[Alistair]

Well I am, and they're not cards

I'm making six, they're supposed to be cheap, so far I recon its cost £4.60 each in materials that I've bought to make them, worst thing is I've done my usual and got over excited in the shop and bought too much so in reality they should have cost me about £1 each now I've made the prototype, bugger, I'll never get the hang of being frugal

[Bionic]

It seems such a lot of effort to me to make cards of any sort and for just a few, expensive as you have found out.
Perhaps you need to go into bigger production and start selling them next year
Sally

[Backinwellies]

Making Christmas cards is about enjoying the process and thinking about the people they are going to ..... frugal is buying crap cheap shop bought ones ... yes you save a fortune but where is the Christmas spirit in that?

I've spent a fortune buying stuff to make cards ..... and made a bit of money selling a few but really do it as a hobby which I enjoy ... when I'm not moving house or getting married.  Birthday cards are a better bet as people spend a lot of money on these in shops.

Enjoy the process and remember the real reason for Christmas

God Bless

Linda

[goosepimple]

Keep all the cards you are sent this year, make a big collage of cut bits and then chop it into rectangles or squares you can mount on a blank card.  Cheapo cards next year.  What a waste it all is otherwise...
 
My sister sent us all an e-card last year on the computer and it was great - a wee animation one of animals settling for the night on a farm and a little sheep dog walking home, really touched me.   

[Mammyshaz]

I planned to make some again for the family but time has just run out 
The more you make cards the cheaper it gets as you keep bits and pieces from one year to the next ( and as Goosepimple said, cut out bits from old cards )

I love homemade items of any kind. It's the time and effort that's gone into it that means more than any bought item.   

One way of being frugal about cards is buying a craft magazine around christmas time that has lots of freebies in for the cost. I've had a good selection of bits for cards this way 

most of all enjoy making them and feel proud delivering such unique cards 

[in the hills]

I've made them for family and neighbours. I bought a pack of blank cards and made them using envelopes/stamps collected during the year ..... so .... 10p each. Got the idea from Country Living Magazine last year ....... mum's magazine which gets passed to me and then my neighbours !!!!! Would post a piccie but don't know how, must get OH to teach me.

[Alistair]

Well if we're doing photos....

[in the hills]

   Very impressive.  What's it made from?


         Mine are very simple .... not going to post a piccie now     

[Alistair]

Errrrr, stuff, it's hewn out of solid gold

Not really, it's a 'frame' made from the back of a writing pad, fiddle but worth it, about 2.5"square

Decoupage with gold paper

Then using fimo make the 'tile', and cook it, then using enamel paint paint it and stick velum paper on the back to write on with a nice festive message typed on with my trusty second hand typewriter

[Mammyshaz]

That's not a Christmas card, that's a piece of artwork!! It's a lovely keepsake 

I was talking basic card and bits type Christmas cards 

[Alistair]

Blushes


Thank you

In the hills, photos please I  want to return the compliments, it's only fair

[Fowgill Farm]

I have made a dozen or so this year but they're very simple, plain white A4 card on which i've printed a picture of my pigs in the snow and the words Happy Christams from Fowgill Farm on them, envelopes from Tesco, job done.
I regularly chop up old birthday cards to make new ones and i keep all my xmas cards and chop them with pinking shears to make next xmases pressie labels.
I also shamlessly keep all old wrapping paper for re-use eith to cut chapes from for cards or to re-wrap. SIL thinks i'm crackers!
Mandy

[Lesley Silvester]

My ex liked to make gift tags from last year's cards. The trouble I had preventing him from cutting them up as soon as they arrived.      It's put me off doing the same.  I used to decorate blank cards with stencils and silver or gold spray.  Bells, snowflakes, etc.  Then wrote on them in gold or silver pen.  Very cheap to make but looked ok.  I'm no good with anything that involves glue.  I end up stuck to it.