The hustle and bustle of the holiday season has made many people lose sight of what’s special about this time of the year. This year, instead of a gift purchased on impulse, give a gift from the heart: one made by loving hands that embraces its recipient in thoughtfulness and creates a lasting memory. We want to take you back to a time when gifts were more meaningful, when holiday family traditions were as much a gift as the box with the shiny bow. Our Holidays from the Heart series will provide you with gift ideas, decoration tips and more to prepare you for the most wonderful time of the year—full of good cheer and heartfelt traditions you can pass on to future generations. Each week until the end of December we will bring you inspiration for heartfelt gifts, fun family projects and party hosting.
Tidings of comfort and joy wouldn’t be complete without at least a few holiday cards waiting for you in the mail box. In this digital age of e-cards, it’s nice to discover a paper card that you can hold in your hands. Make your holiday greetings more personal with handmade paper crafts, like Christmas cards and gift tags. This week we’ll show you inventive new ways to make paper cool again.
Holiday Cards
When you opt out of store-bought cards, you open up the creativity of what kind of message you want to send. Gather up your various scrap papers to design unique new cards for everyone this year! Coordinate the pieces to put together cool patterns, and then add some Christmas components like charms and links. You might just get an idea from a special piece! Another fun idea for your cards, which is even great for after the holidays, is to slip a piece of jewelry inside. We did this for our Maid of Honor card idea by adding a bracelet with a cute “Maid of Honor” charm.
Artbeads Co-Owner Devin recently discovered a holiday card his mother made in 1987. Give new life to old keepsakes like this for contemporary cards with a fun retro feel! It’s always fun to reminisce over trinkets from childhood, so why not add nostalgic pieces in your cards for a theme this year? If you’ve never sent out holiday cards, this year is the perfect time to start!
Paper Craft Idea – Gift Tags
If you’re in search of more ways to incorporate handmade appeal in your crafts, try making your own gift tags. Use the small pieces of scrap paper you couldn’t use for cards and shape them into gift tags, and then decorate them with different elements. This is a fun mixed media project you can do with older kids or for your next party. Play with different fibers like organza ribbon to thread through the tag holes and drape it in front with a festive bow. Then, use color coordinated beads, charms and rhinestones to complete a theme. The presentation on the outside will demonstrate your creativity and dedication to ensuring everyone on your list gets a little extra with their gift.
Help Build Memories
Give a scrap book as a gift so your friends and family can cherish special moments in their lives. Have a new addition to your extended family? Create a baby scrap book for Mommy to fill with pictures and keepsakes as her child grows. Fill the cover with Swarovski flatbacks in birthstone colors, or if you don’t know the due date, decorate it with fun patterns with help from Swarovski crystal transfers. Put together an album for a newlywed couple or a book to hold pictures from summer vacation. You provide the starting point with handmade touches, filling the recipient with ideas and maybe a little inspiration on how to finish.
Complete your craft ideas, like scrapbooks, cards and more with the right tools. Explore our craft supplies section to find the best tools and components for completing exciting new projects, like the Dazzle-It Hotfix Applicator Tool for setting your Hotfix flatbacks.
-Marissa
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