Holiday Cards – Use Creativity

The calendar of every nation is filled with holidays. Holidays are times of celebration or commemoration. They are times for holiday cards. Holiday cards are appropriate for any holiday, despite their emphasis at Christmas. In fact, do you know when the largest number of holiday cards is given?

Mother’s Day!

Holiday card creativity was once the most important thing about a holiday card. People hand-painted holiday cards for family and friends. Sometimes, lace and ribbon were carefully glued to the cards. Each holiday card was a work of art.

How to Use Creativity

Holiday cards can be creative today, too. Take, for example, this question:

What can I do with used greeting cards?

Use creativity and make new cards. Many used holiday cards have borders around the photo on the front. First, cut off the back of the card, leaving only the single front page. Carefully remove the photo with a craft cutter blade, leaving the border intact. Insert a photo of your own, and glue the new front to a blank card. Or glue it to the front of a card made on your computer. You have a new, unique holiday card.

Mother’s Day Holiday Cards

You may be using a computer instead of paper, lace, and ribbon, but your holiday card ideas can be every bit as creative.

A great Mother’s Day holiday card can be made with a photo of her child or children. Scan your photo into the computer. Then, using card-making or other graphics software, design the card front. Here are some ideas.

* Place the photo in the center of the card. Surround it with a colorful border. Around the border, run a message for Mom. A short message can be repeated. Place small bouquets of flowers to overlap the photo at a corner or two. Complete your card inside with a sweet message. A heart-felt message, rhyming or not, is best.

* Cover the front of the card with a clipart bouquet of flowers. With your eraser tool, remove the center of one or more flowers. Insert photos of the faces of Mom’s children. Add 3 or 4 words to complete the front of this beautiful, personalized holiday card for Mom.

* Find a photo of Mom’s favorite vacation spot. Scan a family photo, or one of Mom alone. Crop the photo and place Mom and/or family in the vacation scene. Overlay appropriate items to smooth edges. For example, if Mom’s favorite spot is a tropical beach, “plant” an extra palm tree alone one side, overlapping the photo. Or “build” an elaborate, beautiful sandcastle for your Mom. Find a photo online that you can copy/paste onto your holiday card. Be careful not to infringe on copyrights.

* Make a promissory holiday card for Mom. With digital camera, any photo you want can be created. Take a picture of children washing dishes, for example. Insert it in a card promising a week of washing up with smiles and kindness. Alternatively, use the face(s) of a photo you have, and insert them into a photo or clipart of the promise you want to make. You might even replace a skier’s face with Mom’s and promise her a weekend ski trip next winter.

* If Mom has a career, work it into your holiday card. A mother who is a lawyer would appreciate a card that featured scales of justice. Place the word “love” on one side of the scales, and a photo of her family on the other side.

Do creative holiday cards require more time than buying one at the store? Yes. The result is that both you and the recipient will know that you cared enough to create the very best.