Have a Greeting Card craft party for some fun family-togetherness!A big part of family-togetherness is providing ways to enjoy the company of one another, as well as finding fun things to do together! Most families today are trying their BEST to SAVE MONEY! Therefore, family-togetherness time needs to be simple, yet enriching and enjoyable too! Greeting Cards have become a "luxury" in many homes! However, you can have a Greeting Card Craft Party with your own family and create wonderful cards to keep up the tradition of
sending them to relatives and friends on special occasions.
It's EASY to do!With just a few basic supplies that you probably already have around the house, your family-togetherness craft of making Greeting Cards can begin! What a FUN way to cheer up a friend who is ill, congratulate a family member who just got a new job, or honor grandparents on their wedding anniversary day! How delighted they will be to receive a custom-made card from
YOU!
Kids aren't the only ones who will enjoy making personalized cards the old-fashioned way by cutting out pictures and pasting them onto cards! Cards made like this can be very simple (easy enough even for really little kids) or can be quite elaborate (for we "older kids"-at-heart). Although having a computer would be helpful, you really don't need one for these cards. All you need are personal photos, magazines, newspapers, brochures---really anything that is paper-based---and construction paper or cardstock (even the pre-folded cards and envelopes that are packaged together, such as Avery Half-Fold Greeting Cards, Avery #3265). You can also use plain computer paper and accordion-fold the card so that it fits in a standard business (#10) envelope. Be sure to have on hand craft items such as kid-friendly scissors, glue sticks, glitter, colored markers (colored pencils or crayons), curl ribbon, paper "lace" doilies---anything that will help you to craft your very special greeting card! You can get a little fancier and go with hot glue guns, ribbon, specialty papers, stamps with colored inkpads, etc. (Roam around a craft store like Michael's for lots of ideas---and be sure to "think outside the box" or "outside the card"!) You are probably already getting the idea that "getting back to basics" and actually creating cards---rather than simply picking out a card at the store---can be fun. Everyone enjoys getting cards, especially when the cards are made personally for that person. And there's always some occasion that calls for sending a card, so this is a great craft idea for summer days with nothing else to do, long rainy Saturdays, or days when school is cancelled due to snow (or hurricanes!). And since this craft doesn't require the use of a computer, you can even do it when there's no power. For kids, just keep it simple! The younger the kids, the more basic the card. It is helpful for really young kids to have pre-folded card stock and envelopes handy. That way they don't have to think too hard about which side is the "front" of the card, etc. Give them the card and the envelope at the same time so that the decorations will match. Kid-friendly scissors and glue sticks work best---very little "mess" to worry about. Most brands of glue sticks have water-based, washable glue and the tubes are easy to work with for those little fingers! For kids who are a little older, and can "dream up" ways to decorate cards a little better, you can spread out old newspaper (or an old sheet) on the table, and set out glitter, stickers, colored markers, even fingerpaints or watercolor paints. Glue sticks work fine with glitter, and it dries much faster than liquid white glue. Older kids can be trusted with hot glue guns, which are best if making fairly elaborate cards that have ribbon or cloth pasted onto them. Anything that is paper-based, that has pictures on it (or sports logos, etc.,) is ideal for making cards. Is your son's best friend a Yankees fan? Find some baseball-related pictures (even an old program from a game you attended) and let your son have fun making a birthday card that scores a homerun! Be crafty! Were you surfing the web when you saw a great picture of the kind of rose bush that Grandma just loves? Print out the web page (you might want to change the settings on your printing preference so that you get a good quality printout) and cut out the picture for her birthday card! Decorate the card any way you desire, and then give it to Grandma with brand new gardening gloves! She'll love it! So many websites offer free printables! Some sites actually offer pre-printed card-types that you can download and personalize, or kinds that you just cut out and fold. Other sites offer free clipart for baby showers, weddings, birthdays, Mother's Day, Christmas, etc. (the list is endless).Mom’s Break (http://www.momsbreak.com) offers a wide range of free printables for birthdays, holidays, and lots of other occasions, so be sure to start your search there! Do you subscribe to nature or outdoor magazines? Find a picture of an bird with a weird tuft of feathers sticking up from the top of its head and give it to a friend who needs a pick-me-up. Add a saying "Talk about having a bad hair day..." and it is sure to bring a smile. Go a little further, and add in a gift card to her favorite styling salon. Here's a great idea that takes a little bit of pre-planning, and is really fun. During your next vacation (or trip to Grandma's), pick up things like travel brochures, restaurant paper placements (most places will give you a clean one if you ask for one), a local newspaper, matchbooks---just anything that is paper-based. When you get home, make a card using an array of cut-outs from everything and send a GREAT thank-you card to your host, Grandma, or the friends you traveled with! (Picking up brochures and things like this is one of my favorite ways to make one-of-a-kind cards!) The whole point here is that making cards can be as simple, or as elaborate, a craft as desired. It's something that can keep kids busy---and for a purpose. Or it is something you can do to let loose that creative person you'd like to be. No matter what the occasion---birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, baby showers, get well, or a holiday---making a card is always right. Cards that are personally made, with someone special in mind, are always so well received (and make the person who gets the card feel really special).
See some samples of cards that you can make yourself at: http://www.jansreadingroom.com/Cards/Samples_of_Cards.htm
Jan K., The Proofer is a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. Visit Jan’s Portal (http://www.jansportal.com) for more information about Jan's free crafts, recipes, tutorials, other resource sites, and free content articles, as well as Jan’s freelance proofreading business services. Be sure to visit Mom's Break (http://www.momsbreak.com/) for free printable crafts and projects. © Copyright 2005 to present. All rights reserved. BACK TO MAIN FAMILY-TOGETHERNESS PAGE
Does your family-togetherness include a special craft or activity that you enjoy? SHARE IT WITH US! Let the blessings of your home inspire others as they work to restore family life in this busy and often hectic modern world! Visit our Family-togetherness CONTACT page and tell us all about your ideas! Perhaps you will see them on a future page of Homeschool Faith and Family Life website, where
family-togetherness is our priority!
|
