Happy Monday (or Sunday night, depending on when you read this). We're home safe and sound and will get our Furry Golden Sunshine out of the kennel Monday afternoon. I can't imagine the wagging and whimpering and shedding and licking that's about to happen to us. She's never been separated from us for this long.
Design Discussion
Let's discuss the concept of unity. It's Monday, and I have two cards that illustrate the idea pretty well, so why the heck not?
First, I made a white-based card, with a white stamped layer and a cherry cobbler scallop border. My idea was to play with two sides of a card space...image on one side, sentiment on the other...to achieve balance.
Sadly, it was a good idea that shouldn't have seen the light of day, mainly because the resulting card lacks unity. Unity is what brings a whole card together. Unity comes from all the parts relating to each other in a pleasing way. Unity is vital to clean and simple design.
Unity is the same as a happy marriage; everyone relates, everyone gets along, everyone sleeps in one big bed. On the above card, there's a big strip of duct tape running down the bed.
This is not unity.
So I used the same basic layout but brought the image and sentiment together on a single panel, or bed, if you will. Also, using the colored card base helps tighten the focus on the image and sentiment. Please note that the green ink matches the card base much better in real life...for some reason, the camera or editing software makes it look much darker than it is.
Another thing I like about this card is how the scallops make more sense, echoing the dots of the tree much better than the swirls on the tree in the first card. That echo enhances the sense of unity, too. A more graphic font on the sentiment might have worked better, but I really like Papertrey's Signature Christmas, and this little Noel fit. Plus, I like the curvy contrast to the graphic dots of the tree.
My marriage is a little eclectic. But we get along surprisingly well.
So here's an informal challenge for you: make over a card you've already made to enhance the sense of unity. It's fun!
Reader Question
Some of you have told me you opt for mass production of a single card design for your holiday cards because you would spend too much time deciding who got which card. I, on the other hand, would go certifiably bonkers making more than about five of any single design, so I end up with about 120 unique cards to mail.
Cassandra asked if the amount of bling on a card affects my choice of recipient. Well, Cassandra, the short answer is no. In fact, I have no system for who gets what cards because it would take a ridiculous amount of time to fret over it, and I prefer my holidays to be as fret-free as possible.
Sometimes bulky cards with big bows or knots or lots of bling go to people who are also receiving packages from me, or they are hand-delivered to local friends and neighbors to prevent damage in the mail.
For some recipients (very close family and friends), I do pick a Christmas card that I think they would appreciate...one that might be special for them or that, as soon as I finished, made me think, "Gee, Liz would love this card!" Often, these are the simpler cards because so many of my artsy friends and family have said they love my simpler designs. But I truly don't worry about how much money or product goes into a single card destined for any particular person. For me, every handmade card I send is special.
Once Christmas cards leave my hands, their fate is decided by the recipient. I don't worry about it. Some people keep them forever, most probably pitch them as soon as Christmas is over. My sister actually frames my cards and uses them as Christmas decorations. That's pretty cool, but she's my sister. She HAS to love me. I seriously wonder if I would have a different attitude if a single Christmas card took three hours to make. As it is, the CAS style means that I rarely have more than an hour in a single card (and most are WAY quicker).
I keep all the handmade Christmas cards I receive, posting them on my inspiration board in my craft room for a time and then putting them in photo boxes to keep.
My Questions
Do you consider the amount of time/money/product you put into a Christmas/holiday card when you make one for a specific person? How do you feel about your cards' fates at the hands of recipients? What do you do with handmade cards you receive?
Love your cards. I thought the first one looked awesome, until you described it's "short comings" and showed the second card. The second one is much better. Always so much to learn from you!
ReplyDeleteI do tend to consider how much time or product went into a card when choosing who to send it to. The people I feel closest to tend to get the cards that took longer to make. Last Christmas only immediate family received cards that required LOTS of coloring, and handmade envelopes!
I do not know what happens to my handmade cards once they reach their destination. I have never heard a single comment regarding the cards I make myself. Hearing positive comments would be nice; and I guess it would hurt a little if the card were just tossed away at the end of the season; so maybe it's better I don't really know. I try not to care what happens to them or if they are kept or not and just enjoy the process of making them; but I;m not quite there I guess.
I just LOVE the second card and appreciate your comments on the first one - so easy to see what you are talking about and using your rule of three etc.
ReplyDeleteI think about what card to send to family members and the rest can be a bit more hap-hazard. IF i know someone chucks them, I tend to send one that is less labour intensive. As for the ones I receive, I tend to keep them, and once in a while I will actually cannibalize the odd one - said hanging my head in shame!
Hmmm. Maybe unity is what's missing when I am unhappy with one of my cards. I always learn new things from you! I love when you share your thought process.
ReplyDeleteI do not consider time/money/product when I make a holiday card. Of course, I have limits on outrageously expensive embellishments or paper. I know that some of my friends and relatives save all the cards I make for them. I don't think about the rest. One friend has me "trained" to use a post-it note inside her cards for my personal note, so she can remove that and send it to someone else to enjoy. I save all the hand-made cards I receive (and some store-bought ones as well) for inspiritation. I've noticed that card companies are selling cards that look more like home-made ones, including CAS.
Thanks for the comparisons, Susan. I have not a smidgen of art background so I have appreciated your lessons. You break down the steps which really helps.
ReplyDeleteNow for your questions...If I have someone in mind, I try to tailor the card to them and don't worry what they do with it. Like you, once it's in their hands, I stop thinking about it.
Now for an admission...I do not make my Christmas cards except for family. I have no time for it so (shhhh)..I buy them.
One of the things that I enjoy most about reading your blog is all of the lessons that I learn (and I wasn't even trying to learn anything!) Thank you for the comments about your two cards.
ReplyDeleteAs for my Christmas cards - I tend to mass-produce my cards, although I probably switch up some of the elements every 5 cards or so. Cards for family members are more special, and get a bit more time spent on them. I know that many of them are put away and treasured.
One year, I painstakingly spent a LOT of time crafting a birthday card for a family member. We hand-delivered it, she looked at it, then shoved it under a stack of cards she'd already received; 2 days later, it went to the trash with the rest of them... Note to self: Don't make her a card again.
I have a special drawer that holds all of the handmade cards sent to us - every so often, I take some out again, read them, enjoy the care that went into them, and then put them back for another day. Sometimes I even CASE some of them!
With my close friends and family I always make a Christmas card that will specifically appeal to them...one of my best friends loves pink and all things girly so the cards I make her always reflect that, or my uncle and his family that live in a large colonial home in MA, their card this yr is a stamped image of a colonial all decked out for Christmas. I do mass reproduce some images but I tend to think very carefully about who gets what card.
ReplyDeleteAs to what happens to the cards after they are received,well over the yrs I admit to cleaning out my list of who gets homemade cards and who doesnt.
I keep ALL the handmade cards I receive. Sometimes I display them, sometimes they just go into a keepsake box where I save all special items.
Thank you for answering my question, very much appreciated. I probably fall somewhere in the middle of mass production and 1 offs. I get bored making the same thing over and over, but I make a few of each design. I do consider who I give cards to but I try to avoid too much extra product on cards for this kind of occasion. If I know someone has no concept (or even cared) how much thought and loved has gone into a handmade card, then it is pointless sending them one of your best.
ReplyDeleteI keep all handmade cards and some of the more beautifully designed commercial Christmas cards which I can recycle into cards for next year.
I really do enjoy your design comments. Having given up anything "artsy" after bombing grade 8 art class, cardmaking has been such a learning curve for me.
ReplyDeleteI tend to make whatever Christmas cards I wish with no real thought to the recipient. However, when I do write them, I do try to match them to personality. My single brothers want masculine cards. I have family members that appreciate my sending them religious cards. I tend to send bright, textured ones to elderly recipients who may have trouble seeing. The pink ones often go to my nieces. So yes, I do think about it but don't care what happens to them once they are out of my hands.
I tend to take pictures of all the handmade cards I receive and put them in my inspiration library. Sometimes I will display them for a couple of weeks. Then I admit they will be recycled.
I make cards because I love to make cards. I, like you, sometimes think, "So and so would love this card" and designate it to that person. For Christmas I generally pick the one with cats or purple for my MIL then the rest get assigned fairly randomly.
ReplyDeleteI don't worry about the cost of an individual card. The joy I get from making them is priceless. (well I lump the price in as one "Crafty" expense)
I don't worry a bit about what folks do with the cards after they get them. I hope they enjoy them and appreciate them. But they can enjoy and appreciate them then throw them out if they want. Not everyone is the type to keep stuff. I mean it is just paper.
I don't usually keep cards people send me. I keep them for a while, but unless there is some real reason I don't keep them. I don't keep much though. I'm like the opposite of a hoarder. :)
I want to tell you, I think I have learned more about design from your blog then from all the magazines/websites I read. Love it!
Your blog is the first one I turn to each day - love all your design thoughts and advice and it is helping me to become better at the CAS style.
ReplyDeleteI don't mass produce - but, I do sell my cards to a little boutique-y shop and she wants 4 of each design. She chooses the ones she wants, and then I trot home and make 3 more of each design. Not always easy to duplicate but then it does help me to keep focused.
I only have 2 friends who are card makers so we do go over the top a little on the cards we send to each other for birthdays, special occasions, Christmas, etc. These I do keep.
For family I spend a little extra time on the cards I make, and for Christmas I also spend a little time on making cards suited to the recipient, but I only have a "short" Christmas list so that is no hassle.
Love them both but do agree that your second card does look much better.
ReplyDeleteChristmas cards? Hmmmmm - I have been making my 2011 cards since January and try to participate in a couple of Christmas card challenges each month, to build up stock. I am up around 85 at the moment (so, only about another 20 to go) so each one is individually hand made. If I REALLY like a design I may make a 2nd or 3rd but that's when the boredom threshold kicks in. I Have made a couple of embossing paste cards which are well CAS and elegant but mostly they're individual. I make truly stylised ones for closest friends and hubby otherwise, it depends on the day I write them!
Happy Monday to you too
Kathyk
Good comparison samples. Love the second one. I rarely make Christmas cards anymore. Can't do mass production. Because design is a struggle for me - even if I'm CASing a card - I spend hours on each card. Not practical to make lots unless I join the Christmas challenge over on Splitcoast and begin a year before I send them. But...if I do make a few and send, I spend lots of time on them. Once in a while it bugs me to think the recipient will just toss the card away (like my older daughter) but, really, I don't dwell on it. Aren't our cards little mini-gifts? And once a gift is given, it's no longer ours and any amount of happiness or appreciation it is able to give should be enough of a reason to give it. The recipient should be able to do what they want with it. My other two kids have kept all of the ones I've sent them. My younger daughter puts them on display in her office at home. I keep all cards that are given to me - even store-bought ones. But, I have a stack of them that I'm going to "adjust" (like cutting off the front and putting it on a clean base)so that some soldier can use them . Some of the cards I've received have deep meaning to me besides the fact that they're beautiful. Leslie Miller sent me a card when my Mom passed away that is a piece of art. Plus the fact that she remembered that Mom's favorite color was lavender or purple so the floral image was done in shades of that color. Some day I'm going to frame it.
ReplyDeleteIt's great reading all the answers to your question! For me, I enjoy the creative process, so I usually end up with all sorts of designs at Christmas, although when I find one I like, I'll often make 5 or more of them. At present I have about 25 cards made from about 20 designs, so only a few duplicates, LOL! I do have one design I intend to make 5 to 10 of, because I love it so much (and is a good one for mailing).
ReplyDeleteI definitely think about who I give each card to. For the people that I know don't keep cards and/or don't care about them, I give them cards that take much less time and effort to make. For people who I know truly appreciate the cards, I make an extra effort to make something special.
I keep all handmade cards. I also keep all cards where thought has gone into the sentiment or the personal message inside. I keep my cards in a drawer and look over them every now and then. They bring me a smile.
Michelle.
I love the gorgeous colors and the cute cards.
ReplyDeletePlastic Card
I love reading your blog Susan. It "makes" me think and also gives me reassurance I'm not alone in my card making decisions.
ReplyDeleteI never think about the time when I'm making a card for someone special -nor do I think/care if they keep it.
I'm getting so much enjoyment out of this little addiction of mine... who cares!
It is 4:40 a.m. at my house now, so it is interesting to me to see the 6:38 a.m. on the prior poster's message. Time flies!
ReplyDeleteI love your second card, and so appreciate your explanation on why it works. I learn so much from you, and so does my whole card making club.
I tend to make 2 or 3 of each style of card for Christmas, but then my ADHD kicks in and I am off to another style. And I only need 30 - 40 cards! My daugher keeps every card I make her (which are all custom), but I am sure other recipients toss their cards. Fine with me. Thanks for starting my Monday off in such a great way!
I love your comparison! Your first card looks like a postcard to me, so obviously I like the second much more. Nope, don't worry about how much I spend on putting the cards together --- but CAS cards don't really cost much, do they. I'm just so pleased when I make a A+ card I don't care how much I've spent on it. Like Susie said, I consider my cards almost mini-gifts, and have never really thought of, or minded, what recipients might have done with them. My sisters and daughters-in-law DO tell me how beautiful they are (and I know they save them), and I consider that a gift back to me. In summary, as Pat J above me said, I'm enjoying this addiction so much, who cares?! LOVE your blog, Susan, and also the thoughts of everyone who writes in!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your 'tutorial' on unity. When you described the changes it all made sense. Thank you. I am, also like you in a way. I don't spend a great deal of time on the cards but I do make special ones for family and a few friends. Of the others,I often make 3-5 with a similar design and I do decide which style will be suitable for the recipient. Your other question is easy. I keep all the hand made cards that I receive (that isn't too many as I am the only one that makes cards). My mother and a very dear friend save all my cards and they then give them back to me every few years. It is very interesting to see how my creative juices change over the years.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, some great questions! For me, the joy/thrill/love of making the card is what matters most. I do not fret about who gets what and I certainly do not have a price/time limit for specific individuals! I also do not worry about the fate of my cards once it goes because it is the making and picking and sending that is special for me! I know that most get thrown away (my mother and in-laws keep all my cards ... LOL ... I think it is in their contract!!) and that is okay with me. I know one individual who was all worried about using distress ink on cards because it reacts with water and how that would not be good if the recipient handled the card with wet hands, etc. I'm thinking who cares ... not really the point. I keep some of the home-made cards I recieve ... in fact, a CAS snowflake card hangs in my stamping roome that I received from one Susan R. ... great inspiration and too beautiful to throw away!!
ReplyDeleteAnd since we are talking about this type of thing I'm just going to throw this out there ... I don't really care how much it costs to mail a card to someone. If I am taking the time and care to pick out one of my home-made cards and give it to someone for some reason, then clearly it is worth whatever the cost is. Now, don't get me wrong, I certainly wouldn't want to spend $10.00 to mail a card to someone or anything crazy like that, but a few dollars to mail a "bumpy" card is totally okay with me!! Sheesh, finally got that one off my chest!! I know that not everyone feels the same way for one reason or another ... that is just how I feel about it.
Great card and lesson Susan!!! Maybe today will be my Christmas card making day!
I just posted a do-over card on my blog--great minds think alike! Since I send out 100 Christmas cards, I try to keep them simple; in other words, not too many steps. It helps to start in August before the Fall routine kicks in. Like you, I end up doing more than one or two designs to keep it interesting.
ReplyDeleteLoved the unity discussion, and that you also post your "maybe not" cards like I do. :) I'll keep unity in mind when I create my next "maybe not" card and see about fixing it.
ReplyDeleteAs for holiday cards, if I actually get them made before Dec 24th, I don't worry about who gets what. I used to mass-produce, but it made me a bit crazy, so this year I have been doing the Jingle Belles Rock weekly challenges, and I'll have 48 unique cards by the end of November. Sweet.
Once I send a card, I relinquish all feelings for it. I have to, or I'd be upset to know that someone threw it away. That's also why I don't invest in 50-cent charms and things that I know could end up in the trash. My joy is in the making of the card. (For this same reason, I will never stamp "this better not go in the trash" on the backs of my cards.)
Some people who buy my cards at the market tell me they plan to frame them. That is such a personal rush for me. :) But that's for regular cards - not Christmas so much.
I do keep most hand-made cards I've received, though over the years, they are piling up to where I'm out of room. I may need to re-think this.
P.S. Here's an idea for keeping cards I receive: Keep only the front panel and the person's name on the back. Takes up half the space!
ReplyDeleteI try not to worry about what happens to the cards I send out. Some people tell me that they keep them. I keep cards from other people for a while, not so much because they were hand made or not. I keep them, because they might have a nice hand written note in them, that might have touched me.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I recycle parts of cards I received to make something later.
Cards I send in the mail usually don't have much bling on it and if they do, it's probably relatively small bling. If the person on the receiving end throws it out later on, so be it!
My joy is in the making of it, so either way, I win:)
Petra
For many years I have sent out a lot of Holiday Greeting cards (125+), all handmade. If I I don't get them all made by Christmas I send a Happy New Year card or a Happy Winter Card or even a Valentine card. Some years I have started with Happy Fall or Happy Thanksgiving. I make 10-20 of each design with at least one or two religious designs. It makes me happy when someone comments on my cards and I may send them a more complicated one the next year, but mostly the fun, for me, is making the card.
ReplyDeleteI recognize that most people look at cards as disposable objects. Which is one of the reasons I don't like to spend hours creating mini works of art. I do send cards I particularly like (whether they took a long time to make or not) to people who I know will at least recognize that it's one of my better creations. However, once I send it on, I let it go and what happens to it is none of my business. (I feel the same way about books and baby stuff.)
ReplyDeleteI actually don't receive too many hand made cards and those I do receive are from like-minded individuals. In fact, usually, the note inside is slipped in on a separate piece of cardstock, implying the user would like me to re-use it. If it's a card not to my taste, I will send it on to Operation Write Home. Killer cards I keep thinking I'll CASE them but usually I just take a walk through my card stash from time to time and enjoy them that way.
I prefer not to know what others do with my cards. For awhile there, I completely stopped making cards preferring to do ATC's and altered books. But now I'm back to making cards, and you've been a great inspiration for me. I have received a lot of cards over the years and kept them all, but just recently I went thru them and kept the card fronts for repurposing into new cards. It's my form of recycling, and I wasn't doing anything with them, so why not repurpose them? Oh, and I also sent a bunch of card fronts to someone who is an activity director at a nursing home. The residents used them to make cards.
ReplyDeleteWell, yes i do consider time/money/product because for me, cards are like presents.I would buy a nice but not so expensive gift for someone i don t know that well.But i would spend more time and money to buy a present for someone closer to me.That is what i think when i make cards.
ReplyDeleteSome of the recepients keep my cards in boxes, others put them in the living room where everyone can see them.The rest of them...i don t know and i don t want to.I would hate it if i knew that they through them away.
Funny thing is, i hardly ever receive any cards.How weird is this?
Do you consider the amount of time/money/product you put into a Christmas/holiday card when you make one for a specific person? How do you feel about your cards' fates at the hands of recipients? What do you do with handmade cards you receive?
ReplyDeleteI never mass produce cards (I did it once for a friend who paid me to make her 20 cards to send out announcing her change of address - I was so bored doing the same thing 20 times). Sometimes I plan cards for specific people - I always make really special ones for my parents, and then I have one sister who is a real minimalist so she gets the most CAS card I can make. I know she keeps them all, and I know my mother keeps them all. And recently my best friend told me she keeps all my cards and at Christmas puts up all the previous years' cards I sent her (I was so flattered) - hers are all made specifically for her as she loves cards with a dove and a "peace" sentiment.
Otherwise, I don't worry about what people do with the cards I make for them.
When I receive a handmade card, I keep it. And I keep some commercial cards too - either for inspiration or for re-making in some way or another.
Loved the design lesson you gave us today, and was pleased to notice that when I opened your post and saw the first card, I didn't like it much so I figure my critcal eye is getting more fine-tuned!
I am so pleased I found your blog - I learn SOOOO much just from reading your posts and do use your tips to improve my CAS cards.
ReplyDeleteI do make my cards specific to people, but this is the first year I'm attempting christmas cards, and do think I will have "variations on a theme" so I use the same set of stamps to make the same but different cards - more for speed of production than speed of thinking who gets what, so apart from my close family and a few friends, they will all be generic.
I do like to know what people do with my handmade cards - I do know some of my friends keep them, and others chuck them (one even gave me one back to see if I wanted to recycle the stuff off it). This does affect what I will make them next time - if I put hours of time and lots of product into a card and the recipient gives it back (as was the case with the recycled one) then next time, they are going to get a much quicker and cheaper make! One of my friends keeps all the cards she likes, handmade or not, and frames them in ikea frames in her hallway and just changes them each year - great way to get free art on your walls and to let your friends now you appreciate their choices!
I don't have any crafty friends so don't get handmade cards so can't say what I've done with them - but if I do get a handmade one, I would keep it. I do keep some regular cards from family and friends if its particuarly fitting and apt. Others I do cut up and recycle any useable elements.
I so enjoy your willingness to use the 'misses' to illistrate a design flaw. I didn't know why the first didn't appeal to me, but it all made sense with your description and the second card. I do feel that my cards have improved since finding your blog. I tend to make a bit more detailed cards - but the principals that I am learning are easily adapted.
ReplyDeleteFor my Christmas cards I have done it both ways.All the same for the ease of not having to choose which one goes to who(m)? and inevitably the next year I will make several different designs with the memory of how bored I became the previous year. Also, I am finding that I really enjoy the process much more when I take the time to do different cards. Like most, there are some family and frends that recieve cards geared specifically to their likes. As to the keeping of the cards...once it is in their hands, it is up to them. I have received my joy in the making. I do keep all my cards from husband and children and others that touch me in some special way. I fully intend to keep doing so and leave it up to the kids to dispose of them after my time on this earth is up.
Isn't that why we have children, to clean up after us?? (grin)
Lu C
I've only been papercrafting for a short time and so far when I've made cards for any holiday "mass" mailing I have chosen to make them all the same. I would have a terrible time deciding which card to send to which person if they were all different! That would take me longer than making the cards! LOL!! But, I am hoping to start a blog, so if I had a blog, I'd be making more cards and would have all different cards, so I guess I'd have to change my ways.
ReplyDeleteAs for how I feel about the fate of my cards after I mail them. I think about that every now and then, but it has never been a factor in what kind of card I make or how long I spend on the card. I don't really do CAS cards and my cards are my own little pieces of art so I would love it if those who receive them would feel the same way about them as I do, but I know that's not realistic. I know that there are more people out there who toss things like cards than keep them. I, on the other hand, have been a sentimental card keeper all my life, but I know most people aren't that way even when they receive a handmade card. I've never asked those who have received my cards what they do with them... I guess I'd rather not really know! LOL!! Only one person has told me... so I know my aunt keeps all of my cards.
I've never received a handmade card... none of my friends are papercrafters like I am. But, since I keep most of the cards I receive anyway I know I'd keep the handmade cards, too.
I have a system. No, really! :)
ReplyDeleteMostly I make singles, but on occasion I find something I really like and make a couple. Maybe 3. Once I've written up my list I break it down into groups of people - dh's family, my family, my/his/our friends. Then I sort out the cards. Certainly some special friends/family get specially made cards (the perfect sentiment, color scheme, image), but the rest are divided so that nobody will see an identical card made by me! That means that my MIL and my dad can get the same card (if there was two of it) but my MIL and my SIL can't.
Isn't that ridiculous? One would think that a handmade card is a handmade card - this is just my little quirk!
Much like you, I never consider the 'cost' of each card - paper, embellishments, etc. - in my criteria of who gets which. After all, I bought all that stuff anyway. Like I told my dh when he insisted on using TP during allergy season, the most expensive tissue in the world is the one you don't use! ;D
Oh Susan, you are a laugh riot! One (of the many) reason(s) I check out your site is to get a clue. If I had to make 120 different cards for Christmas I would give up my stamping room. I usually only make 1 style for each holiday or event. Yes, it does sometimes get a little boring BUT they get done on time... mostly. I do pay attention to who gets a card with a lot of bling - I don't have unlimited funds and I would be upset to spend a lot of money and have someone trash it. Most of the recipients save my cards forever - a trifle extreme but appreciated. :0) I once sent a store-bought card to a guy friend due to press of time and he immediately complained about it not being handmade. Have never made that mistake with him again - it does put the pressure on. I only have one friend who makes her cards and they are all much appreciated and all are saved. I hope you never get bored with making cards or sharing them with all of us out here - I do learn a lot and get many chuckles from your blog. Thanks for all you wonderful tips and lessons.
ReplyDeleteLura
Special cards go to each grandhild and to my Mom at Christmas. I have seen my DIL toss one of my cards immediately after opening it - I just wish she would wait until my visit is over before she trashes it!
ReplyDeleteI keep all of the handmade cards I've received. I know each one has been made with me in mind, and I love pulling them back out and getting the same feeling as when I originally opened it.
I make "special" cards for certain people in my family - cards that I may spend hours getting "just right". Other cards are less detailed. I don't object to extra postage and padded envelopes. Christmas cards - I buy Hallmark!
ReplyDeleteWhile your first card is fine, your second card is definitely the one! (At first, I was surprised you were showing the first one with a discussion about unity; fortunately, I kept reading :P)
ReplyDeleteI make mostly one-offs of Christmas cards; some that my husb and/or I really like might get one or two more made. Then it's all about who we're sending them to, not about time/effort/cost involved.
I really liked the 2nd card better - gotta use that for a sketch! Here are my answers to your questions:
ReplyDelete"Do you consider the amount of time/money/product you put into a Christmas/holiday card when you make one for a specific person? " Sorta, I do take into consideration how the person I'm making the card for will appreciate it. My immediate family loves and saves my cards so I make more detailed and specific ones for them. For my "mass list" of people I make a CAS card that I mass produce with changes to papers or sentiments but the sketch is the same.
"How do you feel about your cards' fates at the hands of recipients?" I'm pretty sure the mass-produced cards get recycled so I keep that in mind. I know who keeps my cards and make detailed ones for them to add to their collection!
"What do you do with handmade cards you receive?" Keep them - I have a box for my "special" cards.
I seldom make a card specifically for a person. I make cards on a regular basis, store them in a basket, and when I'm ready to send a card, I choose the one that seems to suit the recipient. Some of my cards incorporate my own handpainted paper in the design. Those are extra special to me, as each piece of paper is one of a kind and the process of painting a layered, multi-colored design is a significant time investment. I will only send those to recipients that I think will notice that the paper is handpainted and appreciate it. I'm far less attached to cards that I stamp and that use mass-produced paper or elements. I enjoy creating them and sending them, but they're easier to part with. I know some of my cards have been framed and some are put in albums but I'm sure many are thrown away. I don't think too much about my cards' fates. I do like when people notice that I sent them a handmade card or comment on how well it suited them.
ReplyDeleteI save all the cards I receive--commercial and handmade. I save nearly all the letters people send me too.