CARDMAKING

A relatively new passion for me is cardmaking... my good friend Shari (who teaches 3rd grade), got me into stampin' about four years ago... mainly cards and some cute papercrafted projects... I'm not doing traditional scrapbooks at present, although I like unique and smaller ones (think Altoid tin size)... but I am truly ADDICTED to making cards! It is so therapeutic and rewarding!

It's a different creative outlet for me after doing several types of needlework over the last 40 years... I've always had a love affair with paper... since I was in high school... so many choices

I think one of the reasons I enjoy cardmaking so much (and prefer it to any needlework) is that it's more immediately gratifying... I can do a dozen or so cards in an evening... whereas my cross stitch projects always took weeks or months to complete...

An added plus is they're a blessing to others when you mail them out... they are generally received with such graciousness and I know many of my friends keep the cards indefinitely so they continue to be a source of comfort and encouragement...  long after they're made and mailed.
I've been privileged to start a small card ministry at our church - specifically for our members who are serving in the military (at least for now... may expand in the future). I try to get a card to each of them monthly… with the help of some faithful volunteers who hand address and sign them and a good friend who helps me assemble them after I come up with the design idea each month.

Here are some photos of a few of my cards... I'll give you a little info on each of them...

This one is made with one my favorite Stampin Up stamps... love to sit and color the image in with watercolor pencils... it's fairly easy to make the wood of the chair look weathered... grey or brown... vary the color of the pillow, the flowers, and the cat depending on the patterned paper you use on the card.

This one is one I made for my great aunt's 99th birthday last year... hard to tell but the card base is a shimmery cardstock... it looks much better in real life... ; )

This is one of my favorite folded cards to make... I resisted for quite some time because I thought it looked difficult but it turned out to be very easy and one of the reasons I love them much is that they stand up and I believe the recipient will display it on their desk at work or somewhere at home and enjoy it a bit longer than other "flat" cards.

This one is a cute little stamp that says "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"... I've also seen this quote slightly modified to read "Girls Just Want to Have Funds"... really appropriate for those of us addicted to making cards and buying all the papers, punches, and embellishments that we can't live without, right?  ; )