Get your FREE Handmade Christmas Card Planning Guide and get ahead of the holiday crush!

You are going to want to bookmark this page or print out this Handmade Christmas Card Planning Guide because this will help you figure out all the things you need to do and when to help you avoid that last minute holiday crunch. At least as far as card making goes!

Here’s the guide and then we will add some more details (click on the image and you can print the pdf):

Let’s go over the steps for this Planning Guide:

Make Your List – gather up all the addresses you’ve been saving. Check your social media friends lists, too, and see if there are people you’d like to acknowledge with an IRL (in real life) message. Also, as YOU receive holiday greetings, check your list to see if you’ve sent a card to them and if not, use one of those extras and pop it in the mail.

Choose a Design – So, if you are HERE then you are probably a pretty engaged card maker, right? And if you are anything like us, you have ideas everywhere! Pull them all together and take a good look at the projects you love. Do you spot a theme? Cute animals? Snowmen? Gnomes? Santa? And are there colors that are popping out to you?

See what is inspiring you and choose or create a design that both speaks to you AND is something you can put together with your own personal comfort level. Making 100 cards using a super fussy technique might not be the most fun experience. Do some research and see if there are short cuts or PRO TIPS to get effects you like without breaking the money or time bank!

Order Your Supplies – is there anything worse than running out of something in the middle of a projectpalooozah? Check your inventory for everything you will need. Cutting blades, card stock, ink, embellishments, trim, shaker filler, fresh tools, new tools for a specific technique, and don’t forget TONS of adhesive in all forms.

The Making – If you have limited time slots, choose steps of your project that you can work on in those slots. Cut and score all your card bases in one session, cut all your panels in the next, die cut your larger elements in another, stamp and die cut your smaller elements, etc. Put together a little to-go kit with markers and die cuts to work on while waiting for appointments, etc. Make it FUN!

The Sending – Once your cards are done you are going to be SO excited to send them! If you have extra time, you can decorate your envelopes with some stamping that gives your recipients a sneak peek of what awaits them inside. Just remember that anything you place on the envelope can’t obscure the address (the scanners can’t tell the difference between the address and designs) and shouldn’t create a “catch point” on the envelope (so no gems or 3D embellishments).

Here’s a fun tip – if you have a portable paper trimmer (the kind with the blades that slide up and down in a track) MOST – not all, so check! – have a handy trick. A card cannot be more than 1/4 thick to be mailed with a standard stamp; if you can slide your card through the track, it’s likely to pass the parameters. Again, check to make sure the trimmer you have follows the standard dimension and if it does, this is a quick way to make sure you won’t get a returned piece of mail!

We hope this handy Handmade Christmas Card Planning Guide gives you some inspiration and assistance in getting your made-with-love projects to those with whom you want to share some holiday love!