Craft Day of Card Making

I'm currently on staycation. And I'm preparing to be a counselor at a weeklong summer camp at the end of the month, helping out 4-Hers by running the arts & crafts barn. So I'm cleaning out the stash of blog post ideas by sharing these beautiful cards my mom and I designed during a marathon paper-crafting weekend last December, when we were forced to miss a family funeral we dearly wished to attend. The crafting was a great diversion for our aching hearts. And I've had handmade gifts for the entire year, avoiding chain stores like Hallmark completely. This card was blank inside. We duplicated this pattern for a couple dozen cards, and I've used it for all occasions.

I learned several new techniques this weekend, like using a press to give the paper texture, sponging around the edge for softness, and melting a special powder to add an embossed shine to stamps. The picture below shows off the embossed sheen.

My mom made a couple of the card below just to send to her sisters. I know they got a great laugh out of them!

Do you find you save handmade cards more often than store-bought ones? Are there certain holidays where you try to be more genuine than generic? Please leave a comment on the blog.