Are you hoping to make a big batch of EASY Christmas cards that are all unique, but similar enough that you don’t have to drive yourself bonkers engineering bunches of different card designs?

Here’s an easy card making formula you can adapt and use to make countless different Christmas cards.

The cards I made using this formula are all “slimline” designs, which means that they are sized to fit inside an ordinary letter-sized envelope.

This formula works best for crafters who have a die cutter and dies to use.

If you don’t already have a die cutter, it could be worth getting one; but please don’t feel obligated to do that. First I recommend checking out this list of Christmas card making ideas to find other project ideas that do not require dies.

For example, this Santa Claus Christmas card doesn’t require the use of any dies.

But if you have a die cutter and dies, read on for the easy Christmas card making formula!

Decide how many cards you want to make. Since I don’t know how many cards you decided on, I’m going to use the variable “X” to stand for this number. So if you want to make 10 cards, X = 10. If you want to make 25 cards, X = 25. Make sense?

Step 1: Start With a Matching Themed Collection of Christmas Paper, Stickers and Embellishments.

Any Christmas paper will work for this purpose, but you’ll likely be happiest with your projects if the paper collection includes some stickers or embellishments that have cute characters to use as focal points on your card fronts.

I used items from the “The Magic of Christmas” paper collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park Paper Company:

• The 12×12″ paper collection, which also includes a 12″x12″ cardstock sticker sheet;
• And the coordinating “Magic of Christmas” 6″x13″ printed chipboard pieces.

Step 2: Grab Some Coordinating Cardstock.

You’re going to need card bases; and you might also need white or light-colored paper to use in places in your card design.

To make the card bases for 4 of the sample cards you see pictured on this page, I used Neenah’s 110-lb Classic Crest Cover Cardstock.

For the fifth card, I used a card base made from Carta Bella’s Christmas Flora Green paper, which is green on one side and a light-colored neutral on the other side.

Step 3: Choose One Slimline Frame Die and Use It to Cut Your Frames

Grab a slimline frame die from your craft supplies stash (or you can borrow one from a friend, or buy one.)

The one I used cuts 3 openings, but it isn’t necessary to use this style of die. You could just as easily use a frame die that only has one opening.

Here’s another example of a frame die that would work beautifully for this type of card making project:

It’s the Mini Slimline Scalloped Rectangle Frame die by Pinkfresh Studio.

Whichever frame die you choose, use it to cut X frames using your cardstock or patterned paper. Save all the inner pieces from your frames, because you might need to use these inner pieces when you make your cards, and you can mix and match them with the frames from other papers in your paper collection.

Step 4: Use Your Paper Cutter to Cut Rectangles for Creating Additional Layers

Your frame counts as one layer. The inside of your frame counts as one layer.

You’ll want at least 3 layers for each card front, and you might want additional layers beyond that.

If you look at my batch of cards, you can see that 4 out of the 5 cards have 3 layers:

• The frame is one layer.
• There’s a solid white or solid-colored layer inside the frame.
• Outside the frame is another layer.

You can use any ordinary paper cutter to do this.

You also have the option to get fancy if you want to. You could use a frame making tool like the We R Makers Frame Punch Board or, for that matter, you could use a frame die, to create one or two of these layers. But that’s totally optional; I have this tool, and I recommend it, but I didn’t use it to make any of the example cards pictured on this page.

That fifth card has an additional layer outside the frame. You can cut a fourth layer for your cards if you like, but that’s optional.

A slimline card typically measures about 3.5″ x 8.5″, however you could make your cards slightly shorter than that; some of mine are 3.5″ x 8″.

When you decide on your layers inside your frames, use what you can from the pieces you already die cut — but if you have to die cut new pieces, go ahead and do it in this step.

Make your outside layers the same size as you anticipate making your card front.

Step 5: (Optional) Ink Around Each Layer to Add Visual Interest and Cover Imperfections

Some cardstock colors are colored all the way through; the “core” of the cardstock has a color.

Most patterned papers and cardstock do not have this feature. If you cut into them, you’ll find white on the inside.

It can look ugly when you expose the white core of the cardstock.

It can also just look sort of boring, like your layer is missing something.

In either case, you can fix the issue by inking around your paper with an ink pad in a color that harmonizes well with the paper but is just slightly darker.

I didn’t do this for every layer, but I did it for the ones that needed it. I used Tim Holtz Fired Brick Distress Ink to ink around the red layers that needed it, and I used Rustic Wilderness Distress Oxide Ink to ink around the green layers.

Set any inked layers aside to dry and ensure they are dry before using them.

Step 6: Make X Card Bases

Use your paper cutter to cut your cardstock to its desired size for making each of the card bases you need. If you’re making a slimline card measuring 3 1/2″ x 8 1/2″, you’ll want to cut the cardstock to 8 1/2″ wide by 7″ tall.

Then use a bone folder or other scoring tool to score the card down the center so you can fold it easily and cleanly.

Step 7: Use Adhesive to Attach Your Layers to Your Card Front

Using a paper-friendly adhesive, tape or glue all your layers to the card front.

Step 8: Embellish As Desired

Next, you’re going to dress up the front of the card and make it look as appealing as possible. You can use stickers, chipboard pieces, enamel dots or whatever other embellishments you have on hand.

Carefully consider the placement of each item before you adhere it. You can move pieces around and compare how they look before committing to any given layout design.

Step 8: Personalize Each Card With a Greeting and Send It To Its Recipient — or Add It To Your Card Stash.

If you already know who’ll be on the receiving end of each card, you can write your greeting to the recipient on the inside of the card and prepare to mail it.

If you aren’t sure who you’ll give the card to, you can simply add it to your card stash, where it will await the perfect future recipient.