Howdy folks, there is nothing like the feeling of being ahead of the game. I decided this year I would make all of my Christmas cards ahead in small batches instead of mass producing 75 in November. If you missed the first batch of cards you can see them here. Here is the second batch of 12 and they were so fun and affordable, each card and envelope cost about 10 cents to make with scraps left over, you can’t beat that! Please note: I did not count the cost of the stamp and ink or sewing machine thread, I’ve had them all for years and have more than gotten my money’s worth out of them;)
I did not buy anything new to make these cards.
- I chose 12 Christmas papers leftover from old Die Cuts with a View paper stacks (I bought the 180 sheet stacks for $10, that is about 7 cents a sheet) and I trimmed them to 8.5″ square and used my score pal (tutorial is here) to make the envelopes keeping the pattern to the inside for a faux liner look.
- You will end up with 3.5″x12″ and 3.5″x8.5″ scraps. Trim the 3.5″x8.5″ scraps into strips (the short way) and save the longer scraps for other cards.
- Cut 8.5″x11″ kraft cardstock in half (8.5″x5.5″) and fold to make a standard card. I bought a 50 sheet pack of Kraft cardstock by the paper company on sale at Joanns for $2.50 (that is 5 cents a sheet or 2.5 cents per card!)
- Stamp the Christmas postmark with brown ink on the card.
- Clip the strips of paper to varying lengths and arranged them in a tree shape and sick them down with a glue stick then use a sewing machine to zig-zag stitch down the middle to make a trunk and help secure the papers.
- Stamp “Merry and Bright” in the lower corner.
- Print out a bunch of stamps from the 12 Days of Christmas set from Lettering delights on cardstock, cut them out with stamp edge scissors and glue them to the card at the base of the tree.
- Attach a star brad to the top of the tree. (I bought a bulk pack of these at Target many years ago, I think it was 100 for $2)
You will end up with a bunch of paper strips leftover too, you can do this tree arrangement on brown paper lunch sacks for cute unique gift wrap, perfect for kids classmates or gifts of baked goods, it never hurts to be prepared!
This card qualifies for the following challenges: Dutch Dare, Penny’s challenges (anything goes) and OWH-Stars and Stamps (pattern paper).
So now it’s your turn, go ahead, look through you old stash of papers and stamps and make a batch of Christmas cards, leave a link if you do so I cam marvel at them;)
Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Wow! These are really neat. I love the different papers. Thanks for playing along with us at Penny’s. Good Luck!
~Courtney~
PPCC DT
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This is WAY too cute
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This is so clever, a brilliant idea! Thank you for sharing this.
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This is so cute. I love it.
Thanks for sharing your neat ideas..
bobbi
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I love the look of these cards…prim Christmas!! Thanks for sharing!!
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Hard to believe the cost! Your cards and envelopes are just fabulous!
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Wow! Super card – thrifty and fun! 🙂
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Wow, very creative! This is a terrific design for using up scraps too. Love the resulting cards. Thanks for posting as part of this weeks OWH challenge.
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Wow Lindsay, very clever and very cute! I just love those envelopes to match! Thanks for sharing. ~Diane
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Great cards! Thanks for playing along with us this week at Operation Write Home!
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Nice card and a great way to use scraps!!
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oh this is a great idea and I love those cards. Those trees are adorable. I should really start now on my cards too….sigh….
Didn’t get too much done this weekend – got a call on Saturday that BIL had heart attack. Been back at the hospital in Leavenworth all weekend. Sigh….
I also love those envies. I still haven’t tried making those….. need to.
hugs
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WOW, look at you go! Great job! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome creation with us at Penny’s Paper-Crafty Challenge!!
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Great idea and cute cards for cheap! I have a ton of Christmas paper that this technique would be great for using up! Although I hate the idea of making Xmas cards already! I made 140 cards last year and it was arduous so starting now seems like a fantastic idea to me!
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