Anatomy of Christmas Card Making

This is my fourth year to make my own Christmas cards.  Along the way, I've learned a few lessons.  In years past there were too many steps involved so this time I resolved to cut those down.  Secondly, some things were just too labor intensive - last year's ribbon work seemed to take forever.  In past  years I have worked in batches - making 5-10 complete cards at a time.  This time I decided to switch gears work completely in assembly line mode. And lastly, I got started a lot earlier so that I didn't feel pressured. 

I've done vintage and whimsical in previous years so this time I wanted something classic.  My Little Yellow Bicycle 25 Days of Christmas fit the bill for me. I sketched out a design and created my prototype to make sure that I liked the result.

Step 1: I cut and scored my cardstock for the card base.  I actually did this in the evening while watching television.  I then stamped my sentiment on all 60 pieces.

Step 2:  I made my ribbon accents, another project while watching television at night.

Step 3: I then set everything up at my kitchen table with the theory that if I had my project in a public area of the house I would work faster.  I cut out my cardstock pieces, embossed with my Cuttlebug and used my ticket corner punch on the lower corners.

Step 4: I cut out the patterned paper portion of the card, using my ticket corner punch on the top edges. I used two different border punches on the bottom edges just to even out the wear and tear on my favorite punches.

Step 5: I adhered my cardstock and patterned paper pieces to the front of each card base.

Step 6: For the finaI step I used a combination of ribbon accents, chipboard and/or stickers for the embellishments.

Here are just 3 of the completed 60 cards:

Honestly, it has taken me a lot longer to address envelopes and sign the cards than it did to make them!