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I too spend a little ore time on cards for people who appreciate them. I belong to 2 swaps and my mom does too. Sometimes the cards you receive back are not as complex but I tell my mom everybody has their own style. There are no bad cards, just different. I am just glad there are still people out there that like to make cards. I envy the gals in Britain as they really seem to love papercrafting over there. Wish it was that way here!
I read a lot of the UK card making magazines and their style seems to be different from ones that are popular in the US. Seems like many work with lots of ornate dies, layers, paper flowers, and very feminine themes. I tend to stick to more simple cards, due to mailing issues.
Karen
I live in the UK and I would say those magazines don’t reflect my style or those of my friends who craft, too fussy. I do especially at Christmas make different levels of cards for different groups. I have seven that I tend to make 3D cards for, immediate family get personalised cards and then about thirty get cards that are simpler and quicker to make as I know they will be discarded come January.
I used to make and send very elaborate cards, that took a long time to make, to all of my family members. Then I realized that the only one who kept any of them for longer than 2 days were my mom and my sister. My sister actually keeps all the cards I make, and displays them every year for holidays, birthdays etc. Wow, when I found that out I was astounded! The funny thing is that I apparently sent her the exact same card twice, two years apart. I guess I had made duplicates, just changing the colors in each. When I found myself short of time, I sent it to her. She placed the duplicate cards in her Thanksgiving display, as always, and we had a real laugh over the two twin cards. She does the same for her birthday, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving and Easter. So I always make sure to make her a special card, and try to make it unique..haha!
My other sister tosses everything out after a couple of days, so I make her simple cards that are often duplicates of those I might add to my donation box. I used to just send her purchased cards, but I make so many cards that I never send those anymore at all.
As a cardmaker myself, however, I keep almost all of the handmade cards I receive. My favorites are stored in a plastic bin, where I can pull them out for inspiration. Others might be recycled at some future date. As none of my friends and family make cards, my collection isn't too overwhelming. In fact, none of my local friends are even sending cards at all anymore..it's all email or e-cards (sigh). I'm lucky to get 4 cards for my birthday. This year however, I signed up for the Birthday RAk and have been sending 5-7 cards a month and was just showered with beautiful handmade cards for my birthday last month. Wow, I felt so special! Those cards are all still on display and I was really surprised at how many came in the mail. I expected no more than about 7-8.
So my question is this. Do you purposely spend more time on cards that you send to other crafters/stampers? Do you send simpler cards to those who will probably toss them right away? Do you make cards more for creative expression, or to send out?
Karen
I'm new to all of this and so am trying out some of everything so card making for me is small enough to accomplish a lot as far as learning different things. I have a pile of them now and love doing this. I've sent out a lot and most get achnowledged. It would pain me to see them thrown out, ugh! To me this is art and art is to be kept. If I suspected a recipient of throwing it out and not either saving it or passing it on I would never send another handmade card to them. I do leave the inside blank and attache a note inside so they can be reused. Crafters are artists. Yes, I'm hoping to move on from card making to display art for just the reason that "art" is more valuable to people than "cards". Every single person here is a true artist. Artists need to be a bit stingy with their work, lol!
It depends. I make cards as the moods strikes me. I have sent tons of cards to my sister to use. She corresponds extensively so the cards I send her are used a lot . She give me feed back when people react to my cards and I am please to hear it. She also tells when having one of my cards saves her time when she needed one at the last minute
I make lots of cards for every occasion I can think of. My family expects a card for birthdays, anniversaries and big holidays (even July 4th, St. Pat's, back to school). I make cards that I'm inspired to make. Some turn out the way I imagined (or a real treat, even better!), while others are a disappointment. I will never send a card I'm not proud of to anyone. I make a different card for each person---never duplicates. If a card happens to be easy, quick and can be done using different colors, I may make extras to have on hand for encouragement, thinking of you, just because or to donate to a nursing home or hospice. I make cards for my enjoyment and creative outlet. I absolutely do not care what is done with them after they are received, but if I know someone really appreciates them, or I send to someone in my stamping club, I will try to do something special that I think they would really like. It is the icing on the cake to get thanks or especially praise.
Finally, I also learned that I rarely create the card that is "in my head". I do not have the artistic ability to put onto paper what I imagine. And so often when I finish a card I am disappointed with the product. My good friend, who is a crafter but not a card maker, told me "don't worry about it -- just go to bed and the Craft Elves will fix it overnight -- don't know how they do it but they do." And you know, they do. I think the simple truth is that when you look at a card you just finished you see all the ways it didn't meet your expectations. But the next morning you are just looking at a card -- no expectations -- and you see it for what it is. And often, it's even better than what you had in your head. At least that's true for me. So, thank-you Craft Elves.
I love this! I know that sometimes I have to set a partially finished or mostly done card aside because I am just at a loss as to what to do next, and a bit of distance/time usually helps. And now I can imagine the Craft Elves coming to my rescue!
I definitely try to be sure that my best cards go to those who are fellow card makers or who I know look forward to my cards. When my SIL visited from Florida and saw my stamping area she said "ooooo -- this is where the magic happens!" I loved that and think of it often and now the magic will include Craft Elves!
__________________ "When I do good I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad, and that is my religion."
--Abraham Lincoln
It depends. I make cards as the moods strikes me. I have sent tons of cards to my sister to use. She corresponds extensively so the cards I send her are used a lot . She give me feed back when people react to my cards and I am please to hear it. She also tells when having one of my cards saves her time when she needed one at the last minute
I give a packet of card a dozen cards with envelopes to my sister each year for her birthday and she uses them all year long. She loves handmade cards, but doesn't make them. It's a great way to share my cards and know they'll go to good use. It's funny when she sends one of the cards to my relatives and I recognize mine! Karen
