If you like the idea of crafting Christmas items from paper, or if you just like to embellish the paper goods you already have, then invest in a good paper-crafting stash of items and create any of the following to decorate your home for a Christmas gathering:
Paper garlands: Using die-cut holiday motifs, cutouts, or combinations of individual letters, you can create your own holiday garland in just a few minutes time.
Line up the cutouts side by side on a flat surface. Tape or connect them together with string and then hang them around doorways, on the front of buffet stations, across front porches, and so on.
Cut out beautiful paper snowflakes and string them together for a one-of-a-kind garland. Use your own imagination, as well as current offerings at your local craft store, to piece your garland together.
Paper ribbons: Tape paper ribbons to the edges of open shelves, around cake plates, or to gift wrap.
The easiest way to make paper ribbons is to cut 1-to-2-inch-wide strips of paper with a paper cutter and then follow these instructions: (1) Trim one edge of the paper strips with decorative-edged scissors. (2) Use a hole punch or craft punch to cut out designs every few inches. (3) Adhere double-sided tape to the back top edge of your paper ribbon, and join the edges of the lengths of ribbon together as needed.
Place cards: Place cards on your holiday table can be anything but boring. You can make your own place cards out of index cards or specialty paper. Make them so that they tent fold, or insert flat place cards into place card holders.
Notecards, greeting cards, and invitations: If you want to make your own stationery items, decide how detailed you want to get. Do you want to cut and score your cards yourself, or do you want to just embellish premade blanks?
Gift tags: You can make gift tags from scraps of your best paper, hang tags from an office supply store, or use metal foil cutouts!
To create holiday motifs, trace the outline of a cookie cutter onto paper and then cut out the design and embellish it as desired. Punch a hole at the top of your design and string yarn or ribbon through it.
Pinpricking paper: Pinpricking paper is a technique that Victorians used to punch decorative designs into paper. By using a simple pattern and a pushpin, you can create pretty, impromptu paper chandelier shades that fit over your regular ones for the holidays.
Pinpricking paper is quick and easy, and it looks best when wrapped around a light source. Try applying pinpricked paper to luminarias, glass votives, flameless candles, and window shades.
