GLOWING SNOWY STREET CARDS

The twinkle of fairy lights shines through shapes cut into Christmas cards, bringing to life a winter street scene with a gentle festive glow.

To make the transparent card, two pieces of tracing paper are cut to the desired size and folded in half to mark where the edge of the card will be. The pieces are not joined together at this stage.

Using a sheet of card in a dark colour, two house shapes and a crescent moon are cut out using a craft knife. The shapes of the houses can be drawn out with a pencil and ruler first, but cutting the details, such as windows and doors, freehand with the knife gives them a naive charm.

The houses and moon are sandwiched between the two pieces of tracing paper, to the right side of the fold, using a tiny dab of glue to hold them in place if necessary.

First, using running stitch, the sides and the bottom of the front of the card are sewn together, stitching through both layers of tracing paper and catching the bottom of the houses at the same time. The top of the card is left open for now.

Paperclips can be used to hold the pieces in place while stitching.

More stitching is added around the moon, securing it in place between the tracing paper.

Through the open top of the card, discs of paper from a hole punch are added, encasing them between the layers of tracing paper, so they can move around, like a fall of snow. The open top of the front of the greeting card is stitched closed and then a line of stitching is added around the back of the card, joining the two back pieces of tracing paper together to finish.

To make the coloured version, a dark piece of card is folded in half and cut to make a tall, thin card. The outline of a house is cut from the front of the card, leaving it attached at the bottom so the inside of the house stays in place. Windows and a door are cut, followed by stars in the sky.

A piece of tracing paper, slightly smaller than the front of the card, is cut and stitched over the card, leaving the top open. Discs of paper are added between the card and the transparent layer to create snow. The top is then stitched closed.

Light shines through the cut holes and illuminates the outline of the house and lights up the dark sky with stars.