This year, I had the mind-blowing idea of making all my Christmas cards myself. It saved me a lot of stressful pushing and shoving in overcrowded shops, procured me some quiet time at home in the company of my inner craftswoman, and really wasn’t that difficult! Why don't you stick around while I boast a little more...
Lovely Christmas cards
I started out by inventing the designs. I wanted to make the cards very, very simple, and to reuse as much of what I had on hand at home. In the end, I think I only bought a few sheets of cardboard paper, envelopes, and a silver pen! (You know, for the text inside.) The tree is made from plain white paper. I cut out four differently sized triangles, fringed them, and stuck them on the folded cardboard. I added a silver ribbon, and voilà! My elegant Christmas card was ready! For the snowman, I used plain cotton pads for the body, origami paper for the hat and carrot nose (using this tutorial to make the hat), and a couple of peppers for the eyes, mouth, and buttons. This one was a bit more tricky, but still impressively quick and simple! Some very special peeps will soon be getting one of these in the mail! Exciting!
Holiday cheer in every inbox
If I was to make all of my Christmas cards at home, this would also have to apply to the e-cards that I like to send en masse to pretty much everyone who happens to figure in my Hotmail address book. Last year, I created my first e-card, and because the effort was negligible, and the result agreeable, I decided to continue with the tradition this year. In line with my recent stylistic mood, I kept it simple (perhaps too much?) and clean. If you like it, help yourself! You can send the card just as it is in an e-mail, add personalised text using, say, Picasa or Picnic, or print it out and scribble whatever you choose on the front or back. You're welcome!
Pretty paper decorations
This is a bit of a Christmas card as well. (Sort-of, kind-of.) My adorable Spanish teacher (¡hola, Maria!) gave me the loveliest little Christmas gift that I actually had to create myself. (I loved it! I loved it!) This nifty piece was designed by the lovely Jurianne Matter (whose rustic Scandinavian style I fell in love with at first sight). Care to make one for yourself? You can download the template here. Print it out, glue it together, cut it out and thread it through. Ta-da! It’s ready in three minutes and upgrades any baking creation to a unique piece of art. (Not to mention that it improves the taste as a result!) I chose to stick mine into a generous slice of Stollenkuchen. The first Christmas card I received this year is in the background! Mille grazie, V.!
3 scrawls:
Excellent work, JPie. The peppercorns are an especially cool.
It's amazing what you can do with some holiday felt, eh?
Carlos: Which is, of course, why you're getting the tree. *----* Thank you for the praise!
Iris: Not felt, dear - paper! ;o) (Still, it's amazing what you can do with some holiday paper.)
Post a Comment