Fantastic ideas for homemade Christmas cards

By: kelly

TAGS: Christmas crafts games holiday

Christmas is coming and Santa is on his way! The Christmas tree is almost up, and it’s time to think about your annual Christmas greeting.

Homemade Christmas cards bring a lot of personality to the Christmas message, and are a fun craft for the whole family. I love receiving handmade cards because of the obvious time and effort someone put into their creation.

This Christmas, I’ve designed four Christmas cards suitable for those who may have never made a card before and, hopefully, the experienced card-maker might gain some inspiration too. I must admit, I’m a bit of a scissors-only girl so I tend to look for simple ways to create cards.

By way of a homemade Christmas cards tutorial, here are my creations for this year:

1) Elegant homemade Christmas cards

This card is the definition of simple elegance. The various textures bring interest and depth to the card.

Materials:

• Pre-folded cards (hint: pre-folded cards are available at most craft stores or you can create your own with card-stock)
• Red felt
• Green felt
• Christmas tree template
• Ribbon
• Silver card-stock
• Stick on gems
• Craft glue

Instructions:

1. Print or write the words “Merry Christmas” on the front of the card at the bottom, left hand side.
2. Cut a piece of red felt measuring the width of the card by 8cm.
3. Scallop the bottom of the red felt with scissors or rotary cutter.
4. Cut a piece of silver card-stock measuring the width of the card x 7cm.
5. Trace the Christmas tree template on a piece of green felt and cut out with scissors.
6. Place red gems over the Christmas tree.
7. Assemble card as shown with craft glue.
8. Tape the ribbon excess on the inside of the card.

Variations:

• Substitute the felt for a Christmas tree paper cut-out.
• Stamp Merry Christmas directly on the card.
• Thread a few beads on the ribbon prior to fastening the excess.
• Substitute a scalloped ribbon for the red felt.
• Try a different colour combination.

2) Homemade photo Christmas cards

Photo Christmas cards are a special way to send a personal greeting, and are a beautiful ornament for the fireplace. Family and friends who live far away love seeing how much the kids have grown!

Materials:

• Pre-folded cards
• Photo of choice (hint: if you are printing your own, add a border in a compliment colour.)
• Ribbon (approximately 15cm in length)
• Bow
• Mounting tape (hint: mounting tape can be purchased from most hardware and supermarket stores. You can find professional card mounting squares at craft shops.)

Instructions:

1. Turn photo wrong side up and stick 1cm of ribbon on the top right hand side with mounting tape.
2. Stick mounting tape at each corner on the back of the photo.
3. Press the photo down in the centre of the card.
4. Bring the ribbon to the image side of the photo and glue on the right hand side. Trim so the end finishes approximately 2 cm from the bottom of the photograph.
5. Place the bow at the end of the ribbon.

Variations:

• A landscape scene makes for a beautiful Christmas card.
• Substitute a Christmas sticker or paper cut-out for the bow at the end of the ribbon.
• Matte the photo with card-stock of a compliment colour.

3) Pop-up Homemade Christmas Cards

Kids love Christmas crafts, and this diamond pop-up card is a sure-fire hit.

Materials:

• Red card-stock
• Silver card-stock
• White card-stock
• Happy Christmas template
• Craft glue
• Mounting tape
• Cut two pieces of red card-stock 13cm x 13cm.
• Cut one piece of white card-stock 23cm x 23cm.

Instructions:

1. Fold white card-stock as per instructions below:
   
   Fold paper along the diagonal to make a triangle (1).
   Unfold paper and turn over. Fold in half (2).
   Unfold paper and turn 90°. Fold in half (3).
   Unfold paper. Take the corners where the diagonal line is passing and fold in, creating a diamond (4).
2. Print and cut out the Happy Christmas template.
3. Use mounting tape to stick template to silver card-stock.
4. Cut around the silver card-stock, allowing 2cm on each side of the Happy Christmas template.
5. Glue the red card-stock on either side of the white folded card-stock.
6. Use mounting tape to stick Happy Christmas on the front of the card.

4) Gift tag homemade Christmas cards

Your presents will stand out when topped with these cute gift tags.

Materials:

• Christmas chocolate cases
• Gold napkins
• Glue
• Gift tag punch
• Green card-stock
• Red pom pom

Instructions:

1. Cut card-stock using gift tag punch.
2. Rip napkin in half and scrunch into a ball.
3. Glue into base of Christmas chocolate case.
4. Glue pom pom on top of Christmas pudding.
5. Glue pudding onto the gift tag.
6. Stick complete tag on your presents.

Variations:

• Add a ribbon to the pudding end of the tag.
• Stick a small piece of white card-stock in the space where the greeting will be.

5) Christmas Card Tips

• Include a Christmas letter inside each card. This way everyone can catch up on all the news from the year past.
• If you plan to post your homemade cards, be aware envelopes larger than DL size (11cm x 22cm) will incur a surcharge.
• Don’t leave it too late! Especially if you need to send cards overseas.
• Add a Christmas sticker to the back of the card to seal it, and remember to write a return address.
• Attach cards received on a piece of Christmas material with dressmaker’s pins. The cards won’t fall off and they look so pretty!

I {heart} Homemade Christmas cards because they are a gift in themselves.

Were these ideas useful? What tips and tricks have you got when it comes to making your own Christmas cards?

blog comments powered by Disqus