How to make Christmas cards

I often think about how lucky I am to have a job where I can experiment and play with art stuff. Today was one of those days that I was particularly thankful.

I spent most of the day making Christmas cards! I think this technique is pretty fun and you get such great results! It’s basically transferring images onto fabric and using the fabric on the front of a card.

Start by finding a picture you’d like on the front of you card. Make a black and white toner copy on a photocopier. Colour copies don’t work quite as well. You can then hand colour your photo copy if you’d like to add colour, or just leave it black and white as I’ve done.

You’ll need some Gloss Medium Varnish. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to pick up a bottle from any local art supplies shop.

Apply a thin coat to your photocopied image. I transferred the image onto a sheet of calico, which has a lovely organic and handmade feel. Apply a thin layer of the varnish to the same sized area on your material. (you can use many different surfaces – tiles, wood etc. Keep in mind it does not wash.) Place your varnish covered picture face down on the varnish covered fabric and press down to stick.

I used a hair dryer to speed up the drying process. Once the paper is hard and dried, take the fabric to the sink. With luke warm water, run the paper/material under the tap until the paper softens.

Scrub off the paper with your fingers to reveal your image! Allow to dry or if your impatient like me, use a hair dryer, but try not to get the image too hot or the varnish may bubble.

As it dries, you’ll find some paper residue on your image. Just give it a light coat of varnish and problem solved.

I then frayed the fabric around the edges and stuck them on some hard card to make a card.

They’re pretty lovely aren’t they? They are so quick to make and so effective. Oh, and TOO easy!