The holiday season is quickly approaching: Halloween’s here, and Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas are right on its heels. In other words, it’s time to start sending out holiday cards. With so many paper cards and envelopes sent and inevitably tossed this time of year, creating your own eco-conscious greetings is a super earth-friendly move. They can be made with cardboard scraps and materials you have in your house right now as well as decorated with the beets you didn’t have time to roast this week but would hate to see go to waste! The beets can be carved into holiday-themed stamps (no toxic inks needed!) to create the perfect background for your note, or they can be carved into more generic designs so that the cards can be used for birthdays, thank you notes and beyond. And, a simple magazine page can be used as an envelope, meaning no virgin paper is needed for the project and the cardboard and magazine page get one more life before being recycled. What’s more, the handmade designs and personalized words are sure to speak to the recipients much more than a canned graphic and poem.

Materials: Cardboard scraps (preferably cardboard that’s blank on both sides; I chose a cardboard divider from a case of wine—groceries and liquor stores would probably be happy to give these to you, and they’re the perfect size and weight to send through the mail), magazine pages, scissors, clear tape; a paring knife, X-Acto or other carving knife; and beets (the number will depend on how many different stamp designs you decide to create)

1. Cut your scrap cardboard—a card approximately three inches wide and seven inches long will fit perfectly in an envelope made from one magazine page.

2. Determine the shape you’d like to stamp as the background for your card. Simple shapes, like a circle, a star or a pinwheel/snowflake, will be easiest to create from your beet. Once you’ve determined your design, cut your beet in half. Before carving, take the tip of your knife or a straight pin and lightly poke out an outline of the design. Then, cut the silhouette of the shape into the beet more deeply, removing away the  portion of beet not needed. Using a piece of leftover cardboard as a test strip, try out your new stamp by pressing evenly on all sides. If it’s not turning out as you’d hoped, make carving adjustments.

3. Decorate the card in a pattern of your choosing. If your stamp dries out, score the beet with your knife or slice off a thin layer to get the juices flowing. Write your note and make any final decorations before moving onto the next step.

4. Place your card on your magazine page (with what will be the envelope’s front face down). Try choosing a magazine page where the design allows space for addresses (labels can also be used). Fold in the long sides of the magazine up to the edges of the card and press to create a crease. At what will become the top of the envelope, cut the corners of your two side flaps, leaving a flap the width of your card above the card. Then fold the long flaps over your card and tape. To create the top of the envelope, fold your flap as if wrapping a present; the cuttings will allow the card to be inserted and removed. To seal the bottom of the envelope, repeat the wrapping process and tape. Insert the card, address the envelope and mail it to the lucky friend or family member!

Joti Marra is a multi-talented, craft-obsessed Ashevillian who has been finding creative ways to make things since she first learned how to hold a crayon. To see more of her work, visit www.forestcreature.etsy.com.

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