Note Cards - sentiments on front or not?

[Lori McGarrity]

I mainly seem to make just general note cards quiet often and unless it's for an occasion I don't stamp any sentiment on the outside. But, the question arises after I get my gorgeous cards back from my first swap, Fabulous Flowers and very few did not have some sort of message stamped on front. Should I generally have something on the front if not anything but "Just a Note" or something like that? I figured people would rather have a plain card that they could write inside what it was for.

[Cook22]

Personally I normally don't put anything on the front unless it's an integral part of the card design, or the layout seems to need it. But when my sister used to sell cards for me, those with a sentiment on the front sold better, even if it was just "just a note" or "thinking of you".
At the end of the day though, unless you are selling them and need to consider what customers want, you should really make what you like, I think!

[buggainok]

I make lots of notecard sets for gifts for friends and family. I have always put some kind of sentiment on the front - like Just a Note, or Hello.

This last Christmas I made personalized notecard sets and matching envies for friends and all the gals in our family. Everyone loved them. Here is a look:

[Phantom]

I make both. If it fits with the design, I will include a sentiment or words. Sometimes the words are the focal point of the card front. When I do use words on the front, I really like quotations or something unique rather than the main greeting (happy birthday, congratulations, etc.). Sometimes I want to do more with the image, the papers, and embellishments, and a sentiment would just be too much.

Usually when I'm making cards, I don't do the inside at the same time as the front so I have more flexibility if I save the message for the interior of the cards. And when it comes to the handwriting on the inside, I'm always afraid I'll make a mistake and ruin the card! Sometimes I completely finish the inside, including any handwriting before I attach it for this reason :-) .

If it's a notecard and the intention is to write a letter/note inside, I may put something like Thinking of You, Just a Note, etc. on the front. If it's an occasion card, it depends on how much I want to write inside. If it's a simple Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, etc., if I put that on the outside, sometimes there's only so much to say on the inside.

Thinking about Sabrina's experience, it occurs to me that if I put cards in a shop to sell, it might be a good idea to have a divider or something to specify "blank inside" -- I wonder if people just don't like opening them up and finding nothing there. When I used to buy cards, I'd always gravitate to the "blank inside" cards because I could never find cards where I liked the outside AND the inside!

[binkiemonstermom]

I have made several note card sets lately- feel free to check out my blog for pictures, I did not include any sentiment on the fronts. I also made them very flat so that the end user can mail them without any problems.

[buggainok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by binkiemonstermom

I have made several note card sets lately- feel free to check out my blog for pictures, I did not include any sentiment on the fronts. I also made them very flat so that the end user can mail them without any problems.

Those are very appealing notecards! I like how you left the image just black and white. Neat touch.

[Rachelrose]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only sentiment-averse person here! I rarely put sentiments on the front of cards, especially cards I'm not making for a specific person on a specific occasion and sometimes not even then. I used to think the reason was that I didn't have enough nicely-styled sentiments, so I bought quite a few lovely sets last year, and they are basically gathering dust.

I tend to make cards and then give them in groups of four or six to people as gifts, though. And I figure it's more useful to people to not have a sentiment on the card. Then they can make what they want out of it.

[Lori McGarrity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only sentiment-averse person here! I rarely put sentiments on the front of cards, especially cards I'm not making for a specific person on a specific occasion and sometimes not even then. I used to think the reason was that I didn't have enough nicely-styled sentiments, so I bought quite a few lovely sets last year, and they are basically gathering dust.

I tend to make cards and then give them in groups of four or six to people as gifts, though. And I figure it's more useful to people to not have a sentiment on the card. Then they can make what they want out of it.

Hi there, I like to do the same thing as far as note cards go for presents. I like to do a variety of 6 and I put no sentiment at all. Now I did do a set of note cards for my sister which was very plain but pretty, I used some pretty border folder I had and did that top and bottom and then I had a pretty set of the alphabet so I did her first initial in the same color as the color that I sponged over on the border embossing. It turned out very pretty. Very simple but pretty. You know when I look back over my stash I seem to find I have done sentiments more than I had realized. That sort of sucks too because at some point you may want to send that particular card to somebaody but that saying is not suitable. Oh well, damned if you do and damned if you don't. lol

[Lori McGarrity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggainok

Those are very appealing notecards! I like how you left the image just black and white. Neat touch.

I wondered the same thing about adornments on fronts of cards if they are being mailed through the PO. I have some with not really heavy items but definitely some dimension to them and I wasn't sure about how to mail them. I guess if it's too big then make sure your mailing envelope is large enough and then mail it in a small bubble mailer.

[Rachelrose]

There are some people here on the forum who are really good at using unusual sentiments. Things that aren't "occasional" at all. Maybe inspirational (I don't mean scripture), or humorous, or something that someone famous said. If you use these kinds of sentiments cleverly on a card that is well-designed, the card does remain pretty neutral, a general notecard.

I admire that. But you have to have a collection of the right kind of sentiments. And know how to integrate them into a card.

[RiverIsis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lori McGarrity

I wondered the same thing about adornments on fronts of cards if they are being mailed through the PO. I have some with not really heavy items but definitely some dimension to them and I wasn't sure about how to mail them. I guess if it's too big then make sure your mailing envelope is large enough and then mail it in a small bubble mailer.

Sometimes I slip a bit of embossed card in a regular envelope to cushion the 3D embellishments - a good use of embossing folders too.


As for OP I struggle with putting sentiments on the front. However, when I bought cards I rarely bought cards that were blank inside. Sometimes people just don't know what to say and so want it done for them if they are purchasing a card.

[Rachelrose]

Even though I don't tend toward very thick or dimensional embellishments, I often have to pay the extra 20 cents at the PO for "non-machinable" mail.

The idea of using a bit of embossed card is a good one.

I also often bought (and buy) cards with sentiments on the front. But those were for particular occasions for particular people. I also always bought cards that had no sentiments on them to have on hand.

That said, using sentiments in an interesting way is something I'd like to get better at. Among other crafting goals - when I think of it, I seem to have quite a few of those! :-)!