Shirt and Tie Card

Ties certainly are a fail-safe gift on Father's Day, so why not feature them in your card this year? Simple and sweet, this shirt and tie card is sure to make Dad smile.

Also, the shirt pattern can be worked off of pretty easily. Invites to a luau? Find paper that looks like a Hawaiian shirt. Geeky friend? Add a pocket protector and some leaky pens. Bond, James Bond? Make a blazer, cummerbund, and bow-tie...you get the idea.

Turns out you don't need much to make this card:

• 1 sheet legal-seized paper (8 1/2-by-14-inch)
• some patterned paper for the tie
• scissors
• optional: glue

I didn't have any decorative paper that was big enough for the shirt, so I simply opted for some standard white paper from my printer, and some origami paper for the tie.

If you're working with patterned paper for your shirt, place it facedown. Otherwise, go ahead and fold in half vertically. Unfold. Line up left edge with centerline fold, and crease. Do the same on the right side, and unfold.

Fold the top-left corner in and line it up with the nearest crease, making a triangle.  Do the same thing on the right side. 

Pinch together outside points of each triangle so they meet, and crease. Make sure you're only creating the fold on the triangle.

*note: holding a camera in one hand while folding with the other causes for some awkward photos. If you're using both hands, this will go smoother than my pictures let on.

While still pinching the triangles, fold down the top edge. It should fall into place nicely (see pictures), so go with it.

These are your sleeves! 

Turn paper upside down, and flip. Fold down a tiny bit of the top edge.

This is your collar!

Flip paper over again, and fold down the top left and right corners so tips meet at centerline. Now it looks like a collar!

Now simply fold paper so the bottom edge slides under the collar, and you have your completed shirt.

Making the tie is relatively simple and free form. Simply cut out the desired shape (are you going for skinny black tie? bow tie? up to you!) and glue to the front of the shirt. It's important to glue to just the front of the shirt and not the collar, as you still want to be able to open the card.

Write a note, slip it in, address the envelope, seal with a kiss, and send that card off!

Who's the best child ever? You are.