DIY Projects

November 28, 2011

DIY Holiday Cards

My colleague Reiko Caron’s recent blog post about Christmas cards really got me thinking about what I should do for mine this year. As a child, I can remember sitting around the dining room table watching my mom emboss every carefully placed stamp while she handmade our family holiday cards — eager to get my hands on that glitter. And ever since then, I’ve always wanted to make my own. So this past week, I nestled in and got down to business.

First things first, I needed supplies. Because this was my first time, I kept things fairly simple, which meant no embossing glitter for me…

I went to Michaels and bought a pack of blank red and green cards and envelopes, a few holiday themed paper pads and stickers. I already had a few things on hand; double-sided tape, a paper cutter, alphabet stamps and ink.

For this card, I used the red and white paper to line the card before placing the tree sticker in the centre.

Here are a few more I made using scrapbooking paper.

I used the alphabet stamps on these cards to spell ‘Santa’ and ‘Noël’. I also monogrammed the backs of all the cards with my fiancé and I’s initials, and I’m thinking I’ll also add ‘X-mas 2011’.

For these cards, I just used the stickers and kept them clean and simple.

This is fun activity if you have small children or love scrapbooking and want to add a personal touch to your holiday cards. If you’re planning to make more then 20 cards, I suggest using stamps and colouring them in with markers. This way you can reuse the same image without spending a lot of money.

Be careful when you’re choosing stickers for your cards because if you mail them, you don’t want them to get damaged because a rhinestone got stuck in the mailing machine. Try using stamps or flat stickers.

Happy holidays!

Still feeling crafty? Try making some DIY ornaments.

Photo credits:
1, 2, 4-6. Jessica Howey
3. Sarah Hartill