If there is something I look forward to every year, it’s holiday card making! But with the hustle and bustle of the season, the task can seem daunting. Luckily, with a little imagination I’ve discovered a few ways to embellish cards that are quick and easy. For example, what’s easier than peeling and sticking? Decorative stickers are a simple way to add colorful images to a card. To really make them stand out, stick them onto a strip of paper in a contrasting color, and add a few adhesive crystals for sparkle.
When I’m feeling really crafty I use rubber stamps in my card making. Try rubber stamping in a bold color and adding layers of paper to create borders and dimension. The card above features our new Holiday Greetings Square Rubber Stamp, which is a fun way to add holiday sentiments to the outside or inside of a holiday card. Layering a rubber stamped piece onto a patterned note set creates a festive finished look.
Use decorative punches to create graphic shapes that turn blank cards into modern works of art! I punched circle shapes in a few bright colors using a 1″ circle hole punch. Next, I punched cute holiday shapes with the Fat Tree Punch. Once I was happy with the arrangement of the shapes, I used a glue stick to stick them in place. The overall effect is striking, yet so simple!
This technique works for many occasions with different hole punches and colored paper. Just imagine our Heart Hole Punch with red and fuchsia paper for Valentine’s Day cards, or a card with our Rubber Duck or Bunny Hole Punch and pink or blue paper to congratulate a new parent! Make a bunch and keep them on hand for when you need a last minute greeting card.
Here’s a tip for when you want to send a handmade card that looks exceptionally sharp – use our classic holiday shape cards as a base. They’re already diecut, so all that’s left to do is embellish! With so many combinations of adhesive crystals, stickers, ribbons and snippets of paper, the options are limitless!
Happy holiday card making!
– Claudia
PS colors: curry & fuchsia
Latest fave: Mini Magnolia Paper Flower Kit
Beautiful!!
I really love your high quality precut cardstock for making cards. I just made a bunch of Thanksgiving turkey cards with your scalloped circle cardstock. Pictures of how I made it here: http://www.littlemisscraft.com/Elegant_Thanksgiving_Card-105_1
Another great idea is to use those old cards from last year. I like to save them and cut out the pictures to make new cards or to use as gift tags. It’s a great way to recycle!