Creating greeting cards
Creating unique greeting cards makes them special and personal. You can share them with friends and family, or sell them.
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"Every person has his or her own unique ways of looking for new ideas, and you will find yours. I keep an "idea file" at home. It is simply a cedar chest that I put things in, such as ...an assortment of old jewelry, beads, buttons and charms. I often open this box of treasures when I'm stumped and need inspiration."
By Priscilla Hauser (Create Your Own Greeting Cards & Gift Wrap) |
Creative cards : 40 projects for handmade invitations, greeting cards, gift wrap and more
Paula Pascual.
Richmond Hill, Ont. : Firefly Books, 2006.
Complete guide to making cards, tags and gift wraps. Includes information on supplies and techniques, along with illustrated step-by-step instructions to create 40 different projects. Templates for specific projects are also included.
The Encyclopedia of greeting card tools & techniques
Susan Pickering Rothamel.
New York, NY : Lark Books, c2008.
Includes index.
50 nifty quilled cards
Alli Bartkowski.
New York : Lark Books, c2008.
Includes index.
Hand painted rustic cards
Ruth Watkins.
Tunbridge Wells : Search, 2008.
You do not have to be an artist to be creative. Instead, you need only let your imagination run wild.
To produce one-of-a-kind cards does not have to be expensive. Remnant items can be recycled to produce beautiful results.
The first step is to think of a unique idea. Next, you will need to develop it.
For example, you might want to design a card with dried ferns. This means that you have to find some fern plants, dry them, and then determine what kind of background you wish to mount them on. The materials you use to make your idea a reality can vary. They need not be too complicated.
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Add your own personal touches |
Basic techniques for making your own cards include collage, printmaking, inking, painting, papermaking, embossing, metallic leafing, and quilling. For each of these techniques, you can create a simple or a complicated design.
Collage is probably one of the easiest and cheapest ways to make a wonderful greeting card. Using a glue gun or clear glue sticks, arrange a variety of materials on colorful cardstock. Pieces of lace, old costume jewelry, buttons, and beads are just a few objects that can be used.
Preserved flowers : pressed & dried
Diane Flowers.
New York : Sterling Pub., c2006.
Includes index.
Try to press your own fresh flowers during the year. When you have a rainy or snowy day, pull them out and create a fabulous, cheery greeting card. Remember that flowers have different meanings. Thus, you can use a specific one on your greeting card to send a message to a friend.
Making your own greeting cards can be family fun. Or, invite your friends and have a designing party. The ideas are endless. The rewards are countless!
Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff.
