Vintage Christmas cards echo the happy memories of Christmas past, reflecting the desire many have to focus on a simpler time during the holidays. If the vintage look suits your style, you can make your own vintage-inspired cards to send to family and friends.

Vintage Collage Cards
For this card, beautiful vintage images are combined with scraps of ribbon and lace to create cards that are miniature works of art. Vintage images from old cards, postcards and advertisements can be found by searching online, or by visiting antique dealers who specialize in ephemera. You'll find that many old advertisements, postcards and old Christmas cards are inexpensive.

Materials:

• Card stock
• Vintage holiday image prints
• Scraps of lace, ribbon, paper doilies and fancy paper
• Glue

Fold the card stock in half to make a blank card in the size you desire. Choose one or more images, and cut it to size to fit on your card. Arrange the image on the card front with scraps of paper, lace and other embellishments until you are satisfied with your design. Glue everything in place, and allow to dry. If the card starts to curl up as the glue dries, just place it under a few books to keep it flat.

Vintage-Look Stamped Cards
There are tons of gorgeous vintage-style rubber stamps available at your local craft store, and online. Some popular designs are Old World Santa images, cherubs, floral images and lovely script phrases. For a true vintage feel, steer clear of bright, clear ink colors, choosing soft, muted shades instead.

Materials:

• Beige card stock
• Vintage-style rubber stamps
• Ink pads
• Colored pencils
• Vintage-look scrapbook papers
• Glue stick

Fold the card stock in half to make a blank card in the size you desire. Use the stamps and papers to create a design on the card front. One way to do this is to stamp your main image onto a piece of the paper, and glue it on. Stamp a couple of small, complementary images onto smaller pieces and layer onto the card, or stamp the images on directly. You can further embellish your design with colored pencils.

To enhance the vintage look of your card, try rubbing a little bit of brown ink into onto the corners and edges of the card for a distressed look. Another way to create a faux vintage look is to treat the card stock with wet tea bags or coffee, being careful not to soak it too much and to wipe up any excess liquid. Next, sandwich the card stock between some paper towels, and put some heavy books on top of it while it dries overnight. This will give the worn, darkened look common to old paper.

For further vintage inspiration, search for vintage postcards and ephemera online or at antique marketplaces.