Birthday cards - what a rip-off

Queenie

Pooky wrote:

........ As for decoration on the front - I save everything - sweet wrappers - bits of string - you name it - it goes in a pot -- pop to your local wallpaper shop too and grab some freebie samples of intersting papers to add to your look.

Homemade cards designed to the individual are so much nicer than shop brought tatt!

Also, use some of the designs which come on all the cards you *receive*.

I have to agree with Austin too - with just a little bit of time (equal to the time you would spend going to the card shop and browsing!) you can make some wonderful computer cards to print off.
Then, as with Pooky's methods, once you've printed off your computer card, if you want to dazz it up a bit, "embellish" them with buttons, ribbon, lace, etc.

Austin/Pooky - have you signed up for the Dover Publications Newsletter? They email you links to various cliparts that you can save to on your computer Plus, I ticked the box for several of their "catelogs" and even though some of the pictures are small, I'm going to scan in a couple to enlarge and use those too. Hey, they are freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I'll find *some* way of using them if it kills me

Pooky

Austin/Pooky - have you signed up for the Dover Publications Newsletter? They email you links to various cliparts that you can save to on your computer Plus, I ticked the box for several of their "catelogs" and even though some of the pictures are small, I'm going to scan in a couple to enlarge and use those too. Hey, they are freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I'll find *some* way of using them if it kills me

Thanks for that - looks interesting!!

Kantankrus_Mare

A few years ago at Xmas time , I was sat at my mam's house and my eyes wandered round the "special" cards".....you know the ones to Mum and Dad and To a dear Daughter....type

As I looked round I noticed there was an abundance of Mum and Dad cards (I have only one brother) and The ones to daughter and son in law were rather shifty as my nanna had been dead for several years!!.

Any how I asked my mother what was going on and she said........"oh I keep all the nice cards and put them up every year!! Dont bother buying me a "special card at Xmas anymore, they are a waste of money!"

I thought this was priceless but our side of the family now has an agreement that we have kept the nicest special cards and hence all save approx £15 each year and stop lining the card manufacturers pockets.

My mam has taken it one stop further with Mothers day cards as well LOL

Really makes me laugh :rotfl: but I have to agree with her! Id rather spend the couple of quid on flowers for her than waste it on cards

calleyw

I make my own cards but then I make them and donate them for people who are fundraising for charity.

I so spend a lot of buying bits and pieces to put on them. But you don't really need.

As has been suggested buy your card in bulk and fold your own. Lost of glitter and sparkly things can be bought from pound shops and even wilkinsons. You don't need a lot of bits and pieces. Even wrapping paper is good cutting out pictures from that. And has already been mentioned re-using old cards cutting them up and sticking them on to other cards.

Send off for samples of card you use them for mounting things on the front of your card.

Even pressing your own flowers means you have something to put on the card. The card does not have to be big and flash.

You can even make cards using the insides of envelopes. As a lot of them have patterns.

You can also do something called teabag folder and there are websites that you print out your papers so you don't even have to buy them.

craft creations even have pages and pages of projects and some are really easy.

It is really about time and not money when it comes to cards. As more is less as they say.

Enjoy.

Yours

Calley

blue-kat

The Works have some good deals on cards. I bulk bought last time I was there, good selection of arty cards at 4 for £1, fancy cards with fridge magnets @ 59 p.

Also good place to buy craft materials for making your own cards, IMO it doesn't matter if they look a bit home-made...isn't that the point ? :T

easy card ideas:

• make a collage with nice wrapping paper, perhaps go over the pattern with gold pen
• use the same drawing many times over - just print the outlines in pale grey ( saves ink) and colour in with watercolours for individual finish.

-

mrcow

Anyone who is a member of Costco, have a look out for their greetings cards.

There are in a bright pink box of thirty cards for about £10 or so and are all handmade and beautiful (glitter/flowers/shiny bits etc etc) & would easily cost £2 each if you bought individually. For 30p a card, you can't really go wrong.

All my family have them now, so we all get the same cards for our birthdays :rolleyes:

Loadsabob

I re-use cards by making them into new ones.

In my last job, the prospectuses always arrived with about five bits of cardboard in, grey, A4 folded in half. I salvaged hundreds of pieces, we used so many boxes!

Then I put an email out at work (buy telling friends and family works just as well!), asking for their old Christmas and birthday cards, that I would make them into new cards, and put out for recycling any bits that I couldn't use. I just cut the front off and stick them to the salvaged card. I buy a few packs of envelopes and make the cards of the sizes that will fit. OR, when work gets rid of all their un-used company Christmas cards (which are usually dire!), I salvage the envelopes.

I'm sure some people will have thought I was tight. But my motives weren't actually financial. I loved the idea of having such choice when making my Christmas cards; I can choose just the right design for each person, from hundreds. Also, I really enjoy making them in the run-up to Christmas; it starts getting me in the festive mood. I make gift tags in the same way (often Christmas cards have the same pic on the back, or a section of it, just perfect size for gift tags!).

Now I use my own old cards, too, for birthdays and things. And new house cards - you only have to move once to have a good supply!

I hope it doesn't seem tight to people. I make a little paper strip for the backs of them which says "REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE", and at Christmas it says: "Reuse, recycle, rejoyce!" . I enjoy it, anyway, and I know that I'm re-using cards that would otherwise just be put out for recycling. AND not lining the pockets of the rip-off companies!

I still buy cards for my boyfriend, and sometimes my Mum or people really close to me. Those I tend to get from galleries or our health food shop, which has a great line in cards. Or most of the charity shops now are doing really great, reasonable ranges. But I've always preferred to get blank cards; I can always find an image or picture perfect to the occasion without the card companies telling me what I should choose! They really ARE a rip-off, aren't they? M&S too, I have found very reasonable for the odd card.

THIRZAH

The fridge magnets off the cards from The Works make good pictures for dolls houses!

Oxfam shops usually have some nice cards starting at 99p. I got one with pink ballet shoes for my cousin and one with a picture of a spider for a nephew. They also seemed to have sympathy cards without a sentimental verse

henhog

Bought cards today in Asda - 10 children's cards reduced from £4.50 to £2.50. They do have lots of nice cards for 88p though that look much more expensive, and their value wrapping paper at 44p for 2 metres is really good. Marks and Spencer's pound cards are very nice - I bought a work colleague one of these and a bunch of Sweet Williams all for £2.50! Teso does 45p cards but they do look 45p, however, would do for some people! Best place for Xmas cards is the Garden Centre sales after Xmas, especially RHS Wisley's shop - when they reduce they really reduce!

the_cat

i haven't read all the replies in this thread, so forgive me if this idea has already been mentioned, but the best card idea i have ever come up with was for my dad's 70th - we dressed up all the grandchildren in firemans hat's etc and got the hose out, made up a joke about the dangerous number of candles on the cake and printed it out on card.
This was by far his most treasured thing from the whole celebration and has gone everywhere with him since so that he can show it off to anyone who will look!