Quick & Festive Greeting Cards!
Quick & Festive Greeting Cards!
With Christmas just a couple of weeks away, many of us are looking for inspiration and ideas for creating Christmas cards that are not only quick to create but also result in a stylish, festive greeting. Yes, quick and stylish can go hand in hand! Assembly-line card making is one method that people often use for making Christmas cards in order to speed up the process. Some card makers shy away from this as they are looking for variety in their greetings. In this case, choose three or four different designs and complete them in assembly-line fashion. Assembly-line card making, if you are not familiar with it, is where everything is cut and prepped first, and then, one at a time, the cards are assembled. It truly does save time to do all the prep work in one big batch.
In this blog post we will explore three different quick and festive design options that could be completed in assembly-line fashion. We will also discuss some tips and tricks to help with the process and keep you on track and on budget! Time is ticking, so let’s get started!
The first place to begin is with the card base, the actual foundation. To keep it quick and simple, try to stick to a straightedge standard size greeting card. A gatefold card can also be created with this basic size; however, that could be defeating the quick factor as you would have to make two scores and folds rather than one. Using these cutting methods can give some variation as well as be a little more budget friendly. Often odd-size cards require more postage, and the envelopes can be more expensive. A larger surface area can also mean a slightly higher supply cost.
Printed double-sided patterned paper is a great resource for making quick and festive cards. In Project 1, I’ve used the Merry Music Specialty paper as my background. I’ve stamped my greeting from Watercolour Christmas Stamp Set using Real Red Classic Ink to create visual interest and a center focal point. Die templates and punches are great tools to make shapes quickly and painlessly.
In order for a card to be quick to make, it is necessary to stay away from labor-intensive techniques. So instead of fussing with a multilayered and glittered embellishments, keep the vision, but instead, try to re-create it in a simpler, time-saving manner. The greeting on this card takes center stage without the labour.
To finish this card, add a coordinating ribbon, followed by a printed or stamped sentiment, and you have completed a quick and festive card!
A design can easily be switched up by making small changes, like simply changing the orientation from a portrait-style to a landscape-style card as shown in Project 2. All of the same basic supplies have been used in just a slightly different way. Little changes can truly make a card look different.
Our final card design in our quest for quick and festive greetings makes use of embossed cardstock. The other addition here is the use of multiple layers. The embossed cardstock gives a wonderful texture to the card and the multiple layers add dimension. Most of the layers are straightedge cuts, making it quick and easy. The focal point on this card is as easy as it gets — stamped greeting die cut with the Stitched Fraemlits, and add a piece of ribbon and a bow.
I hope that these quick and festive card designs and tips will have you merrily on your way to finishing or, maybe for some, starting your Christmas greetings
