by Wendy Brock

Created on: October 21, 2008   Last Updated: August 24, 2009

When you want to personalize a Christmas card for someone special or just make one-of-a-kind holiday greetings, you definitely should design and create your own Christmas cards. A homemade Christmas card is a very unique way to give a great gift to a loved one. It will be something that no one will receive.

You probably have everything you already need to make your card. Some supplies you should gather, if you don't already have them are: card stock (heavy paper), scissors, glue, construction paper, magazine clippings, wallpaper scraps, holiday wrapping paper, Christmas cards from previous years, photographs, printed clip art, markers, stamps and ink, seasonal punches, and colored pencils. You may want to purchase blank cards since they come with envelopes, but you can always create your own cards and envelopes. Use card stock for your cards and wallpaper or wrapping paper to create your envelopes.

Make your own personalized envelope for your card. Carefully tear apart an old envelope and lay flat. Use this as a pattern for tracing an envelope onto construction paper, wrapping paper, wallpaper, or a magazine. Trace the pattern lightly with a pencil onto the backside of the desired paper. Once you place the card in the center of the envelope, fold the four sides and tape to the center. You can also use a decorative sticker to hold the envelope together. This is a great way to recycle old wrapping paper or to send a seasonal surprise in someone's mail. Depending on the colors and designs of the envelopes, you may need to use white mailing stickers to have a blank space to write addresses.

Get started crafting your card. Look through Christmas cards that you received from past years. You may be able to cut out images of Santa Claus, Nativity scenes, trees, or words that you can use for your new card. When cutting the old cards, leave about an eighth of an inch of space around the image. This gives the image a more professional look and more space on the backing to spread glue. Collect the images, scenes, and words you find salvageable and set these aside for later.

Use magazine clippings for decorations. When cutting, leave an eighth of an inch around the image by not cutting so close to the actual image and set aside. When you decide to glue a magazine clipping to your card, use a very thin layer of glue. I like to dab Elmer's glue onto my fingertip and rub the back of the image, spreading the glue from the center to the edges. Press the image firmly onto

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