Make a Mini Newspaper

I recently got a fun idea for my Christmas card this year, and I was so excited about it that I immediately got started on a prototype (even though it was only August at the time). It came out even better than I imagined it would. Even my husband told me it was the coolest thing I’d ever made, haha.

So, here it is… my family holiday newsletter in the form of a mini newspaper!

I currently live in New Mexico (recently moved from Utah) and most of the rest of our extended family is back in New Hampshire and Vermont, so we don’t get much time together in person. In the past I’ve done your typical photo Christmas cards, so this will be something a little more personalized and special for our close family and friends to catch up on what we’ve been up to this year.

I designed and format it for a regular 8.5x11 inch sheet, printed it out on newsprint paper, and folded it like a newspaper. If you look closely, you can see it isn’t finished yet. I still need to write some real text, but I have three months so I’m in no hurry! Eventually, there will be an article dedicated to each member of the family summarizing the year for that particular person.

I’m also trying to keep the final result a surprise for my family and friends who will be receiving it, so I also created a fake mockup with a totally imaginary family to show you all what a completed one looks like. (You can also find a video flip-through on TikTok HERE.)

I had a lot of fun with this project, trying to make it as authentic and newspaper-like in the format and details. I even put in a few fake ads that were relevant to the content, such as a holiday sale (since it’s a Christmas card) and a pet store near the section about the family dog. The nice part about this is that it can all fit nicely into a regular A2 card envelope. (I’ve had trouble in the past with mailing my handmade cards that were odd shapes or too bulky.)

If you think this is something you’d like to try yourself, I’ve made it available in my Etsy shop as a Canva template! Canva, if you’re unfamiliar, is a user-friendly online layout tool for flyers, posters, social media images, and more. While you do need a Canva account to use the template, you do NOT need the paid version.

My newspaper template on Canva

Once you customize your template in Canva with your own images and text, you can download it as a pdf and follow my included instructions for printing and assembling. There are versions for 4, 8, and 12 page newsletters, as well as a template for web-only viewing, if you’d rather email or post on your social media.

Click on the image below to go to my Mini Newspaper Canva template!

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Thank You Insert Card for Cricut Joy

It is so nice to be able to whip out a card whenever you need one—even at the last minute—but still make it something special. Insert cards are perfect for this. This is a quick Thank You insert card that I made with my Cricut Joy and card mat. This is actually one of the first insert cards I ever designed, and now it’s available on Design Space!

The finished card is 4.25 x 5.5 inches. I used Cricut's insert card kits, but you can also cut a piece of cardstock to 8.5 x 5.5 inches and fold in half. The insert piece is 4 x 5.25 inches.

Click on the image to go to the ready-to-cut project in Design Space.

If you’d like to make this project and more, I highly recommend subscribing to Cricut Access!

Please note: This is an affiliate link, meaning I receive a commission if you make a purchase by following my link to the site.

I am a Cricut Contributing Artist!

I have some fun news… I am now a Cricut Contributing Artist! This means that you can find my artwork on Cricut Design Space. Since I was accepted into the program, I have been busy building up my library of images and creating some fun projects to go along with them.

Please note: This blog post contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission if you make a purchase by following my link to the site.

There are a few SVGs that are also sold in my Etsy shop, but many are brand new and only found on Design Space.

If you have a Cricut Access subscription, these images are included in that and are free for you to use. If you do not subscribe, you can still purchase images ala carte. However, there are TONS of great images on Design Space from Contributing Artists—not just mine—so I highly recommend subscribing if you want to get the most bang for your buck. The subscription also comes with shop discounts and tons of ready-to-make projects, so there is a lot of value in being a member of the Cricut club!

And be sure to follow my Design Space profile to keep up to date on new images AND projects!

My Top Three Ways to Use Up Sticker Paper Scraps

Do you love to print and cut your own stickers with your Cricut or Silhouette machine, but hate to waste sticker paper? Well, don’t throw away those scraps. You can still use them!

You may not be able to print anymore on your paper scraps, but you can still cut and add designs manually. In this post I’ll be sharing some of my favorite ways to use up small pieces of sticker paper.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This means I get a small commission if you use any my links to buy one of the products from my posts. It doesn’t affect what you pay. You can read more about my affiliate links HERE.

Here are my top three ways to put sticker paper scraps to good use:

1. Use craft punches to create mini shape stickers

Craft punches come in all different sorts of shapes and can be used to make mini stickers from your paper. Create shapes like hearts, stars, snowflakes, or leaves to add to your craft projects, journals, and planners.

You can also add color and designs with markers and pen. I like to use border punches to create a quick lacy edging to add to a handmade card or scrapbook page. Another one of my favorite punches is the binder hole reinforcer punch from We R Memory Keepers (now We R Makers). Strong vinyl sticker paper is perfect to use with this because it doesn’t tear easily.

2. Make your own tape.

Simply cut your scraps into long strips and ta-da—instant tape! Use it plain or create your own design to make a custom decorative tape. If you are addicted to collecting washi tapes, this is a particularly fun and perfect way to use up strips of sticker paper.

3. Create DIY labels. 

This can be as simple as cutting your paper into strips like we did with the tape, and writing on them, or you can cut out fancier custom shapes with your cutting machine. A Cricut Joy is perfect for a small project like this, but it can be done with a full size machine as well!

And those are my three top ways to use up sticker paper scraps! What do you do with your scraps? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear your ideas!

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