist fall down. Let it dry a second or two then spray it again. Do that about 3 times and let it dry for about 15 minutes. The message is trimmed around the printing and the final size is 4 1/8″ wide and 4 3/4″ long. The top space above the printing is about 3/8″ deep. The bottom margin is about 1 1/8″. Feel free to resize or retype the message as you please. Even at 65 lb cover, I had to manually feed the paper through the printer. I did include an option to print the messages 2X on one pass.

4. Before you add the front message using 1/2″ ScorTape, add the ribbon as it wraps around the back of the Sand. I used a ribbon that I couldn’t find anymore. It doesn’t matter. Any pretty, shiny, gold 1/4″ ribbon will work. Match it mostly to whatever you use for the big leaf. Cut 18″ and add a tiny amount of 1/8″ ScorTape on the back after marking a pencil line 1/2″ up the bottom. Add the tape to the ribbon as I thought it was easier to pull it up to adjust it. The bottom of the tape is exactly 1/2″ from the bottom, so the ribbon goes above the pencil line. Put a 1″ piece of tape on the front where the ribbon crosses, 1/2″ up from the bottom, and cross the ribbon over the tape so that it stays put. Tie a pretty knot and use more tape to hold down the ribbon ends after trimming the edges at an angle.

5. Add the gold maple leaf by using Martha Stewart Stickers, Elegant Nature Leaf, which is now hard to find, or a punch. For multiple cuts to be placed on multiple cards substitute EK Tools Paper Punch, Large, Maple Leaf, 2.5″ wide and tall. Emboss it with a tiny rounded tool or a butter knife. I would substitute in the Gold Leaf paper and do the matching 1/4″ ribbon that matches. Mount it using a small piece of 1/8″ foam tape.

6. Print the Crush, White Corn, A7 envelope with the message for the inside. Cut to 3.5″ wide and 7.5″ long. I cut it longer so I can trim and it is exact. Add 1/2″ ScorTape to the back and the bottom at a 7″ long and center it inside. Trim the bottom.

7. Repeat for all of your family and friends. Save one for yourself.

Enjoy!

Materials:

• Crush
  • White Corn, A7 envelope
  • Hazelnut, 92lb cover
• Astroparche
  • Sand, 65lb cover
• Curious Metallics (Check out other Gold Paper as a replacement)
  • Gold Leaf, 92lb cover

• Offray Ribbon, Gold, 1/4″ (you need to substitute)
• ScorTape, 1/8″ & 1/2″
• Spray Acrylic Sealer
• Martha Stewart Stickers, Elegant Nature Leaf
• (Or substitute EK Tools Paper Punch, Large, Maple Leaf, 2.5″ wide and tall)