Millions of greetings cards are sent over the Christmas period. Despite the huge amounts of printed cards it is always much nicer and much more personal to send handmade cards. A handmade card will always stand out and be much more appreciated by the recipient.

There are many great card making supplies out there and you will always be able to find lots of Christmas themed craft project and ideas both online and offline. It is really easy to get started with card making so you don’t need to worry if you have never done it before.

The best way to learn is simply by having a go and getting stuck in. Here are some of our top tips for making your own Christmas cards:

Don’t be a perfectionist

The charm of handmade cards is that they look like they are handmade. A few wonky bit s of paper and splodges of glue are not the end of the world. You will get better in time and these things will become rarer but don’t expect to get it right first time.

Choose a card making kit

The vast choice of card making supplies can be a little bit overwhelming to a new card maker. A card making kit will usually contain all that you need to make an amount of cards. This means that all the supplies are pre-picked for you and all you have do is assemble the cards. This is a very good starting block for beginners.

Find some good inspiration

One of the hardest things in card making is designing the card and laying it all out in the right way. Dig out some of your old birthday cards and see how they are set out. Have a look at where the images and working is places, the colours that are used and the shape of the card.

Then try making a copy of a card that you like to start off with. You will soon learn where to place things and what colours to use together.

Use quality glue and scissors

Glue and scissors are two very basic card making essentials. Make sure that yours are good quality. If you buy cheap scissors and glue then this will be reflected in the finish of your card. A guillotine will also be very useful if you can afford one.

If you are a beginner then here is a simple list that you may be interested in. It helps distinguish different tools used for crafting as well as leather crafting.

If you have also had your experiences in leather crafting this list may actually do you good as well so it’s advisable that you read it too.

Different Basic Tools for Leather Craft

Cutting – These are usually knives, shears, cutters or chisels which are used to cut the leather to the desired size, shape and design. There are also different types of knives for this purpose. Some are round, trim or for utility while some are specialised for carving or shaving.

Skiving and Splitting – There are different set for this purpose usually called the skife. Although leather splitters and French edgers could also function in the same way.

Edging – French edgers used for skiving could be used as edger. But there are also edge bevellers and bisonette edgers when you really want to craft the edges of the leather.

Swivel Knife

Punching – To punch a hole in the leather, there are a number of tools that could be used for this purpose, all with similar function. Among them are drive punches, rotary punches and bag punchers.

Piercing – To pierce the leather, needles or different types of awls (round, diamond, etc) or varied shapes and sizes chisels could do the trick.

Grooving – For putting groves in your material, you can select from a number of tools for this purpose: freehand grovers, groving clippers, adjustable stitching grovers or v-gouges.

Leather Crafting, like wood crafting is becoming more and more famous of a hobby. At first, I really found it weird why people would like doing leather crafts, but in the end it was really enjoyable!

Leather Craft Tools is one my main resources for information about leather crafting, they provided me the knowledge I actually was looking for.