During the holiday season we are surrounded by the sights, smells, and sounds of Christmas. Many of us find ourselves humming along to the songs we grew up hearing.
Much to my children’s dismay I am always singing. Especially during the holidays.
One of my favorite songs, Silent Night, inspired the creation of this Sleep in Heavenly Peace Card Display. It is a perfect piece for showing off my grandmother’s collection of vintage Christmas cards.
Whether it is makes you smile or expresses your faith, sayings turned into artwork for your home are super popular. Here is how I made a DIY Christmas Card Display without using a fancy machine.
I began the project with a handful of old Christmas cards and a $6 Craigslist find. The Christmas cards were discovered in my Grandmother’s dresser. We were emptying out her house in preparation of moving her to a much smaller home.
I love the colors and illustrations on each card. Just look at the sweet faces of Mary and baby Jesus! They were like a tiny time capsule of holiday cheer. I knew I had to do something fun with them.
That’s when the $6 Craigslist find came into the picture. It is a large wooden sign that I originally bought to hang in the kitchen and would make a perfect Christmas card display.
Of course, the sign was too big to fit in the kitchen. It’s just been hanging out in my craft room waiting to be transformed. Lucky for me the “sign” part can be easily removed and flipped over to make a perfect canvas for my Christmas art work.
The blank side got a coat of light blue paint. Then I used my favorite Mama-doesn’t-have-a-Silhouette-machine way to create the saying on my Christmas card display.
Here’s how I did it:
Simply print out your saying from your home computer.
Next use a pencil to heavily shade the back of your paper. Place the saying where you want it then trace over the outside edge of the letters. Tracing the letters leaves a perfect outline for you to follow as you paint the words.
After tracing all of the letters, use a small paint brush to carefully fill in the outline of the letters.
To make words pop, add highlights with white paint and shadows with black paint. Adding these details really makes the sign look like… well, you didn’t do it.
Add a creamy satin ribbon and small wooden clothespins topped with a pompom and the sign is ready for displaying cards.
Sweet little snowflakes were added for a bit of sparkle. They are basic snowflake shapes with glitter added quickly before the paint dried.
It created a perfect frame for displaying the vintage Christmas cards.
After this project, I am definitely in the Christmas spirit. Time to start pulling out all those boxes!
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YOU AMAZE ME!!!!!!!!!!
No. You, my sweet lady, are the amazing one. Thanks so much for leaving me a bit of love!
Awesome job on the painting- wowzer, I don’t have the patience like that. It’s beautiful! Thank you so much for linking up with us at Get Your DIY On. I hope you’ll join us tomorrow with your table decor 🙂
Thanks for your sweet comment! I’ve got a tablescape all ready for the linky tomorrow. “See” you then!
Ashley
What a sweet little sign!! But what really made my jaw drop was the way you traced the letters on — pure genius!!!! Never would have thought of doing that in a million years…. What a great idea for those of us who aren’t ‘crafty’ enough to justify buying a Cricut! Thank you!
Hey Cathy!
So glad you liked my easy peasy technique for painting the sign. And yes I agree with you about the Cricut! Now don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have one but don’t think I would use it enough to justify the cost. Maybe one day…
Hope you will follow along! I’ve got lots of Christmas fun on the way. 😉
Ashley
Hi Ashley. I just wanted to let you know that we are featuring this lovely Christmas Sign/Card Display post at our Making Monday Features. Come take a look ~ thanks for linking up. 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving. http://www.abrightandbeautifullife.com/making-monday-features/
Thanks so much for featuring my project! It makes me happy to see those sweet vintage cards that tell the true meaning of Christmas.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ashley
Hey Ashley! It’s Deonna from the Child at Heart blog! Thank you so much for linking up at the Merriest Blog Hop! I can’t wait to see all of your holiday ideas…This is super cute. I have heard of this pencil technique but you did a great job of actually showing how it’s done. I’m going to have to try that. The highlighting with the black and white paint did make a big difference. Very pretty!
Hey Deonna! Thanks so much for your sweet compliment! I’ve got to get busy with my next post so I’m ready for the next “Merriest Blog Hop”!
Happy Blogging!
Ashley
I adore this sign! Pinned it!!
Thank you so much Jennifer! I’ve just spent my afternoon looking through your lovely blog. Great posts with awesome photographs! I’m your newest follower.
Ashley
I love the way you rescued your Nan’s cards. What a lovely mix of old and new.
What a super cute way to display cards! I wish I had your skill in crafting, I truly do!
I linked over from Sincerely, Paula’s link party & am so happy I found your blog!
http://www.glamgranolageek.com/6-essential-supplies-breastfeeding/
Aww, thanks so much Sarah! I got a huge dose of craftiness from both my grandmothers.
~ Ashley
I love that you reused an old sign! This looks amazing!
This sign turned out great, Ashley! I love the cards hanging from it too! So cute and festive 🙂
What a great way to display holiday cards!! Love it!
Thanks so much, Erin!
~ Ashley