We know it's only the end of summer, but this is a great project to get a jump start on those holiday cards! This half-fold card has a snowman inside made of honeycomb paper (see Products>Fun Papers>Honeycomb Paper). The outside of the card shows a man rolling down a hill inside a growing snowball (click on the thumbail for a larger view.) Inside the card, he is holding a string of holiday ornaments that spell out the message "Happy Holidays" in colorful "paper beads" cut from 110 lb. index card stock. The face for the snowman can be cut from any clipart or you can use a photo of a friend or loved one (or even a pet!) to personalize this card project even more! MATERIALS NEEDED 110lb. white index card stock (or the heaviest card stock your printer will handle) White honeycomb paper (see Products>Fun Papers>Honeycomb Paper) Fine sewing needle White thread Scissors Scoth tape Glue or glue stick INSTRUCTIONS 1) Open your graphics program and set up a half-fold greeting card oriented to open from the side. Choose your clip art for the front cover. 2) On the inside of the card, place a text box with your message near the bottom of the card and center it horizontally. Make sure you leave enough room above the text for the snowman (you'll need at least 5 to 5 1/2 inches) and add an appropriate border around the edges of the card. HINT On the inside of the card, make the background area behind the snowman a light color to increase the contrast between the snowman and the white paper. 3) Print your card as is. 4) Open another page in your graphics program and select clipart for the branch arms of the snowman.These will be cut out separate and attached to the honeycomb snowman. Also select a face for the honeycomb snowman. Print on another piece of heavy card stock and cut out the arms and face. 5) Open another page in your graphics software and place a piece of clipart of a holiday ornament. Resize the ornament to a 1/2 inch in height. Duplicate this item 12 times and make color changes if you like. Add a text box to each ornament and add one letter to each to spell out the message "HAPPY HOLIDAYS". Print on heavy card stock and cut out each of the ornaments. (Do not cut out hooks if they are part of the clipart.) 6) Take a plain piece of paper and fold it in half. Measure a space about 3 inches high along the crease and mark. Draw two half circles along the crease, the larger on the bottom and the smaller above it, to make the middle and bottom sections of the snowman template. Cut out and open to lay flat. Make sure you are happy with the shape of your snowman template before you cut it out of the honeycomb paper. 7) Once you are satisfied with the snowman template, fold it at the crease again and lay the creased edge on the edge of the honeycomb paper, making sure that the glue lines on the honeycomb paper are running from side to side, not from top to bottom. With a soft pencil, trace the outline of the template onto the honeycomb paper and carefully cut it out with a sharp pair of scissors. 8) Decide on the position of your honeycomb snowman BEFORE you glue it to the inside of the card! Lay it flat on one side of the crease inside the card and make certain you have enough room at the top to glue on the face you already cut out. 9) Once you have decided on the positioning, glue one side of the honeycomb snowman and press into place on the inside of the card, against the card fold. Close the card and press firmly until set. Open the card and glue the other side of the honeycomb snowman, close the card and place a book or some other heavy item on the card to hold it in place until the glue dries. 10) Take the face you cut out and fold it in half length-wise. Glue it to the top of the honeycomb snowman, placing some glue on the back of the face to attach it the card itself (otherwise it may not open when you open the card). Glue each arm onto the honeycomb itself adding a small amount of glue to the area closest to the "elbow" and attaching this to the card itself. Leave the hands or ends of the branch arms unglued, as you will be sewing the ornament "beads" to these. 11) Take your threaded fine needle and carefully poke through the BACK of the left arm, making certain the end is knotted so the thread does not pull through. Now thread the first ornament - the "H" in Happy Holidays - starting from the BACK of the ornament, near the top. Allow enough room to thread the needle back through the front of the ornament right next to the original stitch-through. 12) After you have stitched through the back and then the front of the first letter, proceed with the other four ornaments for the word "Happy". 13) When you have strung the first five ornaments, push the needle and thread through the FRONT of the right hand and back again. Open your card and stand it up. Adjust the thread and the ornaments until you are happy with the spacing. Do not let the thread droop too much as you will be threading the word "Holiday" underneath it. 14) Now thread the word "Holiday", starting with the LAST letter - "S" and working your way back to the first letter - "H", and through the front of the left hand. 15) Again open and stand your card up. Adjust the thread and the ornaments on the bottom until you are happy with the spacing. Cut the thread behind the left hand and secure it with a tiny piece of scotch tape. 16) Make final adjustments to the spacing of your ornaments on the top and bottom thread. YOU'RE DONE!! honholcar Honeycomb Holiday Card Instructions For a print friendly version, click on this link. The Crafty PC - Matching Your Creativity with Today's Technology Copyright © 2000-2011 The Crafty PC, LLC. All Rights Reserved.