Thrifty Christmas Card Making

Still being in recovery mode means I'm crafting quite slowly so apologies for not posting sooner or more often. The best thing about these past weeks is that there is plenty of time to work leisurely through ideas for Christmas cards.

The Xmas bells card idea was sketched out about a couple of weeks ago in between cross stitching. Creating templates for my bells was completed over the weekend and then today I completed making the first example. This design makes use of some old Christmas gift wrap paper and silver card and some ribbon from my stash. I call it the first example because I want to make another one and make it even better. I also think it would make a great project for thrifty crafters so I will be writing a tutorial as soon as I can.

One technique I've long admired is quilling. So when I saw the 'Have a go' kit with the latest Crafts Beautiful magazine, I had to have it. It includes everything you need with a mini tutorial book of great ideas and projects to work on.

If you've ever been curious about paper quilling and admired the technique, this is a good value kit. Look at this beautiful card I made. The only thing required for this kit that I do not own is a circle punch. It was good old compass, pencil and craft knife strategy for me but if I had any criticism then it would be this. I dislike projects that say you need a particular expensive tool or some papers that you have to purchase while telling you to 'Have a go'. I know the aim of these tutorials is to boost sales but not all of us have the funds to buy all the stuff we need to complete it exactly as described in the magazines. Which is why I try and come up with ideas that use what I have already and ways to work round the use of fancy tools.

Another option is making use of free downloads which is the plan for my next Christmas card project. I'll tell you more about that in a future post.

Please note that I do not make Christmas cards for sale but to give to my family and friends. This allows me to use and experiement with other peoples designs as well as my own and to use resources intended for non commercial use.

I'm also busy knitting the picture blanket.... there are roughly 500 squares still to go before the next stage. Makes for interesting conversations while sitting in hospital waiting rooms, something I've been doing a lot recently. One woman who saw me busy with my needles remarked, 'I haven't seen anyone knitting for years!' Imagine that :)

Happy week everyone!