| Do you remember why the Grinch stole | | | | clean lines and color contrast with the paper. |
| Christmas? He did it because he was tired of all | | | | If you found a nice printable stencil, you can |
| the commercialism. I can sympathize. I long for | | | | eliminate the steps of cutting out the stencil |
| the times when Christmas was more about | | | | openings and tracing the design onto the paper. |
| spending time with loved ones and less about | | | | Just place the paper with the stencil on top of the |
| stressing over finding the perfect gift; when little | | | | colored paper and cut along the lines with a craft |
| handmade mementos were more valuable than a | | | | knife. Press down firmly to cut through both |
| department store gift card. Just call me | | | | pieces of paper. Also, make sure that the two |
| sentimental, but my favorite part of Christmas is | | | | pages stay together as you cut. If you are having |
| getting together with friends to make cookies, | | | | trouble with this, trim around the stencil and tape |
| spending time with the kids coloring Santa Claus | | | | it to the colored paper. Glue the image to the |
| pictures and conjuring up any Christmas crafts | | | | front of the card. That's it! Easy, right? |
| that I can think up. | | | | Well, here are some great ideas for adding |
| That being said, I have come up with some great | | | | creative touches to your card making project: |
| Christmas card ideas using Christmas card | | | | Words are powerful. How about putting some |
| templates and stencils. Of course, you can use | | | | traditional holiday greetings on the card behind |
| Christmas stencils the usual way and paint the | | | | your stencil image? It's easy. Just type your |
| image onto a card, but there are many other | | | | message (Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas) on |
| ways to use stencils. I took a few stencils from | | | | a Word Processor. Set the margins so that the |
| my collections and explored just how many ideas | | | | message will print on your 4x6 inch cover and |
| I could come up with using them to decorate | | | | print on the card stock. Experiment with different |
| Christmas cards. | | | | fonts and colors for your card. I found that using |
| So, now I want to share my Christmas card | | | | a light gray instead of black makes a nice |
| making ideas with you because I know when you | | | | background and doesn't distract from the main |
| take the time to relax and immerse yourself into | | | | image. |
| a fulfilling project like this you will not only get into | | | | If you use a craft knife to cut out a stencil image |
| the spirit of the season you will also make | | | | traced onto the color paper, you not only end up |
| someone feel very special because you took the | | | | with the pieces needed to glue to the card, the |
| time to make something special for them! | | | | left over paper is also now another stencil. You |
| Let's start with the basics of card making and | | | | can use this one to apply paint to a second card. |
| then move on to the creative ideas, alright? Cut a | | | | Be creative and use these stencils in the negative. |
| sheet of colored paper (construction paper) down | | | | There are many ways to do this. For example, |
| to a 6x8 inch rectangle. Fold in half to create a | | | | let's say you cut out a Christmas Tree stencil for |
| 4x6 inch card. | | | | one card and now you have a piece of colored |
| Have you found a Christmas stencil that you like? | | | | paper that has an image of a tree cut out of it. |
| If not, you'll find many options at your local arts | | | | Cut that piece into a 4x6 inch rectangle with the |
| and crafts supply store or on-line. They come as | | | | tree in the middle and glue it to the front of |
| plastic pre-cut stencils ready for painting or | | | | another card of a different color. Or you could |
| printable stencils that you can find on the internet | | | | trim around the tree and create just an outline. |
| or in book format. Each type has advantages and | | | | Don't forget that stencil patterns can be flipped to |
| disadvantages. The pre-cut stencils are ready to | | | | face in a different direction. For example, a |
| go but you need to either go shopping and pick | | | | reindeer can face to the left on one card and to |
| one up or wait for it to come in the mail. They | | | | the right on another. |
| are also more expensive. The printable stencils | | | | If you use a stencil to trace an image onto your |
| need to be cut out and that means extra work. | | | | paper, your cut out image will have trace marks |
| However, they are less expensive (or free) and | | | | on them. Gently erase the marks or turn the |
| since they are printable you don't have to shop or | | | | paper over and glue with the clean side facing up. |
| wait. Plus printable stencils can be resized to fit | | | | Use other items to decorate cards. Glue a festive |
| your project area with a copy machine or on | | | | ribbon along the bottom or use some spray glitter |
| your computer. | | | | to give it a glamorous look. |
| The most basic way to use a stencil in card | | | | Use a hole punch tool to make cute circles from |
| making is with paint. Just place your stencil on the | | | | the construction paper and glue randomly over |
| front of the card. You can tape down the stencil | | | | the card as snow or just decoration. These make |
| or hold in place. Use a stippling technique or up and | | | | great Christmas ornaments on a tree. |
| down motion with a stencil brush or foam brush | | | | Paper tends to get rippled when glued, so after |
| to apply paint in the stencil openings. The stippling | | | | the glue has dried, place the cards in a heavy |
| technique is done to keep paint from seeping | | | | book to flatten them back out. |
| under the edges of the stencil openings like a | | | | Now, I know you can come up with many other |
| normal back and forth brushing motion does. | | | | creative Christmas card ideas. After all, it's that |
| However, besides painting, there is another great | | | | personal touch that you are shooting for, right? |
| way to use stencils as Christmas card templates. | | | | And don't forget that even in the end the Grinch |
| Trace the openings of the stencil onto colored | | | | found out that Christmas was something that |
| paper, cut out and glue to the front of the card. | | | | comes from the heart! |
| No paint to mess with and you can really capture | | | | |