Make Your Own Christmas Cards and Tags This Year

Thanksgiving, the word says it all. It's the start of a season of being thankful, for the good things that have come into our lives, for who we are, for friends and family, for everything we take for granted every other time of the year. It's also the time to pull out those boxes of Christmas decorations and cards. Including the ones you thought were so cute last year that you couldn't bear to put them in the recycling bin. You vowed you'd find something to do with them. There they are. Waiting.

Keep the usual traditions, the morning football game, indulgent lunch, rest period, dessert, and then, instead of taking the traditional nap, yank out the box with the cards in it. The ones you want to send the ones you saved, the ones you messed up but didn't have the heart to throw out because some day you might find something to do with them. Pull them all out. Today is the day you do something with them.

What are you doing? Getting ready to make your own Christmas cards and gift tags. Now you need to rope the family and friends in to help you out. It shouldn't be too hard, the nine hour Monopoly game, the lucid nap upright in the corner of the couch with that little touch of drool, or a create a card contest. Win a box of gourmet chocolates or a bottle of wine versus the same old boring stuff? Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

Your local craft store can help you get ready. With a small investment you can have tools and embellishments for years to come. Packaged blank cards and envelopes come in a variety of colors. Printed papers can be bought as single sheets or in packages that are season specific. Glue sticks and hole punches, ribbons and cords, staples and paper clips can all be had inexpensively. Most craft supply stores carry rubber stamps for only $1 each. A few key stamps with a black ink pad and some colored pencils will add a personal touch to a new card that makes use of a wreath or border of a recycled card.

Also available are tag shaped punches, mitered corners, scalloped topped, rounded. Dare to be square and get a large square or come full circle with a 2" round. Use these in conjunction with the cards you wanted to recycle to create gift tags. Many of the larger punches have an open bottom to help you position them. It's a little like cropping photographs, slide the card in and move the image around in the punch window until you see something that's appealing. What you thought you would like you may not, what you would never have thought about may take your breath away.

A recycled card punch-out can be used as a mat for snapshots. They can be added to the cards you create or used as gift tags with flair. No more trying to fit the name on that little sliver of paper. Grab some gel pens and add some doodles of your own, stars, swirls, curls, even a pen line border around the outer edge of the shape is a classy touch. Most of all have fun. Enjoy your family and friends. Start a new, all ages, tradition.