Consider Sending DIY Greetings

February 14, 2012

Like many of you, I've been conditioned to believe that I can only express my sincerest thoughts with a card I picked off a rack in a store.

While I usually find something that fits the occasion, I'm really only settling with what's available. The cards I find sort of express my feelings and style, but only slightly more than if I'd closed my eyes and just grabbed something up.

Let's not even go into how I feel once the clerk rings up my less-than-inspired purchases. Seriously, buying greeting cards, of all things, should not put you in a bad mood or credit counseling.

That's why every year - after Valentine's Day, Christmas, and various family members' birthdays - I tell myself I'm going to learn to make my own greetings cards. Today, the day after Valentine's Day, I have made that same vow yet again, and this year I'm going to the library shelves for inspiration.

MCPL has dozens of books on making all sorts of greeting cards. Here's just a few. For a thorough treatment of the subject, there's Greeting Cards from A to Z by Jeanette Robertson. Collage Cards by Martingale & Co. offers a scrapbooking approach to the subject. Here's a seductive title, Wishes: Falling in Love with Cardmaking by Jeanette Lynton. And if I want a real challenge, there's Vintage Pop-up Cards: Making Your Own Timeless Treasures by Taylor Hagerty.

Wish me luck. And let me get a little practice before trying to get on my Christmas card list.

Sara PD
Kearney Branch