Christmas time is family time! A good opportunity to surprise family and friends with cheerful greeting cards and send heartfelt greetings by post. In this day and age of speed, homemade Christmas cards are a nice gesture that the recipients are guaranteed to appreciate. And best of all: crafting and painting are a lot of fun and are a popular pastime for both adults and children. So let the children help and conjure up creative patterns together. We will show you 7 instructions and give you useful tips on how you can paint Christmas cards yourself. All instructions are well suited for beginners. So choose your favorite design and paint it!
Draw Christmas cards yourself: Buy blank cards or make them yourself
The first step to a hand-painted Christmas card is to obtain the necessary number of blank cards. You can find the white cards in stores either in landscape format, i.e. foldable, or as a single card. Foldable A6 greeting cards are best suited for painting. They are 10.5 cm wide and 14.8 cm high. Optionally, you can also make the card yourself. Cut a square 14.8cm long and 21cm wide. Measure the vertical center and score it lightly with the tip of the scissors. Then fold the two sides of the card together and smooth them out with a ruler. Complete.
Fun craft ideas for children in kindergarten
1. With fingerprints
The first instructions are very easy:Crafting and paintingDifferent motifs can be created. We offer you several inspirations on how you can add cheerful Christmas motifs to your double cards. Of course it's more fun when several children take part. So you can organize a Christmas craft party. You need the following materials:
- Felt-tip pens or Decopens (universal pens) for drawing on the lettering
- Cardboard or a suitable base for the finger paints
- Finger paints for children (see instructions below)
Craft instructions for the finger paints: You can buy the finger paints commercially, for example in a craft shop, or you can make them yourself. For a small jar of finger mullet you need 6 tablespoons of flour, 80 ml of cold water, 1 tablespoon of salt, food coloring and an empty jar with a lid for storage. In a bowl, first add the extra and then gradually add the water, stirring constantly. At the end, stir in a tablespoon of salt. Using a mixer, blend the mixture until smooth and then stir in the food coloring. Continue until you have made all of the necessary finger paints.
Put a little of each color on the cardboard and dip the children's fingers in it. Then squeeze the children's fingerson the greeting cardand let them dry out. Then you can use a felt-tip pen to draw the details. A colorful string of lights, Rudolf the reindeer or a Christmas wreath made of fir green – let your creativity run wild and choose a suitable motif. You can now paint on the lettering with a universal pen. The Decopens are ideal for this purpose; they are suitable for paper, fabric, foil, rubber and wood, are waterproof and have a high coverage.
Christmas tree – make a template
Amerry Christmas tree, which shines in all the colors of the rainbow! Making such a beautiful greeting card is not complicated at all. All you need are paints, a fine brush and a template. You can draw the template yourself or find it online and print it out. Then all you have to do is trace the image. For this purpose, you can purchase a lightboard. The light box is basically a box that has a lamp and a transparent lid. Simply place the template first and then the greeting card on the light box and trace the motif with watercolors.
Optionally, you can simply go to the window and tape the template and greeting card to it. Then all you have to do is trace and fill in the contours. This craft idea offers a decisive advantage: you only need one template and can then make many greeting cards. The children can of course help with the coloring. So crafting fun is guaranteed for the whole family. At the end all you have to do is write on the Christmas cards.
Make stamps with an eraser
The next idea is ideal for small children aged 3 and over. Draw or print out a Christmas motif and let the children decorate it with bright colors. You need the following materials:
- Folding card with a motif (e.g. Santa Claus, Christmas wreath, Christmas tree)
- Stamp inks, finger paints or watercolors
- Several pencils with erasers
Dip the eraser into the paint and use it as a stamp to add color to the Christmas motif.
Christmas balls, fir branches and Christmas trees – paint motifs with watercolors
Using watercolors and a fine brush will give you three easy onesMotives succeed: You can paint a Christmas tree, fir branches and Christmas balls without much effort. Universal pens can be used to place accents in gold and silver on the card. Optionally, you can also embellish them with glitter. Let your imagination run wild and conjure up creative and beautiful Christmas cards for your family and friends.
Paint Christmas cards yourself: color gradients
Color gradients then create the charm of the next greeting card. For this Christmas card you first need to roughly sketch the Christmas trees with a pencil. First select several shades from a color palette to paint an effective color transition. Yellow, grass green and emerald green, for example, harmonize perfectly with each other. Then place the colors next to each other so that they are opaque and paint them into each other with a fine brush. All you have to do is write the greeting card lovingly and send it to family and friends.The minimalist designBy the way, it also looks very nice in small format. You can also decorate gift tags with the motif.
Christmas tree decorations with watercolors
Nothing says Christmas like colorful Christmas balls on the Christmas tree. Create a happy atmosphere and make the recipient happy with your next craft idea. You will need the following materials:
- Watercolors or paints
- Pencil for the outlines
- Fineliner in black
- Eraser
- Paint brush
- Water in a cup
- Cloth oder Stoffreste
First draw the Christmas balls with the pencil. Dip a brush into the water and then into the watercolor. Use a little more water than usual and color in the Christmas ball. Don't let the paint dry out, but turn the greeting card over and blow on it to smear the paint (see photo below). Then let the first Christmas ball dry out completely and continue with the second one.
Don't forget to dip the brush briefly in water and then place it on a dry cloth. Change the water every now and then. When all the Christmas balls are ready, let them dry at room temperature for a short time. Then you can trace the contours of the Christmas balls with a fineliner and add loving lettering to the card. If you would like to decorate your greeting card additionally, you can decorate it with glitter.
TheDealing with watercolorsis pretty uncomplicated, which is why this craft idea is suitable for both adults and school-age children. Our tip: Draw balls of different sizes and paint them in contrasting colors. Yellow, orange and brown look kind of boring next to each other. Red, purple and green look much nicer. If you don't have nice handwriting, you can simply find a template online, print it out and place the lettering on the light box and trace it.
Paint with watercolor
1. Cookie cutter as a template
If you want to design a puristic Christmas card and are a complete beginner, then you need a simple template. This is where cookie cutters come to the rescue. Place the cookie cutters on the cardboard or folding card and trace the contours. You can not only draw Christmas trees and stars, but also other motifs such as mushrooms, rabbits or even reindeer. To make the greeting card, you will need additional materials:
- Cookie cutters (animal shapes, plants, but also Christmas trees and even Santa are ideal)
- Fineliner in black
- White watercolor paint
- Red and black felt
- Glue for felt and paper
This is how you can make the cute greeting cards yourself: First trace the contours of the cookie cutter and then fill them in with acrylic paint. Cut out details from felt, for the bunny a tail and ears, for the mushroom – a hat. Glue the felt details onto the painting pictures and let them dry for a short time. Then use the fineliner to paint the rabbit's eyes and whiskers. If you want, you can use white watercolor paint to paint dots on the mushroom's hat. Then paint other plants around the rabbit and mushroom figures.
This Christmas card will fit harmoniously into puristic Christmas decorations in white, old silver and gray. You can use this to decorate the mantel, for example. Arrange them with other decorative figures made of metal and porcelain and together with fir greenery, driftwood or tree branches. This stylish greeting card can ensure a seamless transition from fall to winter decor.
Paint your own Christmas cards and make Christmas tree decorations
The next craft idea is particularly creative because it combines a greeting card and a party bag in one. There is a Christmas tree decoration hidden in the self-painted greeting card. Your family and friends can simply take it out and hang it on the Christmas tree. A nice memory of you and a nice gesture of attention. And the best thing: This greeting card can be made yourself without much effort.
For this craft idea you need the following materials:
- Cuttermesser
- Pencil
- Fineliner
- A fine brush
- Green watercolor paint in several shades from grass green to emerald green
- Löcher
- Bindfad
- Glittering gold color
This is how you make the beautiful greeting card: First draw a tree ball in the middle of the folding card. Make a hole with a hole and tie twine. Then cut out the ball with a craft knife. Using a fine brush and watercolor, paint pine branches on the greeting card. Let the watercolor paints dry for some time and then decorate the greeting card with gold paint.
Create creative patterns with stamps
Place the stamp on the Christmas card and spray it with color spray
Christmas balls with cheerful motifs – templates are sold in craft shops
You can also use stamps
Make Christmas cards with poinsettias
Marble cards with watercolor
Paint with watercolors
Mix the colors and then apply
Additionally decorate with wooden figures
Make Christmas cards: Christmas card with fingerprints
Merry Christmas greeting card
