Easter Cards

I made Easter cards.  Didn’t follow directions nor use diagrams and templates.  That hadn’t worked well before anyway, when I made Valentine’s Day cards.  My blog entry dated February 8, 2011 explains that little learning process.

I’ve been “busy inside my head” for the past few weeks and needed to do something creative and easy to “blow the knots” out of my brain.  Easter cards …perfect solution.

I like the nubby textures and bright, pastel or sparkly shades of card stock papers and the challenge of mixing those to create pleasing visual combinations.  I cut out a few basic shapes, used them for patterns. And felt quite free to use commercially produced stick-on-thingies for decorations.

I suspect that those of you who actually do make gorgeous handmade cards with some degree of skill and artistry are now saying, “Tsk, Tsk…” to yourselves, in despair over my lack of proper card crafting.  My cards are not works of art, definitely not perfect in any way, but I did have fun making them.

When my grandchildren receive them this Easter season, they won’t care that the edges are crooked and that the design work is at best, amateurish.  I expect the card will get a two-second appraisal before being tossed aside in favour of candy eggs and chocolate bunnies.

And wouldn’t we all do the same thing?   Straight to the good stuff!

I enjoyed making the cards and happily thought about each particular grand child as I worked on their individual card.  That’s all that counts! 

Perfection, be damned. 

And my head feels lighter, less full of knots.

Valentine's Day 2011

Valentine’s Day approaches!

This year, inspired by simple instructions found on the Internet, I decided to create thoughtful, exquisite handmade cards.  Yesterday, following breakfast clean up, I carefully organized the recommended supplies on my kitchen table.  Scissors, glues, red and gold glitters, card stock in variegated pinks, matte and shiny reds and creams, thin rosy ribbons, red and black stamp pads, requisite stamps (all Valentine’s Day appropriate), a heart shaped hole punch, sparkly red stick-on trims; everything I needed sat in beckoning piles.  Encouraged, I began. 

Shortly, I learned that despite using a ruler and pencil, I seemed to be incapable of cutting evenly along a straight line.  Further, something in me confused directions and resisted following instructions.  I learned that I could find no good use for a red doily!  Nothing I made looked like the carefully photographed Internet cards!  Frustration and negative self-talk reigned until I shredded the downloaded instructions and began fiddling with the combinations of coloured papers, cutting out paper hearts and generally ‘fooling around with’ the myriad craft supplies on my table. 

I cut and folded a pale pink piece of card stock (making a smaller card than the instructions had demanded), cut some ( not too straight) cream rectangles, punched out five (not so even) heart shapes, and sewed a (decidedly crooked) darker pink heart with a tiny gold bead onto the (not quite) centre of the card.  Et voila, an exquisite handmade card.   

I liked it!  By golly, I - loved - it! 

The card was imperfect, but I had had great fun creating it!  Hmmm, what else could I construct?  Several hours and a dozen cards later, I surveyed my handiwork.  I loved them all!  This rosy glittered gallery appealed to me.  I had learned to accept and appreciate my own distinctive artistic sensibilities. 

This year, I hope that everyone who receives a Valentine’s Day card from me ‘feels’ my genuine love for them (and remembers that it is the sentiment that counts).