Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Affordable Notecard Gift Set



Here's the single-panel notecard I'm using for the sets I'm giving at Christmas to my kids' teachers and therapists. This year, I have 17 sets to make, as two new aides have been added to the roster in the last month. These things happen when one son has autism (it REALLY takes a village, people!) and another son has attention issues and a team-teaching classroom. I thank the Lord above for every one of those 17 professionals.

The card uses the three-poinsettia stamp from PTI's Peaceful Poinsettia. I stamped it and then added the gold edging. (See my edging tutorial for instructions.) For a final touch, I added little dots of gold stickles to the center of each poinsettia.

I package ten notecards and envelopes in a clear box from PTI.

Cost analysis: For those of you watching your pennies this Christmas, notecard sets can be a very affordable yet high-quality gift. I use PTI's stampers select white cardstock, which is thick and rich-feeling, but I hear that Gina K has some fab paper as well. For a ten-card set, you only need two-and-a-half sheets of 8.5x11 cardstock because each sheet yields four cards. DO NOT COMPROMISE on the quality of the cardstock. Thin, floppy notecards will look and feel cheap.

The clear boxes PTI sells are $6 for ten boxes. (I saw basically the same thing at Marco's the other day for about $9.) PTI's boxes, at 60 cents a piece, are very affordable and make the cards look so professional. But you could use pretty ribbon to tie the sets together instead.

I buy nicer envelopes from Marco's ($10 for 50) because I like the way they feel; that means $2 per set for envies. The lady at the checkout kindly tried to steer me to the less expensive ones, which are $6 per 50. For even less money, you can buy 100 standard invitation envelopes for $8 at Office Depot. Since envelopes are going to end up in the trash eventually anyway, I think skimping on them won't ruin the gift. Unless the recipient is a stationery snob (or paper crafter), he or she won't notice the envies if the cards are stunning!

The total cost for my notecard sets is roughly $3 each but could be even less with cheaper envelopes. My budget was $50, so I'm just a dollar or two over, which is a minor miracle. If not for the two new aides, I'd be below budget, which is simply unheard of in my world.

[Note: I'm assuming no shipping from PTI 'cause I can't imagine not ordering $55 of perfection from them to get the free shipping!]

8 comments:

  1. This is such a stunning note card and I love the cost break down.
    I am making every gift this year {except the nephews WII related gifts} and I am stealing, er I mean gleaning ideas all over the internet. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are VERY beautiful! Everyone will love them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These are gorgeous - I would say that they rival Crane's (yes, I am a paper snob, as you call it LOL!)

    As for Papertrey - I love them too - I just wish they had a shipping deal to Canada - $20 is A LOT! If you have any influence over them, please ask them to re-investigate their shipping methods - others seem to be able to do it much cheaper (and faster, incidentally!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. susan, these are beautiful!!
    in this age of emails and voicemails, it is soo nice to get a papermail. thanks for sharing, again!!
    one quick question....when you make these stationery or notecard sets, do you decorate the envelopes at all? marty ferraro

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ardyth, I'm a paper snob, too. I would only use Crane's before I started stamping, LOL!

    Marty, Last year, I did stamp the envelopes, but this year, as part of my "simplify Christmas as much as possible" plan, I'm not. I'd have to stamp 170 envelopes. Not this year! But it really adds a nice touch.

    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  6. Susan, could you say again the brand of the gold pen you use, please. I have six different ones, none of them actually metallic, though they say they are. It takes the right gold to make these cards look special, I suspect.

    And about Grady....did he get home yet?

    Thanks,
    Bahb

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bahb,

    You missed the Grady announcement! He got home on Nov. 1, after only 13 days in the NICU! He's gained 8oz in the last week (his pediatrician was THRILLED!) and is up to 5lb, 4oz. Thanks for asking!

    Metallic pens: My fave is Prismacolor Metallic Gold Broad tip. I also like Sakura Pentouch Quick-Dry Metallic Gold Opaque. The key with these is shaking them well before using and pressing down on the tip to get ink flowing nicely.

    Hope that helps.

    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for all the info, another lovely set .... you are so right about using good quality cs ... you just cannot skimp on cs especially with CAS work.
    I am soooo envious .... I too love PTI but the shipping to the UK is a whopping $28 unless you spend $100 which is a lot of $$$ in one go.
    So I like Ardyth beg you to use ANY influence you may have to get them to re-think their shipping policy outside the US.
    Thanks for sharing all your wonderful ideas :-)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking time to comment!