Holiday Card Tutorial – 3D Ornaments & FREE Download

by Angie Bailey

November 23, 2020
  • Home
  • /
  • Holiday Card Tutorial – 3D Ornaments & FREE Download

Wanna make someone’s holiday extra special? Why not create an original Christmas Card for them – with Calligraphy Flourishes & all? In this tutorial, I’ll show you how!

This holiday card tutorial was inspired by my mentor Lindsey Bugbee at The Postman’s Knock & her beautiful Twist-Out-Tree Card Tutorial.

I have made this holiday card tutorial especially easy for you by supplying a FREE Printable Download to help you get started! The ornaments are decorated using calligraphy flourishes & then the paper is cut to twist a certain way to give the card a 3D effect.

Just imagine the look on your loved one’s face when they receive this beautiful card!

A close up of the completed card

Along with flourishes, in this holiday card tutorial, I used a little sparkle to make the card extra special. Please follow along with the steps below to create your special 3D Ornament Card.

1. Gather Your Supplies

Again, I wanted to make this as easy as possible by supplying this FREE Printable Download! Print the download onto the red cardstock.

Not many other supplies are required. As you will see below, the numbers on the supply list correspond with the descriptions below the photo.

Tools needed for Card Tutorial
Supplies needed for this tutorial
  1. Free Printable Download – makes 2 – 4.25″ x 5.5″ cards (to be printed on red cardstock)
  2. 65 lb – 8.5โ€ณ x 11โ€ณ Red Cardstock
  3. Dr.Ph.Martin’s Bleed Proof White Ink
  4. Your favourite calligraphy pen (I usedย this Moblique pen) + your favourite calligraphy nib (I used aย Nikko G Nib)
  5. Sakura Metallic Gel Pen in any colour you like
  6. X-Acto knife

2. Decorate the Ornaments with Calligraphy Flourishes

Fill in all 3 ornaments with flourishes using your Pointed Pen & White Ink. For my card, I used a combination of “S” flourishes and a repetitive loop pattern. You can make any flourishes you want. *Hint – sometimes the simplest flourishes look the nicest.

Be careful to stay within the guidelines of the printed download.

Once you finish the main part of the ornament you will create the ornament tops & strings.

If you want your flourishes to look good, be sure to practice on a separate piece of red cardstock first.

*If you don’t want to decorate your card using Calligraphy Flourishes, you can simply create whatever design you wish onto your ornament. You can even add names or words to the ornaments.

*Important – let your card dry completely before moving on to Step 3.

3. Embellish the Flourishes & Make Gold Stars with a Gel Pen

Now repeat the flourishes (in between the lines of the white flourishes) using your Gel Pen. And, if you wish, add some stars to the rest of the card.

This step will kick up your design a notch by adding just the right amount of sparkle!

4. Cut

At this point, youโ€™ll need your X-acto knife and a thick piece of cardboard (to protect your table). If you have a self-healing cutting mat use that instead of the cardboard.

Now, cut along the semi-circle guidelines (trace over the printed semicircles with your X-acto Knife Blade). Do not cut the line that attaches the 2 semicircles. Cut only the unattached semicircles. You will be making 6 cuts.

5. Twist & Fold

Now for the 3D reveal! One at a time, twist each ornament — the left side of the ornament behind the card and the right side of the ornament toward you!

The Big 3D Reveal!
Here’s the card pictured from another angle

And Voilร , you have completed your Beautiful Holiday Card! The hard part now is deciding whom you’ll give it to. Good thing there are 2 cards in this one download!

The recipient is sure to delight in this beautiful card.

The envelope size needed for this card is a standard A2 size envelope. You can purchase a pack of envelopes at Michaels. Or, if you want to make your own envelope, download & print this FREE Envelope Template onto another piece of red cardstock.

Christmas Card for Mom

I cannot wait to see the look on my mom’s face when she sees this card.


I really hope you enjoy creating this Christmas Card as much as I do! Why not get started on it now — The holidays will be here before you know it!

If you have any questions about this tutorial or have suggestions for another tutorial, please feel free to email me at hello@angiebaileyartandsoul.com. And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram when you post your masterpiece!

Oops, I almost forgot! Hop on over to Last Year’s Holiday Blog post. There you’ll find another FREE Download…Holiday Wreath Gift Tags!

Happy Creating!

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
>