Balloon Card

A card made from a Letter sheet folded in quarters. On the front are three 3D balloons: each is made of two identical pieces folded in half and glued together, with the middle standing up as a ridge. The strings are drawn with a marker, and at the bottom it says “Happy Birthday.”

• Easy
• 2 Letter sheets
• 7 pieces
• 3 balloons

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 6031

On VanGami the template appears over your sheet through your phone camera — no printer needed. Trace it, cut, fold and glue. Below are all the steps in text.

What you’ll need

• 2 Letter sheets — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Markers
• Pencil — and eraser
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Sheet 1: white sheet. The white sheet should be under the camera now. The template has 1 sheets.
2. Balloons: outlines. Trace six balloons with a knot at the bottom — two of each color.
3. Balloons: folds. Down the middle of each balloon, draw a dash-dot line from the top to the knot.
4. Balloons: highlight. In each balloon, sketch a highlight arc at the top left — you’ll leave it white.
5. Lettering: outline. Trace the ribbon with notches at the ends.
6. Lettering: letters. Copy “Happy Birthday” and the stripe along the edge.
7. Balloons: coloring. Color two balloons red, two yellow and two light blue, like the example. Don’t color the highlight arc; do the outline in black.
8. Lettering: coloring. Color the stripe light blue and the letters red.

Base

9. Card base. You don’t need the camera here — this is a diagram. Fold the sheet in half, short edge to short edge (line 1), then in half again (line 2), and crease the folds with your fingernail. You now have a 4¼ × 5½ in card.

Cut

10. Cut out: balloons — 6 pcs. Cut out the six balloons along the solid line, keeping each knot attached to its balloon.
11. Cut out: banner. Cut with scissors along the solid line. Turn the sheet, not the scissors — the cut will come out neater.

Fold

12. Balloons in half. Fold each balloon in half along the line, color side in: edge to edge, knot to knot. Crease the fold with your fingernail.

Glue

13. Glue the pairs. Take two folded balloons of the same color. Spread glue on the white side of one and press the second onto it — fold to fold, edge to edge. Do the same with the other two pairs.
14. Balloons onto the front. Spread glue on the bottom half of a pair and glue it onto the front. Flip the top half over to the other side, spread glue on it and press: the middle will stand up as a ridge. Do the same with the other two balloons, and tilt the outer ones outward, like in the picture, so you can see the ridges from the front too.

Decor

15. Strings. With a marker, draw a string down from each knot — all three meet at one point. Draw a little bow there.
16. The word. Spread glue on the back of the banner and stick it under the bow, in the middle.

Done. The card is done. You can fluff up the balloon ridges a little with your finger. Write a wish inside.

Make it with your phone camera

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