Xmas cards are such fun to give to friends and family. They will mean even more to the recipient if you make them yourself. There are lots of different designs available for making your own xmas cards both as digital xmas cards and traditional ones as well. Of course there are even hybrid xmas card ideas out there. Hybrid is the combination of digital elements and traditional elements on a paper project. Here we will give you details, instructions and basic tutorials for creating xmas cards using any of these methods.

Traditional Xmas Cards

Preparation Steps

In order to prepare the supplies you will need to make handmade traditional-style xmas cards, go through your address book and make a list of all the people who you would like to mail one to. Once you have your list ready, double check that you have the correct addresses for everyone.

After you have figured out how many you need, you have two options. You can either go to the craft store and purchase blank cards which are already cut to size and have a crease for folding. They are ready for you to add your designs to. They often come with envelopes that fit also. If you would like to go a cheaper route, then purchase 12"x12" sized scrapbook paper in your desired color and pattern. The final size of cards you will be making will depend on how many you can cut out per sheet. You may want to purchase just a few sheets at first so you can make some test cuts. It is also a good idea to source out some blank envelopes to send your handmade cards in. Purchasing these up front will give you something to fit against. As you figure out the size of your card, you can match it with the envelope to make sure it fits.

While you are at the craft store, purchase a few embellishments, stamps and other supplies that you'd like to experiment with. Bring them home and see what kind of designs you can come up with. When working on your xmas card samples, be sure and use supplies that are easily purchased in large quantities. Another good tip is to not create something too complicated in your design or you will regret it later. If you have to spend 1/2 hour per card to get the pretty embellished and finished xmas card, then it may not be worth the time no matter how pretty the outcome to go to the trouble in making 50 of them! It is best to stick with something simple.

Once your design is determined, gather all the supplies and put them together assembly-line style. Maybe you can even get family members to help out with this task. If children are old enough, their help can really make the job go by faster.

When the xmas cards are completed, take a photo of them for your scrapbook or to share what you've been up to with friends on Facebook, a blog or in online galleries or forums. Begin to address the envelopes and insert a card in each one. Now is the time to add a personal message if desired and also, don't forget to sign your xmas cards! Stamp the envelopes and send them out in the mail and then congratulate yourself on a task well completed!

Tips & Design Ideas for Handmade Xmas Cards

Here are a few ideas and tips for making your own xmas cards:

- Find a rubber stamped holiday greeting for either the outside of the card or inside. Using a rubber stamped phrase will drastically decrease your time in creating the xmas cards. It is quick and easy to simply stamp a greeting on a card rather than printing a phrase, cutting it out and gluing it on.

- Easy embellishments can be made out of felt and glued onto the front of your card. Trace an xmas shape onto a scrap piece of paper and make a pattern out of it. Some examples would be a tree, xmas bobbles, a star or some other design. You can find images to copy from books and magazines.

- To really make your card look festive, use some glitter glue on it. An easy to use one is made by Ranger Industries.

- If you really want to involve your children in the xmas card making process, then you can get them to cut out paper snowflakes (like we all made as kids!) and either use them on the front cover of the cards or as inserts for some of the special ones going to the grandparents.

- The xmas cards you make do not necessarily have to be all the same design. It is just easier and quicker to make them assembly-line style if there is only one design to make.

Digital Xmas Cards

Preparation Steps

If you are not fully adept at using Photoshop or other creative computer programs, then you may like to consider using an online resource for making digital xmas cards. There are many online sources available and a lot of them will not charge you to use what their resources. A good example is ScrapBlog.

Digital xmas cards have the benefit of designing and making the card once. You do not need to make duplicates of as many people who are going to get them. You can either email them electronically to your friends, put it up as an image on Facebook or on your blog, or even print them out and mail them as is. It certainly is cheaper to send them via email, but you may find that most people enjoy getting something in the mail so it may be a good option for you.

Decide on what you want your xmas card greeting to say on the front. If desired, you may find it easier and cheaper to make it like a postcard. That is that it will be one-sided only. That way if you print it yourself, you won't be having to fuss with getting the reverse side to print right side up. As well it uses a lot of ink to print double-sided xmas cards, which can be expensive. As well, you would incur extra charges if you are utilizing the online resource's printing feature.

Choose from the online digital embellishments or 'stickers' that are available on the site you choose. If you are using Photoshop or another scrapbooking type of program on your computer offline, you can go online and download additional embellishments or make your own. Some places do allow free downloads of digital elements, but they also charge for some of them. Once you pay for them, you've got them to keep though.

When you are finished with designing your digital card, you can either choose to download it to your computer and print it yourself or use an online printing service.

Once they are printed, address envelopes to fit the xmas cards, add a personal message to the back of each card, stamp the envelopes and mail them out. As mentioned above, you can also choose to email the cards out or put them online for your friends to see.

Tips & Design Ideas for Making Digital Xmas Cards

Here are a few ideas and tips for making your own digital xmas cards:

- If you are printing the xmas cards yourself, select a good quality paper. A good one to choose is a glossy photo paper. They will look so professional when you print them on good paper.

- A fun idea is to design your xmas card with a recent family photo first and foremost. Use embellishments and a background color to give it punch.

- To make a nice looking xmas card, pick a color from the photo and use it or a shade of it s your background color.

- It is a good idea to choose an xmas greeting that is welcoming of all religions. Some acceptable greetings to choose from can be: Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Blessings, Happy New Year, etc.

Hybrid Xmas Cards

To make hybrid xmas cards, make up a digital design as described above. Do not embellish it too much digitally as you will want to add some traditional embellishment touches once it is printed. Print out the digital xmas card and begin to embellish it using your scrapbooking or craft supplies. Some examples of things you can add to a digital xmas card to make it a hybrid xmas card would be: ribbon, glitter glue, flowers, buttons, etc.

Spending a little time designing xmas cards before you actually put the work into making them, will save you time and money. You will know what supplies you require to make them and it will help to streamline your process if you plan it well. Making handmade xmas cards for your friends and family is a lot of work, but it is well worth it. The saying is so true, "It is better to give than to receive."