Today I am sharing my Christmas cards with all of you. These are very quick cards to put together, and the end result turned out very cute and unique. I hope this little tutorial might help some of you that still want to make homemade Christmas cards. This technique could also easily be applied to any kind of card really.
Being completely honest, I felt a lot of pressure this year with regards to putting together my Christmas cards. December had already begun, and my cards were not made yet. Normally I have the cards finished before December, so I felt like I needed to downgrade my emboss-everything on the cards plan and come up with something much simpler. Keep it simple should be my new model, because I seriously LOVE these quick and adorable cards.
To save some time and money, I decided that I would only use things I already had. I started by pulling together some supplies, mostly 6 x 6 Christmas paper pads, assorted buttons and small embellishments that coordinate, a stamp set, and also my veneer star stash and gold embossing powder. I had already decided to use Kraft cardstock and envelopes this year so I got those ready as well.
Basic Grey 25th and Pine
Alison Kreft It's Christmas for Webster's Pages
Crate Paper Bundled Up
Crate Paper Sleigh Ride
Ali Edward's "Twinkle On" stamp set, sold through Technique Tuesday
I also used gold embossing powder on some of my wood veneer. *Make sure you have a lint roller nearby. This is my go-to tool for quick glitter or embossing powder clean up.*
- I started with a basic A2 card trimmed down to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4 inches made out of Kraft cardstock.
- I then cut my 6 x 6 papers down to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" and adhered them to the card front. *I only adhered the bottom half, so that I could add the embellishment and sentiment before the whole thing was glued down permanently.*
- I cut out vellum into 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" and tore those freehand on all four sides.
- After all of the vellum was torn, I stamped one of two sentiments onto the vellum "Keep Calm and Twinkle On" or "Keep Calm and Be Merry" using Black StayzOn ink.
- I gave the images all a chance to dry (probably an hour or so.) I didn't want to accidentally smear these adorable sentiments and risk having to redo them all.
- I then began attaching the sentiment to the front of the cards along with a small embellishment using a staple. This worked very well to keep both the embellishment and the stamped vellum attached to the patterned paper.
- Next you have to glue the top part of the patterned paper to the card front. *Make sure everything is adhered very well.*
- Fill out the inside of your card to the lucky recipient
- The last step is to address your card, put the card in the envelope (and family photo or Christmas letter if you are including one,) and of course you should embellish the back of your envelope. I like to use stamps and washi tape.
I ended up with 56 cards in total. Most have a veneer embellishment adhered to the front, but I also used buttons and chipboard pieces that I had left over from these collections.
*For the buttons and chipboard pieces, I first tied twine through them and adhered them onto the front of the card using glue dots.*
I really like how all of the cards are similar, yet each is unique and special. In fact, every single card is different. I could not pick a favorite and might have taken 10 pictures of the finished cards. I decided on two different group shots to post for you, and just placed cards in front that were in different color combinations.
Thanks so much for stopping by today. I loved having you here at life, scrapbook, repeat. I hope this tutorial will be helpful to you. I will be back tomorrow with December Daily Part 6: December 10th and 11th. I hope to see you then. In the meantime, do you have all of your cards finished and mailed? Did you make homemade cards this year, or purchase cards? Are you doing an online greeting instead of just forgoing the whole tradition? I would love to hear your thoughts….to card or not to card?
Happy Thursday and Happy Scrappin'
xoxox
Toni
