Card making...

Over the last three weeks, several friends from church have gotten together three times in my sunroom to make cards. 

Let me back up a month or so...

Our small group has a card ministry, where we send cards to people who might need a bit (or a lot) of encouragement. Sometimes congratulations are in order, or birthday wishes for a special birthday (like our friend Jack's 96th in May) are appropriate, and there are any number of random justifiable reasons we come up with to send a card to someone.

I think it was early September when Martha, who has been heading this card ministry, mentioned that we were running low on our supply of cards, and if anyone was inclined to buy some more and donate them, that would be great.

And I said, "Hold on!"  

I had been thinking of this for months, but the time just never seemed right for some reason.

I explained that I would love to make my paper supplies available and invite everyone to our house to make cards.  With autumn right around the corner, I knew our sunroom would work great for this.  I was given the go-ahead to take charge and plan it, and a few weeks later, it had finally cooled down enough that the sunroom was comfortable for this endeavor.

Not everyone was exactly excited - in fact one lady asked, "Can I just contribute postage?"   "Of course", I chuckled.  Honestly, I almost talked myself out of doing this when I wasn't sure if anyone wanted to join me, but my friend, Jean, became my encourager and sounding board.  Letting me borrow a table, showing up early, and bringing some of her supplies.

Now, I'm going to show pictures of all my paper crafting stuff (and a few things that were brought by Jean and some others), but please understand that this is the result of decades of accumulating most of these things.  I did buy some fresh glue sticks, and a few packages of embellishments, but largely we were using 20-30 year-old stuff.

Scrapbooking in the 1990s was my gateway to collecting paper supplies, and then card making came along, and I not only collected papers and various embellishments, but I also occasionally bought blank card sets whenever I found them on sale.  And all along the way, I found reasons to buy various colors of card stock.  

Keep in mind, too, that as a homeschooling family who was involved in three co-ops over twenty years, this kind of stuff is very easy to accumulate - for craft purposes, for making all kinds of signs and handouts, and finally making each son's graduation announcement cards.  

Did you not make your graduate's announcements?  While I can't speak for every homeschooler, we are (obviously) made of a fair amount of do-it-yourself stock, and I suspect most homeschool moms collect a lot of things that a mom whose kids are in a traditional school simply doesn't.

I was also in charge of organizing some homeschool events for the larger homeschooling community several times and pretty colored papers and card stock were often employed.  When looked at through decades-long lenses, it makes complete sense that I had all this stuff.  People that have only known me for a few years (as most of these women do) are understandably confused and perhaps amused.

For a long time, I've kept this stuff thinking I'd be a fun grandma who made crafty things out of fun paper and colorful cardstock with her grandchildren.  While it's becoming absurd to continue to hang on to all these supplies, I can't deny that I really do love decorative papers, and at least the idea of making things with it all - even if reality is something different.  

Anyway...  the moment had arrived (or so I thought) to use up a bunch of this stuff.  I set up tables and arranged all the papers and embellishments, pens, markers, scissors, glue, paper cutter...   am I forgetting anything?  Oh yes, wet wipes (for gluey fingers), paper towels, stamps and stamp pads...  

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

Before everyone arrived, the set up was fairly orderly and ready for us to get to work.

This was actually week two, but the room started out more or less in the same degree of order each week.

When my friends arrived they were amazed, perhaps a little dazed.  And I heard one gal say, "It's like a store!"

I didn't know whether to take that as awe or a good natured admonishment.  I decided it was well deserved either way.  

Near the end of the first afternoon of card making, Kim R. said, "When are we doing this again?"  

Being a bit exhausted from setting it all up, and helping people find what they needed that afternoon, I think I said, "Oh, I wasn't planning on doing this again."

But several commented at how much fun they were having, and I immediately reconsidered.  As they left, I was planning on a second card making day the following week.  I just needed to pick the day. 

I picked the following Wednesday and it was supposed to be a gloriously sunny 65 degree day - which would make the sunroom a comfortable low-70 degrees, and the windows could be open if it got a little warm. 

But Hurricane Isaias had other plans, and by the next week Indiana was hot and humid in the high 70's, and with rain I wouldn't have been able to open the windows for relief, so I rescheduled to Friday.   Friday was a little cool, but it was tolerable, and at the end of that day, it was suggested we do this yet again.

I was ready this time, and offered up the following Tuesday.  It ended up being perfect weather for our final card making afternoon.

Several still wanted to continue doing this, but I was feeling the need to reclaim the sunroom, and we had made enough cards to surely last us through the winter and into spring (if not for the entire next year!)

After the first week when seven of us made 20-some cards, and I knew we'd be getting together again (and I was kind of prepared for a third time) I set a goal of us making 100 cards.  I figured I'd make up the difference between whatever the group made, and that final goal.  We ended up being about seven cards shy of 100 when we finished the third card making workshop.

I just took stock, and see that I made around 30 cards in total (I don't think they all made into the picture below).

My favorite technique (which I came to late) became gluing down an assortment of scrap papers, tearing some of the edges, creating a fun texture.

All in all, card making was a successful endeavor, and while I'm not sure I'm up for doing it again very soon, I think I will consider it in the future - simply to use up more paper supplies.  

It is my plan to make family birthday cards for the next year, and make some for sending out as my own random "thinking of you" cards.  

I've even been giving some thought to maybe doing some scrapbooking again.  Nothing like what I did when the boys were little, but something.   Maybe.

A photo doesn't quite convey the textural effect of these scrappy stripy cards, but I'll end with my favorite: