Once of the things that came out of my former membership to a ladies’ group was card making. I kept the one I made at the demo, but I have never been able to duplicate it as such or as nicely, even using similar materials. Isn’t that strange?
My friend also got the bug, and invested over £300 in gadgets, cutters, papers and trimmings. She turned out a variety of very nice cards which she then stored in a large box ready for use but has since lost interest. Whether she used all her handmade ones is hard to say, especially as my birthday card this year was shop bought.
For my part, I got fed up with finding pretty cards with lousy verses, or fabulous verses in tacky cards, so the idea of making my own was quite appealing.
I started out with a 50 pack of blank cards, various ribbons, coloured papers, trimmings, sticky pads and double sided tape, and set about ‘being creative’. Actually, it wasn’t as easy as I thought so obviously I don’t have a flair for art, but I managed OK and some of my efforts weren’t bad at all.
Hubby made the mistake of letting me loose in a large Arts and Crafts shop ALONE where I spent over £65 on accessories and a set of cutters, so one batch I made had square, oval, round or rectangular ‘windows’ accordingly as I practiced. Every time we went anywhere that had a craft section, I was the first in line to hunt for ‘little things’ to add to my kit. Blank cards came in packs of 10, 25, or 50 and a variety of sizes, colours, textures and shapes. I can now understand how people can spend so much on card making, and I’m not talking about the single ready made card set that you simply have to put together either. There is just so much to choose from, separates or all co-ordinated, accessories, tools and the like, and all pretty pricey for someone like me with usually little money to spare. Years ago, the idea of card making was to save money!
Browsing again in the Arts and Crafts shop some months later, I discovered ‘pyramid’ pads and decoupage figures and flowers, so added those to my collection. One major drawback was that such cards are now too fat for standard mail and have to be posted in the Large Letter category. However, some of the pyramids could be divided and made into 2 cards, so I was able to make my materials stretch, and also keep the postage down!
Hubby wanted to have a go too, so we set everything out on the table and spent a pleasant couple of hours sticking, cutting and trimming away in happy accord. The end results were very different, but one thing we did agree on was that ‘less is more’. Whereas my early efforts had lots going on, the simple designs were definitely more appealing to the eye. I also think it’s more personal putting in a little time making something specifically for someone in mind.
There are some beautiful cards in the shops, but they come at a price. Whilst I’m not saying mine are as lovely (no chance but I have the occasional moment of ‘beauty’!) , I get a lot of pleasure making them. You can download verses for every occasion from the internet, though I prefer to write my own. Although we took our gifts down to my Mum last month, I made her card and posted it a couple of weeks ago. This was the verse I put inside:
Christmases past, Christmases new,
Whatever occasion
We’re thinking of you.
Miles in the distance, miles far behind,
Wherever we are,
You’re not far from our mind.
The Family gathers, though we’re far away,
We’ll be with you in spirit
On this Christmas Day.
NB: cards shown are for illustration purposes only.
