Stamped Cthulhu Christmas Card (or Gift Tag) Tut

Yes, you read that right. Props for this idea have to go out to my good friend Eve who jokingly suggested sending Cthulhu cards as they are “all the rage” this season. Of course I had to take her seriously…. and make a tutorial about it. Now you too can send all your warmest wishes to your R’lyeh-ian loved ones (or use these for gift tags if you’re not the card-sending type! ^_^)

You will need:

Paint- I used acrylic mixing white & green then later red with a dot of black. I added a bit of water too.

Heavyweight Paper- In other words, not the thin stuff you’d pull from the printer.

Sharpie

Scissors (a paper-cutter is also welcome)

Cardboard

Toilet Paper Roll (or other item to use as a handle, see steps 5 & 6 below)

Hot Glue Gun

Cotton Pads or Balls

Tacky Glue

Total Cost: $0!

 

1. First figure out what size cards you want to make. I liked the idea of using 1/4 page so I cut mine down to 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″. They’re basically like small postcards this way and nothing needs to be folded.

 

2. Sketch out your design or copy and trace. I’m sorry I don’t have a pattern but I basically free-handed this picture and drew a santa hat on top.

 

3. Cut out your outline, dividing the pieces based on color. Example- Cthulhu is green, the hat is red. Just ignore the white part for now.

 

4. Trace onto your cardboard and trim again. This will be your stamp. Also, you might want to hang onto those sketch pieces for later.

Note- I would give this a whirl with a cereal box next time. This cardboard wanted to separate on me. If you look closely at the left wing you can see where its starting to come up. I did my best to flatten the ridges after cutting but it was a pain.

 

5. Decide on your stamp’s handle. I cut a couple of slices from a toilet paper roll and folded them in half, put a dot of hot glue inside to hold their shape, and called it good.

 

6. Hot glue your handle to your stamp base.

 

7. Begin stamping Cthulhu. Don’t worry if the color leaks or it isn’t perfect. That’s part of its charm.

 

8. Let dry completely. Then stamp the hats and dry again.

 

9. Grab your sharpie and go to work. Check out your sketch pieces or the original picture if need be.

 

10. Grab your cotton. If it’s the pads like mine you can trim the pieces you need. Be advised though that you’ll want to pull apart the layers after cutting so they don’t come off in transit later. If you’re using cotton balls you can just pull those apart and roll thin pieces with your hands to serve as the trim.

 

11. Use your tacky glue to glue down the cotton along the hat bottom, adding a tiny ball towards the top. Mine dried pretty quickly so I was able to start writing out my holidays greetings immediately after.In case you can’t see, each has a different greeting. It was fun trying to come up with them. Here are some of my favorites:

~He sees you when you’re sleeping.

~”Kidnap Mister Sandy Claws?”

~Here comes Santa Claus.

~What Cthulhu wants Cthulhu gets.

 

& That’s all there is to it, Merry Cthulhu-mas!

 

I’m partying at:

Under the Table & Dreaming