(Below is a blog I wrote for another great site, Vegas Family Events, for their wonderful “Mom Squad” section.
Remember when you were little, and you gave your mother a big, hand-folded card with crayon-drawn squiggly hearts all over it for Mother’s Day? She was thrilled by your homemade and heartfelt efforts – and probably even more charmed by the delightful untidiness of it.
You can still deliver those wonderful feelings by making your own cards for ANY occasion! Card-making has become a hugely popular hobby (and occasionally a money-making business!) for busy moms everywhere! For all you Creative Cathy’s out there who are intrigued by the cards you’ve seen, here are a few useful tips to help you get started making your own – without breaking your bank.
There’s no way to deny that scrapbooking, card-making, and crafting in general are expensive hobbies. But you don’t need every single tool and product earmarked for paper crafts to get going on your own! A few small purchases will make the biggest impression on your new hobby.
PAPER. Paper Stacks come in various sizes and are sold in Joanns, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Target and Walmart. You can get a nice mix of patterns for as little as $6-10! Also, Google – there are loads of sites out there with free backgrounds – you can save them to your computer, and print them as needed for your projects!
BONING FOLDER. There are many versions of these – they make folding and creasing nice and easy, and help with smoothing papers and adhering embellishments.
STAMP PADS. I started my collection with the cute little flower spirals of Color Box Petals – you can get a wheel of colors for $10. Another frugal tip for ink is to check the $1 bins at Michael’s and Joann’s – they frequently have small ink pads in assorted shades. Splurge on the Versamark Fine in black for word stamps.
EMBOSSING POWDERS. Keep this super cheap to start – just buy the clear Embossing powder! It will dry to the color of your chosen ink pad, so you don’t have to start off buying a bunch of colored powders. These are GREAT embellishments on your cards!
HEAT TOOL. This will be necessary to melt the embossing powders on your projects for that pretty, raised look. You will use it plenty, I promise.
