Click on all the pictures to get a whopper view of what I've been up to.
Oh, I’ve been a naughty chick today.
I really should have been tap, tap, tapping away on the keyboard, but my dear chum Izzy twisted my arm and convinced me I needed to accompany her on a visit to a couple of local craft shops instead – so I did…
We hung up our usual weekday workie hats and had a bit of girlie respite, which was very restorative indeed.
We set off with a tiny budget and a mission; we wanted to gather a few essentials for card making projects – have you seen how expensive they are in the stores these days? I haven’t bought one for years, but I poked my head into a high street favourite the other day on reconnaissance and spluttered and choked at the prices!
With a few key basics and a handful of tatty rubbish, you can make some fantastic cards and I guarantee your recipient will be chuffed to bits that you’ve taken the time to make them too.
The card itself needn’t have much on it, in fact sometimes, less is more, but can be hard to stop adding extra spanglies when you’re in a Blue Peter frame of mind! Best advice: do it with an honest friend and keep each other in check!
Anyway, I thought I’d share some of the afternoon’s masterpieces with you in hope they inspire you to have a go too. You might even like to start thinking about preparing for the ‘C’ word…(I’m not saying it – it’s October).
Of course, you could reduce your costs even further by using assorted rubbish and stuff collected from jumble sales and charity shops. I’ve listed a few items of assorted crud for you to start amassing for a card making session of your own. Put all sparkly and eye-catching embellishments in a shoebox until the mood takes you and then let all merry hell break loose and have some fun.
The Kit
(Some of these are probably kicking around your house already.)
- Scissors – a medium and a small bladed pair will come in useful, especially for cutting around transfers/stickers etc.
- Pritt stick – or any other brand of non-sticky sticky stuff…
- Gel or coloured ink pens – assorted colours, thick and thin nibs.
- Ruler – goes without further description.
- An old tee shirt cut into squares – for all sorts of dabbing, mopping up and general cleaning.
- A pack of plain cards and envelopes - I bought 50 textured, tall (105mm x 210mm), pre-creased cards, for £5.00 = 10p each (these ones were posh, there were lots of other smaller sized, non-textured, different coloured cards and envelopes and they were cheaper too.
- Mini-craft dots – or ‘snot dots’ as my mate Bitley likes to call them, ideal for raising your embellishments off of the card and giving them depth…also incredibly sticky! £3.00 for 300 dots on a roll = 1p each.
- A little rubber stamper and an inkpad – they personalise the back of the card and the envelope and finish them off with a bit of swish. Both were ½ the marked price; a little chick stamp £1.50 inkpad £1.50 = £1.50 for the set!
- Embellishments – I bought a sheet of 100 raised stars £2.00 = 2p each. A pack of 200 assorted sized and coloured foam hearts, £1.50 = 0.0075 each piece. 16 sheets of assorted rub on transfers and stickers, each containing approximately 20 to 30 pieces on each sheet and they were the bargain of the day at just 10p per sheet instead of £1.00. There are too ridiculously cheap to work out so I’m not going to bother…6 assorted metal charms (teddies, butterflies, hearts etc) also ½ price, £1.50 = 12.5p each. A pack of 20 glittery, foam butterflies £1.50 = 0.075p each.
Rubbish Extras
(Here are a few suggestions for things that should no longer find their way into your bin.)
- Pictures from magazines or catalogues.
- Old gift-wrapping.
- Old cards that have been sent to you, especially ones sent in December…
- Tissue paper.
- Buttons and toggles.
- Sweetie wrappers.
- Used, clean tin foil.
- Beads from broken necklaces and bracelets.
- Leaves or pressed flowers.
- Bows from presents you’ve received.
- Interesting bits of paper and scraps of wool, embroidery thread and material.
- Netting from fruit bags.
- Cellophane.
- Wine corks cut into slices.
- Bits of wool, string, raffia, ribbon and even rubber bands.
- Crisp packets (the insides are fab).
- Wooden lolly sticks.
- Lentils, pulses, coffee beans, pasta shapes and spaghetti.
If you’re wrapping a present too it’s easy to make a matching gift tag in the same design and if you get together to make a batch of cards with a few friends, you’ll have their boxes of crud to dip into too!
Happy stickin’
Rubbishly yours,
TSx
Inspirational stuff! I’ve had a go at making my own in the past, and to be frank, they’re a pile of shite. Honestly, they look total rubbish, even though, when I tried it, I bought expensive bits and pieces. I just don’t have an artistic bone in my body when it comes to things like this, but I get so inspired by what other people do.
WHere do you get card at a price like that? I’ve always found card making supplies to be really expensive.
Mornin’ Missus!
You’ve cracked me up with that post and I’m sure you’re dong yourself an injustice too, I bet they aren’t anywhere near bad!
The 50 pack was a ‘value pack’ and just in my little local craft shop tucked away at the back of the high street. But the cleapie shops are also good places to find them. We have one in Chard that sells all sorts of crud and we call it Chard Harrods! LOLOL…
Go for the ‘less is more’ approach and give it another go – I’ll do some with rubbish and post them soon.
Send over your images of cards and I’ll put them up – we can inspire together!
Righto – must be off, am doing my radio show today!
If you’re kicking about and fancy a listen, click http://www.AppleAM.com and Listen Live between 10 and 1 today!
Love to you as ever Missus,
Trace x x
These are gorgeous Tracey. I used to make loads of cards ages ago when I first joined LETS, then got distracted by other hobbies. (It must be my grand plan to consumer self-sufficiency. I’ll be making digital TVs next) I’ve started to get back into making them over the last few months so I don’t have to head into town.
That’s great advice about less is more and I know exactly what your friend means by snot dots. LOL.
Mrs G, try layering simple shapes is an easy technique and can be embellished with a simple piece in the centre. Stamps are easy to use. See if you can borrow one from a friend and then use a metallic pen with glitter to colour it in. It’s really effective. If you use stamps, a top tip is to hold the ink pad upside-down, while you dab the stamp with ink, especially useful if the ink is starting to dry up. Then when you stamp the card, make sure that the card is on a soft surface.
I’ll go with that advice missus.
I advise knocking up a few with whatever you have lying around and give yourself a full hour (or two) to indulge. Even if they aren’t good enough to win you a prize, you’ll feel great, so do it for that……and anyway, you can always send ‘em to me…..
“They’ll be my favourites!”
TS
x
You two are talking another language you know. Mrs A – layering different shapes and embellishments?? Could I have an English translation please? LOL!
You can see what you’re up against with me, eh?
I need you both here for a personal tuition weekend
AH LOLOL…I’ll try and shoot a little movie with a few chums after half term and will get a few of us ‘on the go’ missus!
Lots of love,
Trace x
LOL Mrs G – okey dokey, cut scraps of paper in different shapes and glue them on top of each other, overlapping. Do a collage if you like. They’re fun too. I did one for the opening of our school 3 years ago, a lovely collage of the building. But I ran a mile when they suggested I should make a few more for the first Christmas. That was pressure ;-D
Looking forward to you video Mrs Smith.
Hi Tracey, Can I just say that I have added your book to my xmas wish list, it looks right up my street and I trust Mrs Green when she reccomends stuff… Anyway, I just wanted to say that I am thinking of having a go at this….. I am off to fish that bright orange net bag that the ‘naughty’ clementines came in yesterday back out of the bin………
Hiya Indiebird,
I’m delighted that you’ve put it on your list and I hope I don’t disappoint!!!
This is why I think the trial chapters Thomas has uploaded here are great – you can ‘properly’ try before you buy.
As for the netting, it’s great for holding something movable behind it (see the little card with the heart on, but imagine the object behind the net) and sealed down with a frame of card or some other material……or how about cutting it into thin strips and tying it into bows, that would look quite cool.
Anyway, I really hope you have fun – we’re doing a batch over the weekend with the kids and I’m looking forward to it.
All the best,
TS