You may be wondering right now, "what is a Johnny Jump Up and what does it have to do with Christmas cards?" Well I'll tell you. Johnny Jump Ups are also more commonly known as violas and are a cute little flower that "jumps up" in the spring. When I thought of lords a leaping, I thought about this flower and figured lords-a-leaping=johnnies jumping. But how to make them work for Christmas? Family Fun had this fun article a while back on making your own plantable greeting cards by making homemade paper with wildflower seeds in it, and I thought "hey, you could do that for Christmas!" Or, as shown above, you can trace a Christmas cookie cutter onto the paper, cut it out, and attach the shape to the inside of a Christmas card. Just make sure that you include directions for planting and watering and such (you can find this information on whatever seed packet you use). I found my johnny jump up seeds at a local garden store, and while the seed packet pickings are more slim at this time of year than in the spring, you should be able to find something that will work, particularly if you're not looking for just one type of flower like I was.
I could give you step-by-step instructions, but the Family Fun article linked above is great with pictures and clear instructions and everything. Just be warned, this project does take some time because you have to soak paper strips overnight, and then after you make your paper it has to dry for 24 hours. Have fun!
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