Add a personal touch to your holiday cards and tags this year by crafting them at home. These projects are so easy to make, even the kids can get in on the fun.
By Marie Elizabeth Oliver and Samantha Mellone from Parents Magazine
These stitched cards can be mailed out to friends or used to embellish the top of a present. To make, cut a square of cardstock and lightly sketch a simple holiday design on the front. Use a needle tool to punch holes in the design, then sew through the holes with a needle and yarn. Knot or tape the ends to the back of card and glue or tape your stitched design card onto a folded card as shown.
These woven tags are super simple to craft and they'll add a bit of flair to traditional gift wrap. To make, cut a tag shape from card stock. Create slits using an X-Acto knife along either the vertical or horizontal edge of the tag. Weave different ribbons through and scribble on a message to add some holiday cheer.
This ornament-adorned card makes a perfect holiday greeting and also works great as a party invitation. To make, stamp circle cutouts with your family's initial. Punch a hole through the top of the circle and through the top of a piece of cardstock. Tie the two pieces together with a cheery bow.
This stamped tag lets you create an intricate looking embellishment for your boxes in just a little bit of time. To make, take three different floral or snowflake stamps from your stamp collection and stamp their patterns onto card stock. Cut out each of the shapes, then stack and glue.
This fun card design will jingle all the way to a loved one's mailbox. To make, cut out a square from the center of a bi-fold card and glue strips of red grosgrain ribbon around it as a frame. Arrange and glue miniature bells in the shape of a wreath on a separate square of colored paper and mount behind the square cutout on card to complete the look.
Decorate a basic tag with an ornament cut from wrapping paper scraps. To make, cut out two cardstock rectangles, one slightly larger than the other, then round the edges and glue them together. Cut an ornament shape from wrapping paper and glue it on the tag. Attach a piece of ribbon to the front and back of the tag and use to attach to the present.
Share your holiday cheer with a Christmas-tree card, complete with tiny ornaments. To make, simply fold a piece of red cardstock in half; glue a green paper tree and a tied ribbon to the cover. Glue on glittery ornament cutouts for a festive look.
Add some snowy sparkle to your holiday gifts with this festive flake. To make, have your kid cut a snowflake from white paper. Cut or punch a white circle and attach to the center of the snowflake with glue. Adhere a glittery letter sticker on top for a personal touch.
Make basic note cards holiday-worthy by adding a shiny bow made from leftover gift-wrapping ribbon. Secure the bow in place by gluing a colorful button in the center and write your own Yuletide greeting on the front.
Prettify your presents with a handmade wreath tag. To make, use two round craft punches of different sizes to create circles from patterned scrapbooking paper. Connect the circles together to form a wreath shape with glue dots. Use a hole punch and red glittery paper to make ornaments, then attach to the wreath with craft glue. Tie a small bow from ribbon and glue in place.
Use your favorite scrapbook paper or gift wrap scraps to create this artistic Christmas tree design. Start with a solid-color card as your canvas, and add a vertical strip of brown paper for the tree trunk. Cut a triangle from decorative paper, then cut into horizontal strips. Glue strips, about 1/8 inch apart, above the paper tree trunk. Finish by topping your tree with a bright gold star.
Spruce up a solid tag with a festive Christmas tree stamp. To make, start with a store-bought blank tag, then stamp the front using a modern Christmas tree stamp and a red ink pad. Glue on green sequins for ornaments.
It's easier than you think to create your own gift-card holders. Just start with vibrant cardstock, die-cut trim, and rub-on letters. Then, get crafty and embellish these handmade cards to look like Christmas stockings and wrapped boxes.
Your presents are sure to ring in some cheer with this simple jingle bell tag. To make, cut a rectangle out of patterned cardstock, then cut notches in each corner as shown. Hot-glue a jingle bell in the middle and adhere a green letter sticker J and Y on either side to spell JOY. Stamp or write the words "to" and "from" underneath.
Looking to add extra flair to your cards this year? Make use of your die-cut machine and create a three-dimensional winter scene with these cool dies from Ellison, available at sizzix.com.
Leftover buttons double as ornaments on this winter themed gift tag. To make, cut out two triangles from white card stock, one slightly larger than the other, and glue together. Cut out a small rectangle for a trunk and a ribbon shape from a blue card stock. Cut a slightly smaller ribbon shape from white card stock and mount onto the blue one with glue. Attach the blue rectangular trunk to the bottom of the triangles. Glue on blue and white buttons to create ornaments, then attach ribbon and write a message on top.
To make this pretty patterned card, cut scrapbook paper to desired size and fold in half. Then, glue red scallop-edge paper trim to the lower edge of the card front. Cut a rectangle from red scrapbook paper and a slightly smaller rectangle from white scrapbook paper. Glue the white rectangle to the red rectangle and attach to the card with double-stick foam circles. Finally, stamp Merry Christmas onto rectangle before you mail your greeting.
To make this beautiful card, simply cut solid green scrapbook paper to your desired size and fold in half. Then, cut a panel of patterned scrapbook paper to fit the card front and adhere with double-sided tape. Finish by placing a self-adhesive rhinestone "Noel" embellishment along the panel's bottom edge.
Combine your ribbon scraps with silvery glitter hearts to create a colorful menorah. Glue nine vertical strips of ribbon across the front, then cover the bottoms with a rectangular piece of cardstock and secure in place with glue. Punch nine small hearts out of sparkly paper to serve as flames.
Manilla folders make a great low-cost card base. Decorate your cutout cards with cardstock holly leaves and red buttons for a bit of cheer. Tip: Get shiny leaves by covering green cardstock with dimensional adhesive and letting it dry before cutting the leaves and folding them lengthwise.
Make a brilliant (but inexpensive) star by sprinkling confetti and glitter on a glue-covered cardstock shape. Attach a tinsel chenille stem around the edges. Save money by using home-printed letters for the front greeting instead of sticker letters.
Recreate a winter wonderland on the front of a piece of colored cardstock by tearing snow shapes from white paper and gluing the pieces to the card. Add accents to your snowman such as rhinestone buttons and a plaid ribbon scarf.
This layered approach adds whimsy to a simple cardstock design. Simply punch holes in a paper Christmas tree and glue it to a pretty patterned note card.
