Skill Level: Easy

What You Need

• purple or navy cardstock cut to 5 ½” x 8 1/2”
• scraps of black cardstock, or black marker
• scrap of yellow cardstock
• pale yellow or cream colored printer paper
• pencil
• piece of sandpaper 5 ½” x about 2”
• brown ink pad or marker
• adhesive such as double-sided sticky tape, glue stick, liquid glue or mini glue dots
• scissors

   

  What You Do

• Fold purple cardstock in half.
• Cut a curving line across the length of the sandpaper. Glue it to the purple cardstock. Leave the top right hand corner unglued.
• Cut out a few squares, rectangles and half-circles to make a Bethlehem silhouette that is about 2” long and 1/2” high. Glue it just behind the desert sand, then glue the top right corner of the sand down. Or, use a black marker to draw the silhouette.
• Use a pencil to lightly draw a star on the yellow cardstock, then cut it out. Glue it above the silhouette.
• Tear the edges of the yellow paper. Photocopy or handwrite your favorite Scripture verse onto it. Use a brown marker or ink pad to line the torn edges, creating an aged look. Glue it to the top left of the card.

   

  Helpful Hints

• It's difficult to make paper stick to the rough side of sandpaper. Experiment with scraps and different glues if you want the verse to be on the sandpaper.
• Try using the “sepia” setting on the photocopier.
• Consider using the words of a Christmas song such as “O Little Town of Bethlehem” instead of a Scripture verse.
• If your cardstock is a dark color, you may need to write, print or stamp your inside greeting on a lighter color of cardstock and glue it to the inside of the card. Or, use a 5 ½” x 4 ¼” piece of colored cardstock glued to a white card.
• Sandpaper will eventually damage scissors, so use an inexpensive pair to cut it.

   

  Quick switch To make a gift tag, simply use a piece of cardstock about 3” x 4 ¼” and omit the verse. If you want to make a gift tag, just use two snowmen buddies.

  Find out more about card display, personalizing store-bought cards and creating one-of-a-kind photo cards.

  Plus, don't miss our selection of handmade gift ideas in our Christmas activity guide and gift guide.