Make It Personal

I've been making cards for family and friends ever since I was a child - and that's a long time ago!  I believe it is much more special, and the recipients treasure the cards forever.  I used to use only drawing and collage techniques to make my cards, so paints, colored pencils, markers, pens, ink, glue and scissors were my basic tools and supplies.  With the advent of punches, fancy scissors, etc, my cards have gotten fancier - LOL!  Below is a sampling of the cards I've made most recently for my daughters and one of their friends:

Original Drawing, Calligraphy, Dyed Paper Towel

(I used a the negative portion of a flower punch and embellished it with miniature beads.)

Original Collage Figure Over Hand Painted Background

(I used punches for the butterflies, flower, and corners, as well as a store bought tag.  The lettering on the tag was done by hand.)

Pamphlet Stitched Booklet and Envelope Decorated With Collage

(I used are a combination of recycled, hand decorated, and store bought papers.  Then, I combined the stamps, store bought and hand made, with drawing.  I used calligraphy for the booklet and letter punches for the envelope.)

Therefore, go ahead.  Use whatever skills you have and make a card for a friend.  You could use sewing, knitting, crochet, carving, jig-sawing, or anything else you can glue to the front of the card.  Be sure and let me know what you did, please.

Give yourself a pat on the back.

I have Roger Von Oech's CREATIVE WHACK PACK app on my iPhone, and love to read the "Card of the Day" on a regular basis.  Today's card is about patting yourself on the back.  I believe this is important, because it may help us feel a sense of recognition, which is energizing.  This should come as a reward for our accomplishments and obstacles that we have overcome.  You may be asking, "how do you pat yourself on the back?"  In my mind, you may pat yourself on the back by sharing a glass of wine with a loved one, taking time to read a chapter or more of a book of your choice, working on a hobby, or anything else you may think of as being an indulgence.   One of my favorite things to do is to work on my art journal.  The following picture shows 3 of the pages in my journal in which I was playing with Zentangles (See Beez in the Belfry), Celtic drawing, and lettering.

How do you reward yourself?