Warm boot recommendations please

[ChookieCaz]

Earlier, I showed a friend a picture of the cards that are displayed earlier in the thread and she agrees with me that they look professional.

 

We then went and tidied up the quilling things that my children left out all over the table. Maybe we can make some cards and perhaps the children can enter one in for the local Gardeners' Association show. I won a share of a cup one year with a quilled card.

[ubereglu]

I make cards, but generally not very often, I get too busy and say I keep meaning too but I end up not bothering!!!

[Lovemychooks]

I too, love crafty type things especially cross stitch but that has been left by the wayside now i've got my chickens

 

Mind you with the colder weather coming in now, i'll probably start doing them again

[Roxanne]

We make cards as a family!! My mum started it - she belongs to a bowls club and in the winter they still meet once a week and make cards to sell for charity at Christmas. Anyway, mum has been making us cards for about 3 years now and my daughters and I decided to get involved too. We now have kitchen table sessions once a month and make cards for the following month for friends and family. We have a large box in the utility room and whenever we find bits and bobs that might be of use, in they go!

Kate, your cards are very professional - I am sure they would sell well.

Keep up the good work!

[chickencam]

We usually find a damp weekend afternoon at the end of November and sit down as a family and make Christmas cards. It makes a really nice start to the Christmas build up.

 

I feel that personalised cards are so much more special because someone has taken a little time rather than rushed into a shop and grabbed the nearest card. This does lead to the difficult issue of what to do with them afterwards, because they can not go into cardboard recycling beacuse there are usually lots of other materials on them and it is hard to keep them or throw them away

[ChookieCaz]

Perhaps friends or relations who like making their own cards could be encouraged to cut off or unstick anything from the cards you have made to use again? I have bought some sticky pads (when I can find them after one of the children has been at them) and I hope that apart from raising the item from the main card, it might make removal of that part easier.

 

Some of the items that have been used for our cards appear to be made of card, but I hadn't thought about the other bits and pieces such as the glittery shapes or some of the stars. Maybe a local pre-school or nursery or whatever could cut the cards up when they are no longer needed for collage and model making (what used to be called junk modelling)?

[emu]

Hello

Can confess to making cards- made a batch of christmas cards earlier in October from various bits of things - a very messy operation in our household anyway.

Got hooked approx a year ago

[ChookieCaz]

I don't think we have enough Christmas cards yet. During the past couple of days, I remembered that my Dad may have given us a disk with clippart-type pictures to make cards on the computer. I ought to either look out for it or get one of the children to try it.

 

I think it must be getting on for a month since I was last making some Christmas cards, plus a few other greetings cards, but have got more bits for them from a small craft shop at Woolhampton (along the A4). I managed to buy some stickers and also some toppers that come with a sticky pad attached, so these are not normally messy. However, with some of the stickers, you have to be careful about picking them off the backing sheet as they can get damaged, or they may not always go on the card straight.

 

You're right about the mess! Even "Pritt Stick" can be messy, or the double-sided tape doesn't separate for me and I have to ask one of the children. My youngest has the knack and makes it look so easy. I have some glue with a fine tip for quilling and that can be useful for glitter, but even with several sheets of newspaper underneath, that and other sprinkles manage to get about the table and floor.

[ali-s]

I would really like to have a go at cardmaking. I am not at all crafty although I have taken up knitting again and have a drawer full of dishcloths and a hen teacosy

 

What are the basic items I need to get started? And is there any good online places to buy?

 

I read earlier about Hobbycraft stores which sounded very good but the nearest one to me is Glasgow

 

Thanks

[Nicola H]

Ali I have just started to make cards and found magazines like "Card making and Papercraft" are very good they have all the card and paper included inside the mag. it gives you step by step instructions on how to make each card using the materials provided. The magazines look expensive but you usually get enough extras to make 10 cards, then once you have got the hang of it you can design your own.............Good luck.

[ali-s]

Thanks Nicola

 

I will look out for those mags when I am in town

[Lesley]

Lakeland have a big Craft section - and you can order online.

 

Booksale shops also have a craft section if you are just starting out......

 

.... and there are plenty of Ebay shops - the lady who sells on the Sunday market in Stratford has an Ebay shop.

[Mrs Frugal]

For ideas, try doing a Google image search for handmade cards. This is also a good site for ideas - http://www.docrafts.co.uk/ It's amazing how easy they are to make and if you save interesting bits from cards you receive, it works out cheaply too!

 

I bought my first card making things from here - Paper Mill Shop where they sell the card in A4 and A5 boxes you can fill with your own choice of coloured and textured cards and papers. They also have peel off stickers which are so easy to use, rubber stamps and inks etc. Lakeland's craft section is fantastic!!

[ChookieCaz]

Hobbycraft tend to be expensive. Have you got any small, independent craft shops near you? Shame you don't live somewhere like Newbury as the one I went to earlier would have been good to visit.

 

In the past, I've bought envelopes separately from the paper. I've used thick A5 paper, sold as artists sketch pads - at least 120gsm. However, recently, I've been buying proper blank cards, mainly from the craft shop. However, if you have a good guillotine, you might wish to buy some A4 card (if A5 isn't available) from somewhere like Staples. I've found some stickers that I like, also some "Sprinkles", including Christmas shapes and have cut bits off old Christmas cards to make more. During the Summer, I took some photos that I thought might be useful for printing out as birthday cards.

 

I haven't visited the site that Kate recommended, but only during the last couple of days, I looked at a leaflet that I got from "Cake Creations" in Tilehurst, Reading and that mentioned the site. It looks like it can give both ideas and stockists. Have to visit it myself

[Egluntyne]

Anyone got any pics of the cards they have made?

[ali-s]

Went slightly mad yesterday in town. bought a cardmaking magazine which came with lots card blanks and sparkly jewels, card toppers and papers. Bought 2 packs of make your own Christmas cards, special scissors, fancy paper punches, glue and glue dots. Planning on making OH a special christmas card today

 

Lakeland Ltd are going to send me a craft catalogue after christmas. Their

Spring edition is due out early in the new year.

 

Tesco had a lot of their craft stuff reduced

[Lesley]

Anyone got any pics of the cards they have made?

 

I made a couple of these when I was making cards with Lauren and Jake......they look slightly better than my dodgy photography shows.......

The trees are made from hand-made paper with a lot of texture.

[Egluntyne]

Wow! Very professional looking.

[ubereglu]

They look good Lesley. I meant to take a photo of all of the cards I made. But I forgot and have send most of them now. I know I sent Claret one I made, so perhaps I'll get her to take a piccie of it.

 

Liz

[Guest]

only just started reading this forum, just thought I'd hold my hands up to making cards. Hubbie takes the photo, I write the poem. I'm also doing L4 sized key rings now too, photo on the front and poem on the back. They're in a few galleries/shops around Liverpool and they keep me in pocket money. Couldn't make a living from it but it buys me the odd treat, it's great fun and a real buzz to think someone likes your stuff enough to actually part with cash to own it.

 

It all started with a challenge on a poetry forum to write a poem for VE day, I wrote the 'Dickie Lewis' poem and then the idea just spiralled from there.

 

Just click on my www and then the link to the cards, if you want to see them.