Transform an old Christmas card into a holiday scene of a cat or dog eagerly awaiting the treats inside their stocking. Here’s how to make your own homemade greeting card.
What You’ll Need:
- A blank greeting card made from recycled paper OR old cardstock OR an old file folder or something similar
- An old Christmas card
- Scissors
- A tiny square of corrugated cardboard
- Non-toxic glue or tape
- Scissors
- Marker or pen
1. Create Your Canvas
Use a blank greeting card made from recycled paper as your creative canvas. I’ve found them at Michael’s. For the card featured here, I used some old cardstock that my mother-in-law was saving for my nieces for arts and crafts projects. You can also make your own card blank by cutting an old file folder into a the shape of a card.
2. Make a Colourful Rug
Measure the width of your blank card and use this measurement to cut out a trapezoid from an old Christmas card. You can also cut one out of old wrapping paper. Why a trapezoid and not a rectangle? The angle will help to create more movement and interest in your final design.
3. Make a Stocking
A simple sock-shape can be turned into a stocking. Feel free to cut one out freehand or if you’d prefer, draw an outline on the back of the old Christmas card for you to cut out. Just remember that the finished stocking will be a reverse image from what you draw.
4. Make a Pet Silhouette in Duplicate
To create your cat, do an online search for “cat sitting silhouette.” Alternately, if you want to feature fido, search for “dog sitting silhouette.” Trace or print the silhouette onto a sheet of paper and then use this as a pattern to cut out TWO shapes.
I held up the paper to my computer screen and traced the outline using a washable marker. DON’T DO THIS AT HOME unless you are sure that you won’t dent your screen by pressing too hard with the marker AND you’re also sure that the marker will not bleed through the paper onto your screen. If you’re not sure, just print it out.
Use your tracing to draw and cut out TWO identical cat shapes (or dog shapes if you’re making a dog card).
5. Arrange Your Holiday Scene
Before pasting anything down, arrange your shapes on your card so that your cat (or dog) is sitting on the rug and looking at the stocking. Paste down the rug, the stocking and ONE cat (or dog). You should still have one pet outline remaining.
6. Make it Pop Out in 3D
To create a 3D effect of your cat (or dog) ready to jump off the card, cut out a tiny square of corrugated cardboard. This you can definitely find by raiding your recycling bin. My mother-in-law’s happened to be empty, so I cut a sliver off the inside of the box she used for storing old Christmas cards and you can’t even notice it’s gone. That’s how small this piece should be. You will affix this to the back of the remaining pet silhouette.
Now paste the second cat (or dog) on top of the previous. Place it just a smidge offside of the original to create the 3D effect.
7. Add a Holiday Greeting
Use the marker or pen to add a holiday greeting to the front of card. Lay it out in your mind’s eye first so that there’s enough room to write your entire greeting. Note: Some markers may smudge or not write well on the cardstock. If you think that might be the case, simply skip the greeting on the front of the card and start writing your words of love inside your homemade greeting card.