Christmas cards are so special to many of us. They bring back childhood memories that trigger the smells and sounds of the season.
At Thanksgiving time my family would develop an assembly line process for getting out the Christmas cards. With four children, one would give the card to mom to sign, the second would take the signed card and put it in the envelope, the third child would seal the envelope and hand it to dad to address and the last child would stamp the envelope. It became one of those traditions that were a large part of the holiday because it signaled the beginning of the Christmas season.
It didn’t end there. I loved when the Christmas cards began arriving. Everyday we would look to see who sent us a card and jockey to see who got to tape it to the molding. We would compare the cards and marvel at their beauty or laugh at the humor.
Let’s bring back those traditions for our children. I makes me smile now but one of the things I loved the best were the embossed cards. I was convinced that anyone that sent us an embossed card must be very rich. Thinking back I remember those ones were, in my mind, the most fancy cards to arrive.
Here’s your chance to impress your friends or at least their children.
The definition of embossing is:
- To raise or represent (surface designs) in relief.
- To decorate (a surface) with raised ornament.
- To raise a design on (a blank) with dies of similar pattern, one the negative of the other.
- To cause to bulge out; make protuberant.
According to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary.
There are a number of ways we can emboss cards. The results will be very different but all share the fact that they are in 3 dimension.
The first way to emboss cards is the Stamp and Heat Gun method.
Pros:
You can use a variety of stamps
You can vary the color
Pretty inexpensive
You can produce multiples of the same card
You can personalize
Cons:
Time prohibitive
Click here to learn how to emboss with this method
The second method is to use an embossing stylus and stencils
Pros:
Ease to produce multiples of same card
You can use different color paper
Pretty inexpensive
You can personalize
Cons:
Time prohibitive
Limited to what stencils you own
The third method is the purchased embellishment method
Pros:
Ease of mass production
Can vary color by paper
Can vary embellishment
Least time required
Cons:
Most costly
Least personalized
Limited to embellishments available
The fourth is to create your own embellishments
Pros:
Most personalized
Variety of styles and colors
Not limited to purchased items
Allows most creativity and originality
Does not have to be expensive.
Cons:
Biggest time investment
Not useful for mass producing
The fifth method is a combination of any of the above
Pros:
Allows for much originality
Allows for much variety
Allows for much creativity
Allows for ease in parts being purchased
Cons:
For some it is too many options
You must do all of the designing
Not great for mass production
This week we will be doing all of these and more. No matter which method you choose, remember to always, just have fun.
related sites:
Scrapbooking newspaper clippings
customized scrapbook lettering
Embossing with Stencil and stylus
History of Christmas Ornaments
Chair decorations for the holiday
Ornaments to use or give as gifts
gift bags for the kids to make
E-Mail Me with your ideas. I will be glad to print them.
"Copyright 2006, Mary Welling-Bonney & Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use will constitute an infringement of copyright."
