Happy Easter! I hope you had a wonderful and blessed holiday weekend.
Many of you know that making handmade greeting cards is one of my favorite hobbies. I am happy to welcome a fellow paper crafter and guest blogger Christina Delgado.
Today we find ourselves in the age of Do-It-Yourselfers. There are many reasons that people are shifting toward making their own products. The first, and probably most influential reason, is to save money in a time of recession. However, people are also finding that by making products that they would normally buy, they can get exactly what they want, rather than settling for mass-produced items that are close, but not perfect. One industry that is not immune to the effects of the Do-It-Yourself generation is the greeting card industry. The number of people engaging in DIY greeting cards is increasing every year and here are the biggest reasons why:
1. Money
Although buying all of the different materials that are required to make greeting cards can be expensive if you're not doing it right, the cost is actually generally still cheaper per card than the cards one would buy at the local drugstore or grocery store. The benefit is that you buy a good amount of materials once and don't need to spend more money every time you need to send out a greeting card. You simply gather the materials you bought and make your own. This makes every greeting card you make after the initial purchase seem free!
2. A Personal Touch
Even the most unique cards from a store will be somewhat generic. Although some of them have funny sayings or cute animals on the front that you think your loved one will enjoy, the card was not made just for them. There will be other copies out there, and ya never know - they might get the same one twice. When making your own greeting cards though, you can personalize them so that you can demonstrate how well you know the person you are giving the card to, and you can make sure that they will truly enjoy it. A personalized card shows that you took the time to design and construct a card that celebrates their unique personhood. They will seem exponentially more thoughtful.
3. Creative Outlet
Everyone has those days where all you want to do is come home and unwind. You don't want to think about the stresses of work or family life. You simply want to do something that you truly enjoy to get your mind off of the things that you don't want to think about. An activity that can help you to take your mind off of all of these things is making greeting cards. It allows you to be creative, but also gives you a finished product that you can be proud of, a definite mood lifter for most everyone. If you are looking for a hobby that will make other people happy and will allow you to get your creative juices flowing, DIY greeting cards are a great choice.
Christina Delgado is an art teacher that writes about the arts and education. Her recent work can be found on the list of 30 Great Blogs for Teachers and Educators.
Do you make handmade greeting cards? If you enjoyed this article by Ms. Delgado, please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.
