These Christmas Card Bands can be customized to fit any size design. They add color and flair to your cards. And they keep your cards closed! Card bands are all the rage. I have seen them on HSN Craft Day from several people. And they don’t change the size envelope you need for your card.
Since each card you make is different in size or design I will show you how to fit these Christmas card bands to any card. See other card bands here.
You will need:
- Heavy cardstock for the base
- Various Cardstock scraps
- Glue
- Ruler
- Download File
Paper Selection
These Christmas card bands are done in red, white and green with a little blue of course. If you want to change the colors around you can but make sure you make the plain piece in the files the same color you do the band. You can use any weight paper you want.
Cutting the Christmas Card Bands
These pieces cut fairly simple. If you only want to make one, hide the ones you don’t want to make by clicking the eye in the layers menu on the far right. Each band is grouped together in the Design Space File.
You may have to change the size of the plain rectangle depending on the size of your card, if it is extra wide. I explain how much in the assembly instructions below, so if you are fitting them to a different card, read the whole tutorial before cutting.
Assembling the Christmas Card Bands
After all the pieces are cut, glue the pieces together as in the pictures. Then hook the front of the card bands together like in the first picture. The Christmas card bands are designed for cards that are 7 inches wide. If your card is bigger, follow the following steps for a custom fit. All the Christmas card bands except the wreath are made the same way.
Measuring the Card for a Custom Fit
Start by making your card. Then measure the width of your finished card. Double the width and add a half inch or so (for gluing space). Then measure the length of the card band joined together. Subtract this length of the card band from the first total. This gives you the length of the plain rectangle. Adjust the length before cutting but don’t change the width. Make sure when you size the band you leave a little room so that there is enough room for it to slip off the card.
Putting the Christmas Card Band On
First, separate the card band pieces. Then lay the plain rectangle on the table and put liquid glue on just the ends. You need about a quarter of an inch wide strip of glue. The turn the card band pieces over and glue them to the rectangle at the ends opposite the decorations. Fold the card band around the card and hook it in the front. The card bands are slightly wider than the card so some of the band will be folded over.
The wreath is slightly different. The ends of the small rectangles are glued to the back of teach side of the wreath so that they don’t show in the middle. Then fold it around the card with the wreath in the front. Then take it off your card and fit the long rectangle between the ends. Finally glue the ends and slide the card band over your card.
And your Christmas Card Band is done.
Fun Facts About Wreaths
- The tradition really started with the Celts, who celebrated the Winter Solstice, also called “Yule”. They used boughs of holly to decorate their doors to celebrate the return of the sun or the birth of a god.
- ‘Christmas wreaths’ are also known as ‘Christmas crowns’, ‘advent crowns’ or ‘advent wreaths’.
- By the 1500’s, German Catholics and Protestants were using wreaths to celebrate Advent, the period leading up to Christmas Day.
- Traditionally, Christmas wreaths contained four candles; three purple and a pink, with one lit each week in December, often on a Sunday; and a fifth white candle was sometimes also included.
- The word “wreath” comes from the old English word “writhen”, which means “to twist”.