Have you ever received that little gift during the holidays from a friend or co-worker you weren’t expecting it from? It seems to happen periodically and it can catch us off-guard and unprepared. Years ago I would feel very awkward about accepting it and not giving a gift in return, but as I grow older, I’ve learned over time to graciously accept the gift in the spirit in which it is given, smile and say ‘thank you.’

I do, however, like to acknowledge the receipt of the gift and so I have taken to making holiday-themed ‘Thank You’ and note cards. These are quickly made with leftover papers and embellishments from your Christmas cards, tags and wrappings. You can simply send the pretty hand-made thank you card to the gift-giver or even better, give them a set of note cards in a pretty little gift bag for them to use!

This is a set of four Christmas-themed cards I made using leftover papers from Authentique’s Festive line, my Xyron Mega Runner with permanent adhesive, bookboard accents from Globecraft & Piccolo and some pretty twine from The Twinery.

As you can see, these are your basic A2 card (4 1/4 inches-by-5 1/2 inches). I basically used coordinating scraps, cut and inked them and stuck it all down on a plain white card made from 110 lb. white cover stock from Staples. I added some borders punched with a Fiskars Border Punch, popped some of the elements up with dimensional foam tape and added a few embellishments.

The Globecraft & Piccolo (G&P) bookboard pieces are left natural and coated lightly with G&P Glastique Gloss to give it that beautiful shiny finish. I love these because they’re thinner than most chipboard elements on the market and will easily go through the mail.

I like to present them in a hand-made gift bag. The bag is made from a 6-inch by 12-inch strip of cardstock and then just add pretty papers to the front, back and sides. Tie a pretty ribbon for a handle or braid some colored twine from The Twinery. All the papers, including the gift bag, are stuck down with the Xyron Mega Runner using permanent adhesive.

These make perfect gifts any time of the year. They’re easy enough to make that you could keep several extras on-hand for that last-minute gift for co-workers, teachers, etc. January is also a great time to take the time to sit down and make your Christmas cards for 2013!