Here's a close-up so you can see the shimmer. The green on this card shows up darker than in real life...getting the color balance right in Picasa is sometimes beyond me!
I used LuLu Lavender and Pear Tart Memento inks, and light purple and lime Smooch...good color combos for this technique.
On another subject, Super Jen asked what I do with all the cards I make. Well, I send a lot of them to friends, family, and random people I meet on the internet; and I give gift sets to friends and family who ask for them. Most of my cards, however, go to the troops overseas so they have cards to send home to their families and friends.
My husband served 20 years in the US Air Force and deployed several times. Our armed service personnel--and their families--are near and dear to my heart.
There was an interesting thread on Splitcoast recently discussing whether or not we need to produce "useful" things. Is the act of creation sufficient reason to do what we do, or should there be an end-user for our art/craft products?
I'm extremely ambivalent on this issue and truly feel every artist/crafter ought to do what makes her/him happy. I don't like to think of making cards that won't be used because I'm practical that way, but when all the troops come home, who will I send them to? Should I try to sell them? Package them to sell at my church bazaar every fall to benefit the church? Make fewer cards? Shift back to more scrapbooking? Bookbinding?
Ultimately, what matters is that I like making things with my own two hands, ink, and paper. It's therapeutic, makes me happy, and occasionally makes other people happy, too. I'm not going to worry too much about it. Besides, that church bazaar thing sounds pretty good.
But for now, it's the troops who get most of my cards. And that makes me happy.
So what about you? Do you make cards just to make them? Do you send them yourself? Or do you sell or donate them?
Supplies
stamps: PTI Botanical Silhouettes, Faux Ribbon
ink: Memento
paper: PTI
accessories: Smooch, sponge
Beautiful card, Susan. "Smooching" away, aren't you?
ReplyDeleteI send cards to friends, family and internet pen pals for many occasions. The rest I give packages of assorted cards as stocking stuffers, donate to the local shelter when they request greeting cards in their monthly newsletter, send to the troops and sell some at a local craft fair event.
Oh forgot! I have sent some cards to myself when I am trying a new technique and I want to know how they will hold up in the USPS mail. I bet you didn't expect an affirmative to that quesiton.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this PTI set, and you have created a masterpiece with it. The smooch is fantastic! Beautiful card. No, I can't use all the cards I make, so I give the extras away to family, friends, and my church. Someone uses them somewhere! And it makes me feel good.
ReplyDeleteThere is a group of us who like to stamp and we make more cards than we can use. We get together every once in a while and we make a large packet of cards for a missionary that our church supports. The missionaries are alwalys THRILLED to have the cards and it saves them a lot of money having to buy cards. When we have our get together we ask everyone to make two cards for the packet and then they can make all they want for themselves, but most end up making several more for the packet. We take turns picking out which missionary we want to send our cards to. Sometimes we nab them when they are on home assignment and give them to them (cheaper that way) or if we know someone is traveling to visit them, we send along our packet. We share postage expenses when there ar any. We call ourselves the Paper Dolls.
ReplyDeleteLove this - it's dreamy.
ReplyDeleteI send lots away to friends and family, make gift packs for Birthdays, etc.
Very beautiful card. I do all of the above with the cards.
ReplyDeleteI often find that I have more cards than I'll ever use, and I used to send the to OWH, but now that I'm working part time, I just can't afford to send the envelopes, money, etc with them. So...I've discovered that the assisted living facilities in my area LOVE to get cards that the residents can send to they're families and friends. I can make a wide assortment for them (and they can have glitter on them). I don't furnish envelopes for the cards, but the facility just buys a box to go with the cards....it's a perfect solution. Now that my mother is in an ALF, I realize how important it is for them to be able to send and receive mail.
ReplyDeleteI have donated cards to our Christian school bazaar, give sets to family members for gifts, and yeah, I use some myself.
ReplyDeleteI make far more cards than I could ever use. Almost all of them go to Operation Write Home for the troops.
ReplyDeleteI'm never sure which I enjoy more, your cards or your commentary! I think art is first and foremost about making yourself happy. I do keep some cards for inspiration, but I give them to my mother to use, or to friends, and extras to our church secretary to use. I also make up small bundles of cards to use as little thank you gifts. I really like the idea of sending cards for the troops to use, I should look into it for sending to Canadian troops.
ReplyDeleteI got into cardmaking by helping with arts/crafts at a local care home. I started turning the residents' efforts into cards to sell for their therapy dept to fund extra treats. Now I still do that, but make lots of extra cards myself via challenges online and add those into the mix to sell too :)
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely shimmering smooch card! Very pretty! :) I give cards to family and friends and send them via the TPT, SCS challenge. In addition, Cindy also has card drives when she hears about or sees a worthy need. I follow a dozen blogs and sometimes there are card requests, as well.
ReplyDeleteI make cards for my use; and to give as gift sets. I make several sets to be used as raffle prizes for a Foundation Fighting Blindness craft day.
ReplyDeleteI would love to be able to make more to donate; but there just aren't enough hours in my week.
Thanks for sharing that wondering technique! I make cards to make them too. I sell them, send them and give them away too. Most of my card making is for my own satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering my question. I send a lot of cards and I have even struck up a correspondence with an old friend from graduate school days. It seems she has also gotten in to card making so we chat the old fashioned way and nothing could make me happier. When I have excess, I send them to Operation Write Home. I'm starting to get a full box which is what prompted my initial inquiry.
ReplyDeletePS. I love it when my crafts are useful (like cards) but even when they are not, I don't care. It's my therapy.
This card with your Smooch technique is making me think I really really need to buy more Smooch (currently I only own the red Smooch which I bought primarily for doing holly berries).
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that we create something useful when we make cards is the reason many of us do it. What would I do with all the results if I couldn't use them? It's the same with my knitting. But in both cases, the act of creating is important in itself - both activities are relaxing, creative, therapeutic.
I've never sent a card to myself but that's an interesting idea! I send them to all my friends and family. My mother and my three sisters ask me to make all of their Christmas cards and now I have friends starting to ask for them to. What I ask for in return is for them to make a donation to the therapeutic riding stable where I volunteer to help fund kids with disabilities whose parents can't afford the riding and who run out of government funding.
Your card is beautiful. I don't own any smooch ... so need to get on that!
ReplyDeleteMaking cards is one of my creative outlets and I do it for my own satifaction and enjoyment. The by-product is having a large stash of cards that I share with family and friends. I also donate many of my cards to local hospitals and charaties. I'm happy to know that someone is enjoying my cards.
Spectaular Mother's Day card, Susan! Your Mother-in-law will surely love it!
ReplyDeleteMaking RAK cards is the great joy of my life ... as well as creating cards for family and friends. I seldom have a "pile" of cards sitting around because I'm usually creating a card with an individual in mind and that card gets mailed right away. I spend hours on just about every card I make because I'm a fairly slow worker as well as being concerned about the quality of each card.
I always enjoy your posts ... your beautiful creations as well as your sense of humor.
Thanks for being such a fun part of my day!
I sort of "happened upon" this hobby of making cards a few years ago. It seemed like a great hobby for me because I had always loved writing letters and sending cards to friends and family since I was a kid. When I picked up that first book on making cards at my local Joann's store, I had no idea how big the stamping and papercrafting community was around the world. But, anyway... so far I have only made cards for my own use. I do more thinking about making cards than actually making them. I'd love to send cards to friends and family for every holiday and and even "sort of" holiday, but I never seem to get that many done. If I ever start making cards every day like some of you ladies do, I would give sets of them as gifts. I'll probably never be able to make enough to go any further than that. I'd love to be able to sell some cards, but I imagine there are so many people doing that already that the market is flooded and selling handmade cards these days is probably pretty difficult.
ReplyDeleteSince I started my blog, I make a lot more cards than I used to so I'd have stuff to show off. The odd thing is I think I send less cards out. I put my cards in a box and pull them out as needed but the box is overflowing now. I used to give excess cards to someone collecting them for the troops until I saw evidence that she picked out ones she liked to use for herself. That frosted me. I need to fine a new, better source for that.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great card, it is perfect for Mother's Day.
My cardmaking group likes to make cards for goodie baskets. We then add hand crafted boxes and other things to go with a theme. The basket full of treasures is then donated to the various benefit auctions our small town always seems to be holding.
ReplyDeleteSome of us donate to the reader reach out organizations mentioned in Cardmaker magazine, and send cards to Cards for Heroes. Of course our family and frieds get packets for birthdays too. I am much better at sending cards now that I make them!
I reply like your use of Smooch - your card is lovely. I make cards for my friends and family. I don't sell them, but I will give them to friends who need a card for someone else. I would like to donate to an organization, but have not done so yet. I need to make that a priority.
ReplyDeleteEverything you make Susan is beautiful and I have learned so much from you. Your comments are awesome. I make alot of cards for my family and friends and really enjoy send them to brighten their day. I don't want to sell my cards, however would love to be able to donate them but just haven't found any organizations here in Canada that would like them and believe me I have looked for a long time. I asked many of my friends if they would ever like to receive a set as a gift and surprisingly the answer was NO. They feel picking out a card is a very personal thing. Fair enough. I wouldn't want to give them as a gift only to find them in the recycle bucket. Maybe I just have strange friends. Last weekend I was at a craft/bake sale and this woman was selling her cards. They were so pretty and only a buck. What a deal however her sales were ZERO!
ReplyDeleteIt's great that a lot of you have a great charitable place to give your surplus cards to.
ReplyDeleteI make cards to order, they are luxurious and I personalise them with my calligraphy, an appropriate verse is handwritten inside as well. It seems that folk over here will pay well for that exclusive item but go to a craft fair (I don't anymore) and sales will be light if at all.
Recently someone joined our church and she is a cardmaker - haven't seen her work but it is on my mind in the future to start a card ministry....but I don't think it is something which is done in the U.K. much, if at all, and I'm wondering if someone with experience in this could point me in the right direction of where to start, what to do and even what not to do....what do you do about finances etc.....do you make them in church or at home....would be ever so grateful for your thoughts.
You could e-mail me at
Joyce@Shikishi.co.uk.
Blessings to one and all....and love the cards, as usual, Susan. Hope you don't mind me hijacking your blog to get help.
Several days have passed...so writing now seems silly. But I always want to thank you for things I've learned from you and your craft. I just adore the process of making cards- that quiet, secluded tme restores me somehow. I enjoy sending cards to everyone, I supply all the cards for my school's Sunshine committee, and I have a display at my hair salon. It's an honor system $2 donation and I give all proceeds to American Cancer Society. Last year it was about $175. I have twice given large packets of them for troops, and donate gift sets to school scholarship bazzars.
ReplyDelete