10 Tips for Making Christmas Cards

Christmas is the season of gift giving and receiving. We spend a lot of time thinking about the perfect gift for family members and friends. We want those gifts to be personal and to show we care.

Why not add to those gifts a homemade or semi homemade card to render the present even more meaningful?

Following are ten ideas and/or tips for making Christmas cards this Christmas season.

Card No. 1 - Picture Card
Materials needed:
Construction paper
Pencil
Scissors
Glue (stick will work best) or tape
Picture

Instructions:
Take a piece of construction paper and fold it in half
Fold it again to obtain a 4½ x 6 card
Measure the dimension of the picture you will use for the card
Open up the card and on the bottom right section of the paper draw, in the center, a box that will be ¼" smaller than the dimensions of the picture
Cut out the drawn box and fold the paper back up
Carefully center the picture under the "frame"
When you are sure of its position, glue it in place. You can glue (or tape) the borders to the frame or glue (or tape) the picture on the opposite page
Finish your card with a meaningful note inside.

If you choose, you may draw or add a Christmas sticker to the front of the card to add an extra creative touch.

Card No. 2 - Origami Card
Use Holly leaves to give your message.
Materials:
Green paper
Scissors
Hot glue or tape

Directions:
Follow the instructions on this website http://www.origami-club.com/en/xmas/holly/index.htm. They have both diagram and animation instructions
Complete with your Christmas message.

You may choose to make a smaller set of Holly and attach it to a blank piece of paper (card dimension) and then write your message on the paper instead of the leaves.

The one suggestion I have is to glue the top leaf down with some hot glue or tape it in the back (with strong tape; the regular tape will not hold for long).

Card No. 3 - Glitter Card
Materials:
Christmas card of your choice
Glitter or glitter glue, or glitter nail polish
Glue (is you choose simple glitter)

Directions:
These are just a couple of examples.

If your card has a Santa Claus, apply glitter to the fur of his outfit (hat included). Let dry before writing your message inside.

If your card has a Christmas tree, apply glitter to some of its ornaments, or create glitter ornaments. Let dry before writing your message inside.

Card No. 4 - Swapped Faces Card
You will be using the faces of your family on a pre-printed card
Materials:
Christmas card with Santa and Mrs. Claus (or with a choir for multiple family members or anything else similar to it)
Craft blade (one used for scrap-booking will work)
White paper the dimension of the card
A picture of your family
Glue

Note: you will need to make sure that the dimension of the faces on the card and the picture are similar.

Directions:
Carefully cut out the faces on the Christmas card with the craft blade
Cut out the faces on your picture, making sure that the cut out shape is larger than the hole left on the Christmas card (you don't need to cut them oval or round, square will do just fine)
Choose the character each family member will be
Position each face behind the hole on the card of the character chosen to make sure it fits well; then, glue in place
Add glue to the back of each face and along the borders of the card (side with pictures only); then, place the precut paper in order to cover the pictures and to keep them in place
Complete the card with your personal Christmas message or signature if the message is already provided for you.

Card No. 5 - Stamped Card
Materials:
Christmas stamps
Coloring utensils
Computer paper (either white or ivory)

Directions:
This may be very well the simplest card to make and even the younger children will enjoy helping.
Fold the paper in half
Fold it again to obtain a 4¼ x 5½ card
Stamp the front with the chosen Christmas design
Color it
Complete the card with your personalized message.

Card No. 6 - Christmas Cookie Card
Materials:
Construction paper or regular colored paper
Christmas cookie cutters
Pencil (to trace)
Scissors
Items to decorate based on the shape chosen

Directions:
Fold the paper big enough to fit the cookie cutter
Place the cookie cutter on the fold of the paper and trace the shape
Cut out the shape making sure that you will leave part of the fold uncut, so the card will then open and close
You can decorate the outside of the card based on the design: if you choose the Christmas tree, draw decorations on it; if you choose the Christmas stocking, write the name of the recipient(s) like you would on the actual stocking...
Complete with your message inside.

Note: you may already have cookie cutters at home. However, if you do not, I bought mine a couple of months back from Wal-Mart. The box came with 101 cookie cutter shapes including five holidays, alphabet and numbers, sports and transportation, animal pals. It would be a great investment as not only you can use them for cookie making, you can cut sandwiches, and make cards with them.

Card No. 7 - Fold-Out Card
If you know how to make a people chain, you can make a Christmas shape one.
Materials:
Paper (white or colored computer, construction)
Scissors
Decorating items

Instructions:
Take the piece of paper and fold it "hot dog" style
Cut it along the line. You now have two long (4¾ x 11) pieces of paper
Fold it like a fan
Cut out half the desired shape along the crease (Christmas tree, present, gingerbread man, Christmas ornament, etc) so that when you open it, you will have a row of the whole shape
Decorate the outer side according to the shape chosen
Write your message on the inside.

Card No. 8 - Cut-Out Card
If you have Christmas cards around the house you received during past holidays, and you don't mind cutting them up, this is a project for you.
Materials:
Old Christmas cards
Paper (white or construction)
Glue (stick will work better)
Scissors

Directions:
Pick the used Christmas card you are going to recycle
Choose a paper that will go well with the card
Take the paper and fold it in half.
Fold it again to obtain a 4¼ x 5½ card
Cut out the shape from the used Christmas card (or just take the whole front of the card if the design is too complicated to cut)
Glue it to the front of the card
Complete the card with your message inside.

Note: if you are using the whole front of the card, you may want to assemble your card as per instructions for Card No. 1

Card No. 9 - Pop-Out Card
Materials:
Line master and design (listed below)
Light weight card stock
Colored Markers
White glue
Craft blade
Scissors
Glitter glue (if desired)
Colored construction paper cut to size to form the cover of the card

Directions:
Print the black line master (http://www.classroomteacher.com/cards/largexmas1.GIF) and the design (http://www.classroomteacher.com/cards/largexmaspg2.gif) on card stock paper
Color both printed pages, use glitter glue (if desired) to enhance the pictures. If you use the glue, let dry overnight
With scissors cut out the shapes from the design page
Take the cut to size construction paper, fold it in half, crease, and set aside. This will be your cover
With the craft blade cut along the pop-out segments
Carefully press in at the base of each cut section to form the pop-outs
While holding the edges evenly together, start to fold the card in half. As you do this, make sure that the cut pop-out strips are folding inward and upward
Now run a fine line of glue around the edge of the card portion and place inside of the cover. Glue one side of card insert at a time to lessen chances of over gluing. Once this is done start to place the decorations inside the card and on the front cover. Note that using too much glue will cause the cards to stick together
On the pop-out sections, spread a line layer of glue on the section that will touch the decoration as the card is opened, not on any other piece of the pop-out. Once it is done, set it aside until the glue is dry
When it is dry, write your message inside.

Note: these instructions were created for classroom use by Suzanne Turner. I modified to fit the single individual. The original instructions (at http://www.classroomteacher.com/cards/) also come with seven step pictures. Please visit the site to have a visual on how to proceed.

For a different look, you can swap a couple of trees for people. If you have a picture of you and your family members as you are walking, and the size fits, cut out the shape and glue it in place of one or more trees (depending on how many family members you have separate or together). It will be a nice surprise for the recipient to open the card and there you are!

Card No. 10 - Puzzle Card
Materials:
Paper (card-stock)
Printed picture of you and/or your family holding a Merry Christmas or other holiday message sign. It will need to be at least 5x7
Pencil
Glue
Scissors or craft blade

Instructions:
Glue the picture to the card-stock. Make sure you use glue that will hold and will not seep through the picture and the card-stock
Let it dry overnight (or follow the directions on the glue)
Turn the glued picture face down
Draw puzzle pieces on the card-stock
Cut the pieces and place them in a small box tied with a ribbon, or a small pouch closed with a ribbon.

Note: when you draw the pieces, you can draw regular puzzle pieces, or you can be creative (try it first on a separate piece of paper) by drawing Christmas shapes that fit together.