How about celebrating a special birthday with a heartfelt handmade message board?
Birthday boards for seniors are warmly received as gifts that convey genuine care.
With handmade touches, you can create a one-of-a-kind, truly special present.
In this article, we’ll share easy-to-make ideas and key design tips.
You can get started with familiar materials, making it perfect for beginners.
Let’s create a birthday full of smiles for your loved one with a lovingly crafted message board!
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[For Seniors] Birthday Message Board Design Ideas: Easy DIY (1–10)
Masking tape ideas
With a bit of creativity, masking tape can greatly expand the possibilities of your projects.
You might sometimes use it to create borders by sticking it onto letters, message cards, and the like.
Beyond borders, try twisting it into ribbon shapes or using a craft punch to cut out designs.
Adding creatively arranged masking tape decorations can make a handmade birthday message board look even more charming.
You could also create items related to the senior who’s celebrating their birthday using masking tape.
Since you can find supplies at 100-yen shops, preparation is easy, too.
Mini paper flowers for birthday card decoration
Let us introduce a lovely craft using paper flowers that’s perfect for birthday message boards.
The finished paper flowers look so realistic, you’d hardly believe they’re made of paper.
Prepare four small square sheets of construction paper, then fold and cut them.
Assemble each of the four sheets into petals and combine them to create a single flower.
It’s a delicate process, but that’s why you end up with high-quality paper flowers.
Adding a paper flower with leaves to a birthday message board will make it look even more festive.
Older adults are likely to appreciate such a carefully crafted board as well.
Brush lettering art
Brush-lettering art often seen on shikishi boards and message cards is created with a brush pen and has no single “correct” way to do it.
Neat penmanship isn’t required—letters with individuality and character are perfectly fine.
A one-of-a-kind shikishi featuring letter art can convey a heartfelt, handmade touch that older recipients may especially appreciate.
It’s also recommended to add small illustrations to bring color to the brush-lettering art.
Try drawing images that heighten the birthday mood alongside the lettering.
Cards made from 100-yen shop materials
These days, many 100-yen shops offer good quality and a wide variety of products.
You might also have chances to visit a 100-yen shop during shopping outings with seniors, right? It seems they also carry lots of craft and sewing supplies.
Some facilities even use 100-yen shops to prepare items for recreational activities.
Here are some birthday card ideas made with items sold at 100-yen shops.
On the card cover, draw lines using a heart-shaped template.
Stick stickers or rhinestones along the lines.
Depending on the materials you use, you can create all kinds of hearts.
Use message cards from the 100-yen shop for the inside of the card as well.
With a bit of creativity, you can easily make lovely pieces.
Flower cake illustration
Here’s a birthday card featuring a flower cake with cute pen-drawn flowers.
Let’s draw flowers with pink and yellow pens and add a cake, too.
By changing the design, you can create a simple card or a more elegant one.
All you need are pens in various colors and a card.
Besides birthday cards, this design works well for events and recreational activities.
You can also write names and place them on tables to use as seating cards for seniors.
Please use this as a reference and enjoy it in a variety of situations.
Flower frame for a group message
Perfect for a birthday message board! Let’s draw a floral frame! All you need are colored pens and a black ballpoint pen.
Start by drawing a ribbon in your favorite color.
Make one end of the ribbon longer and add some flow for a cute, dynamic look.
Draw circles and small dots to represent flowers.
Adjust the arrangement so it forms a rounded bouquet—this will help balance the composition.
For the stems, leave a small gap between them and the ribbon; that’s the key point.
Fill the empty spaces with petals and flower centers, and you’re done.
You’ve created a cute, Scandinavian-style illustration using just pens.
Please use this idea to brighten up your birthday message board!
Message with cranes, turtles, and brush calligraphy
We’d like to introduce a birthday card featuring auspicious cranes and turtles.
Using turtle and crane stencils, you can add color with pastels to the base paper or colored paper where you’ll write your message.
If you also tint the entire card and base/colored paper with pastels, you can create a soft, gentle atmosphere.
Adding a handwritten message with a brush will turn it into a one-of-a-kind message card or shikishi board.
We also recommend the embossing technique—perfect for birthdays—for adding gold feathers and other lucky motifs.
In other words, using embossing to raise gold patterns is a great option too.
Older adults are likely to be pleased with such original birthday cards or shikishi boards.