Our First Christmas Cards

We’ve never sent snail mail Christmas cards before.

We’ve either sent digital cards or silently gone without sending a thing each holiday (except to our must-sends:  grandmas and moms!).

This year, I decided to make my own cards to send to these lovely ladies:

That picture from earlier this year has been resonating in my mind.  Inspired by the way digital scrapbookers often write on their photos, I added an extra layer of words and a white line boarder right onto the photo.  It reads “Cheers to a Merry Christmas”.  (We were drinking gluhwein at a Christmas market in Berlin.)

Using double-sided sticky tape, I adhered a green piece of paper on the back of each photo.

I stamped a lace pattern with white ink on the left.  It’s a little hard to see; the stamp shows up much better on the photographs of the envelopes.  I used red pen to write a personal note on each card.

The envelopes were an afterthought.  Santa won’t tell you I’m lying about being green on this Christmas project… my envelopes were made in China.  (hides under desk!)  I am absolutely certain that there is nothing recycled or repurposed about them.

I cut a couple inches off each envelope so they’d be a better fit with my 4×6 inch photos.

Then each envelope got a strip of green patterned tape on each side.  I added another lace stamp with white ink, and now my letters are ready!

As for the envelope scraps?  They’re fast becoming the perfect pockets in my Christmas journal.  Remember this page?  Envelope scrap!

I hope our grandmas and mamas love ‘em!

How many holiday cards are you mailing this year?  Any digital sends?  How about handmade?  I should confess that as I handed these cards to Martin to sign, he said, “I thought you were all about the digital.”  What can I say?  A Christmas craft that I can completely give away?  There’s some real charm to that!