Hasta La Ideas

A few weeks ago, I was asked to contribute to a post on eBay’s online magazine, The Inside Source. As an avid eBayer (it lit fire to my typewriter addiction), I was happy to oblige. They wanted a handmade Christmas card idea, so I wanted to combine my typewriters, typography and something easy to make. 

an UPPERCASE typographic ornament

Here’s a simple project for a greeting card that transforms into a tree ornament. Cut out a circle or other shape of your choosing so that it is slightly smaller than your folded card stock. Decorate the paper ornament with cut-up Christmas cards from years past, old wrapping paper or other pretty paper. I’ve used a page from a discarded dictionary. 

I decided to play on the idea of a “typographic ornament” by cutting out an uppercase initial for each recipient.

(Quick tip for perfectionists in a hurry: print out letters at the desired size from your printer, lay the printed letter on top of your decorative paper and simply cut around the letter, through both layers at one time.)

To attach the finished ornament to the greeting card, position the ornament on the card and use a small hole punch to pierce through the top of the ornament and right through the card. Make a loop out of pretty twine or ribbon and thread it through the holes, from the inside of the card outward. As long as the knot on the back of the loop is larger than the hole, everything will be held in place securely. Decorate the card with a typewritten or handwritten greeting and there you go! (I love to use my vintage typewriters—it is fun to type out a line of text the old fashioned way.)