Ad – This post is part of a paid partnership with Font Bundles. Yay it’s finally December and not only does that mean that 2020 is coming to an end, but now we can really start to get excited about Christmas! One of my favourite things about seasons and celebrations is all the crafting, baking and creative opportunities that they bring. There’s nothing I love more than sticking on a good audiobook book, getting my craft box out and making something lovely. Today I wanted to share some handmade Christmas cards I made this week. I was challenged by Font Bundles to use some of their free fonts to make some cards and I had so much fun looking for ideas and making them.
Handmade Christmas Cards
For each of the designs I chose a different font from their selection of Font Freebies and instead of just printing them, I decided to trace and transfer them onto each card, so that they looked handwritten, without having to acquire excellent hand lettering skills! The free range has a really excellent selection of Fonts for all sorts of different projects.
Hand Painted Christmas Cards
I love any excuse to get my paints out and I think it would be so nice to receive a hand painted card. Firstly I created a Christmas tree card with the words “Comfort and Joy”. To create this one I used the font Joyfully, which has a lovely hand lettered feel to it. I used a plain brown paper card and painted the design using gouache paints. Once the design was dry, I traced and transferred the text onto the card in pencil. The most important thing to remember is to print your words in reverse so that when you trace and transfer them they are the right way round! I then painted over the letters with white paint.
My second painted card was just a simple wreath featuring mistletoe and berries. This time I used plain white card and my gouache paints to create the design. I used the font Nostalgia Script for the lettering, which I used a red fine liner pen to finish. This one was quite a simple and quite one to do and I think I did it again, I’d add a little more detail.
How to trace and transfer using tracing paper.
To transfer printed lettering onto another project, you’ll need to type it up on your computer and then reverse the text so that it prints backwards. Once you have printed it, use your tracing paper and a sharp pencil to replicate the design. You then need to flip the tracing paper over and place it on top of your card. Then colour over the back of the paper, being careful to keep it very still. Your design will then be transferred onto your card.
Paper Crafted Christmas Cards
I picked up a few little embellishments for my cards in Hobbycraft including cute little stockings and ribbons. I also got a selection of Christmas themed craft papers to use in the designs.
First up I made cute row of stockings using some of the embellishments I’d bought and some twine. I finished the card off with some of the paper and a message written in white gel pen. The font I used was Cinnamon Sticks.
My other card was a little wreath using little bits of the Christmas paper but unto circles and one of the bow embellishments from Hobbycraft. I finished it off with a message written in bronze pen using the font Herina. This card was inspired by this pin.
Lino Block Printed Christmas Card
I always really enjoy making Lino cuts and I really wanted add a block printed card to this post. I drew a robin onto my tracing paper and added some other elements, then added the message using the font Hey Betty, I then transferred the design onto my Lino block and cut it out, before printing into onto my card. I love that I can use the block again and again to print lots of different cards and I can also add a little colour to some of them after printing if I want to.
Stitched Christmas Tree Card
Lastly I created a simple stitched Christmas tree design with bead baubles. I’ve seen lots of people make handmade Christmas cards like this and I think its so pretty. I originally drew the shape of the tree faintly in pencil on the card and then used a needle and a ruler to carefully punch holes evenly down the shape of the tree. I then rubbed out the pencil and carefully stitched the design using embroidery thread. I added a few glass beads to each strand as I went. I then added some simple letter in green finaliser using the font Double Vision.
I’m really happy with how they all came out and had so much fun doing them. I’d definitely recommend downloading some free fonts to use in your designs, I really enjoyed finding just the right lettering for each of my handmade Christmas cards. This card was inspired by this pin.
Find more free fonts on the Font Bundles website.
For more Christmas ideas, check out the Christmas section of the blog or my Christmas Ebook and for more craft ideas check out the Craft section of the blog.
*This post was sponsored by Font Bundles. All opinions are my own.
Ways to follow Vintage Frills
Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – Pinterest – Etsy
No Comments