Homemade Christmas Cards

Create this pretty Christmas tree scene for your holiday card with scrapbook paper. Fold an 8-1/2 x 5-1/2-inch piece of white cardstock in half to make the card. Cut a wavy line from a 2-inch strip of blue or teal scrapbook paper; adhere to the top of the card. Cut 4-6 triangles each from green and blue scrapbook paper as shown; adhere to the card in three rows, leaving a space at the right of the second row for the larger tree.

In the empty space in the second row, hot-glue a tiny twig to the card. Cut a large triangle from a piece of patterened paper; adhere to the card using a crafts foam dot so that it lines up with the twig to make a 3-D Christmas tree. Finish the large Christmas tree by attaching sequins to the scrapbook paper and sticking on a glittery star for the tree topper.

This simple silhouette card will bring good tidings and wintry nostalgia to any recipient. Trace our pattern onto white cardstock; cut out using scissors and a sharp blade for the hard-to-reach sections. Fold a 7x10-inch piece of blue cardstock in half to make the card, then adhere the white silhouette to the card. Add snowflakes with a white paint pen.

Editor's Tip: Finish the card by adhering snowflake-pattern scrapbook paper to the inside.

This fun felt Santa Claus is a merry way to send good tidings at Christmas. Using our patterns, cut the pieces for Santa's beard and hat from red, green, pink, dark gray, and white felt. Cut a 5-1/2-inch circle from peach cardstock and glue to a same size piece of white cardstock -- you'll write your Christmas greeting on the back. Starting with Santa's beard, glue on the white pieces of felt in layered rows, starting at the bottom of the card. Add the mustache, mouth, cheeks, and eyes.

Cut two 5-inch strips each from red, green, and pink felt. Braid together to form the two strings in Santa's hat, adhering each to the card about 2 inches from the bottom. Next, cut the middle part of the hat from green felt and attach each side to the card atop the braided felt. Cut the felt stripes from our pattern in the colors shown or in your own mix of colors, and adhere to the card. Add a festive sprig of felt holly with berries on top of Santa's hat to finish the card.

This elegant and simple holiday card features a Christmas character we all love -- Rudolph. Cut him from dark green cardstock using a deer-shape punch. Fold an 8-1/2x5-1/2-inch piece of light green cardstock in half to make the card. Glue the centers of three circular doilies to the center of the card. Glue a piece of book paper cut with a circle punch to the center of the top doily. Adhere the Rudolph shape to the center of the card, and add his red nose -- a small circle punched from red cardstock. Give the envelope the same vintage feel by adding a liner cut from scrapbook paper with a vintage pattern.

Editor's Tip: To make pure white doilies look antique, prepare a cup of tea and rub the tea bag over each doily, staining it to look slightly aged.

Create a clever card for the holidays by hiding a fun Christmas message in an eye chart. Fold an 8-1/2x5-1/2-inch piece of white cardstock in half to make the card. Using a word-processing program, create a 5-1/2x4-1/2-inch box to serve as a guideline for the final card size. Add a clip art image of Santa in the top center, and create a text box to make the eye chart. Print and cut out; attach to the front of the folded cardstock.

Editor's Tip: Our message is: "You have been a whole lot naughty and a little bit nice this year -- anyone can see that." You can add any message you like.

Add a special holiday touch to a plain photo card with a transparency layer, ribbon, and jingle bells. Cut a circle from a black-and-white photo of your child. Adhere to the center of an 8-1/2x5-1/2-inch piece of teal cardstock, folded in half. Cut a 5-1/2x4-1/4-inch rectangle from a transparency sheet. Line up the transparency sheet with the front of the card and punch two small holes, about 1/2-inch apart, in the transparency and top piece of cardstock. Secure eyelets in the two holes. Thread a length of green ribbon through the cardstock and transparency, and tie a bow to hold the two pieces together.

Using a white paint pen, draw a border around the photo on the transparency layer. Add white dots for snowflakes, and write "Happy Holidays!" at the bottom of the card. For the final touch, add a red nose and silver antlers with paint pens, and glue small jingle bells onto the transparency.

Send a unique Christmas card made from a collage of recycled magazine pages to a few special people this year. Fold an 8-1/2x5-1/2-inch piece of white cardstock in half to make the card. Look through a few magazine issues to find photos and words you want to highlight. Cut images into strips to fit the card and adhere them as desired. (Alternate black-and-white with color strips for a cool effect.) Dress up the envelope by cutting a single photo to fit the envelope's opening.

Editor's Tip: We chose our images from November and December issues of magazines to give our card a wintry feel. Keep an eye out for lettering that relates to Christmas, and limit the card's color palette to greens, reds, and black-and-white images.

This holiday card will put everyone in the Christmas spirit. To make, create a 7x7-inch document using a computer design program. Find a copyright-free image of Santa or another holiday figure and place in the center of the document. Print onto an old sheet of Christmas music. Cut a circle from the final image and cut another circle from cardstock. Line up the two circles, and punch two holes in the top. Thread a holiday ribbon through the holes to tie into a bow. Add a Christmas message with a sticker or rub-on letters.

Editor's Tip: Place the finished card in a square envelope that you've lined with coordinating patterned paper.

Decorate a folded off-white piece of cardstock with a few buttons, green cardstock leaves, and a stitched trim. Personalize the card with a handwritten greeting. To make the leaves shine, coat cardstock with dimensional adhesive, let dry, and cut out the leaf shapes.

This card will jingle all the way to the mailbox. Simple grosgrain ribbon frames a neat square of layered handmade papers. To complete the look, arrange and glue miniature bells in a wreath shape and top with a tidy grosgrain ribbon bow.

Vamp up a folded piece of cardstock for a bright Christmas card. Cut a large strip of green patterned paper and glue it to the cardstock. Glue thinner strips of other patterned papers below the large strip. Stamp a Christmas tree, a circle pattern, and the date on a piece of cardboard and glue in the upper right-hand corner. Fill in the tree with red glitter glue and adhere pretty beads to some of the circles for a festive look.

Glue a piece of green patterned paper to the top half of a folded piece of white cardstock. Add a piece of striped pink-and-green ribbon below the paper. Use pink ink to stamp three stockings at the bottom of the card. Stamp the words "the stockings were hung ..." to white paper and attach with decorative brads above the ribbon.

To make this quick Christmas card, stamp an image of a stitched tree onto a piece of striped patterned paper, cut it out, and mount it on the front half of a piece of cardstock folded in half using adhesive foam. Add a seasonal greeting.

Editor's Tip: For instant pizzazz, glue a gem to the top of the tree.

Ring in the holidays with a card that proclaims its presence. On the front of a piece of cardstock folded in half, cover two-thirds with red paper. Use embroidery floss to attach jingle bells to a strip of white cardstock. Use green floss to sew the embellished strip to the card front just above the red paper. Add a greeting with rub-on letters.

Make your greeting spunky and bright with this pink-and-green card. Simply stamp a Christmas tree onto a piece of white cardstock, mat it with black cardstock, and mount it on a patterned-paper background using a bit of adhesive foam. Use brads in the corners of your stamped image to give the card more pop.

Use paper and fabric scraps to make this Christmas card. Punch different-size circles from solid and patterned papers and fabrics, randomly adhering them onto plain white cardstock mounted on the front of a piece of colored cardstock folded in half. Outline the circles for emphasis.

Fold a piece of cardstock in half, and layer paper strips in different colors onto the front half for a striped background. Use a word-processing program to type a holiday greeting, and print it onto white cardstock. Use various colors and fonts for a fun look. Glue the greeting onto the striped background. Rub-on stitches and a snowflake brad add an extra-special touch.

Cut a snow mound from white paper and glue it to blue patterned cardstock. Adhere white acrylic letters that spell out a greeting to the bellies of petite paper-pieced snowmen.

Insert flat-top eyelets to the front of a Christmas card. Hang an engraved metal plaque with a holiday sentiment from one of the eyelets.

Editor's Tip: Use a bit of double-stick adhesive to hold the plaque in place.

Use a sewing machine to stitch around the edges of a Christmas tree made from cardstock. Decorate the tree with pretty brads and charms. For an easier version of this card, ditch the stitching and simply back your tree with cardstock to make it stand out.

A diamond-shape piece of patterned paper stamped with a short-and-sweet greeting and topped with a bow pops against the vibrant background of this holiday card, a piece of cardstock folded in half. Give the patterned-paper mat a solid cardstock border for a polished finish.

Use paper scraps and your computer for a fun, hybrid background. Print a holiday message and a snowflake dingbat onto photo paper, securing them to folded cardstock with pretty brads.

Use patterned paper as the base of this cute Santa card. Cut Santa's features from different colors of paper and piece them together as desired. Use pink chalk to make Santa's cheeks rosy. Adhere the face to solid cardstock and add it to the patterned-paper base, allowing a patterned border to show at the right-hand side and bottom. Stamp a special message below Santa's beard to finish the cheery card.

Stamp a brown piece of cardstock with a fun holiday greeting. Accent the stamped design with a strip of patterned paper, a die-cut star, and a tiny bow made from string.

Use a graphic patterned paper as a backdrop for a simple Christmas tree paper piecing. A few round ornaments and a special greeting dress up the card. For a retro look, use bright paper for the tree.