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How to Make Flower Hairpins for the Holidays!

How to Make Your Own Cards and Put a Personal Stamp on Your Holiday Greetings

Mary Ray, contributor

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Make your own elegant card with some velvet and a couple of rubber stamps.

Mary Ray

If sewing is your thing, add that to your greeting!

Mary Ray

A personal photo and greeting printed off your computer makes a sweet little card.

Mary Ray

Make your own elegant card with some velvet and a couple of rubber stamps.

Photo: Mary Ray

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Cards can be as simple or as elaborate as you like with fancy material or recycled goods. Best of all, a handmade card really says you “care enough” to take the time to put your personal stamp on your good wishes. And, let’s face it, it’s not that dreaded annual photocopied letter that requires you to enumerate every near-perfect moment in the lives of everyone in your household—including the dog and the cat. Okay, I admit I actually enjoy reading some of those and have been known to write a “Christmas Letter” now and again, but never more than one page single spaced.

Here are some ideas to help get you inspired, whether you’re totally artistic or lack that gene—as I do—and need the help of some readily available and easy-to-use materials. One of my favorites is the rubber stamp.

Sew-a-Card
Stitch a simple holiday design shape onto a piece of firm cardstock, like my satin tree that looks quilted with variegated thread. Add a little glitter, stamp on a message, sign your name, and you’re good to go.

If sewing is your thing, add that to your greeting!

Snapshot Card
This is probably the easiest of all. Take a photo, add a greeting, and glue it to some cardstock.

A personal photo and greeting printed off your computer makes a sweet little card.

Stamped Velvet
One of my favorites is this velvet-embossed card. All you need is a rubber stamp with a simple and bold design, another stamp with the perfect message, some heavy cardstock, a gold ink pad, some glue, and an iron and a spray bottle filled with water—and some velvet, of course. Be sure the velvet has some rayon. I’ve tried this with silk velvet and with poly velvet and it doesn’t seem to work as well.

1. Cut out pieces of the velvet large enough to fit the design. Use pinking shears or a pinking rotary blade.

2. Place the design stamp rubber side up on your ironing board. Spritz the right side of the velvet with a little water and place it right side down on the stamp. Now press with a hot dry iron for a couple of seconds until you see the design start to appear on the wrong side of the fabric.

3. Once you’ve completed all the embossing, add a touch of gold to the design with the same stamp.

4. Glue the velvet onto some cardstock, and stamp with a message to complete the card.

Use a couple of rubber stamps and a piece of velvet to make a striking card.

A little gold ink adds extra sparkle.

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Comments (2)

MaryRay writes: To emboss the velvet, you don't need ink. I went back and stamped over the embossed area with some gold ink.
Posted: 11:43 am on May 31st

Sithean writes: Do you put any ink on the stamp? How hot should the iron be? (For the christmas tree card, which looks great!)
Posted: 6:51 pm on May 28th

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