Christmas cards DIY

Nothing beats a homemade card for a personal touch. Now, more than ever, we’re looking for ways to express our creativity and add individual flavour to our communications. Not only are homemade cards special and memorable, but they’re also a lot of fun to make.

Here are some quick and easy ideas for do it yourself Christmas cards:

• Get creative with string, twine, tape or ribbon. Use colourful material to spell out messages, or add decorative borders.
• Start stamping. Use a stamp (you can even make your own) and paint to create festive patterns.
• Personalized templates. You can find plenty of printable templates and designs online. Use them as a starting point, then make the card your own with paint, glitter, ribbon, or any other arts and crafts materials you might have to hand.

When it comes to Christmas card arts and crafts, the materials make all the difference. Before you get started, we recommend assembling a mixture of the following materials:

• paper and card in a range of colours
• Pritt craft glue and/or glue sticks
• craft scissors
• stamps and ink pads
• coloured pencils and pens
• paint
• felt and pipe cleaner
• any other decorative accessories, including glitter, beads, stickers, sequins, gems, ribbons

Although they’re not all essential for making Christmas cards, having an assortment of materials will come in handy for future arts and crafts projects.

Christmas card crafting is quicker and easier than you might think! Regardless of time, inspiration and creative talent, anyone can make attractive Christmas cards.

Here’s how to make simple Christmas cards at home, with a fun and festive Christmas tree design:

1. Prepare your base. Choose a clean piece of card in the colour of your choice and fold it.
2. Add the Christmas tree design. You can use a bent piece of green pipe cleaner for your Christmas tree; simply glue it to the paper with a thin line of adhesive. Alternatively, make a tree design with a strand of green ribbon, arranged in a triangular, zig-zag pattern. Make sure you’re happy with the placement before you add the adhesive.
3. Decorate the tree. You can use sequins, stickers, buttons, glitter, or any other accessories that tickle your fancy.
4. Add text. Write your message on the front of the card with a colourful pencil, pen or paint. Or, for a more minimalist, arty Christmas card, let the image speak for itself and write inside the card instead.