• Card making, the fun & affordable way

    Posted on May 15th, 2009 Saver Queen 11 comments

    Lately I’ve been getting crafty and making my own cards.   For example, I made a wedding card for a good friend of mine:

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    I also made a card for my Dad, who recently completed the Boston marathon with an astonishing time of 3:44:18.

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    The benefits of homemade cards are many.  For example, you can:

    Add a personal touch that store-bought cards lack

    Make cards for unique events (such as running the Boston marathon)

    Reduce waste by using paper, envelopes and other materials you have around your home

    Save money on store bought cards

    The last two are dependent upon one major point: that you don’t spend excess dollars on expensive scrapbooking supplies.  Mind you, if you enjoy creating really professional cards, scrapbooking supplies may be worth the investment.  But it depends on where your passions lie.  There is nothing wrong with using your imagination to find things around the house that can be re-purposed into scrapbooking or card-making supplies.

    Look for coloured paper or thin pieces of cardboard in place of cardstock (I’m wondering, for example, if a cereal box or even kleenex box might work.) Cut out letters or pretty pictures from old magazines at no cost. Certain women’s magazines can yield really beautiful pictures - Martha Stewart Living is a prime example. If you don’t subscribe to any magazines, you can usually pick up old ones from the library or at garage sales for next to nothing.  (For an example, see the magazine cut-outs in my Dad’s card pictured above.)

    Save little trinkets that you can glue on. The flower attached to the wedding card fell off of a barrette.  I actually saved it for literally years before I identified a use for it.  Other decorative items might include ribbon (the tiny bit of ribbon you see in the wedding card came off a fancy bottle of body lotion) or stray buttons.

    Obviously some of the items I used were store-bought materials, although most of them were gifts or hand-me-downs, which I had been storing for a couple of years now.  While you may want to invest in a few simple items, aim to go for affordable, multi-purpose items, rather than expensive, single use ones, and supplement with crafts from home.

    Do you make your own cards? Do you use items from your own home? Do you have any suggestions on how to find affordable card-making supplies?

    The Saver Queen

    Crafts / DIY
     

    11 responses to “Card making, the fun & affordable way”

    1. Bee May 15th, 2009 at 04:36

      Wow well done, SQ! And well done, SQ’s dad! Incredible.

      I especially love the little notes you attached with the pins.

    2. Virginia May 15th, 2009 at 10:46

      I love making cards. A friend taught me about stitched cards and those are lots of fun, too. My motto for card supplies is “Think outside the box”. It’s amazing what you can find in your stash box, at yard sales and the dollar store. The button box, the snips of thread and ribbon, even wrapping paper can be cut up and used for card embellishments.
      I think the one you did for your Dad is terrific and I love the victorian look of the one for the wedding.

    3. Amy @ Finer Things May 15th, 2009 at 11:28

      Those are beautiful cards! My scrapbook stuff is a mess in the basement… need some motivation to get back at it. ;-)

    4. Erran May 15th, 2009 at 15:14

      Wow, those are some pretty cards! Nicely done.

    5. Melissa May 15th, 2009 at 15:47

      Those cards are beautiful! I’ve also made some cards from dollar-store finds, but you’ve been more resourceful than I. :) The results are great!

    6. Catherine May 16th, 2009 at 15:50

      SQ I love your cards. How special they are!
      I, too, make cards. Just sent one out with our new grandbaby’s picture on the front with all the stats inside (very professional looking from the computer).
      A few years ago the Martha Stewart mag. had a page you could copy…post cards…so I like to put a picture on the front and write the post card and send it out. Friends and family love them.
      One of my favourite things are stickers. I have oodles of them. My hubby is always surprising me with new ones. So, any snail mail I send is always decorated with the theme of the content of the snail mail.
      It’s so much fun!

    7. C - The Asian Pear May 16th, 2009 at 17:34

      I make my own cards sometimes. But I don’t do it as nice as you. Mine is very kindergarten style. heh. ^_^; Very homemade-y. Yours look so professional!

      That being said, I do like to decoupage. If you have old magazines, snip out stuff and decoupage a piece of cardboard. it looks fantastic as a card (or anything really!)

    8. Melaniesd May 17th, 2009 at 17:44

      I especially love the Heartbreak Hill card!
      I just finished a 10k race today and that would have been so appreciated from a loved one. I’m sure your father will absolutely treasure it.

      I’d love to e-mail you a picture of gift tags I made last year to attach to Christmas presents. I had made homemade jams & preserves and attached special tags.
      Maybe you could share the idea? I found that everyone really appreciated the special touches.

    9. JamsWife May 17th, 2009 at 17:52

      wow, those are beautiful. I started making my own cards, and have all the supplies. But when things got so busy with school it got put aside. Something I should really get back into.

    10. Saver Queen May 17th, 2009 at 18:09

      Thanks for your lovely comments, everyone!
      Melaniesd, please feel free to email it to me at saverqueen at gmail dot com!

    11. Three strategies for a greener, simpler, happier holiday @ Saver Queen December 7th, 2009 at 21:39

      [...] Doin’ it DIY. I love making homemade gifts and homemade cards. There is nothing quite like crafting something that is tailor-made and perfectly suited to the [...]

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