Today, two ideas for handmade Christmas thank you cards – one simple, one dressed up.
 

These days, sending thank you cards isn’t as popular and sending handmade Christmas thank you cards is even rarer. Imagine the look on someone’s face and the feeling in their heart when they open one of these form you!  I used some bright and festive patterned paper as the foundation and then used dies to create a triple layer for one and poinsettia for another.  Both were really fast and easy and I am thinking they would make great batch making cards, too! 

Pretty Borders and Festive Paper

• Cut an A2 sized white card base.
• Secure the card base and sentiment stamp in the MISTI, apply green ink and stamp the sentiment.
• Cut a piece of festive designer paper, red and white cardstock a little wider than the card base.
• Use the border #3 die to cut each of the three papers.  
• Line up the designer layer over top of the white eyelet layer and attach using ATG adhesive.
• Line up the two layers over the red layer and attach using ATG adhesive.
• Trim the three layers on both sides to a width of 5.25″.  Pro Tip: It is very hard to cut your paper to the exact width and then get them to line up after being die cut. Leaving your paper layers wider than necessary makes it much easier to line up the papers to attach them and then trim the sides to fit. 
• Attach the layers to the card base using ATG adhesive.

Card Base, Festive Paper and Sentiment 

• Cut an A2 sized card base using white cardstock.
• Cut a 5.25″ x 4.00″ piece of festive designer paper.
• Apply ATG adhesive to the designer paper layer and attach it to the card base.
• Die cut a white eyelet layer and a red layer for layering.
• Secure the white eyelet layer and sentiment stamp in the MISTI and stamp with green ink.
• Attach the eyelet layer to the red layer using ATG adhesive.
• Apply strips of mounting tape to the back of the sentiment layers and attach to the card base.

Poinsettia and Greenery

• Cut the smaller poinsettia layers using red and green cardstock.
• Form the poinsettia petals using a molding pad and large round stylus.  Pro Tip:  Check out the two videos on my Poinsettia and Grid Die post to see not only how I form my flowers but also how I arrange the poinsettia and foliage on a card front.
• Attach the poinsettia layers together using glossy accents.  Pro Tip:  Be sure to offset the layers for a more natural looking flower.
• Apply glossy accents to the back of the poinsettia and attach it to the corner of the sentiment layer.
• Use green cardstock to cut the evergreen foliage branches, tuck them under the poinsettia and attach using glossy accents.
• Finish by applying a pre made mustard Nuvo Crystal Drop to the flower center and attach using a drop of glossy accents.  Note:  I liked the tiny dots of mustard berries on the designer paper and matched those with my crystal drop.

5160-03D Borders #3 [ RBB ] 3032 Best Friends Etc [ RBB ] 5320D Nested Scallop w/ Half Holes [ RBB ] Poinsettia #2 5169D [ RBB ] Greenery #1 Die Cut 5162-09D [ RBB ] 3308 Kittie Says Phrases #1 [ RBB ] Crossover II Fabric & Paper Cutting… [ RBB ]

The Color Catalog by Sarah Renae Clark [ SRH ] Tsukineko – VersaFine Clair – Ink Pad… [ SBC | BLIC ] Sizzix – Paper Sculpting Kit [ SBC | BLIC ] New MISTI Stamping Tool – The Most… [ SBC | ELH ] Nuvo – Arabian Nights Collection -… [ SBC ] Amazon.com: Scotch CAT 085 Advanced… [ AMZUS ] Mini Glossy Accents, Ranger Accents [ ELH ] Amazon.com: Mini Foam Dots… [ AMZUS ] Amazon.com: Scotch 1/2-Inch by… [ AMZUS ] Fiskars 01-005452 Recycled Bypass… [ AMZUS ] Teflon Bone Folder, Essentials by Ellen [ ELH ] Scor-Pal Measuring & Scoring Board 12×12 [ ELH ] Glue Dots, Mini (3/16″) [ ELH ] Amazon.com : Accent Opaque White 8.5”… [ AMZUS ]

Do you send handmade Christmas thank you cards? Do these make you think maybe you WANT to send some? They are a great way to use up patterned paper, too – just saying!