Christmas in February?!

That's right.  Christmas.  We've all done it.  December rolls around and we are scrambling to get all our cards and newsletters out.  Give yourself a little break this year, and get your cards done early.  This gives you the opportunity to hand-make and personalize this yearly tradition.  Then in December, you just pull them out, stick your newsletter inside and send them out!  One less thing to worry about.

One of the best ways to make Christmas cards is to save the front parts of the cards you receive for use in your own cards.  Another fun thing to do is to save pieces of cute and stylish wrapping paper from Christmas morning, punch out some shapes, and paste them to your cards for the next year.

There are hundreds upon thousands of ideas for Christmas cards, here are just a few.

A snowflake garden.

Using the edge of a piece of card-stock like a stamp and some dark green ink turned this white card into something a little more festive.

Large stamps are simple, beautiful, and give the look of much more work than they are.

This card was made using a large tag punch out and two different holiday papers tied together with a little ribbon.

The snowflakes were cut out from a piece of scrapbook paper.

The red around the edges of this card was made by lightly rubbing the edges on an ink pad.

The glittery holiday wishes cam from a previous years Christmas card.

By using the edge of a piece of card-stock to make the red and then going over the entire front with gold, this wrapping paper look was achieved.

Using the same stamp, first in red and then directly over top in gold gave this card a more vintage look.

Rubbing a silver ink pad over the front of the card gave it the tiniest hint of glitter.

Follow the Rainbow!

St. Patrick's Day!  One of the funnest holidays of the year for crafting!  These are some fun ideas for cards to send around this March 17th.  Mix and match and make it your own!

Adhesive sticker paper was used to make the rainbow and gold coins.  If you don't have a cauldron shape, stamp a cup or hat on black paper to give you a basic shape and make your own!

This card gives the illusion of a rainbow falling from the sky.  Individual letter stamps were used to make the words.

Simple gold paper cut into circles and stacked makes gold coins a cinch!

This design used a piece of 4-leaf clover paper and a circle punch to make nearly 20 independent circles.  They were then layered on top of each other and glued down to create this cute design.

Happy crafting!

Valentines

While the holiday of Valentines might be over, it is never too late or inappropriate to send someone a card that lets them know how much you love them.  Here are some ideas for Valentines cards, or just plain I Love You cards.

Die-cut stickers were used to spell LOVE.

The flower ribbon and edge punch gave this card a more elegant look.

Two color stamping is a bit more involved than some people prefer, but the look is worth it.

The punch used on these edges embossed at the same time, giving a finished look.

By only inking half of a stamp at a time, the words BE MINE were split and used separately.

Scrapbook paper with unintelligible writing (like the blue above) add texture without making things too busy.

Remember to think outside the box!  There is no limit to what you can create with even a limited amount of supplies.