Handmade Easter cards have a great amount to offer both crafter and recipient. Not only do homemade cards often seem more personal and meaningful, as well as being incredibly fun to make, they are also a good way to get into the true meaning of the holiday. If religious Easter cards are difficult to find, creating one from scratch can be an enjoyable alternative. Making handmade Easter cards is a great Easter activity for the whole family to enjoy.
Easter Symbols
Traditional religious Easter symbols include the cross, Jesus, Bible scenes, or images of a shepherd and his flock. Other common Easter symbols such as lambs, eggs, lilies and birds, often used to represent spring and new life, can also bear a religious meaning.
A lamb might represent how mankind is the flock of the Lord, Jesus as the Good Shepherd, or Christ as the Lamb. The egg, being without edges or corners, can represent eternal life or the Holy Trinity. A white lily is often used to show purity or salvation, and doves represent peace. Traditional Easter colours are white and gold.
An Easter Cross
An effective handmade Easter card is easy to achieve with a simple cross design. Cut a cross shape out of gold material and glue to a rectangle of cream or white card. Now use a gold or yellow pen, or gold glitter, to draw on rays of light coming from the top of the cross. Glue this white rectangle with the cross design onto a slightly larger rectangle of coloured card; gold or yellow to match the cross or its rays would be effective colours. Finally, attach the whole design onto folded card in any Easter colour. Pastel blue, green or peach will work especially well.
For a variation of the above, try creating the rays of light with a collage of different yellow papers, or use close-up images of yellow flowers, as in the picture below this article. Experiment with different colours and materials for the cross. The cross itself could even be created using images of flowers, Easter symbols or Biblical scenes.
For a more elaborate Easter cross, try attaching a necklace or bracelet to a card so that it hangs down over Easter flowers or an Easter scene. An image of this can be found beneath the article; see more detailed instructions here. This effect is more easily created using a card with a pre-cut-out frame. These aperture cards can be bought from most craft stores.
Easter Lambs and Shepherds
Lambs and shepherds with their flock are great images to use on religious Easter cards. Try using decoupage to achieve an effective 3D look, or create a collage of images in the shape of a cross, lily or egg. Look for images on the internet, or browse decoupage and card-making kits at a craft store. Try adding embellishments to the images, such as cotton balls glued to lambs to create their fluffy tails.
When creating religious Easter cards with or for young children, why not try crafting a lamb from textured materials? A trip to the local craft store to see what cards and fabrics are available can be made into a fun day out for all the family. Try using a soft, fluffy material for the lamb’s wool, felt for its face, ears and legs, shiny black card for the nose and hooves, and a cotton ball for its tail. Finish off with craft eyes, available from most craft stores for making soft animal toys.
Other Religious Easter Cards
For unique and memorable handmade Easter cards, why not try creating stylised religious images using a variety of materials? Choose an appropriate or favourite Biblical scene to re-create; Jesus resurrected, walking on water, performing miracles, or as the Good Shepherd are some examples of scenes to consider. Great artistic skill is not needed to create a beautiful homemade card; simple painted brushstrokes and a felt oval for a head can be surprisingly effective when combined with well-known verses and messages.
To add religious meaning to common Easter symbols, simply accompany the image with a Biblical quote or verse, perhaps one that explains its significance. For example, an image of a lamb could be given meaning with these lines from John 10:11-12: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Victoria Hooper - Victoria Hooper is the acquisitions editor and acting editor for Polluto, a Spectrum Fantastic Arts award winning magazine published by ...
