Lace Birthday Card SVG

Lattice and a cameo

Lace cards look fiddly, but this one is really two simple ideas. The outer part of the front is a diamond lattice: rows of small diamond-shaped holes, offset so they read as a woven net. In the middle the lattice stops for a plain oval, the way a cameo sits in a brooch. A ring of 36 round eyelets traces the oval, and inside it HAPPY sits in small, widely spaced serif capitals above a large script Birthday.

Every letter is a window, so the greeting takes its color from the insert behind it, the same as the lattice. Small stencil bridges hold the closed letter centers in place.

Pieces and weeding

In the solid file the front is a single connected piece with 149 cut-outs, almost all of them lattice diamonds. The lattice stays a safe distance from the edge of the panel, so the border is solid and will not tear when you lift it. It passes our cut checks from about 6 inches on its longest side, which for this portrait front means about 6 inches tall and 4.3 wide. The insert and the card base in the color file are plain panels with no holes.

Color layers

• Base and lines in dark espresso brown: the full-size card base at the back, the same outline as the front
• Berry in deep crimson: the insert, slightly smaller than the base, which fills the lattice, the eyelets and the letters with red
• Ivory in warm cream: the cut front itself

Glue the berry insert onto the dark base, then the ivory front on top, matching the outer edges of front and base.

Making it a card

Set the width to 5 inches for a 5 by 7 front and check the height with a ruler before you cut. A 65 lb ivory card cuts the lattice cleanly; heavier card needs a sharp blade and sometimes a second pass. Glue the finished panel to a folded 5 by 7 card base. A dark card base looks smart here, since its color then frames the whole layered front.

Since the front is mostly holes, use glue dots or a fine glue pen on the solid border and inside the oval, never on the lattice. Leave the inside page plain for a handwritten note; the lattice pattern is busy enough on the front.

Sizes that work

Below about 6 inches tall the diamonds and eyelets get too small to cut, so an A2 front is out of reach as a cut file. For tags and A2 cards, print the color file and use Print Then Cut.

Swapping the insert

The insert is where this card changes character. Gold mirror card makes it formal. Pale pink or blue makes it soft and young. Patterned paper, such as a small floral print, shows in tiny pieces through each diamond, which gives a lovely stained-glass effect. You can preview any of these in the editor, and the changing SVG colors guide explains how.

Pairs well with

Line the matching envelope with the Lace Envelope Liner, and for a second card in the same mood try the Birthday Card for Mom.