Homemade fingerprint Christmas cards

Have you got your Christmas cards yet ? We've made some handmade cards based on the nativity story.

The base of the card is really simple - a fingerprint. We're quite big fans of hand print / finger print art (as you can see from our autumn tree, spring tree and handprint birthday card).

After a finger print we added different details and embellishments to make the different characters in the story. 

For Mary and Joseph I added a brown and blue body as well as head scarf. Baby Jesus had a bed of straw made from cutting a fringe into a piece of yellow a.d a crib made from corrugated card.

The angel had silver wings (drawn on with one of these markers - which I love  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pilot-Silver-Marker-extra-point/dp/B0017TMLAK) and a body made of glittery card.

The shepherds had bodies similar to Joseph and a white finger print which I turned into a sheep.

Finally the wise men had brightly coloured bodies, hand drawn crowns and stick on sequins for gifts.

If your after other ideas for homemade Christmas cards check out this rather cool hangout (see if you spot us!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WntF78jdcXs

Hole punch Rainbow cards

The Fairy loves to hole punch. Our flat is frequently littered with bits of confetti produced with industrious hole punching. She is very fond of my selection of craft punches as they produce interesting shapes. She is also fond of painting and printing - as a process rather than what she produces.

Both these activities are great fun and she learns lots from doing them. I often let her combine these two loves and punch her own creations.

The by product of all this hole punching art work is lots of beautifully rainbow coloured shapes (or what ever colour she has been using to paint or print that day!) When arranged these make striking and unique designs (a bit like the originals!). Perfect for cards and a great way to preserve art work.

 

Depending on how the paper is painted it helps to get a range of colours if you cut the paper into smaller strips (other wise the hole punch can only reach the outside edge).

You can use any design you like but I really like using geometric style patterns (like a square or a line of three) in similar shades or a rainbow shape using rainbow colours. The are perfect for grandparents.

We demonstrated this craft along with another card design on a Google + hang out, along with another why not take a peak.