Prototype invitation in the works

Ginkgo leaves

I've been working on the invitation design for an upcoming donor appreciation event. It's a team effort with several people working on the project. A frog was picked be the theme for the card (has something to do with giving back or coming back in Japanese)and making one out of origami was requested. It took a few days to find a pattern easy enough to do(thank you Wen for finding pattern) but still look like a frog and not a cockroach.

prototype invitation

It's important to make the invitations look nice but not cost a lot since our big donors prefer the money they donate go to help support the senior services. I decided to use real ginkgo leaves(theme of our donor tree at the Akiyama Wellness Center)which I found out was not as easy for me to find. I do have some great friends and volunteers who found a ginkgo tree and dragged in several branches for me. I really like the green color but I know they won't stay that way. I will be spray painting them gold. The photo is the prototype I make when doing big jobs so everyone has some idea what it's going to look like. I also make a pencil sketch but most of the time it's all Greek showing it to a non card maker. The only thing on the prototype that won't change is the frog. The base card will be gold StarDreams, washi paper will be more ornate red (can't wait to go shopping for that) and the leaf will be gold unless I can figure out how to keep it dark green.  Once all the parts are ready, everything goes to a group of volunteers who will assemble everything.
If you would like to receive one of the these invitations all you have to do is make a really BIG donation to the Yu Ai Kai. :)