by Natasa Shepherd

Created on: April 20, 2009   Last Updated: July 30, 2009

Custom made greeting cards are very easy and fun to make. Not only will you enjoy the process but the recipient will be very pleasantly surprised when they receive your special card in place of store bought bulk card.

You have probably made cards where you take a piece of paper, fold it in half and draw on the outside. This process will be similar but more intriguing and a little more difficult. It will incorporate plants associated with the holidays without all of the mess associated with the plants! Another great thing about this is that we will preserve the card by laminating it so that it wont crumble, dry out or get destroyed some other way.

What you will need to make your own Christmas Card:

- A few sheets of plain printer paper.

- A single sheet of card stock (heavier, thicker printer paper).

- A couple branches of Holly bush, along with the berries or Christmas tree clippings.

- Coloring medium, be it tempera, oil paints, colored pencils. chalk or a different choice.

- Clear liquid glue.

- A laminating machine.

- A clear laminate sheet.

- A Stapler.

How to make your card:

- Depending on what type of laminating machine you have, you might want to turn it on so that it heats up while you prepare the card.

- Take the thicker piece of printer paper and without folding it make a mental note (or draw a really light line with a pencil down the middle) of which will be the front of the card and which the back.

- You can leave the background of the card white or you can paint both the inside and out (let each side dry before you do the other) to complement the objects you will use for decoration.

- When your card stock is painted and dry decide how you wish to arrange the Holly and the berries.

- Once you have decided on the positioning, start placing the branches on the card stock. Make sure to lay them flat and if you are having trouble keeping them in position dot tiny bits of glue onto them to keep them in place.

- When it comes to Holly berries (or winter berries) cut those in half, dab just a drop of glue on the cut side and glue them down where you imagined.

- If you are using Christmas tree branches you will notice that they have needles sticking out from all around. To help flatten them a bit pick off all the needles from one side of the branch and glue the branch pressing the flat side down on the paper.

- Now is the time to laminate your work of art, carefully transfer the card-stock in-between the laminate sheet and pull it all through the laminating machine ( make sure you have the right thickness setting selected!).

- After you have laminated your card carefully fold it down the middle.

- Take the thin piece of printer paper and fold it in half, you want it to be slightly smaller than your card.

- You can, again, either just write your greeting on the inside of the paper of you can color that paper too.

- When decorated place it inside your card and staple it in with the folded sides of the staples on the inside.

There you go your custom made Christmas card is done! Easy, wasn't it?

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