On the cards: ways to give the festive season your personal touch

Picture by Preeti Maheshwari

Looking to get extra crafty with your gift-giving this holiday season? Up the ante of any present with these creative Christmas card ideas. Whether the card contains a heartfelt sentiment or a much-coveted gift card (or both), the recipient will be all the more delighted by the contents if it comes with a homemade touch.

Card stock

Glitter sheets

Colour papers

Colour pens

Glue

Colourful tape

Cotton (you can also use cotton wool pads)

Ribbon

2 small buttons

2 big buttons

Take a card stock of 21x30 centimetres. Fold it like a book.

Now to make a Christmas tree, take a green coloured sheet and cut a total six strips of the following sizes — 6x18 centimetres, 5x18 centimetres, 4x18 centimetres, 3x18 centeimetres, 2x18 centimetres and 1x18 centimetres. Cut a 3x18 centimetre sstrip of brown paper also.

Fan-fold each strip. Keeping the smallest strip on top, glue all the strips one below the other on to the inside of the card. Keep a gap between the strips and leave some space for a star on the top. Glue the brown strip at the bottom to make the trunk of the tree.

Once all are glued in place, carefully add glue to the upward facing surface of your strip. This can be a bit fiddly as the concertinas like to bounce around a bit.

Flip over the right side of the card and secure to the strips.

When you open the card up, you should have your paper fan Christmas tree pop-up.

Now add a Christmas star on top and if you wish to decorate ,make some stars using colour pens or write a message.

On the front of the card, using grille sheets make two baubles of different sizes and paste them on to the card. Attach colourful tape to make it look as if it’s hanging.

Take a card of any size and fold it in half like a book.

On the front of the card make two cricles — one big and one small. The big one should be at the bottom and the small one above it.

Put some glue in the circles and paste on some cotton or cotton wool pads.

Stick on small black buttons for eyes and big buttons on the bigger circle to make it look like a shirt.

Now with an orange card stock cut out a carrot nose and stick it a little below and between the eyes.

Cut out a hat with black card stock and stick on the head.

Take a ribbon and glue it like a scarf on the neck.

Your fluffy snowman card is ready to be gifted. You may write a message inside the card.