Assembly Line Christmas Card Ideas

Creating fabulous Christmas cards for your friends and family doesn’t have to take weeks.  With these quick tips, you can make dozens of handmade holiday cards in a single evening that your recipients are sure to rave over.

Follow these five tips (and five festive card ideas that can all be completed in 5 steps or less) to create your own stash of beautiful, meaningful Christmas cards. The key? Start with a plan and create your cards assembly-line style. Holiday card-making has never been easier—or more fun!

Tip 1: Pick a Size

	Joy Holiday Card Supplies: Background Basics Houndstooth stamp • Damask Snowflake die • white and kraft cardstock • 2011 Holiday Tags joy stamp • Pure Poppy Ink (Papertrey Ink) • twine (Scrappantry.etsy.com) • Weather Vane ink (Jenni Bowlin) • pearl (Melissa Frances)
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The first step in creating fast and fabulous cards is to decide what size envelopes you will use. This will determine the size of your card. I typically use three basic sizes of envelopes, all found easily at office supply stores inexpensively in bulk:

After deciding on a size for your card, cut all of your card bases. White cardstock can be a staple when it comes to holiday cards. There is so much you can do with white cardstock! You may decide to purchase white premade bulk cards, which will save time.

Tip 2: Stamp Your Background

	Peace Card Supplies: White and kraft cardstock, Stitches & Swirls stamp, Pure Poppy and True Black ink, Peace Be Still stamp set, Holiday Photo Finishers die, Holly Jolly die, felt (Papertrey Ink)
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Stamping is an easy way to design a card quickly. Here, I stamped the floral design two times with red ink. I wanted to add a sentiment over the top, so I die cut a little frame to hold the sentiment. I stamped the sentiment in black ink. Then for a quick and easy embellishment, I used holly die cut from felt to give my card dimension without being too bulky. The felt also adds a soft, calming touch to this card.

Tip 3: Dry Emboss for Easy Dimension

	Happy Holiday Card Supplies: White cardstock, button, striped paper, Holidays Photo Finishers stamp (Papertrey Ink) • twine (Scrappantry.etsy.com) • Christmas Countdown Embossing Folder (Provo Craft) • Buy Christmas Countdown Embossing Folder here
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 Dry embossing always makes card-making fast and fabulous! If you’re adding a sentiment, be sure to stamp the sentiment first, then emboss the cardstock. This way you won’t be stamping over a bumpy surface.
After completing the first two steps, I punched a little opening in my card front with a circle punch and backed it with striped patterned paper. Then I added little ornament by dangling a button on a strand of twine and hanging it in the opening. If you don’t want the dimension of the button for mailing purposes, you can replace the button with a small patterned-paper circle.

Tip 4: Make a Quick Pocket

	25 Card Supplies: Holiday Flourishes & Swirls paper, red and white cardstock, Holiday Photo Finishers stamp, By the Numbers die, Doily Details die (Papertrey Ink) • heart punch (McGill) • pearl (Melissa Frances) • graph paper (LilyBee Designs) • blue paper (October Afternoon)
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For another quick card idea, how about creating a little pocket to hold a family photo? These are made very simply by folding a piece of patterned paper in half, keeping the opening at the top, then punching a notch out of the top with a circle punch. To close the sides, simply adhere the edges with a tape runner—no sewing is required! Be sure to allow enough room for your photo to easily slide in and out. After creating my pocket, I added a stamped swirl and a strip of patterned paper with a stamped sentiment. Last, I die cut a doily shape, numbers, and a heart to layer on top. Easy!

	Simplify! Creating your Christmas cards assembly-line style will save you time and effort this holiday season.
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When creating this or any of the other cards, save time and effort by setting up an assembly line. Fold all of the papers to make the pockets and adhere. Then punch all of the notches. Then die-cut all of your shapes. Then do all of the stamping, etc. It makes the process much easier and faster—and you can even involve your kids in some of the steps!

Tip 5: Use Five or Fewer Products

	Felt Tree Card Supplies: White cardstock, Love Lives Here Holiday stamp, felt, Candy Cane Stripes paper, True Black ink (Papertrey Ink) • ribbon (Morex)
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Keep your design simple with a ribbon, strip of paper, a sentiment, and one embellishment like I did on this last card. I made my own little tree by hand trimming a triangle from felt. I quickly decorated the tree by wrapping a piece of twine around the tree. And I finished the card with a strip of pretty paper and a stamped sentiment at the bottom.  Tying the ribbon in a knot instead of a bow will create a flatter card for mailing.

With these tips and simple card ideas, I hope you are inspired to create your own Christmas cards this year! Card-making for the holidays is fun and rewarding if you set up a assembly line and keep your cards simple, yet elegant. Your loved ones will appreciate your beautiful handmade cards—and maybe even hire you to make theirs next year!
 

Danielle Flanders is a former elementary teacher, now staying home with her two daughters, ages 12 and 6. They reside in upstate New York. She currently designs for three scrapbooking manufacturers: Pink Paislee, Papertrey Ink and Melissa Frances. Danielle has been published multiple times in over 20 unique publication titles. You can see more of her work on her blog: Homespun With Heart or in our eBook, Ella’s Essential Guide to Scrapbooking Girls.