Making own cards

I would say that home-made cards are not very economical, they probably are in the long run, but I have about £350-400 of kit downstairs, and even the plainest of cards can end up costing about 50p to make (and last time I went to a "card-factory" shop, don't know if these are national but theres one in Redditch, they do 7 cards for £1, and they are really lovely cards) plus it takes a lot of time (if you are a perfectionist like me!!!)

The kits can be good value, but still work out about 70p+ per card, but if you start buying all the stuff you need to make lovely cards its never ending, I could spend a fortune more but have stopped myself!!

BUT people always appreciate a hand made card, and I have made them for other people to give too, and never charged (they were good friends) and you do get a sense of satisfaction when people gasp in awe of something you have lovingly created!!!

xxx

hmm wannabe, I know what you mean about the expense. The truth is - you can make a card really cheaply using cheap card and scraps of paper and material but once you start you just get hooked on all the beautiful things you can buy and have to have them. Suddenly you have a whole cupboard of stuff that you cant bear to use because it's 'too nice'!

or is it just me?

i found buying cards to be a real expense and a few birthdays a month soon mounted up so i went on to ebay into the wholesale section and bought a joblot of printed and also a joblot of homemade cards(yes i cheated:o ) which between them covered every eventuality i might come across cardwise these worked out at a couple of pence each and were great value, some of the cards i had 2 or 3 of each design so i sold them for a £1 each down my local carboot:cool: so not only do i now have a big box of cards to last me for years they actually paid for themselves as i am in profit :j

I always collect the free postcards you get at cinemas and nightclubs and have a big box of them. When I make a card I fold an A4 sheet in half and make a postcard collage, cutting out the bits of the postcards I like on the paper. I attach the postcards with cellutape, it looks really nice when you do this a lot.

I know it sounds a bit confusing, but these cards look really nice and people are always really chuffed, as it is quote a unique looking card. Suits all occasions.

When I got married on Saturday my friend gave me a handmade card which had been made with pens and tippex. I know it sounds weird but honestly, it looked amazing.

Just pointing out that you don't need to spend a lot of money on card kits just to make your own cards. There are lots of ways of doing it cheaply.

If you have kids get them to draw nice pictures on the cards, they may look clumsy, but they are much appreciated!

I have been making cards for a couple of years now. I find that once you've got all your bits and bobs, you can experiment and use even very small bits of paper etc. I only send hand made cards now.
I save Xmas cards that have nice pictures, cut them with fancy scissors and use them too, either on the front of the card or as a tag. I save any paper/card I can use, I take off bits from cards received... I know, sounds tightwad but, hey, they are only cards. I get more joy from making them than buying one.
But, its a personal choice.