Lovely handmade crafts

Simple yet amazing! Handmade New Year’s card ideas that will delight

Keyboard playerSAKI
I’ve been playing the Electone since I was six, mainly performing Disney music, anime songs, and music from dramas and films. I post performance videos on YouTube and social media, and I also give concerts. Building on my Electone experience, I took up synthesizer and piano during my student years and performed at school-sponsored events. As a writer, I’ve covered not only music-related topics but a wide range of genres, so I hope to draw on my experience to deliver articles that make readers think, “I want to try that!” or “I want to listen to that!”
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

Have you given up, thinking “I want to make New Year’s cards by hand, but it seems difficult…”?The truth is, you can create surprisingly beautiful New Year’s cards just by using familiar materials like washi tape, stamps, and origami!In this article, we introduce ideas for New Year’s cards that will make people exclaim, “Amazing!” when they see them.Each one can be finished with simple steps, so even first-timers can try making handmade New Year’s cards with ease.This coming year, why not send a heartfelt, handmade New Year’s greeting to someone special?

Simple yet impressive! Handmade New Year’s card ideas that people will love (41–50)

Write a horse in clerical script!

@itouunpo
Clerical Script “Horse” – Ichimonji Museum by Unpo Ito, a Nitten-exhibited calligrapher and office worker-artist Unpo Ito, a Nitten-exhibited calligrapher who is also a salaried worker, explains stylish, spot-on ways to write the Five Script Styles of calligraphy (Seal, Clerical, Standard, Semi-cursive, Cursive). Welcome to the opening of the one-character art museum (Ichimonji Museum), where you can savor each completed character accompanied by guitarist Tetsuya Yamamoto’s performance. This month’s character is “馬” (horse). Origin of “馬”: A pictograph representing the form of a horse with a mane. Tips for writing “馬” in Clerical Script: Aim to express a sense of galloping speed. Turn the four dots into short diagonal strokes, and proceed briskly in one go, making full use of the resilience of the brush tip. Character of the Month: 馬 Featured Track of the Month: “The Laird of Drumblaire” from Tetsuya Yamamoto’s solo album “Museful” The calligraphy meetup writes four characters from Chinese poetry in Seal or Clerical Script. Each session is a stand-alone café workshop. We provide the calligraphy tools, so feel free to join. Whether you haven’t done calligraphy since elementary school, you currently practice and want to try Seal or Clerical Script, or you’re simply interested in writing in these styles, all are welcome. Now recruiting participants for the Seal/Clerical Script workshop “Shokai” in Nagoya, Kuwana, and online. For details, please see Unpo Ito’s website. Unpo Ito website: https://itouunpo.com/ Guitarist Tetsuya Yamamoto website: https://www.tetsuya-yamamoto.com/ Unpo Ito Nitten-exhibited artist Online calligraphy classes Five script styles HorseClerical script
♫ Original song – Umine Ito – Umine Ito

Clerical script, often used on banknotes and newspaper mastheads, can make your New Year’s card stand out when you write the character for “horse” in it—it looks really cool! The key is to evoke the feeling that, even though it’s a kanji, a horse is about to dash off, with its mane streaming in the wind.

Try boldly extending the horizontal strokes a bit longer than usual.

For the final dots, connect them to the upper parts so it feels like the horse’s legs are clip-clopping along.

By rendering it large on your New Year’s card, you’ll achieve a sophisticated piece.

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Let’s draw a great horse using only circles!

Just by stacking circles! A pro-level, realistic 'horse' sketching technique that even beginners can draw

Let's draw a great horse using only circles!

When you try to draw a horse realistically, it’s complex and difficult, right? But by combining lots of circles, you can easily capture and draw the overall form! The key is to think of the horse’s body as many separate parts.

Divide the torso into front and rear sections, and break the legs down into the forearm, joints, and even the hooves, representing each with circles.

Adjust the circles—elongate or enlarge them—according to each part.

Once you’ve mapped out everything with circles, refine each part into the horse’s actual shapes.

Erase the unnecessary guidelines, add the soft hair of the mane and tail, and you’re done! Try using this as practice before drawing one for your New Year’s cards.

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Cute for New Year’s cards, too! Horse origami

[New Year Origami] Easy and Cute Horse Folding Instructions / Origami Zodiac Horse (Uma) – Origami Horse

Cute for New Year’s cards, too! Horse origami

Here’s an idea for making a horse using two sheets of origami paper.

First, we’ll make the horse’s head.

Fold the paper into a triangle, then fold the left and right corners up to meet the top corner.

Next, flip the paper upside down and again fold the left and right corners to the top corner.

Open the folded left and right corners outward and fold them back so their width is halved to create the ears.

Turn the paper over; use the top corner to form the mane, and make a valley fold on the top layer of the bottom corner to create the nose.

Fold the remaining corner inward to refine the outline, and the face is complete! For the body, the steps are the same as making a “trick boat” up to the midway point.

Make two boats, one on the top and one on the bottom.

Use the two corners of the top boat to form the legs, and the right corner of the bottom boat for the tail.

Tuck the remaining left corner of the bottom boat inward, then fold the whole thing in half along the center line, and it’s done.

If you stack and glue the two parts together, it adds thickness; for use in New Year’s card designs, it’s better to use a printed version to keep it flat.

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Draw with colored pencils! Cute horse

[Colored Pencil Drawing] How to Draw a Horse | Year of the Horse | New Year Illustration | New Year’s Card Illustration

Draw with colored pencils! Cute horse

With colored pencils, you can create a wide range of expressions—from realistic horses to cute, character-like ones.

If you want to draw a cute horse with colored pencils, this method is recommended! First, sketch the overall outline with a light beige tone, then color the body with a darker brown pencil.

When you do, be sure to leave areas like the eyes (or any parts you want to render in a different color) uncolored.

Once you fill in the smaller parts that need different colors, you’re done.

Making the overall shape rounder, aiming for a character-like feel, or adding rosy cheeks will enhance the cuteness even more!

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Horse origami New Year’s card!

[Origami Original] Ema Charm Edition — Horse, Year of the Horse, 2026, origami, New Year’s card, the Twelve Zodiac Animals, single sheet, horse

Horse origami New Year’s card!

This origami piece combines an ema plaque and a horse’s face into one design.

There’s a space on the ema where you can write, so you can add New Year’s greetings or a short message.

Because the idea involves detailed steps like making creases and small cuts, it’s suitable for upper elementary school students and older.

Start by making the horse, then shape the remaining part into the ema.

If 15 cm origami paper feels difficult to fold, use slightly larger paper.

If you plan to attach it to a New Year’s card as-is, it might be too thick or heavy to mail, so consider using a printed version instead.

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New Year’s postcard with a horse illustration

Year of the Horse: Handwritten New Year’s Cards 🐴 | Easy Way to Draw a Horse | Side View Horse [Etegami Illustration]

New Year’s postcard with a horse illustration

Let’s try drawing a horse using ellipses.

It even explains how to draw those tricky legs, so it’s easy for beginners at illustrated letters to give it a try.

Use ellipses to represent the front part of the torso and the rump.

The key for the rump is to leave a one-ellipse gap from the body and draw it slightly higher.

For the legs, imagine a long, slender “S” and draw them extending up and down from the joints.

Once you master these two points, you’ll be able to draw horses in various poses, like a side view or a rearing horse!

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Simple New Year’s card you can draw in 3 minutes

@yukarin_fudeart
[Simple New Year’s card you can make in 3 minutes] Christmas is over and it’s starting to feel like the year-end, isn’t it? Next year is the Year of the Snake, and I’ve been seeing lots of cute little snakes on Instagram. So this time, we’re keeping it super simple. We’ll focus on the phrase you write most often: “Happy New Year.” Use a light-ink brush pen to draw a slithery snake, then just dab with a single red dot pen. That’s it.Dot pen Brush lettering art Translation #Brush Lettering Course Watercolor painting Watercolor illustration Brush Sense Art
♬ Flowers – SoundAudio

Using a brush pen gives your writing a striking look, but simply drawing isn’t enough to make it feel well-designed.

So this time, we’re introducing New Year’s card designs that make good use of a brush pen.

Because the ink of a brush pen seeps out slowly, the key is to move the brush without rushing and write with tighter spacing between characters.

It’s also important to emphasize certain parts of the characters.

This idea set also includes easy-to-draw designs for flowers and the zodiac using a pen, so check those out as lively accents as well.

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