CREATING CHRISTMAS GIFT CARDS

Create Something Special with FreeImages

 

First let me point out this is NOT a way to save money! There was a time when printing your own cards was considered “cheapskate”, but these days it’s much cheaper and easier to go to a shop and buy a cheap pack of Christmas cards for less than the cost of the ink and paper or printing. So why do it? Creating a personalized card makes some people feel a lot more special than buying one from a supermarket!

(everything created here was done with resources from freeimages - see the bottom of the page for an imageography with links to the images we used.)

 

Make your holiday cards extra special by picking a photo that features something the recipient enjoys, that will make it unique to them - sometimes it's even better if you have a small photo of them that you can also add to the card. Personalize the card with a with a matching envelope either of a complimentary color, or if you can print on envelopes then perhaps with a small preview of the image on the card inside would be quite eye catching.

 

Printing: You could print directly onto photo pager and fold it, the problem is that most quality photos papers also have the manufactures name written all-over the back. Also Glossy Photo card and paper often curls or crinkles up when printed on so consider using photo quality paper and mounting that on a piece of folded A4 or A5 card instead. This option also allows you to use colored, patterned or textured craft card for added effect.

There are services online that allow you to print personalized cards, you could use ones of those, but with a little care you can get good quality results from your own printer - it's also has a more personal.

Keep printing cost low by getting your designs printed as ordinary 4x6" or 5x7"prints (or similar size) at a local print shop or somewhere like big-w. This way the cost of creating each card can drop to less than 20c, if you print at home the cost of ink and 250gsm photo paper or card can easily make each greeting cost more than $1. The quality is also often better with the store printed photos, all you have to do then is stick the prints to a piece of folded card like we did above.

Kids Will Love It, let them draw kisses on the back of the card, glue and sprinkle glitter on a snow scene or add foil stickers to a card for that extra special touch. They can also cut out some shapes, stars for example (with help from an adult of course!). You can buy special punches to cut out festive shapes or (adults only!) try using a scalpel/craft knife to cut out some xmas symbols

 

Who's that sitting on my chair!

For a special festive dinner touch why not make personalised napkin rings or name cards for your place setting. Again we printed these on a standard photo size sheet then cut them out - use a craft knife and rule to keep the edges perfectly straight or just draw a straight line on the back and cut with scissors.

More Tips and Ideas

Keep the colours simple, it's tempting to use lots of different bright colours, but the best effects are often obtained using just a combination of two colours, red and green are a common choice but also think about black and gold or red and silver decorations to keep everything in a room in a matching harmony.

Create Matching Gift Tags, you can also create personalised gift tags in the form of freeimages printed at the size of a business card. Then punch a hole in one corner using one end of a ring binder hole punch or a hand punch if you have one and tie it to the gift with ribbon or some rustic looking twine. What about festive DVD covers to decorate your holiday home movies.

 

Any Occasion! Easter, Christmas or Birthdays theres lots of happy occasions where personalised cards will make a loved one feel extra special.

 

"Imageography"

We used the following freeimages while creating this article, and there are lots more to choose from: click each image for details and artist credits: thankyou to freeimageslive user christmashat for inspring this article.

More Festive Holiday Images: Main Freeimages Festive Gallery