Greeting cards really hit the mainstream in the 1850's, when commercial printing as well as the invention of the postage stamp started to allow people all over the world to send greeting cards to their loved ones. Now, greeting cards are a billion dollar business, with people purchasing and sending cards for holidays including religious celebrations, birthdays, and even just as a simple thank you or gesture of love. The two largest greeting card companies, Hallmark and American Greetings, offer cards that are perfect for any occasion, with themes and illustrations that are great for all tastes.
Of course, you don't need to buy your greeting cards in a store. Computers and home printers have made it easy to create and print out your own cards at home. Many people have also taken up paper crafts, and have taken to hand making their own greeting cards out of many different materials, with embellishments ranging from ribbons to beads. Some even go as far as to make their own paper, which is a time consuming process but definitely shows your recipient just how much you care. Hand painting and rubber stamping with ink can complete your homemade creation.
Greeting cards have evolved from an item used only by the rich to an everyday tradition. Whether you want to communicate with far-off relatives, or just let your sweetie know how much you love them - greeting cards make a great (and inexpensive) way to brighten up someone's day!
Get Birthday Cards and Greeting Cards.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gabriel_J._Adams
Card Making - Explore Your Creativity
Are you the artistic type? Sure, that is what got you to read the article, right?
If you want to show your creative talent to your friends, family or lover, then card making is a wonderful way to do that.
You may send your homemade greeting cards to people and straightaway you will be popular! You can produce simple designs or intricate patterns; it all depends on your imagination and choice.
Card making has now grown popular with publishers cashing in on it. Several monthly magazines in the UK and the US are devoted to card making and scrapbooking techniques. Even on TV, you have programs teaching card making and scrapbooking. It sure is a good source of inspiration.
Rubber stamps are one of the most common products used in card making. They are available in a variety of shapes and sizes.
The latest trend is clear stamps. They cling to an acrylic block that allows a person to position a stamp accurately. The good thing is that they occupy less storage space.
With rubber stamps, you can use a variety of materials like chalks, paints, ink, fibers etc. for embellishment. Stamping has especially become very popular with scrapbooking.
You will also find in the market CD style storage cases, which can be stored in a conventional CD rack.
For embossing, there are special ink pads available. You can give a multi coloured look to your card by using pens that can be used with ink stamps. It can give your card a vibrant look.
Another thing you need if you are embossing stamped images is a heat gun. A heat gun provides the correct temperature to melt embossing powders. Also, if you use a heat gun, the powder will not blow off the images.
If you have already tried card making and love it so much that you have become an avid card maker, then a portable die cutting machine is just right for you. These machines produce a variety of shapes that embellish greeting cards and scrapbook. The latest die cutting machine you can get in the market accommodate dies from other manufacturers by using different sizes of cutting mats so that you don't have to compromise because of limitations of the machine!
Scrapbooking is another craft, which is widely popular. You can create your very own scrapbook by digging for all those family photographs locked up in old shoeboxes! If you don't want to include family photos, then you can go for newspaper clippings, articles, photos cut out from magazines to anything you like. It all depends on your taste.
Do you know that "scrappers" or "scrapbooker" from all around the world come together and scrapbook at one place, sharing ideas, tips, talking about their scrapbooking. Such events are known as "crops". If you are dead serious about the craft, then you could be in a crop yourself!
Nowadays scrapbooking is mostly done on 12"×12" or 81/2×11" pages. If you looking for smaller albums, then the most common formats are 6"×6" or 8"×8".
When choosing an album for scrapbooking, you can choose from a variety of designs. There are mini albums and accodian-style foldout albums available. It can be permanently bound and allow insertion of pages.
Take care that the material you take is of top quality. Otherwise the photographs or cuttings you want to preserve might get ruined with time. To avoid that, you should take acid-free, stamp ink, lignin-free papers, embossing powder and pigment based inks.
Some of the basic materials you need for scrapbooking are background papers, photo corner mounts, stickers, scissors, die cut templates, rubber stamps, rub-on letters, vellum, art pen, craft punches, decorative eyelets and brads, tags, ribbons, mounting glues and embellishments such as ribbon and chalk.
Get your creativity going and create something that you will be proud of and treasure for the rest of your life!
Gwen Cooksey is one of the UK's top experts on card making, crafts, stamps, and scrapbooking. You can find more information at her cardmaking resource - [http://www.cardmakings.co.uk].
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gwen_Cooksey
