Saving Money is a Card Maker's Delight

If you let them, crafts can cost you a lot of money, but some crafts can actually save you a great deal of money, like card making which as saved me huge amounts of money over the years.

I've always made my own cards as I can make something more personal and far more low cost than an equivalent card in the shops.

Over the past week or so I've been on a bit of a card making jag.  And maybe I was sending out some sort of card making vibe, because Tracy of Cardmaker's Delight contacted me and asked if I'd like to try out some of her card toppers range. 

As soon as the card toppers arrived I was swamped with ideas.  Out came the double-sided tape, card blanks and glue stick. 

Vintage Floral Birthday Wishes Card

For my first card here is what I used 

• 5" x 7" ivory card blank - 5p per card
• 1 sheet 6" x 6" patterned paper from Out of Print paper pad - 19p per sheet
• Cardmaker's Delight Vintage Floral Happy Birthday card topper - 19p per topper (if purchased at retail price without bulk buying discount)
• the back of an out-of-date business card - free
• 3 x plastic buttons cut off an old item of clothing - free
• small scrap lace leftover from previous projects - free
• small length of ribbon received as a gift - free
• 3 x flat backed crystals - 20p or less for all three

Total cost of card - approximately 63p

Here's how to do it:

1.  Cover the entire card blank front with patterned paper using a glue stick or double-sided tape.  I used a 6" x 6" piece so that required a bit of piecing at the bottom.  As I covered the bottom in lace, it covered the barely visible join completely. 

2.  Apply double-sided sticky foam to the printed side (in our case, the wrong side) of an old business card and stick to one side of the card.

3.  Apply double-sided sticky foam to the wrong side of the card topper and stick it on top of the business card so it is off-set slightly.

4.  Glue three buttons to the right of the card topper using a strong glue such as UHU Power or Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue.

5.  Using a strong glue, stick a flat backed crystal to the centre of each button flower.

6.  Using double-sided tape, stick a leftover piece of lace trim to the bottom of the card.

7.  Using a craft knife, cut a slice as wide as the ribbon in the fold of the card so the slit is centred next to the lace.  Slide the end of the ribbon through the cut from the inside of the card, pulling the ribbon through so that you can wrap the ribbon around the front of the card (Just a note that this will mean there will be ribbon on the inside, left of the card) and tie the ribbon into a bow over the lace.

Shabby Chic Nest in a Tea Cup Card

For my second card here is what I used

• 4" x 6" white card blank - 4p per card
• 1 sheet 6" x 6" patterned paper from Out of Print paper pad - 19p per sheet
• Cardmaker's Delight Shabby Chic Tea Cup Birds topper - 19p per topper (if purchased at retail price without bulk buying discount)
• the back of an out-of-date business card - free
• small scrap ribbon leftover from previous projects - free
• approximately 1m of leftover eyelash yarn - free
• Happy Birthday stamp and stamp pad - reusable for endless cards

Total cost of card  - approximately 42p

Here's how to do it:

1. Cover the entire card blank front with patterned paper using a glue stick or double-sided tape, but don't stick down the right hand side of the card just yet.

2.  BEFORE sticking down the right hand side of the card, wrap a piece of leftover eyelash yarn around the right hand side of the card.  Slip the ends of the yarn under the patterned paper covering the card front and stick the patterned paper down firmly to the card front, trapping the ends of the yarn between the layers.  Note:  you could wrap the yarn around the pattern card and then stick it to the card front but it wouldn't sit flat, so I wrapped the yarn around the inside of the card and just tucked the ends underneath the patterned card.

3.  Using a "Happy Birthday" stamp and a pigment ink stamp pad (I used a metallic blue), stamp the greeting onto the blank back of an old business card.  Set aside to let dry.

4.  Once the stamped Happy Birthday greeting is dry, trim the card using a guillotine or scissors.

5. Apply double-sided sticky foam to the wrong side of the card topper and stick it to the left hand side of the card.

6.  Apply double-sided sticky foam to back of the stamped Happy Birthday greeting, so it overlaps the card topper.  Where the stamped Happy Birthday greeting sits on top of the card topper use only a single layer of double-sided sticky foam, but where the stamped greeting does not overlap the card top apply TWO layers of double-sided sticky foam one top of each other (this will ensure that the stamped greeting sits level and flat).

7.  Finish off the card by tying a small piece of ribbon around the wrapped eyelash yarn and trim the ribbon ends in a V shape.

If you want to save money by making cards here are my Top 5 Card Making Money Saver Tips:

1.  Collect old business cards with blank backs - old business cards are great for stamping on or using as frames for other card toppers.  Sometimes printers will also have off-cuts of card, so ask your local printer if you can have their off-cuts.

2.  Save small pieces of lace, ribbon, trim or yarn  - even if a length of trim or yarn would be way too small to use in your regular crafting, it will likely come in handy for cards, so keep it in a special card making stash.

3.  Buy card blanks and supplies on sale or in bulk - buy your card blanks and other supplies when you see them on sale or in bulk to get the best deal.  You could even ask friends if they'd like to buy some supplies too and buy one bulk order that you can split with them in order to take advantage of bulk discounts.

4.  Save old buttons - cut buttons off old items of clothing to save for card making as they make wonderful embellishments.

5.  Use fabric/newspaper/old phone book pages/maps instead of patterned paper - in these examples, I've used purchased patterned paper as a backdrop for my cards, but to save even more money you could use old book pages, phone book pages, old maps, newspaper or fabric scraps.  I often use pieces of burlap on cards and it looks wonderfully rustic.

With a high quality but low cost focal point on your card, like one of the Cardmaker's Delight toppers, your card will still look luxurious without costing a premium price.

Just a note:  In the interest of full disclosure, I did not receive payment for this post.  Tracy of Cardmaker's Delight asked me to try out her card toppers and make at least one card using her products and blog about it.  It was this cardmaker's delight to do so. 

Comments

[Stephanie in MI]

Pretty, Colleen! I enjoy making cards, too. But I find it can cost me more, by the time I indulge my crafting supply fetish! LOL

[Tracy Moss]

Many thanks Colleen for agreeing to try out our products. A fantastically informative post!