Store bought greeting cards are also becoming quite expensive.  For a nice greeting card, you are looking at spending at least $5.00, and sometimes much more. Instead of spending so much, why not make your own using leftover scrapbooking supplies or inexpensive items that can be found that any craft store or even around your house.

Now, if you have been to the craft supply store, you may be thinking that I am completely wrong – scrapbooking and card making embellishments are expensive. And yes, they can be but by using a little creativity you can easily find many supplies at very reasonable prices. Let’s take a look at where you might start:

1) Ribbon

Ribbon is one embellishment that is so simple, yet can add a unique beauty to any card. Most of us have some lying around the house and, if we don’t, it is very inexpensive to purchase. The best part about ribbon is that it comes in a variety of different colors and patterns and can be used in many different ways. Whether you use ribbons to create a card border or a bow, ribbon can be extremely versatile and is an excellent way to add a special touch to your card.

2) Buttons

Buttons are another type of embellishment that can often be found around the home or, at the very least, be purchased for an excellent price. While they are best suited towards cards with particular themes (for example, teddy bears or denim), buttons can add a sense of dimension to almost any card. One of the most popular ways to use buttons is as a border or to create or highlight words.

3) Faux flowers

Faux (or silk) flowers are another cheap yet stunning embellishment that can be used to decorate your handmade greeting cards. These embellishments are best used for cards directed towards weddings, thank you’s, anniversaries, or Mother’s day.

4) Fabric

Also inexpensive, fabric is probably one of the most versatile greeting card embellishments and can be used in many creative ways. Because fabric comes in so many different textures, colours and patterns, it allows you, the artist to be extremely creative. Whether you want to add a pattern, dimension or a special craft to your card, you can do so using fabric.

Because you are making your own cards, it is up to you how much you can spend. It can be as little or as much as you want. You don’t have to spend a great deal on embellishments unless you want to. Supplies such as fabric, flowers, buttons and ribbon are all inexpensive ways that you can spice up your handmade cards on a budget.

The Original Post is Located Here: Inexpensive Embellishments For Handmade Cards

Sympathy cards are one of the most difficult types of greeting cards to make for the simple reason that we never know quite exactly how to make them or exactly what to say. Because we are sending these cards to someone who is grieving, we want to make sure that we are very aware of their emotions when making this type of card. Let’s take a look at a few tips to help you design the perfect sympathy card for someone who is going through a rough time.

1) The Design

When it comes to sympathy cards the best thing to do is to keep it simple. An over-the-top design can overwhelm the person who is grieving and may not be the best idea. For this type of card you want the receiver to focus on the message, not the design. One of the most popular themes for sympathy card designs is flowers. Not only are they simple but they also offer a subtle color. If you do not want to make a sympathy card with flowers, try to stick to a basic color. It is okay to add a little bit of texture to your card, but once again try to keep it simple.

2) Color

When designing your own sympathy card, avoid bright colors such as turquoise or pink. Try to stick with dark or pale colors that represent mourning. The two most popular colors to represent sadness are purple and black. However, if you don’t want to use these as your base color it is okay to incorporate them into the design in other ways. Other popular colours are white, cream, soft yellows and pale greens.

3) Writing your Message

By far the most difficult part about making a handmade sympathy card is writing the message. When someone is grieving you never quite know the perfect thing to say. So where do you start? Begin by acknowledging their loss by saying something such as, “I was deeply saddened to hear of Jake’s passing”. Then, extend your condolences.  One thing that many people question is whether it is okay to mention an illness in their message. If the individual who passed has been suffering for a great deal of time, it is not at all unacceptable to acknowledge their suffering.

Is it okay to share personal stories? Absolutely. If you have a great memory to share, feel free to share it. Not only will this let the recipient know how much you care about their loved one, but funny or happy stories may also be enough to put a smile on their face.

Finish your message by offering assistance to the family in a time of need. Close using a short statement such as “my deepest sympathies” or “you are always in my thoughts”.

Creating your own sympathy cards is not always easy to do. Many people do not know what to say to someone who’s grieving. Keep your card simple and speak from the heart. Never be afraid to offer the special memory that you have had with the deceased and let the receiver know how much you care about them and their family.

The Original Post is Located Here: How To Make A Sympathy Card

1) Embossing

Embossing is the process of creating an impression on your greeting card. It generally adds a bit of texture and when touched, you can feel that the area has been raised. In the process of embossing, stencils and stamps are used to raise sections of cardstock. 

To emboss your image using a stamp, stamp your image onto a piece of paper using pigment ink or embossing ink. Then cover it with embossing powder immediately. After a few seconds, carefully tip all of the excess powder on to another sheet of paper. There should still be a great deal of powder that is stuck to your wet image. Pour all of your extra powder back into its container and remove any excess grains on your image using a small paintbrush.

Next, you will need to heat the image. It is generally recommended that you do this with the precision heating tool, but if that is not available hold your card over a hot toaster (face up) until the pattern melts and the image rises. Wait for your image to dry and voila! You are finished!

2) Distressing

Distressing is the technique through which you can give images or cards a classic, aged look. It is one of the simplest, most unique looking of all techniques. All you need to distress an image is some distressing ink and a piece of cotton. Place the image you want to distress on top of a blank sheet of paper. Then dab down a piece of cotton in your distressed ink and gently dab around the edges of your image or card. This will make it look aged. To add extra effect, crumple up your paper and add small dabs of ink here and there.

3) Eyelets

If you don’t know what an eyelet is, think of a pair of shoes. An eyelet is the part of the shoe that you thread the shoelace through. Now you may be thinking, how on earth did those get into the world of card making? Eyelets are commonly used to attach tags to cards for the simple reason that ribbons and lace can easily be thread through them. Using eyelets is simple but you will need an eyelet setter.

To add an eyelet to your card, insert a small hole where you would like it to be placed (matching the size of the eyelet). Insert the eyelet and turn the card over. Using your eyelet setter, find a tip that matches the size. Enter this into the hole and apply a firm pressure to set it into place.

So there you have it. These are a few of the most basic and popular card making techniques. Begin with these techniques and then move on to some of the many others out there as you become more advanced.

The Original Post is Located Here: Handmade Card Making Techniques Explained

The Original Post is Located Here: Make Your Own Christmas Cards

If you want to make the perfect greeting card for that special someone you need to know their interests. Their interests will determine the theme of the greeting card. If, for example, they are interested in cars, you can base the theme of your greeting card around this topic. You also need to know the interests of the recipient in order to know what tone you should use for the card. Is the person receiving the card the romantic type? Or would they prefer a funnier, more laidback card? The more you know about the recipient, the better you can create a card that is perfect for them.

You will also need materials. When creating a greeting card, the skies the limit. You can use pretty much anything you want within your card. Many people like to use supplies that are lying around the house, but you can also find many crafts and scrapbooking supplies for making greeting cards. Some of the most basic craft supplies include things such as papers, scissors, embellishments, inks, buttons and stamps.

When choosing your card supplies be sure to take the size of your card into consideration. Most people decide to go with standard size cards, but if you want your card to really stand out that you can make it larger or smaller than usual. If you are making a larger card, make sure that you have enough supplies to decorate it properly. Similarly, if you are making a smaller card make sure that you do not buy too many supplies that will make your card overwhelming to look at.

Another thing that you will need when making handmade greeting cards is time. In order to know how much time you will need to create your card, make a plan. Decide exactly how you want your card to look (card making sketches can really help  you here) and what techniques you want to use on it. By doing so, you will be better able to determine how much time will be needed to carry out your ideas.

Once you have set aside time, created a plan and have all of your supplies ready, you need to make a special space where you can work.  If the area you are working in is overcrowded you may become overwhelmed and your creative juices will diminish. Clean an area that is large enough to gather all of your materials. If you can, keep your materials in a workbox. The more organized you are, the better you will be able to make the perfect greeting card.

Finally, get to work! Remember, creating your own greeting cards should be fun. Use your imagination and create a card that is representative of your creativity and that will make the receiver smile. When you are finished, don’t forget to add a short message. A personalized message will make the card more sentimental and meaningful.

To make the perfect greeting card, follow the few simple steps above. If you acknowledge the interests of the receiver, gather all of the materials, set aside a proper amount of time and a clean working environment, you can let your creative juices flow and this will ultimately result in a perfect hand-made greeting card.

The Original Post is Located Here: Essentials For Making The Perfect Card

And it’s a craft that parents, grandparents, big sisters and any other members of the family can enjoy too.

It’s a very inexpensive craft. You don’t need a lot of fancy supplies and tools to make a card with your kids. If your kids are new to making cards or are still quite young, all you really need is some cardstock in different colours, some glue, a pair of child-friendly scissors (or an adult to do all the cutting for them) and perhaps some fun embellishments like stickers to play with.

Kids always love to play with colours and making cards gives them the perfect opportunity to do so. If they are really young, it’s also a great time to teach them the names of the different colours.

Make sure they have lots of different coloured cardstock and embellishments to choose from and watch them mix and match. You never know what they’ll come up with! Give them some shapes they can trace and cut out too. They don’t have to be anything fancy – some circles, hearts and stars will do.

If you want to create some cards as well, or if your kids are a little older and more sophisticated, you may wish to consider purchasing some fancier tools and embellishments like 3D stickers, rub-ons, brads, eyelets, ribbons and fibres. All add a touch of style and class to your cards and are also lots of fun to play with. The kids don’t have to be the only ones who get to play!

Your kids will probably have lots of ideas of what they want to do with their cards, but if you are struggling to find your own card making ideas, consider starting with a card making sketch. It will make creating your own designs so much easier. Your kids might even like to follow along too. After all, kids always love to do what their parents do!

Perhaps you could choose your favourite sketch together and then see how many different ideas you can come up with. It’s a great way to spend some fun, quality time together and I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised with your results!

The Original Post is Located Here: Card Making With Kids