Making handmade Christmas cards is an excellent way to save you money as well as utilising your imagination. Also known as card craft or card crafting, the recipient of a handmade Christmas card will feel really really special.
All you need is some blank cards and envelopes, glue, scissors, shapes and lots of ideas. Things like tinsel and glitter are especially appropriate for cards at Christmas. The best way is to collect everything you need before you start. Really the more the better. Things like coloured pens, coloured paper and card, and felt shapes will make your handmade Christmas cards really special.
Making Christmas cards is also a great way to save money. Most normal cards start at at least a pound with the most creative costing much more. Making a card will probably just cost you a few pence. The more you make the cheaper they become so they are ideal for Christmas when you will be sending a few out.
Rather than just make one type of Christmas card, try making a few different designs. The first thing is to think about who the card is for. A middle aged man probably won’t appreciate a pink fluffy card with sparkles – but if they will then go for it. You really want to create a handmade Christmas card that the recipient will want to display proudly on their mantelpiece. Sterotypes work well with handmade cards – girls like pink and boys like geometric shapes, Think about the message in the card as well – something personal is great and remember to use proper ink rather than ballpen. You could even try gold or silver ink to make your handmade Christmas card really special.
It’s normally best to do the wording first so you don’t run out of space. Use a stencil with a pencil to draw out the wording before inking it in. Once you have the wording, start to create. Think about what shapes and which materials work well together. For example felt shapes work well with pom poms. You can even buy pom pom kits to make things like animals. Thing about Christmas shapes like trees, stars, angels etc.
Building shapes up to make a 3D effect looks fantastic, but don’t forget to check the card will fit in the envelope you have. If not you’ll need to buy some bigger envelopes. Try using tissue paper to give your cards a 3D effect.
Mosaic designs work well in cards. Simply cut your paper or card into small shapes and stick then into a shape to produce a mosaic effect.
Glitter is a perfect finishing touch but use it sparingly otherwise it will just fall off in the envelope or will make a mess when the card is opened.
At Christmas, also think about putting some fake snow inside a card so it falls out when opened.
What to buy
•Glue for sticking
•Blank cards and envelopes.
•Bumper packs of coloured paper and coloured card are ideal for creating great shapes.
•Colouring Pens will allow you to draw shapes that you can stick shapes into.
•Shapes – Whether they are made from felt, paper or card, shapes are very versatile and can be used to create many different things.
•Stickers – Children especially love stickers. From shapes to smiley faces to numbers there’s something that all children will like. You can even get holographic stickers for those special cards.
•Tissue paper – You can scrunch up paper to create three dimensional art. Tissue paper is ideal.
•Paints and Brushes are a favourite but be careful about the mess!
•Glitter – Ditto
•Tinsel
•Save old newspaper – As well as using it in creating artworks, you can use it to protect surfaces and floors.