I don’t know about you, but I actually enjoy the ritual of sitting down and writing out Christmas cards. I put on some Christmas music, light a “Christmasy” candle, make a cup of tea, and get to work. I enjoy taking the opportunity for a short visit with old friends and family. A few years ago, I started making my own cards, especially for special occasions. Since I send many Christmas cards, I try to keep the design fairly simple. Last year’s card had a small  snowflake.

This year I decided to use a poinsettia. I made the poinsettia using the alternate side looping technique. I usually use this technique when I am using two toned or graduated papers, but I decided that this quick, fun technique would be something a little different.

 I used a Christmas green greeting card and punched a  4” circle with my Fiskars dancing daisies circle punch. I used white pearlized paper for the circle. I measured to find the center of the circle and glued the center of my poinsettia there. The petals and leaves were all done ”free hand”. I didn’t measure the strips so the petals and leaves are not exactly the same size.

For the greeting inside the card, I printed Merry Christmas in red on regular computer paper and then used a holly border punch on the top and bottom. I attached everything to the card with removable Dotto adhesive so the card can be recycled or the little circle with the poinsettia can be use as an ornament or package decoration.