Make Christmas Cards If You're Not Crafty

Being absolutely rubbish at making anything crafty is no excuse for avoiding the tradition of making your own Christmas cards. It won't even take you very long, it's easy on the pocketbook, and it uses up stuff from the drawer. No sweat.

Steps

  1. Select your paper. The paper possibilities are endless! You can choose something easy you already have around the house, or something that might help cover your lack of craftiness. Consider these options:
    • Copy paper: Not ideal, but you probably have some on-hand. Plus, it's easy to work with.
    • Cardstock: A little heavier than copy paper, this has a more weighty feel like commercially-produced cards. You can buy white Cardstock, or choose colored or metallic sheets.
    • Scrapbook paper: You can peruse a wide selection of scrapbook paper at most craft stores. If you're really not crafty, choose a style that incorporates a festive border or background, and most of the work is done for you!
  2. Choose a format. Do you want to send a traditional folded card? Or maybe you've had your eye on a trendy postcard-style missive? Here's what you need to know:
    • Cardstock is the most versatile option here — it can be folded into a traditional card, or cut into whatever shape you want for a postcard. Just be sure to make a sharp, clean crease if you fold it.
    • Copy paper will make a pretty flimsy postcard. Easy right. If that's what you're using, stick to folding.
    • Scrapbook paper comes in several weights. If you chose one that's similar to Cardstock, you're free to do whatever you'd like. If it's a little thin like copy paper, though, consider folding it or — if you have your heart set on a postcard — backing it with a piece of plain Cardstock.
  3. Compose your card. Now that you've got your paper picked out, decide what to put on your card aside from "Merry Christmas." Don't worry, though! — you still don't need to be crafty to pull off this step. Here are some choices:
    • Print a stylized phrase or saying for the front of your card. Yes, you could scratch out "Warm Winter Wishes" on the front of the card yourself, but you want this to be easy. Cruise around Pinterest or Google Image Search for cute holiday phrases that someone else has done up with the pretty handwriting and flourishes. Save or download it, and print! If it's black on white and will easily print onto your chosen paper, all the better.
    • Or, use a pretty word processor font to say Merry Christmas. Just steer clear of Curlz, Comic Sans and Papyrus, the antithesis of crafty.
    • Add a family photo. Split the space on your card between text and the latest photo of your family. Choose one you like, and set it aside for the next step. Or, if you want to get extra fancy, choose three photos — two portrait and one landscape (or vice versa). Play with cropping and sizes until you have one dominant photo and two smaller ones.
    • Print it out. Open a word processor (Open Office will do if you're in a pinch), go to the page settings, and punch in the dimensions of the paper you're using. Throw your text and images onto the page, make sure it all fits, and print your masterpiece!
  4. Embellish. Now that your basic card is done, add some extra flourishes to give the impression that you're a crafty genius. Try these hacks:
    • Put a ribbon on it. Grab a hole puncher, aim toward the top-center of your card, and punch two holes about an inch apart. Cut a a small length of ribbon and put it through the holes so that the two ends hang over the front of the card, then tie them up into a cute bow.
    • Cut a border on the card. If you have pinking shears or, better yet, specialty border shears, use them to cut around the edges of your card. If you have plain scissors but still hanker for a beautiful border, use a pencil to trace out some graceful, swooping curves, and trim the border by hand. (Be sure to erase any leftover pencil marks!)
    • Add some festive stickers. You could buy some festive stickers, and put one or two on the front of each card. Or, if you want to look truly resourceful and restrained, get some of those gold and silver star stickers your teacher used to put on tests. Group them in odd numbers (1s, 3s or in extreme cases, 5s) on your card.
    • Avoid glitter. It's tempting — glitter is festive, after all. But no one wants to open your well-meant Christmas card only to endure a tornado of glitter on their sweater.
  5. Sign and date it. Make sure the year is somewhere on the card, and handwrite your personalized Christmas wishes. Put a signature at the bottom, and you're done!
  6. Finished.

Printable Cards

Doc:Christmas Cards


Tips

  • Add some humor.
  • You can combine digital and collage-craft your card. Print out the photo on the Cardstock, then add bits and bobs as per this article's instructions. This makes it personal. Think of how well your cat's photo went over on Facebook—your friends will enjoy it again and you can digitally add the Santa hat instead of pestering the cat.
  • Some people like to make Christmas cards for veterans or elderly people who live in nursing homes. They don't mind if the cards aren't artistically perfect, the mere fact that someone puts time and effort into sending a smile on their faces will make them happy!
  • If you don't have the bits and bobs, don't save old Christmas cards and so on, another alternative is to look at your printer software. Most printers include a card-making function. Buy plain white or light colored Cardstock, then create your card by choosing images from the software and include photos of yourself, your pets, family members or holiday decorations. Today's phone cameras produce images beautiful enough to use on cards - just snap a photo of a poinsettia and choose a pretty border and you have created an original digital artwork to send. Print out all the cards, fold them, write something seasonal inside or print out the message choosing a pretty holiday font. Most times the software has a wizard that makes these artistic choices easy.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper (Cardstock, copy paper, or scrapbook paper)
  • Scissors
  • Computer and printer
  • Pen
  • Ribbon (optional)
  • Stickers (optional)

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