I’ve always had a love/hate thing with greeting cards. It’s so thoughtful getting a thank you card, Christmas card, Birthday card- I love that someone took the time out of their day to think specifically of me.
But then there’s the hate part. I hate when it just has a name scrawled in the bottom, no note. It leaves me wondering what to do with it! My husband’s sweet tiny grandmother is probably the worst offender. She gives us Thanksgiving, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day- you name it, we get it. All the cards are cards that say “A happy blah blah blah for my wonderful grandson” and then she handwrites “and granddaughter in law” below it and inside it is just her name. I could literally box them up for her to give them to us all over again next year!
And now our son gets cards as well, so I’m left with stacks of cards I am too guilty to toss. If I really get in cleaning mode I quickly toss a few and when my husband is not looking. (Don’t worry, I save around 10 out of every 100 annually, a fair compromise I feel.)
The part I hate EVEN WORSE is buying cards! They are so pricey (to a cheapie like me anyway!) and being in my late twenties, I sometimes start my day with a baby shower brunch, continue with a bridal shower luncheon, and end my day with a wedding. I’m pretty much Santa in a SUV every springtime as I divvy up the goods to our loved ones. With a day like that and at $4 a card, that’s a lot of money that could go towards the gifts themselves!
The other part about buying cards is you have to go to the store and buy them in a timely manner. You have to sit in the aisle with your impatient toddler and find a card that is funny, not inappropriate, not too mushy, then remember where it is on the shelf if you can’t find anything better. I don’t have time like that in the middle of my shopping trip- that’s risking a meltdown before I get to the dairy section!
I do however, love making cards. It’s something I sort of picked up during our wedding planning- my husband and I had lots of DIY touches and so I acquired lots of wedding theme stamps in the process. When leisurely strolling the aisles at Michael’s in my pre-mom glory I started to dig in the giant bins of on sale stamps and got great deals on ones for birthdays, thank yous, thinking of you’s, etc. I have a black ink pad and then one of the flower looking ones with 8 different colors.
For the cards themselves, I grab a box of the multi colored blank cards or the brown rustic-y looking ones. On sale, I probably get around 30 notecards with envelopes for $8. I leave them in the old stationary desk I inherited from my grandma until the next occasion, roughly, every weekend of my young adult life.
It’s so easy to pick a fun stamp and write a personal note in the card. Fast, easy, personalized, thoughtful. If you have more time to get super crafty, add as much sparkle trim, and stickers as you like! Get carried away with punch-outs and paper texturizers! At this point of my life, the texture to my cards is if my 18 month old grabs it when I am not looking.
Now that my son is along for schmoozing at some of the events, I also get him into cardmaking. This morning alone we did our cards for the two 83 year old birthday parties we have next weekend. (Yes, the coincidence is not lost on me!) Our standby for little old ladies is to do a pink handprint then Momma draws a green stem and adds some grass on the bottom to turn it into a flower. Done! And little old ladies love things made just for them. Can you imagine how many cards they’ve been subjected to in 83 years!
Therefore, my advice is to save some time, money, and running around and make a little card making corner of your own! What are your best tricks for saving money
iI’ve always had a love/hate thing with greeting cards. It’s so thoughtful getting a thank you card, Christmas card, Birthday card- I love that someone took the time out of their day to think specifically of me.
But then there’s the hate part. I hate when it just has a name scrawled in the bottom, no note. It leaves me wondering what to do with it! My husband’s sweet tiny grandmother is probably the worst offender. She gives us Thanksgiving, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day- you name it, we get it. All the cards are cards that say “A happy blah blah blah for my wonderful grandson” and then she handwrites “and granddaughter in law” below it and inside it is just her name. I could literally box them up for her to give them to us all over again next year!
And now our son gets cards as well, so I’m left with stacks of cards I am too guilty to toss. If I really get in cleaning mode I quickly toss a few and when my husband is not looking. (Don’t worry, I save around 10 out of every 100 annually, a fair compromise I feel.)
The part I hate EVEN WORSE is buying cards! They are so pricey (to a cheapie like me anyway!) and being in my late twenties, I sometimes start my day with a baby shower brunch, continue with a bridal shower luncheon, and end my day with a wedding. I’m pretty much Santa in a SUV every springtime as I divvy up the goods to our loved ones. With a day like that and at $4 a card, that’s a lot of money that could go towards the gifts themselves!
The other part about buying cards is you have to go to the store and buy them in a timely manner. You have to sit in the aisle with your impatient toddler and find a card that is funny, not inappropriate, not too mushy, then remember where it is on the shelf if you can’t find anything better. I don’t have time like that in the middle of my shopping trip- that’s risking a meltdown before I get to the dairy section!
I do however, love making cards. It’s something I sort of picked up during our wedding planning- my husband and I had lots of DIY touches and so I acquired lots of wedding theme stamps in the process. When leisurely strolling the aisles at Michael’s in my pre-mom glory I started to dig in the giant bins of on sale stamps and got great deals on ones for birthdays, thank yous, thinking of you’s, etc. I have a black ink pad and then one of the flower looking ones with 8 different colors.
For the cards themselves, I grab a box of the multi colored blank cards or the brown rustic-y looking ones. On sale, I probably get around 30 notecards with envelopes for $8. I leave them in the old stationary desk I inherited from my grandma until the next occasion, roughly, every weekend of my young adult life.
It’s so easy to pick a fun stamp and write a personal note in the card. Fast, easy, personalized, thoughtful. If you have more time to get super crafty, add as much sparkle trim, and stickers as you like! Get carried away with punch-outs and paper texturizers! At this point of my life, the texture to my cards is if my 18 month old grabs it when I am not looking.
Now that my son is along for schmoozing at some of the events, I also get him into cardmaking. This morning alone we did our cards for the two 83 year old birthday parties we have next weekend. (Yes, the coincidence is not lost on me!) Our standby for little old ladies is to do a pink handprint then Momma draws a green stem and adds some grass on the bottom to turn it into a flower. Done! And little old ladies love things made just for them. Can you imagine how many cards they’ve been subjected to in 83 years!
Therefore, my advice is to save some time, money, and running around and make a little card making corner of your own! What are your best tricks for saving money for special events?