An October Birthday Card — Because Fall Isn’t Just for Thanksgiving

Apparently October birthdays would also like a little attention.

This time of year, my craft desk tends to become one giant pile of pumpkins, leaves, Halloween things and whatever beads have escaped from their containers. But tucked in amongst all of that fall chaos are actual people having birthdays, so today I’m giving them their moment.

And really, fall colors make a pretty fabulous birthday card.

For this one, I combined the Polkadoodles Hello Fall printable papers, Fall Elements and a sentiment from Winnie Daisy Greetings to create a fall birthday card without making it scream THANKSGIVING! from across the room.

Starting With the Background

I printed one of the papers from the Hello Fall printable paper collection, but rather than using it exactly as it came out of the printer, I ran it through an embossing folder.

This is one of my favorite little tricks with printable papers.

Just because something started life in the printer doesn't mean it has to stay flat. Emboss it, die-cut it, tear it, ink it, layer it—once it's printed, it's just paper. Treat it exactly like the patterned paper already living in your craft room.

The embossing gave this particular background some texture and depth before I attached it to the card base.

A Little Card-Design Trick

Now, this background has a lot going on.

And then, because apparently I don't know when to quit, I embossed it.

So here's the useful takeaway from today's card:

When your background is busy, give your focal point somewhere quiet to live.

That large white banner isn't only holding my sentiment. It's creating breathing room between the patterned background, the colored images and the greeting. Contrast and a defined focal area help guide your eye toward the important part of a card instead of making every element compete for attention.

I also let the acorns and leaf overlap the edge of that white space. That helps connect the patterned background to the cleaner sentiment area and makes all those layers feel like one design.

Sometimes the boring-looking piece of white cardstock is doing far more work than we give it credit for.

Putting It Together

I cut a piece of colored cardstock to coordinate with the background, then printed my chosen sentiment from Winnie Daisy Greetings onto white cardstock and cut it with a banner die.

Before attaching the banner, I added a little gold twine bow and then used foam tape to give the sentiment panel some dimension.

Next came the acorns and leaves from Fall Elements. I colored them to coordinate with the background paper using Copic Markers, cut them out and attached the leaf flat with glue while popping the acorns up with foam tape. Using two different heights is a ridiculously simple way of making a cluster look more layered without adding seventeen more things to it.

Although seventeen more things remains an option.

A few gold gemstones finished everything off and tied in with the gold twine.

And Since We're Talking Digitals…

One of the reasons I enjoy working with digital craft products is the freedom they give you. Digital images can be resized, flipped and printed more than once, and there's nothing new to find storage space for—which is becoming an increasingly important feature in this craft room.

They're also available immediately.

No waiting for the delivery truck.

No wondering where the package is.

No parcel sitting somewhere between here and there contemplating its life choices.

And—perhaps my favorite feature at the moment—

NO TARIFFS.

Download. Print. Craft.

Damn insanity avoided. 😂

One Last Takeaway

If you have a printable paper you love, don't think of it as the finished background.

Think of it as your starting material.

Emboss it. Add stitching. Splatter it. Die-cut it. Layer over it. Use only a tiny piece of it. Print it again at a different scale.

That's where digital and traditional cardmaking really start to play nicely together—and it's also how you can take the same printable paper and make cards that look completely different from one another.

And in this case, we managed to make an October birthday card that still feels wonderfully fall-ish without putting a turkey on it.

Although I make no promises about the next one.

Coffee in hand & something always on the craft table,
Julie — The Paper Artist