MAKE IT EASY

                   

During the holiday season since high school, I found fun in decorating our house and making cards and holiday ornaments. 

When I was in high school, I learned to make a paper sculpture ball out of two pieces of full-size (about 20 X 30 inches) metallic paper. On each sheet, I would measure out one-inch marks across the page, and meticulously score those marks along with the diagonal lines that crossed the pages. I carefully folded each scored line until the paper turned into half of a ball-shaped ornament. I would repeat that process with another piece of paper. When I did the ornament right, it was a beauty to behold.

When Bill and I were first married, we made our own holiday cards. He would cut out the shapes I had designed from a linoleum block, I would spread printer's ink across the finished block,  and then press it on a piece of colored paper.

A few years ago, I made some cards to add to the ones we now make using Bill's photographs. I wrote up the instructions for them on this blog. Several people have requested the instructions for making my holiday tree cards. What makes this card special is how easy it is to make with whatever supplies you might have to create a simple homemade card.

Supplies you can use:

Painter's tape and hole punches

Sturdy paper such as Strathmore postcard paper or smooth Bristol board

Watercolors, watercolor inks, watercolor crayons, or watered-down food coloring

A clean sponge or brush and the end of an unsharpened pencil

Water, scissors, glue, and a ruler

For tree variations: collect holiday-colored paper scraps and round stickers

Sequins, crystal stars, go with what you want on the tree!

 

Tape off an equilateral triangle on the postcard-sized paper you choose. Make sure the inner edges of the tape are secure. Using the color agent of your choice, fill the triangle with green. Let it dry. Using the end of a pencil dipped in red paint or ink or red dots made with a hole punch, scatter red dots over the tree.

Add another small triangle at the bottom for the tree trunk.

If you like to do hand lettering, use either pen and ink or markers to add holiday greetings to your card. If you aren't confident about your writing skills, you can make a copy of the phrase from the original cards or find other phrases from other cards or magazines, cut them out, and paste them in place.

Variations on the holiday tree:

Card made with round stationery stickers and a crystal star

Decorative paper cut to fit the triangle shape