Tis the season for festive crafts – homemade Christmas cards
Designing your own Christmas cards
It’s never too early for making homemade Christmas cards. Designing your own is part of the Christmas magic! Often our earliest Christmas memories are the cards and decorations we made – not what we unwrapped on Christmas morning.
Remember sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by sequins, sticky stars, glue and glitter, designing cards, decorating homemade stockings and bickering over who’s created the longest paperchain? Or perhaps coming home from school armed with paper crafts and handmade tree decorations? Christmas crafting is at the heart of our festive rituals.
Why we love making – and receiving – homemade Christmas cards and crafts
Our brand ambassador Claire says she’s been making homemade Christmas cards “for as long as I can remember! My mum used to make and sell cards, and she was absolutely brilliant at it, so I tried to follow suit. These days, I make them for family and friends.”
“I find it a really calming activity. With a bit of Christmas music and some festive snacks it really helps me get into the Christmas spirit.”
So, this year, crack open the Baileys, put your favourite Christmas music or movie on in the background, and dream up your own beautiful, homemade Christmas card designs. Christmas and creativity go hand in hand!
“The idea of making personalised Christmas cards for near and dear ones is truly magical, personal, and comes from the heart. It radiates a sense of creativity and festive joy for all.”
Andrew
What are the best supplies for Christmas card making?
Gathering your stationery supplies, choosing Christmas stencils and stickers, picking a festive colour palette; even starting a mood board of Christmas imagery you love – it’s as exciting as decorating the tree for us stationery-lovers!
“I often make homemade cards with the children” says Alex. “The trick is to start early so they have plenty of time to write them! We usually look for inspiration online, create them using craft supplies, then add lettering using Zebra glitter Doodler’z.”
For card making, the new, thicker-nibbed (1.2mm) Z-Grip Max draws a lovely, smooth bold line – and if you are crafting with children, the thicker barrel means pens are easier for small hands to get hold of! Now available in selected Tesco and Asda stores and The Range. And imagine having 60 fabulous gel colours to play with! Gift yourself an early Christmas present, maybe? 😉
Don’t forget Mildliner and Mildliner Brush pens – made for Christmas-inspired calligraphy and messaging. Everyone’s signature looks better with a brush!
“Get super creative with all your Zebra Mildliner pens and let your festive imagination run wild!”
Andrew
Our festive inspiration gallery
You don’t need to be a gifted artist to create a beautiful card. There are plenty of short-cuts that can be used to great effect, as demonstrated here in some of our ambassadors’ designs. Don’t be afraid to use wrapping paper, stickers, stencils and various craft materials to create a truly unique card.
Image credit: Alex
Want an alternative to the traditional red, gold and green? Alex’s breathtaking monochromatic design was created using a strip of wrapping paper for the core image and embellishing with Doodler’z glitter gel pens. We can almost hear the silence.
Image credit: Alex
Sponge, potato and finger painting are great creative card ideas for you or the kids. Accessorise with craft materials like googly eyes, ribbon and pom poms. Alex has used Doodler’z, Sarasa gel pens and the Mckie double-ended marker pen for the finishing touches.
Image credit: Chloe
Chloe designed her original artwork using Mildliner pens. The simple shadow-effect in the leaves was created using two shades of green.
Image credit: Lois
Want your homemade Christmas card to stand out? Pick purple. Or pink. Or blue. Or any colour you fancy. It’s your design. Who says you have to stick to traditional Christmas colours? Lois’s cards were created with Doodler’z glitter gel pens and a violet Mildliner Brush.
Image credit: Oliwia
Oliwia’s trio of trees and mistletoe imagery is simple and effective. Her cards were created with Doodler’z glitter gel pens.
Image credit: Andrew
Andrew’s restricted red-blue-green palette with black outline makes for some bold festive greetings card designs. Mildliner Brush pens are Andrew’s go-to pens for his signature calligraphy with regular Mildliners for his illustrations.
It’s so exciting to hear how the Ambassadors inspire each other, as well as the whole of our Zebra creative community.
“I’m always inspired by looking at what our other ambassadors create,” says Peach. “Lois’s illustrations and Andrew’s calligraphy definitely results in gorgeous cards! They couldn’t express the Christmassy mood better!”
Putting on the glitz!
And Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without – a spritz of glitz! Whether you’re adding a pop of sparkle, or using them for your messaging inside, the 10-pack Zebra Glitter Doodler’z will give your cards a glimmer of glamour.
Made by hand is made from the heart
There’s a real sense of satisfaction when you complete your final card, slide it carefully into the hand-addressed envelope and take a dusk walk to catch the last post. Or even hand-deliver some.
Christmas and creativity go hand in hand. A homemade Christmas card, or present, is one of the few things that you can’t order on Amazon. Handmade and handwritten shows how much you care, without needing to put it into words. Card making takes time, love, care, flair and imagination.
This year, free your mind and make your own. The possibilities, as we like to say, are endless.