Christmas Card Making Like a Scrapbooker, Part 2

Welcome back to my series on simple ways to make Christmas cards like a scrapbooker. I hope that you all had an amazing Thanksgiving. I know that I did. Got to see the little niece and nephew (who is now walking!!!!!). They are little cuddle bugs and I love every minute I get to spend with them.

Today I want to share some easy ways to make Christmas cards using only card stock for your card base and 1 12x12 pad of patterned paper. Yup, that's right - 1 12x12 pad of patterned paper. No extra supplies like stamps, coloring supplies, dies, etc. 

I found this gorgeous pad of paper from Me and My Big Ideas for $6 on clearance at Hobby Lobby (and I have seen it at several Tuesday Morning stores as well). 

This pad of paper has two sheets with a ton of Christmas sentiments, as well as several sheets with a single large Christmas sentiment that you can cut out and use for a huge impact. 

Card #1: Merry & Bright

For the first card, I selected a sentiment from one of the sheets and freehand cut around the script font. I kept a small border around the sentiment because I liked the contrast between the white font and black background, but also to make the cutting easier on myself. Because I was also using a dark background, I used a small piece (about 1.5 inches tall) of another patterned paper so that the sentiment would stand out more. Plus, by backing the sentiment on paper that has foil on it, you get the additional sparkle and pop to the card without having to add anything else. I did decide to add a few enamel dots to this card because I have a serious problem and can't seem to leave them off of anything, LOL, but they are not necessary at all. This type of card stands well on it own with no additional embellishment.

Card #2: Merry Christmas and Happy new Year

This second card is even more simple than the first. There is NO fussy cutting! I simply took one of the sheets of paper that had a large sentiment that I new would be great for non-traditional sized card and trimmed the image down so that there was a minimal border around the sentiment. Once the sentiment was cut down, I measured the length and width and then trimmed some more of the red chevron foil paper down so that there was 1/4 inch displayed on each side of the sentiment panel. I then measured the foil paper and then cut down a piece of card stock so that there would be a 1/4 inch border of the card stock showing when the card stock was folded in half.

Tips and Tricks

First, if you want to be able to get as many cards as you can out of a single pad of paper, you want to select an option that already has sentiments in the collection. 

When cutting out sentiments, keep a small border around the sentiment. By leaving the border around the sentiment, you need to be as detailed with the cutting and I think that it looks prettier and more purposeful as well.

Don't be afraid of making cards with different dimensions. Even if you can't find an envelope that exactly matches the size, there are a lot of options for different dimensions at places like Paper Source - or you can just add the card to a package without having to worry about an envelope at all.

Christmas Card Making Like a Scrapbooker, Part 1

 Christmas Card Making Like a Scrapbooker, Part 1  (Using only Scrapbooking Supplies)

While I have been a card maker almost as long as I have been a scrapbooker, when I am making a large number of cards (particularly at Christmas time when charities + personal cards = lots and lots of cards to make) I try to find ways to simplify the process. Part of that process is finding ways to make cards that are relatively easy and quick to put together. Toward that end, one of the ways I simplify card making is to use Holiday die cut packs to whip together as many cards as I can with the die cuts I have.

The cards below were made with one die cut pack from American Crafts, one dimensional chipboard sticker pack from Shimelle's Christmas line, one 6x6 paper pad from American Crafts, and a few scraps that I had in my scrap basket. I always make sure to look through my scraps when I'm about to start making Christmas cards to see which scraps I can make work so I don't waste any paper. Once I've picked out the scraps I will be using, I simply store them with the rest of my Christmas supplies (I limit myself to one 12x12 Iris container so I can't buy new stuff until there is room in the box).

Even the sentiments were either cut from the paper pad or from the die cut pack. I also cut all of the papers down at the same time so all I had to do was to put the patterned paper together with the die cuts, and layered the die cuts with some dimensional foam tape for some interest. 

Tips and Tricks:

One of the easiest ways to make card making easier is to use sentiments that have already been created in a paper pad or to use Christmas-related die cut packs for images and sentiments for your cards. 

Another easy way to make card making easier, especially when making a lot of cards is to do them in an assembly line style. Cut all of the papers down at the same time so all you have to do is to put the patterned paper together with the die cuts. For added interest and texture, you can easily layer the die cuts with some dimensional foam tape. 

I did cut some round and scalloped shapes with one border punch and a couple of dies, but you could easily put these cards together with just using a paper trimmer to cut different sizes of squares and rectangles (or really any angular shapes). Before I had dies, I also would sometimes get a glass from the kitchen trace a circle on the patterned paper and then carefully cut it out. It does take a little longer but if you want some variety to your cards without having to shell out the money on new dies, the cup/cut method definitely works. :) 

Once I had cut down all of the papers I wanted to use, these cards took less than 5 minutes a piece to put together and they are so easy that (if you spend a few minutes cutting down your papers and card bases beforehand) you can easily knock out ten or fifteen while watching 1 one-hour show! And the best part about it is that you don't have to worry about having inks or Christmas stamps which can cost a bit of money to invest in. Plus, if you have trouble being super creative with card layouts because they can seem so different to scrapbook layouts or not great at stamping clear images and then coloring them in, this takes all of the stress out of card making! The images have already been created and colored for you!

Christmas Card Making Made Simple

Hello, All! Ashley here. So its been a while since my last post. In the almost year that has passed, a lot has been going on in life. Hubby and I moved to Florida, we both decided to go back to school, I started working again (part time from home), and we just bought a house! With all of the changes in life and the busyness of it all, I thought I would do a series on how I simplify my Christmas card making to fit it all in and keep costs down so it doesn't cut into other Christmas budgets (too much anyway ;) ).


I thought I would break it up into 5 different categories:
1. Christmas Card Making Like a Scrapbooker, Part 1  (Using only Scrapbooking Supplies)
2. Christmas Card Making Like a Scrapbooker, Part 2 (Making Christmas cards from only 1 12x12 pad of paper and some card stock)
3. Using your PC to make Christmas card making more simple and less expensive
4. Mass Producing Christmas Cards
5. Cost vs. Quality - items it is okay to go cheap on and items that are worth the investment


I'll be back tomorrow for the first post on Christmas Card Making Like a Scrapbooker, Part 1! In the mean time, I hope that you are all having a wonderfully scrappy week!