A Christmas Stamp Card that is pure vintage using the simplest of tools and supplies.

(click here for a larger Christmas Stamp Card image)

This Christmas Stamp Card hearkens back to the early days when postage was one cent. Santa is even using that new-fangled telephone invention. The artwork is in the style of Coles Phillips' "Fade-Away" technique, where the subject blends into the background. 

This was our personal card design for 2009. We made 90 of them in a twinkling - and you can too. All you need are the FREE vintage clip art image, red cardstock, some craft paints and glitter, and a hole punch!

We chose the small size for this card because of your feedback asking to make two cards from one 8.5" x 11" piece of cardstock. Office supply stores now sell boxes of envelopes sized at 4 3/8" x 5 3/4", which perfectly fit standard paper folded into quarters. This is a thrifty card craft as well as an easy one.

Materials for this Christmas Stamp Card

• Vintage image and template (FREE PDF download).
• Cardstock, red, 8.5" x 11".
• Craft paint, green.
• Glitter glue, silver.
• Double-stick tape or paper glue.
• Foam mounting tape (optional) (see Tips).
• Hole punch, 1/4".
• Decorative-edge scissors.
• Scissors or paper cutter.
• Small detail paint brush.
• Bone folder.

Instructions 

1. Cut the 8.5" x 11" red cardstock in half to form two 8.5" x 5.5" pieces. Score these across the center and fold with a bone folder to form two 4.25" x 5.5" vertical cards.
   
2. Print the vintage stamp images and greeting image on matte photo paper or white cardstock. Trim the stamp images with scissors or paper cutter. Use the hole punch to cut small half-circles from the edges of the image border (see Tips).
3. Trim the inside panel image ("Sending Holiday Wishes Your Way") with decorative edge scissors, cutting inside the border lines.
   
   
4. With green craft paint and a detail brush, paint several sprigs of pine around the outside 2" of the front panel of the card. Let the paint dry. Add a few sparse needle highlights with silver glitter glue, and allow to dry (see Tips).
5. With foam mounting tape, double stick tape or paper glue, attach the Christmas stamp image to the center of the front panel.
   
   
6. With double stick tape or paper glue, affix the greeting panel to the inside back panel of the card. One Christmas Stamp Card down - 89 to go.

• The Christmas stamp image on this card was attached to the front panel with a few squares of foam mounting tape, to give it some dimension. When we made our 90 personal cards, we shortened the process by using double-stick tape. You decide!
• To cut the scalloped "postage stamp" edge, just use half of the hole punch. Punch a half-circle, leave a little straight edge, then punch another half-circle. You might want to practice this for a bit until you get the feel of it.
• In one of our earlier crafts (Easter Egg Pot), we said that Pussy Willows were the easiest plants to paint. We were wrong. Pine sprigs are the easiest. Just paint a thin stem about 2" long. With an almost dry brush, add thin pine needles on both sides, tapering the sprig to the tip. Done. Brush light and quick and you can't fail.