A little bit crafty

I am in no way gifted in the arts; I have a relatively creative mind but sadly no actual creative skill.  I stand in awe of people like Frugal Queen with her quilt making and Mean Queen and her bag making, both incredibly talented.  I don’t let the fact I lack creative talent stop me though (perish the thought) and offer my own meager contribution as I dabble in card making.  I love to both send and receive cards; particularly an unexpected card from a friend I think is one of the nicest things to come home to J 

You can buy cheap cards for pennies, in home bargains for example you can pick up a card for 29p however they are on very cheap card (nearly paper) and whilst serve a purpose I prefer to send quality cards, however these don’t come cheap and you can end up spending anything from £1 - £3.

Without counting Christmas, I send in the region of 70 cards a year (birthdays, anniversary, thank you, note cards, get well soon, sympathy, thinking of you etc.).  If I were to buy these cards they would cost me anything from £70 - £210 per year – ouch!  However all my cards cost just 5p (£3.50 per year), ah much better. 

I manage to keep the cost this low as about 2 years ago I bought 500 high quality blank cards (in assorted colours) and envelopes for £10 on eBay, so 5p each, and the embellishments come for free.  I recycle all the cards I receive, cutting out any lettering, pictures etc. that I can use in another card, my mum also gives me all the cards she and my dad receive so again a bumper supply of cards to recycle.  I have two birthdays coming up, one for my nephew, to create this card I simply recycled a Happy Birthday postcard I received last year and stuck this onto a yellow card (how simple is that) 5p for a high quality, bright card. 

It’s also my Dad’s birthday soon and to create his card I cut out the DAD lettering from his father’s day card from my sister last year (I checked the price she paid for this card on-line and it was £2.95) I’ve added some blue ribbon down the side and e voila a card for my dad for 5p. 

Whilst I really shouldn’t mention the C word in April, I will be starting to make my Christmas cards this weekend (I will make 4 - 5 cards each weekend to ensure I have the 100 I need in time for the festive season, whilst each card costs a mere 5p, they take time, effort and come with my love.  Cx