My Homemade Christmas Cards - 2011

This year I decided to make my own Christmas cards.  I have never done card-making before, so I started planning really early, to ensure that it didn't turn into a massive project that was more of a headache than a pleasure!

Despite what you may think, I don't see myself as very creative.  I am good at taking other people's ideas and adapting them, but coming up with my own ideas is not really something that comes easily to me!  So, I searched for ideas in my favourite online place for inspiration - Pinterest!  You can see my Christmas Cards inspiration board here.  The card pictured below is the card that gave me my starting point, but as I usually find when copying someone else's idea, I need to alter it in order to suit my own situation and/or style. I am sure that you can see the resemblance between this card and the cards that I actually ended up making:

I love this card, but when I started to make my proto-type, I was really struggling with the bow.  It just wasn't sitting quite right, and knowing I had 60+ cards to make, I knew I wouldn't want to fiddle with 60 or more tiny bows!  So, I rearranged the hanging baubles (buttons) and the writing, and settled with a strip of ribbon along the bottom of the card.  I also had to put my perfectionism aside and settled for non-matching buttons.  It would have cost a fortune to buy buttons all the same size, instead I bought this multi-pack from Spotlight and had fun mixing and matching different buttons onto the cards.  It also helped to make each card unique, which I think is a nice touch :)

Sorry - not a good photo!

I worked out the correct template on Publisher for the lines for baubles and the writing.
When making the cards, I treated it like a mass-production.  I did each step of the process x 60, rather than making 60 cards one after the other from start to finish.  I found it to be nice and simple, and really saved time doing it this way. 

After first printing the template (two per page, back to back) onto white cardboard, I cut the cards in half.

Then I used my nail and the groove in my guilotine to create a fold line.  (I would love to have the Martha Stewart bonefolder and measuring board!!  But this was my alternative...)  This process ensures that the card fold is crisp and even - definitely worth the extra time.

Next I sorted my buttons into size groups. 

I then glued the buttons onto the front of the cards, using PVA glue and a brush.  I tended to choose two small and one large button per card.  This made the cards look balanced, without being perfectly symmetrical.

Last, I glued the ribbon along the bottom of the card, using a regular glue stick to hold the ribbon in place.

And here is my finished card!

I really enjoyed making these cards for my friends and family.  I didn't once feel overwhelmed by the process, because I stuck to my plan of keeping it simple!  I started planning really early - this gave me plenty of time to fiddle with the templates and proto-type and to gather all of the materials that I needed.  Essentially, I had three 'ingredients' - card, buttons, ribbon - which was really manageable and made my card-making an achievable goal for me :)