sending some love, as in days of yore

One of my favorite crafty things to do is make my own greeting cards, for birthdays, get well wishes, weddings, or just to say hello. Some of my efforts are better than others, as I do tend to go overboard with the glue gun from time to time, but I thought I'd share some fun sites that have some ideas you can incorporate yourself, even if you don't have a lot a craft paraphernalia lying around!

This free template is perfect for fall - its apple-iscious! You can print it out on heavy paper or card stock and be on your way to the lost art of letter writing, in style! Creature Comforts is a great design blog to check out in general too!

Another amazing resource to check out is Feed Your Soul. Every week they post two new free down loadable pieces of artwork that you can print out yourself to decorate your house or any crafty projects that need something more - tack some on gift bags or wrapping paper, attach one to a blank journal, or whatever else you fancy! For greeting cards, just resize them when you print them out - although if you wanted to make them larger in order to frame them and put them up in your home you could do that too! Its so cool to see what these artists come up with, and I'm thrilled that they are willing to share their lovely work!

To wrap it all up I like to make my own envelopes - this is so easy, and basically free, especially if you use magazine pages (bonus recycling, too!). I usually just fold the paper to fit my card and use rubber cement to glue the edges together, but here is a video to show you how to do it with just paper and tape. You can select a page that suits the occasion or recipient, or even make a little collage! (I'm definitely not the first to say that Angry Chicken is one of the best craft blogs out there, but I will gladly add myself to the pack.)

Next time you have a special occasion, or just want to say hi there friend!, think about making your own card. You can use stuff you have (magazines, pretty paper, fabric scraps, buttons, nail polish, ribbon, etc) and glue it to any stiff paper you might have, or use an old manila folder, or even a cut down cereal box to make your own personal design.

So fun, SO simple, and you can recycle stuff you have AND save some cash at Hallmark. Seriously, for the tiny amount of effort that goes into this, people will be amazed at your creativity and thoughtfulness! Try it out! DO IT! Or, don't, and I'll look so much better when I do :)