Easy DIY Christmas Card Ideas #1: Washi Tape!

All this week (Monday to Friday) I'm sharing ideas for making your own handmade Christmas cards using festive paper, craft stamps, and washi tape.

 

Look at all the different cards you could make!

 
UPDATE:  follow the links to find all DIY Christmas card ideas in this series!

1. Today's project, Washi Tape.
2. Simple Shapes and Crafty Scraps.
3. Simple Lettering.
4. Christmas Trees.
5. Baubles.

This tutorial originally appeared on The Village Haberdashery's blog - visit their shop for lots of crafty goodness!

I used a range of coordinating festive craft supplies... but you could use any Christmassy paper, tape, stamps, stickers, etc to make your cards. Mix and match colours and patterns, add some sparkle and you're good to go.

Today I'm sharing ideas for decorating cards with stripes of washi tape. 

Washi tape comes in so many pretty designs, and it’s so fun and easy to work with! To add neat stripes of tape to your cards, tear or cut a piece of tape longer than needed (so the tape will overhang each end of the card you’re sticking it to) and carefully press it into position. Turn the card over and trim away the excess tape, cutting flush with the edge of the card for a nice clean finish.

Tip: have a bit of scrap paper on your desk and stick the little off-cuts of tape to it as you work.

Three stripes of tape are perfect for decorating small cards. Use three coordinating designs (you can buy some fab Christmas washi tape sets!) or just add three rows of your fave festive tape.

Don’t forget to decorate the envelopes as well! Go for a subtle touch with a small bit of tape on the flap of the envelope, or add a bold border to the front to frame the name/address.

As well as sticking to plain stripes, you can add lines of any decorative detail to your cards alongside the lines of tape: a strip of wrapping paper, a row of cute stickers, a doodle in a festive colour, anything you fancy!

For this card I added a line of acorns stamped with gold ink, to coordinate with my chosen tape.  I then used the same stamp to decorate a matching envelope.

When using rubber stamps, use a piece of scrap paper to make test prints before you stamp your cards. Make sure the ink is evenly applied and press the pad firmly to make a clear print. Remember to wipe the stamps carefully with a damp cloth before using a new ink colour!

Leave a gap between the washi tape stripes to add a festive message in your best handwriting. Write in pencil first to make sure you’re happy with it then allow the ink to fully dry before erasing the pencil lines.

For my next card I used a fancy wreath stamp, adding my handwritten text underneath. I also covered the whole flap of the envelope with tape, which I kind of want to do with all my envelopes now! (It looks so cool!).

If you don’t have a nice festive stamp to use, just cut out a motif from some Christmas craft paper or wrapping paper, or recycle an image from last year's Christmas cards.

I cut this wreath shape out from a paper pad and added my own message in the centre, then glued it on top of the tape with a glue stick.

You can also decorate larger cards with washi tape stripes! Play around with patterns and combos of tape to create different designs... and have fun with the envelopes, too.

Check back for more homemade card ideas tomorrow!


Enjoyed this free tutorial? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!


P.S. Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns: