I do not know where or when the act of note giving originated, but it is a part of our American culture. People give cards with presents, to celebrate holidays, as a thank you and so on. I never understood why my mother sent a Christmas card in the mail to all our family members when she knew we would be seeing them (and giving another card to them) on Christmas Day. Often times it is expected to give a card, and sometimes even considered rude not to. I feel this is the reason why the act of card giving has lost it’s sentimental value. It is now one more chore you have to do. This not only takes the fun out of giving cards, but also out of receiving them. Who really wants a card from the dollar store with your cousin’s name scribbled at the bottom? Unless your cousin is famous, and his signature is worth something, not many. This is what led me to making my own greeting cards. I put the fun back into card giving as well as the sentimental value. Well, that and the fact that I didn’t want to spend $50 on greeting cards one holiday season.
I have gone through many phases when it comes to making cards. First, I tried making the cute, scrap book looking ones with the pretty papers and little flowers glued to them. That proved to take too long because who owns all those little fancy papers anyway? Not a college student. Then, I went through a small card phase. Every card was really small and therefore cute, because everything that is a quarter of it’s normal size is cute, or so I thought. That worked well, and left me with little space to write which was good since I usually find all that open space on the inside of a card somewhat daunting. Next, came my watercolor phase where every card was a small painting, and then my cut paper cards. These last two were the most time consuming of them all and I began designing one card and doing the same for everyone due to time constraints.
The idea for collage greeting cards came from one I saw made for a friend of mine. I liked the idea of taking an old card, say one of the money cards you received from a relative that just has their name scribbled at the bottom, cutting pieces from it, and making it into something a little more memorable for someone you care about. To make one of these cards you will need: glue stick or rubber cement, magazines, old greeting cards, postcards, construction paper, or any other type of paper that you are ok with cutting up, and scissors. As a quick warning, be careful with the type of glue you use. White glue will also work, but depending on how thick the paper is, it may make the card bubble and curl up when dry.
First, you want to take either construction paper or some type of heavy cardstock for the base of the card. Fold the paper over and trim it to the size you would like the card to be. Also, remember that cards can be horizontal and open at the top or vertical and open on the side. Next, start looking for images that have patterns and colors you think the person receiving the card would like. I like to crop images so that you cannot tell exactly what you are looking at or rotating an image so that a photo of a sky is upside down or sideways. Although you can find some beautiful photographs in magazines such as Smithsonian, the cards are more about your creative input, not the photography. Sometimes I cut out phrases and key words that I like and form my own messages that don’t make a lot of sense, but are fun to read. Other times, I just spell out the person’s name in different letters and put a few words I like scattered around the card. The personality of the person I am making the card for always affects what colors and patterns I use.
All that is left now is the assembly. Once you have everything cut out, or a few key images, you can begin gluing the card together. Make sure to let the images hang off of the sides of the card. When it is all dry, trim the edges so that it is neat and straight. I like to fold the card and then trim the edges so that one side isn’t longer than the other.
That’s about it. Now you have a card. I hold on to old greeting cards and use the inside text for specific things I want to say such as “Happy birthday.” Sometimes I leave a blank space so I can write whatever I want. It’s up to you as to how you want to convey your message.
For the envelope, you can buy a box of them to use for any card you make, or you can make your own. For this you take any envelope and open it up completely so all the flaps are unfolded. This is a free stencil of an envelope. To make it the size of your card, scale the width and height of the large, center rectangle to be a quarter of an inch larger than your card. The flaps will need to adjust accordingly. The possibilities for the envelope itself are endless. The flap can be straight or pointed. It can be different colors or have an inside color. Remember to check the post office guidelines before mailing. There are size, thickness, and color restrictions. As long as you keep it a light color, an average size, and do not make it a square you should be fine. You can also take it to your local post office to be sure.
The best part of the process, is giving someone one of your cards and watching them enjoy looking at it. This is a project that is hard to mess up. All you need are a few colorful pictures, some wacky phrases when taken out of context (in one card I used “be well” from a tea package) and you have a thoughtful present for anyone.
