How to: Make your own collage Christmas card

When autumn arrives, we immediately dive into the festive spirit. The leaves are fluttering down, the air feels wonderfully crisp, and everything is a beautiful shade of orange, yellow, and red! Before you know it, it's time to dig out your Christmas decorations!

In this article, we'll get creative together. We'll create a unique Christmas card so you can surprise your friends and family with something personal and special. Let's spread that warm, festive spirit with fun, handmade cards! I'll show you two examples: a version anyone can make at home and a digital, riso version. This post is about the homemade, collage version; want to read the other post? You can find it here .

Version 2: Handmade Christmas card

A handmade Christmas card is something anyone can easily make from home. You can do it alone, quietly shaking your hips to the Christmas playlist you're still playing, but it's also fun to do it with a group of friends. There's nothing like an evening of creative fun with others.

Here are some additional ideas to make your handmade Christmas cards even more special:

• Add a personal message in your own handwriting.

• Use glitter or other decorations for an extra festive effect.

• Use stamps or stencils for unique patterns.

• Try adding different textures, like fabric or rope.

Supplies:

● A sturdy A4 sheet of paper and/or colored cardboard

● Drawing materials (e.g. colored pencils, markers, crayons, paint)

● Possibly magazines/colored paper

● Ruler

● Glue

● Scissors

Step 1: Preparation

Start with a piece of thick A4 paper. Fold it precisely in half, ensuring the edges meet neatly. Make sure the fold line is sharp for a neat result. Repeat this step one more time to create a well-folded structure. This will provide a sturdy base for your cards.

Step 2: Cutting

Use scissors or a knife and ruler to cut along the fold lines. This will create four A6-sized cards. This size is the standard card size and will therefore fit in a small envelope.

Step 3: Collect

Now the real creative work begins! Start looking for materials you can use for your analog Christmas card. This could be anything: old magazines, colorful paper scraps, or other craft supplies you have on hand. It's fun to be impulsive and trust your intuition when creating your card. Let the colors and shapes you encounter inspire you! You don't necessarily need to have an idea beforehand. You can just gather ideas. Pay particular attention to the composition and make sure it's nicely "Christmassy."

Step 4: Merge

Once you've gathered enough cutting and pasting materials, you can start assembling your Christmas card. A helpful tip is to only glue everything down at the end. This gives you the freedom to move and change the composition until you're completely satisfied with the result. Take your time experimenting with different arrangements and discover what works best for your design. Don't forget to step back occasionally and look at your work from a distance; sometimes that reveals new possibilities!

And just like that, you'll have a wonderfully handmade Christmas card in no time! Each card is completely unique, but you can, of course, scan it and print it a few times (if you have a printer). Enjoy the creative process, and I hope you have a fun evening full of inspiration and creativity.

Do you want your card to have a sort of riso-printed "printing" feel? If you have a regular printer at home, you can also "fake" it a bit.

Scan your card and print it in a single color, for example, all pink, blue, or yellow. If you re-insert the paper into the printer, you can print additional colors over it. Not quite like riso, but fun to experiment with!