Preparing for Mother’s Day

I absolutely love making cards. At first, I had no idea where to start.  I started with using kits from Paper Pumpkin and from Simon Says Stamps. Both are great. The Paper Pumpkin is a kit that you can create eight cards, or sometimes bags and boxes. The kit is nice. It includes everything that you need for a bit of fun. I found it to be fun, but like all crafters, I wanted more. I signed up for Simon Says Stamps, which includes papers, ink, stamps, and sometimes a die. This kit does not come with instructions, but it does include a sheet with ideas. The down side with both kits is that you do not know what you will receive each month. I do think that they are a good value. Crafters never stop buying. Your stash will soon grow, as you want to branch out. I am now on a Unity Stamp Company kick. These stamps are fabulous! They are made of red rubber and are baked to order.  I have made a few cards from one of the stamps I recently ordered. Over the past year, I have worked with markers, watercolor paints, and pencils. All three mediums take practice, but the results are beautiful. Below I used pencils. I think the rose is just perfect for Mother’s Day and Birthdays.

A lovely blue rose

Getting Started Can Be Confusing! Or Card Making 101

When I first decided that I wanted to make cards I went to my local Joann Fabrics. Don’t get me wrong the store itself is fabulous, but I had no idea where to begin. I wasted money, because I did not really know what I needed. In my mind’s eye I thought that I would find a kit to make a cute little card, but oh no- there were no kits. I bought card stock, envelopes, a few stamps, glue, glitter, scissors, and some cute embellishments. When I got home I looked at my stash and did not know where to begin. Just my luck HSN has craft day. Oh my, I spent several hundred dollars on items from Anna Griffin and Crafter’s Companion. All of which are wonderful products and I highly recommend. In fact, I will be reviewing the items in another blog. However, to make this one card that I had in my head I had already spent hundreds. Get the picture? Any future cards I make are not really saving me money as my supply list keeps growing and growing. I think we can all relate, that in the beginning, we spend far too much money. In reality, I should have kept things simple and purchased card stock, a couple of stamps, and some ink. I should have started small and added on slowly. I still find myself being tempted. The best thing to do is make a few cards, and then add to your design. Keep a book of designs – where you sketch out what you want to make and create. Add embellishments to your designs to jazz them up. As you become more confident, then buy more items and try new techniques. Every evening I watch YouTube videos to get ideas and learn techniques. Start slowly.  I always make 3 cards of each design so that I can keep one and give the other 2 away, that way I never forget how I made something. I will be posting pictures of two kits I ordered with a review. I ordered the October Paper Pumpkin kit and the Simon Says Kit. I can’t wait for both of them to come in! Happy crafting.