Today we are going to look at how to decoupage a Christmas card that is perfect for sending out to anyone on your list this year to spread some festive cheer.
Many people have heard of the term découpage and know it to be the art of decorating an object by gluing paper pieces to it, usually in a few overlapping layers, so that the finished piece looks like a painting or mosaic of images.
3D Decoupage is slightly different and is a craft where you cut out multiples of the same image in varying sizes to layer together and create a three-dimensional finish.
You can buy pre-designed decoupage sheets that have the separate layers already picked out for you, but you're stuck with limited styles and designs if you choose that option, so we're going to teach you how to create a 3D decoupage out of any image you want with this easy-to-follow tutorial.
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In this tutorial to make a 3D decoupage Christmas card, we used a Cricut Machine to cut our backing card and add the text using the writing function, but this can all be done by hand too.
It's possible to create a 3D decoupage out of almost any image you can find once you understand the basic concepts. It's all about identifying what is in the background and the foreground.
Once you find an image you'd like to work with for your Decoupage, you need to turn it into a layer sheet. This is simply the image printed multiple times on a sheet of photo paper so that you can cut each one individually to create your layers. I'm using a cute sublimation design I found while looking for Christmas illustrations. I picked it as it's easy to distinguish the foreground and background layers, as well as it being an adorable design!
I find it's easiest to import my chosen image into Canva, adjust the size, and then fit as many as I can onto one A4 page. Then, when you are happy with your layout, click the download button in the top toolbar and select PDF Print as the file type. I printed mine onto matte photo paper, as you want to have a material that is thicker than regular printer paper (as it needs to hold its shape when stacked) but not so thick that it's hard to cut precisely.
We need to identify which parts of our image we want to highlight for our layers. We start with one full image cut out, and then we pick out the items in the foreground for our subsequent layers. Not only that, but we then go on to pick out anything interesting that would look good as an extra layer.
In the case of my image, the background would be the mistletoe leaves, and the foreground would be the mug of hot cocoa, spoon, and biscuits, so I cut my second layer out to just be the items in the foreground.
With this illustration, the spoon and cookies sit in front of the mug, so I can cut another layer out just highlighting them and then also pick the cinnamon sticks and spoon out individually as extra layers.
Cut 3D foam pads to size so that you can add them to the back of each layer.
I like to make sure that mine is well 'reinforced' as, if it's a card you want to send through the mail, you don't want the layers to get squashed.
Position your layers carefully on top of one another, making sure that they are as inline as possible.
Once all your layers are attached, put the Decoupage to one side and move on to preparing your card for personalizing.
To make our Decoupage really stand out, we need to give it a background. I want to add a bright background cutout with a message added on, but my handwriting is terrible, so I'm going to get my Cricut to write it for me!
First, I need to create my background. Cricut has recently released some new free shape options in its latest update, so I've chosen the new rounded corner square as my background shape.
My card blank is 13.5cm square, so I've adjusted the background to be just under 13cm so that it'll leave a small border on the card.
I used a text box to add the message 'Happy Holidays' in the Frosted Gingerbread Handwritten font (if you aren't sure how to add new fonts into Design Space, we have a handy tutorial here), and I've positioned it in the top right-hand corner so that my Decoupage will fit around it.
To turn this into a written font instead of a cut font, we need to highlight the layer and go to the 'Operation' drop-down in the top menu bar. We can select the Pen option under the draw heading.
When we go to the Make It screen, it will prompt us to install a pen into Clamp A which it will then use to write the text before it cuts the square shape. Once that's done, we end up with something like this.
Now that we've got all of our components ready, we can assemble our 3D Decoupage card.
This is the time to get creative with any other little embellishments you want to add.
I had some small pearl cabochons on hand that I glued onto the squared shape to look like snow, as there was a bit too much empty space around my decoupage layers. A lovely way to highlight your decoupage creation is to pick out certain elements in the design and add some glitter to them; it doesn't have to be a lot - less is more with glitter, but added in the right places it can really finish a card off nicely.
Add the decoupage layer to the backing paper, and we've got a finished card!
Happy Christmas Crafting!
Decoupage is such a fun and relaxing craft; it's especially great for use on greeting cards as you can print off your sheets, sit in front of the TV with a hot chocolate and watch a Christmas film while cutting all the layers. You could even look at turning a 3D decoupage into a Christmas decoration; the finished projects look lovely set in box frames or turned into ornaments for the tree - if you used a design like this, then you could create two and stick them back to back to make a double-sided 3D decoupage ornament.
If you give this tutorial a try, we'd love to see the finished results! Make sure to share a photo of any of your creations in our Customer Community Group over on Facebook.
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