Heart Of Gold Card

Materials
4 x 5½-inch blank card with matching envelope, ivory
3 x 4½-inch piece of red card stock
3 x 3-inch wooden craft heart
2 ounces gold leaf adhesive sizing
2 gold leaf sheets, 5½ x 6 inches
45 pearlized shirt buttons
1½-inch gold pin back
Small paintbrush
Clear, all-purpose contact adhesive (like Goop or Liquid Nails)
Pencil
Straight pin
Double-sided foam tape
Gold paint pen, fine tip

What To Do

Step 1
Paint two coats of adhesive sizing on one side and along the edges of the craft heart. Let dry between coats. The last coat should feel tacky when dry.

Step 2
Lay a sheet of gold leaf on the craft heart and press down using a dry paintbrush. Press the gold leaf down onto the edges, too. Brush away any excess. If you miss any spots, just go back with a small piece of gold leaf. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to gold leaf the back of the heart.

Step 3
Arrange a layer of pearly shirt buttons on the gold-leafed heart. Glue each button into place with the contact adhesive. When dry, glue a smaller heart-shaped layer of buttons in the center on top of the first layer. Let dry.

Step 4
To finish the brooch, glue the gold pin back onto the center back of the heart and let dry.

Step 5
Center the brooch horizontally on the front of the red cardstock and mark the cardstock to make holes for the pin. Poke two holes in the red cardstock and pin the brooch to the cardstock. Center the red cardstock and brooch horizontally on the front of the ivory card and secure with two strips of double-sided foam tape.

Step 6
Open the card and use the gold paint pen to handwrite a warm message inside.

A Bounty of Buttons:
If you don’t have a bunch of shirt buttons lying around, don’t lose heart! You can buy vintage buttons on eBay or new ones in bulk at craft and scrapbooking stores.