Call me old-fashioned but when I get a card for my birthday, or Christmas, I like that card to have been printed in a factory and bought by the sender, in a shop. Why? Because homemade cards SUCK. You probably think so too but you’re too nice to say it. Or maybe you make them yourself and are deluded enough to think homemade cards are cool. They’re not, homemade cards definitely suck – and this is why:
1) They are too heavy. People create homemade cards out of “Heavy Duty” construction paper (or something), in order to give the illusion of “quality” and to make them seem less like a poor substitute for a REAL greetings card. Nobody is fooled by this. Now add the weight of various pieces of stuck-on crap and my heart can begin sinking, even before I have opened the (lumpy) envelope.
2) “Less is more”. People who make their own cards never seem to get this. I don’t want a card covered in lace, buttons, wood, glitter, foil, old ripped up wrapping paper and other bits of random recycling. I simply want a flat card, with proper printing and a proper picture, that stands up properly.
3) They are made with “time release” glue. Getting a homemade card out of the envelope, in one piece, is a bit like defusing a nail-bomb – but less rewarding. What the hell do people use to stick these things together? Spit? Of course, you can always adopt my strategy – which is to RIP the card out of the envelope, say “Oh NO! It’s broken!” and throw all the component parts straight into the rubbish bin.
4) Most people are not gifted at art. There is a reason why Hallmark employ trained graphic designers to create their cards. A quick glance, at the homemade abominations your “crafty” friends have sent you, will make that reason clear.
5) Sometimes “homemade” stretches the truth. Occasionally, people acknowledge that they fall into the category of reason #4 and decide to buy a “kit” of card-making components – which they then dutifully sit and assemble, with their “sticky until it dries” glue and an instruction sheet in front of them. WTF? That makes absolutely no sense at ALL. If someone knows they are useless at art, and they have no ideas of their own, why don’t they just buy NORMAL bloody cards and send those?
6) You can’t throw homemade cards away (without looking like a villain). Well, I can (see #3) but it is still much harder than chucking out an old “bought” card. Being given a homemade card makes it appear that somebody has put time and effort into it, just for you. Throwing away that little token of love would look like rejection and ingratitude, so you’re stuck with it forever. Even though we all know that the person who made it was probably, a) bored and wanted a hobby, and b) trying to save money.
7) The writing on homemade cards is sh*t. I want a card with decent writing. I don’t want some wonky calligraphy, done in felt pen. I don’t want a cheap “gold” Happy Birthday! that has been peeled off a backing-sheet and looks totally incongruous with the rest of the card. I don’t want the words on my card to have been cut out of a magazine “kidnapper” style. In short, I want a mass-produced card.
8) Homemade cards are not funny. I only really like funny cards and I’ve never seen a homemade card that was funny. By “funny” I mean ones that I can laugh WITH… Obviously I have been sent homemade cards that I laughed AT.
It’s not just me is it? And I haven’t even mentioned the fact that my Mum buys sh*tty little homemade cards that OTHER PEOPLE have made – and then sends them to me on my birthday. WTF is THAT about? Homemade cards truly suck.
Blogmella's Handbag Of Wisdom 
My mum insists I make homemade cards with cartoons of whichever pet is alive at the time in some ridiculous situation on the cover. Stresses me right out trying to think of funny scenarios, I can tell you.
That said, they make her very happy, so that’s ok I suppose.
Hahaha! If she WANTS them and ASKS for them, that’s different. I like that you have to think of stuff to make them do. Hahaha!
Clearly you have never had a card made from one of our members! Send me your address, and I’ll send you a card that will make you change your mind! :) Anyone can grab a card off a supermarket shelf, but for someone to take the time to create a card by hand for you is a special thing. Know that someone cared enough about you to put time aside out of their day for you, and the love that has gone into it, rather than a judging the card itself.
I’m totally with you on the liking the funny cards.
I don’t want homemade cards from anyone over the age of 6. Maybe 7.
Whew, it isn’t just me then.
I don’t mind a homemade card. Even before our lovely recession, some people here give bday cards but the envelope and card are blank. They insert a sticky note with their sentiments. That way, you can reuse the card. I don’t do it b/c if I pick out a card for someone, I pick it out specifically for that person. Whatev.
I pick mine out carefully too. Not that anyone would pass on the kind of cards I buy.
=shrug= To be honest, I’m not big on cards as a whole, but I like getting the homemade cards from one friend because the the woman is a genius at making this sort of stuff. Cthulhu, people pay her $50+ per lesson to teach them how to make stuff like this.
$50?! Bloody hell, maybe I should start liking them and practice until I can teach! Mind you, what IS there to learn? Fold some heavy card in half and stick shit on it…. ;)
They do stuff w/ imprinting, embossing, ink stamps, patterned cut outs, paints, special paper folding forms, air brushing, watermarking – all sorts of stuff that’s *way over my head. She’s got an office & a half overflowing with tools, machines & pretty much anything you could possibly imagine for doing cards, scrapbooking & pretting much anything you could possibly think of. And the gear isn’t cheap either. $8 for a specialized felt pen (and something like 1000 or so in the set)… It seriously boggles the mind, but she makes enough on giving the courses every month to cover her expenses on new gear, her addiction to books, gas & groceries for the month.
Woah. I know that stuff isn’t cheap, I’ve seen it on QVC (the shopping channel). If she is clever enough to make money at it, go her. Just don’t send ME any. ;)
Fear not. I didn’t think You’d appreciate getting a card that has a note written inside addressed to Buster. ;)
I love mousie’s cards too, she is amazing. But I have seen some of the rather ratty looking home made cards that Blogmella is talking about. Not many have Mousie’s talent.
True, she is quite the talent.
I know what kind of card Blogmella’s talking about – I made a few of them, bak when I was between the ages of 6-10. ;)
I edited these comments, to protect my highly secret identity! ;)
Wiredwizard,
I’m one of those ‘crazies’, with a room devoted to all the tools of the trade. I spend lots of time and effort with my cards, and it is much more expensive than going to the store for some mass produced card.
Thank you for showing the other side to this….I’d hate for people to think we’re out there playing with ‘construction paper’ and scissors.
I’ve made cards from my photos, but usually I buy a generic printed card and then put my photo on the front covering up what was originally there. I’m lazy that way. lol
Haha! Genius!
The best homemade card I’ve ever received was made by my two-year-old. It had a chocolate cake on the front, with two rows of those shaky googly eyes on it, like a hideous cake-spider mutant.
It’s on the bookshelf and I LOL at it approximately once a day, still…
OK, that is the gift that keeps on giving! :D
Homemade cards went away for awhile and then the damnable scrapbooking movement took hold here and people thought that lessons learned in this area would translate into cards. NOT.
RE your thoughts on this: I agree, I agree, I agree. There. Does saying it 3 times make homemade cards disappear?
Now here’s the trick. You can throw one away – you are not throwing the friend away – just the card. Your friend is not going to come over and hope to see it framed. If he/she asks where it is the response is, “it was so delightful that I really had to share it with someone who is not as fortunate as I to receive your homemade cards. But you can always make me another, can’t you”?
Now this last bit is what homemade card makers hate to hear. Most are a one trick pony. They make a card for you and that’s it. If you suggest that you might call upon their talents multiple times, they’ll leave you alone.
I feel awful when people give me cards they have embroidered. OMG. That takes so much work but sometimes they look like crap… How can I thow them away though?
Thanks for your thoughts anyway. ;)
You break my heart Mella. I’ve had to go the homemade route when money has been tight. I know I SUCK at art, always have, but the thought was right. I was only trying to spread some love! *cries softly and goes to throw glitter away*
Haha! Awww. Not every person you send a card to is a bitch like me. Take heart!
I agree, I think if you are older than 10 or so you should stop making cards and let the professionals take over. I do like getting them from kids cause sometimes they are just too funny (not intentionally). However, I have made a couple cards as an adult. I did an ambigram of my sister’s name and put it on the front of a birthday card for her – no glitter or buttons or anything glued to the front. She still has it displayed on her fridge a few years later, so I assume she likes it.
Ambigrams are cool. I’m allowing those.
You would have hated my high school graduation announcements. I drew a graduate with my non-dominant hand and wrote, “Thank Gawd I Gots a Publick Edukation,” in crayon. It looked like a 4-year-old designed it. I scanned that and printed it on all my cards, and then I put the normal information on the inside. It was certainly cheaper than buying the photograph invitations.
Hahahaha!
I usually make some of my Christmas cards each year. The problem I have is finding words to put inside them, other than “Merry Christmas.” I wish I could come up with an original decent message that seems sincere and/or clever. The people who receive my cards *say* that they love them, but maybe they’re just being kind.
Nah, you ARE an artist! And I wouldn’t worry, a basic message is all that’s needed.
you can get free verses from websites to use on your personal home made cards. check out these sites:
http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/christmas-card-messages.html
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/christmas-card-sayings-and-phrases.html
(and PS: Valerie – I too make handmade cards. I can literally spend HOURS creating a card. And yes the recipient would like them!)
This was funny as shit. I might have to print it out and send it to all my friends.
The only thing worse than a homemade card is one someone printed out from a website. Too lazy to make a card, too cheap to buy one, I guess I know how you feel about our friendship.
Haha! I’m glad you liked it. You’re really funny, so I respect your opinion a lot.
Well you talk a lot of rubbish, i myself make handmade greetings cards, and i only use good quality cards and materials, the time and effort spent on the cards and attention to detail shows in the finished product most people who i have spoken to would rather buy a handmade card, because they are not made in a factory, and are unique nobody else can buy that card and any card with any design can be made unlike from a shop. so realy for the price you would pay for a factory card, a handmade card can be made cheaper. so they are sucks !
That may be so in your case, but not everyone is a professional cardmaker or scrapbooker. Most people aren’t & the cards they make, barring luck & the occasional savant, tend to come out like ‘Mella described: lumpy, ugly junk. Cthulhu knows, if *I tried to make a card that’s what it’d come out like.
Of course you have your opinion and I respect that, but reading this post I can only think of one thing. Which is how absolutely negative and mean you sound, all you did with each reason behind not liking a home made card was bash it bit by bit. What if someone couldn’t afford to go get a worthless, thoughtless card from a store? You probably made some people feel like shit lol. Yeah, there’s a difference between people who can’t make home made cards WELL, but it’s the thought that counts. I for one love receiving home made cards, and gifts as well. I think they’re cute :) I would even prefer a home made card along with a store bought gift, makes it seem more personal than just buying something and saying “Here, a gift”
WOW! Is all I can say.
Get a life people! Who gives a flying * whether or not blogmella likes/hates homemade cards. Just throw your * cards out and shut up!
I think everyone knows you read a card, you set it out a few days, you throw it out – card makers know that. It only matters that someone thought about you in the first place. Unless its from someone you love dearly and you’ll need the memory later.
sad really, all these people talking about home made cards saying they hate them and stuff, yet they take the time to come on here and bitch,lol
i guess the unemployed have to do something right,lol
“i guess the unemployed have to do something right,lol”
I know one who makes homemade cards! Hahaha!
I hope you crochity old bags go through the rest of your lives never getting another card, homemade or from the store. Hopefully anyone who thought of you enough to send you a card, because you are having a bad day, or your another year older with more to complain about! One day when you are really old and no one calls you and your grandchildren stop calling you and they have already stopped visiting, remember that someones thoughts for you weren’t enough, or the ones you wanted, and you couldn’t be bothered opening the thick card that basically meant that someone was thinking about you! You can relax and just live alone and get older, and you should now be happy, cause nobody thinks about you anymore, and when you are alone and wish someone would think of you, hopefully they got the message, You don’t want anyone thinking of you! Good luck when you are to old to drive, and it is snowing, and you have no milk, don’t call the person that did care about you (you know the horrible person, who thought of you but didn’t give you the card you wanted) because she is helping another older person, you know the one who cries happy tears when she gets any kind of card, cause she knows someone is still thinking about her!!
Karen WTF? You’ve conjured up an entire lifetime of misery for me, based on the fact that I don’t like crappy cards? Well you’ve certainly got a vivid imagination… But I think you might need to increase your meds.
Wow. I can respect your point of view, but its that ” a point of view”. I make and sell handmade cards. I do simple, non-bulky designs. My cards don’t fall apart, you can rip it out of the high quality envelop should you wish. I take longer than you making a lovely personalized card as you do looking for the correct printed hallmark card. I enjoy what I do and considering I sold 10 of them just 2 days ago, I believe others enjoy them as well.
AMEN Karen Driscoll!!! You Hit it right on the nose!! A homemade card is more thoughtful then going to the store and picking out a card off the shelf! The miserable people that get the “Homemade Cards” that they hate so much and think they are distasteful, just remember that may be your last card (HOPEFULLY). Miserable people don’t deserve a card and I cant believe you have followers that come and read your blog, BUT I guess its true MISERY LOVES company!! You All Have a BLESSED DAY!!!
“just remember that may be your last card (HOPEFULLY)”
Gosh, you seem like quite an evil person!
Well said Karen … I can’t believe what I am reading, WOW, just simply WOW! I make homemade cards (have for many years) for everyone and send out over 125 homemade Christmas cards. (I never sign the homemade card, in doing this they can send the card to someone else, just in case they are short a card sometime. …. CHEAP? Excuse me!!!! Homemade cards are NOT cheap. First of all the supplies you purchase to make them are not cheap. Then all the machines and tools are not cheap! Then all the time and thought you put into making that special card for the person. You just totally disgust me and you are clueless to anyone that scraps homemade cards. You really show your age, just like a child receiving a card and wasn’t what he wanted when he opened the present! So he pouts and throws a fit! You can certainly tell you and many others that have commented have your/their panties in a wand. I am going to say a prayer for you this evening. You people are just the type of people that this world doe not need! Instead of being grateful that someone thought of you, you are being hateful and degrading to others! I LOVE MY HOMEMADE CARDS!!!
“I am going to say a prayer for you this evening. You people are just the type of people that this world doe not need!”
Who are you praying to? Because I don’t think God likes us to judge others harshly. He doesn’t mind us judging cards though.
Well, here’s my two cents. You cynical lot can take it or leave it. Spoiled, self-centered people usually do not appreciate individual effort and prefer machine made over handcrafted.
Cardmaking is an art unto itself, some are superb at it, and some are average. Nobody is bad at it, because they infuse love into their work. In case you haven’t realized it, love involves taking an extra step, making an effort for another’s happiness.
Buying cards is cheap, check out the dollar store. The store bought cards are made by machines run by some underpaid worker in a foreign land. Hallmark outsourced their operation years ago overseas, in case you didn’t know. Millions of the same cards are churned out for your daily consumption.
Making one’s own cards makes each one unique, no two are exactly the same, just similiar. Taking minutes/hours out of one’s day to conceive an idea, construct it, and give it as a gift is priceless. Yes it is a hobby for some, a business for others that allows them to make ends meet. Business empires have been created this way you know. “Stampin Up” is a great example of that.
Teaching others to be self sufficient is also a gift. So those creative souls that have a following, and can make an income teaching others is a good thing in more than just a monetary sense. The people that love crafting and take the time to learn, so that they can give personalized gifts are some of the most loving and caring people in the world. If you don’t understand this, then it is you who are lacking.
Finally, if you don’t like handmade cards, then be honest with the givers of such love. Tell them not to bother, that you prefer store bought over their labors. Yes, you will hurt their feelings, but you will save them the time and trouble they freely give in making or finding something special to give to you, their loved one. After all, a heartless, selfish person shouldn’t mind hurting others that happen to love them. It’s all about you now isn’t it? What you want. God forbid that you should appreciate somebody else’s efforts on your behalf. I truly feel sorry for those that care about people like you.
I beg to differ. Some of us are *BAD at it, like myself. I could infuse all the love into it I wanted to & it’d still look like something a spastic 3 year old made complete w/ a bloodstain on it somewhere where I cut myself in the process. I suck at making things by hand. Always have. =shrugs=
Blogmella,
So you trash those that take the time and energy to create something special, just because you can’t???? Lame, really lame!!! Did you really write a diatribe against a craft because you are inept at it? You called it tongue in cheek, an attempt to be funny??? Well you forgot to caveat your rant as such, instead, you have succeeded in insulting thousands of crafters that take care and pride in their work.
You know, insensitivity to others is an unacceptable behavior that parents normally would correct when the child is young. Guess you missed that lesson.
Has it occurred to you that each individual has a God given talent? Yes, even you, but apparently, you haven’t discovered yours yet. Not everybody is meant to be creative and artistic, just like not everybody is meant to to doctors or lawyers or Indian chiefs. We need diverse skills in order for all bases to be covered.
Next time you feel the need to write a rant to which all with internet access might see, try to think about whether you are attacking/insulting/slamming anybody or a group. That’s what kind, caring folks do. Do you think you could stop being crass, and learn to be more sensitive to others???
Firstly, I think you’re replying to Wiredwizard here, not me.
Secondly I’m British and as such I don’t “caveat” things as funny… We tend to hope that people will spot exaggerated negativity as a joke. Although there was clearly an uncomfortable truth in some of what I wrote, or you wouldn’t be so defensive.
“Has it occurred to you that each individual has a God given talent? Yes, even you, but apparently, you haven’t discovered yours yet.”
I had to laugh at this, because the Editor of our church magazine positively dances for joy if I write an article for them. Haha!
See, apart from the nasty digs at the end, this is a well reasoned argument.
This post is hilarious! Great read! I love making handmade cards and will laugh and enjoy it more thinking of this post… i may print it off and send it in my cards – my friends will get a kick out of it…. my cards are pretty good – i get crap when i laze out and buy one…. so my friends must like em…. i loved #5 and #7 – can’t wait to use kidnapper style on my next card…lollol Thanks for the laughs! :)
You’re welcome Dragon! That was what I was going for – my friends who make cards just laughed at this too. I’m currently making papier mache pots and I think it would be entirely possible for someone to write a (tongue in cheek) less than flattering post about them. In fact I keep making fun of them myself, on Twitter. I even made a pot then noticed it was covered in ripped up bits of an article about rape! UGH! Thank goodness I paint them!
Anyway, I’m glad you aren’t offended. xx
I send a card because I am thinking of the recipient. I make it because that’s what I enjoy doing.
I love making cards- and am over 50! I find alot of joy in creating- and am do Marketing for a couple of companies. Most people do not throw out my cards because they are beautiful, not because they feel guilty. It takes me hours to make cards and I personalize them just for the person I am making cards for. I simply cannot go buy cards that are mass produced (in China or Indonesia) by a company…….. I make them all. People at work ask me to sell them, but then it becomes a job, not a pleasurable activity. I also knit, crochet, embroider- bet you have never heard of stumpwork, goldwork, etc….. I appreciate that some people do not love ‘home-made’ cards, and your post makes me feel sad that you do not have friends or relatives that send you fabulous cards that you would cherish….maybe they know your point of view and send you their reject cards possibly??? Hahahaha My oldest daughter recently moved to China- and in her room I found- in a drawer- she has saved EVERY card I sent her in college! How sweet is that! That makes all of the hours I put into those cards even more worth it.
.”maybe they know your point of view and send you their reject cards possibly???”
You may be on to something here Shelly! Hahaha! I haven’t heard of stumpwork or goldwork (I’ll Google them) but I do have a friend who makes cards with “Quilling” on. Not for me, obviously.
I think receiving a handmade card is way better then receiving a card that 50,000 other people will receive also, you must not like being an individual at all, but a cookie cutter person, sad :(
I’m guessing that the only talent that you have is running your mouth otherwise you would be doing something a bit more constructive. As for homemade cards being crap all I can say is this. You must know some very sorry people because everyone that I know who creates cards are extremely talented and look better than anything found in a store.
Barb
“I’m guessing that the only talent that you have is running your mouth”
I do have others, but that is probably the best one, yeah.
I think you should change your blog name from Handbag of Wisdom to Handbag of Misery! It;s no wonder you only have 54 followers…we can only pray that there are not more like you! Whether it’s a homemade card or another art project, someone has spent the time and love to create it for you. You must be a very negative unhappy person and I feel sorry for the people who spend time in your company!
“I think you should change your blog name from Handbag of Wisdom to Handbag of Misery”
I don’t really post here anymore but if I did I’d be tempted to, now that all you crazy crafters are giving me sh*t!
To each his own. It’s too bad that you don’t appreciate something that was made just for you and is a “one of a kind” creation.
Wiredwizard,
You may not be crafty, but you have a talent. Think about it. What can you do a little better than most? The more you practice, the better you will get. Are you a programmer, not everybody is good at it… Are you a good cook, again, not everybody can… Find your talent, enjoy your life.
You know I know people like this in real life… You may have thought that you were just being funny, but they certainly aren’t. And we can always tell when they are disappointed/disgusted with the gift. And, particularly for them, it is all about the money. I have seen some of the stupidest things in hallmark cards. And maybe it is just me, but I can never find a hallmark card that suits me. In fact I use the word “hallmarky” as a criticism. You know cheap, generic, inspirational bull crap. But THEY want to see that $5 price on the back. Look I hate cards, for these reasons, but if I can’t afford it and go out of my way for you, and then you turn around and act like that?? I don’t need friends like that. If you’re not my friend when I’m poor, you don’t deserve to be my friends when I’m wealthy.
“If you’re not my friend when I’m poor, you don’t deserve to be my friends when I’m wealthy”.
I think the craft brigade have established further up in comments that homemade cards are actually EXPENSIVE to create, whereas “dollar store” cards are cheap.
No sometimes someone will make you a card out of scraps and w/e construction paper, and what not like you originally said. And even you mentioned that they probably were too cheap to buy one.
Either way it still seems ungrateful to me. As soon as I read it, I could see the awful ppl I was referring to in mind. Bleh.
And even if it did cost them a lot to make, that still doesn’t cover the “hallmarky” crap.
Like I said, this specifically called to mind certain ppl, and they only want brand name, massed produced stuff.
It is about money and image for them. They are brainwashed little twits and I’m quite glad that I dont have to see them right now. I do not believe blood is thicker than water, unless you are talking literally.
Thats why I said, you may have thought you were being funny, but it reminded me of them right away.
What’s really funny is that these people will supposedly defend the rights of the small business owner. Rights don’t do you any good if you dont have customers… Kind of makes me wonder what an original hallmark card looked like.
Well, i didn’t mean for you to get flashbacks about ungrateful people. I think this post has been taken WAY too seriously – which may have something to do with the difference in American and British humour. Or maybe I’m just doomed to an eternity in Hell now. ;-)
Hysterical! I don’t think you have any idea how your post is racing thru the paper crafting community and the reaction it is getting on other web sites! But the conversation it has started on other Bulletin Boards is really therapeutic in the long run. Anyone who is crafty/artistic has experienced at least one of your 8 tenants, even if it was just their own negative thoughts. I know this was caught by several people… but not everyone is reading thru all 68 +++ posted comments to get the tongue-in-cheek aspect of your post. The good part is that it has opened up very interesting threads about our own experiences. On a personal level, I started making cards so people could feel ok about throwing away the prolific amount of handmade crafts or artwork that I tend to give for Christmas, birthdays, etc. I had friends who were running out of wall space to display all my reverse glass paintings or closet space to store my crocheted throws LOL! I thought now if they insist on keeping these cards they will all fit in a shoe box. What I didn’t foresee are the ones who take my cards and frame them to put on their wall! Cracks me up – but my insides grin with pleasure every time I visit someone and they pull out their shoebox of my cards to show me how my art has grown. I love doing this – and I cherish the reactions of my friends who love what I love.
Aw, well thank you for not being a freak who wants me to die alone! I’ve seen a little of the reaction, because my stats page lets me trace who linked to my blog. One site was locked but I read comments in another and people wanted to hunt me down. Haha! I wonder if they know I can see what they are saying.
I’m glad some positive and useful debates have opened up – I think my biggest message would be USE BETTER GLUE!
My mum does send me some truly dreadful cards that her old lady friends have made but (and don’t tell anyone this) I like the idea of old ladies making things and getting a few quid that would otherwise have been destined for a big company. I like the IDEA but I don’t like the cards.
Your stuff sounds good and your friends sound impressed! I’m currently making papier mache pots (possibly to sell) and I love them to have a “raw” (uncut) edge. I thought it looked “arty” but my son said it looked “lazy”. Hmmm, I only have myself to blame.
=chuckles= Who’d have thought an almost 4 year old blog post would light such a fire under some people’s asses? Well done, BM, well done. =bows=
;)
I innocently opened my email and saw all these comments (occasionally I get comments to old posts but nothing like as many) and then I looked at my stats and went “Oh blimey!”. Hopefully I’ve raised the standard of many future cards and won’t be killed in my sleep by a psycho.
Well, I love making cards, but I would not mind if my recipients threw them away. I WOULD mind if they kept them out of a feeling of obligation! I also love to spend hours in the greeting card aisles of the stores, admiring their artwork.
Yes, you’ve got a lot of women fired up because there are a lot of us out there that are really good at making cards!! Some of us actually consider ourselves “professionals” because we get paid by different companies to make cards, teach classes, and blog! Go figure! You’re insulting a way of life for thousands, i dare say, hundreds of thousands of women who take a lot of pride in our art. Yes… I said it. Cardmaking is an art. Take a gander at some cardmaking blogs and you’ll see some truly amazing pieces of art. (You can start by looking at my blog. I can take it!!)
Read with interest your point of view of cardmaking, obviously you like to be a sheep and follow others into buying mass produced cards with no thought for the recipient only that you have got them a card. whoppeee good for you that you remembered their birthday or reason for card. maybe if you spent the time to craft you would realise how much enjoyment it creates both the creating and of the giving of the card but as you feel you are no good at it you cast your view that all handcrafted cards are bad, so is that you manta for life if you cant do it it must be crap! what a strange value to live by. well done however for causing such upset in the crafting community (that’s what we are) and I hope that you mum realises how ungrateful you are regarding the cards she sends you and rather than even send a shop bought commercial one , stops sending you cards all together as you really are not worth even the mass produced cards.
Oh just my view
“Buying mass produced cards with no thought for the recipient”
On the contrary, I think mass produced cards are nicer (on the whole) so I AM thinking of the recipient.
“as you feel you are no good at it you cast your view that all handcrafted cards are bad, so is that you manta for life if you cant do it it must be crap!”
I don’t think I have said anywhere that I wouldn’t be good at making cards. Somebody else said it, in the comments to this post but, I didn’t. If I were to make cars I have an idea that they might be better than average, since I’ve identified a few of the pitfalls for myself. I’d use strong glue, for a start!
“I hope that you mum realises how ungrateful you are regarding the cards she sends you”
I think my mum knows what I’m like, she raised me after all. She only has herself to blame.
(Sorry about the multiple replies, I haven’t used
this blog for ages).
If you prefer shop-bought cards then that’s what you should be giving/getting. I think maybe you have been unlucky with regard to the quality of the cards you’ve received, and that you might find it interesting to look at some of the better examples to be found online. I also found your post amusing, and I suspect that the more extreme reactions on here have come from people whose egos are too tightly bound up in their cardmaking. Life is too short to hate people just because they don’t like handmade cards !
Thanks Helen, I must admit I was a bit taken aback by some of these replies. At least they posted them on here though and didn’t send them to me scribbled on some badly glued threatening letter/card. ;-)
Read all the way through this !!! my thoughts wont affect you nor will you give a fig about them … not sure why you would write a post like this as you must have had the thought the papercrafting world would say something !! ive been makin cards for 7 years and its a passion .. when i send a card to my friends they want a handmade card why ( cos i spent feckin hours doing it ) i didnt go into a card warehouse and just pick the cheapest are a random card … i think of the person’s like’s and dislike’s and i spend an average 3-4 hours on a card !!! Not sure what card you were given even if it was crap someone thought they could make something from the heart to give to you !!! But you didnt like it
Whats the saying if you have nothing nice to say ‘ Dont say it
I posted this YEARS ago and as for “you must have had the thought the papercrafting world would say something !!” I really didn’t… I just thought other people would say “I’ve had cards like that but I was too polite to complain LOL”.
Hand made cards are not cheap to make & the people who make them put a lot of effort into them…. for your information, my cards do not fall to bits, I use good quality glue, I have spent £1000s on my hobby & it gives me great pleasure in seeing the delight on peoples faces when they receive one of my cards…….Hand made cards are a gift from the heart…….
It seems like you don’t have a heart, your poor Mum should stop buying you cards, you don’t deserve them………
Do you moan all the time, do you get up early to practice.
Well I make cards and they cost a fortune. Mine are really bad though and I find it funny to watch people squirm and pretend they like it even when I know just how bad it looks haha. Everyone is entitled to their opinion even the wrong opinion haha. We are all different, some people appreciate the time and effort it takes to make a card and some people appreciate the time and effort it takes to go out to a shop and pick a card. Doesn’t bother me but I really love the handmade cards I receive from the talented bloggers out there. People are getting too wound up about this post. After reading your comments I realise you are just taking the pi$$ :p
Andrea, you are so right. And you know what? I want a handmade card from you now!
Haha so you can visually show your disdain! :p
No, so we can both giggle at it together. It would probably be good anyway. x
I like to think my cards are pretty good and I do personalize them for the recipient. For instance, my daughter feels pretty much as you do, so she gets a very plain, graphic-style printed card which I’m not bothered if it goes in the bin (it will…!) or not. My sons get something suited to their interests but also plain and binnable (although one son and one daughter-in-law keeps them faithfully). I make sure they know, they CAN bin them – I make them for them but also for ME. I make something ENTIRELY different for my friends. Some of them like the lace, the add-ons the charms and the coloured images that I have personally drawn – so much so they DO keep and frame them. Others prefer a plainer card but a personalized poem inside, which they take out and keep,
I don’t send my more intricate cards to peeps who will bin them, but I don’t buy cards either – I keep bought ones I’ve received and re-cycle them to send to those who bin!
So you see Hunni, I wouldn’t be sending one of my adoptive children to you anyway! LOL! I’m a Brit and I realized immediately you were on the wind-up so didn’t take offence as none was intended (not really!) .
Sarcasm is not a universally appreciated form of wit, but I’m a Scouser so found it mildly amusing! Did you say you’d spent time in Liverpool (…or did your Dad just have the accent…? LOL!)
Hugs
Cheers! I’ve been to Liverpool once but I’m from the Sauf actually (now living in Manchester). You sound as though you’ve worked out the whole card thing, not to mention my intentions for this post. Haha! Hugs back. x
Just read your post – old stuff and new. Not impressed. Whilst some of your original points are valid – the quality of products available to crafters both in the US and the UK had improved drastically over the last couple of years and definitely since your original post – the sentiment behind your post is astonishingly poor. Your Mum has bought hand made from little old dears to give to you. So lets break this down – almost certainly at some OAP get together – where some of these little old ladies who struggled to see straight and had extremely wobbly hands (you can see I have experienced these poor dears) some little old lady or gent has managed to get themselves to the venue – possibly their only social event all week, for a cuppa, a bit of cake, a chat and in many cases the opportunity to be somewhere warm, they may also be having their first chat with another person since the last time they were at the same place. Whilst experiencing the benefits of this event they are encouraged to ‘make a card’ with the elements that are available to whatever charity is running the event – and I guarantee that these elements will be donations and not of the highest quality hence the reason they fall apart once in your sticky mitts. The little old dear will struggle to put the card together but nonetheless cobble something onto card stock. They will then leave the card to be ‘sold’ to someone charitable like your Mum who is just trying to support the charity running the OAP centre, it might be that they actually get the money for the card which will be not much but might provide them with a packet of biscuits as a treat for when they get home, that same home where they might very well be alone until the next time they manage to get to the OAP centre. You Mum, bless her generosity, has purchased that card and, whilst I hear what you say that ‘she brought you up so she knows you’ in giving that card to you, is potentially hoping that somewhere inside of your ‘piss taking’ soul, there might be a little humility. You say that you hadn’t expected the reaction from the crafters who have read your blog post….really? I would have thought someone with such an inflated sense of self worth, sufficient to be so scathing of others attempts at a hobby would have worked out exactly the reaction that post was going to illicit. You are almost certainly right, your Mum does know you best but how disappointed she must be.
She thought the post was funny but the comments have scared her a bit.
First there is a difference between home made cards and hand made cards….personally i like to think mine are hand made and they are so bad they sell and they are taken to a hospice where they are put on shelf and sell……….making money for the hospice conserned…..i am very proud of what i do…….so i take exception to your wasting time talk…………..my wasting time makes money that a hospice would not have……….i have always found crafters are very friendly and very gracious people who love to share and gift…..many of us make for a special charity, one close to our hearts……..
I made a few jibes about some cards – I don’t hate charity, I don’t hate people who are dying, I don’t hope bad things happen to crafters. I’m naughty but I’m not as deranged as some of the people who have seen fit to weave imaginary lives for myself and my mother on here.
This post started out amuzing but after reading through so many comments became abit of a bore.
Lighten up folks…..each to there own and yes I am a crafter :)
Thanks. Some people are very passionate about their cards bit also quite unusual in the head.
I think you should give up the stand up comedy if this is anything to go by
Stand up? Where did that come from?
People, lighten up. Tongue in cheek post from a stand up comic. You’d be laughing along with the rest if you heard this at a gig …. and yes, I’m an occasional card maker and not bothered about what other’s think of my cards if I’m honest. I make ’em because I enjoy it and the buying & collecting of ‘stuff’. If I thought somebody really didn’t like handmade cards they wouldn’t get them. Save me some pennies by buying in a store, that’s for sure – lol!
Got me reading more of the blog and finding it highly amusing :)
Thanks PeeJay! You’re the second person to refer to me doing stand-up… Is somebody on a forum somewhere telling tales? or have I said so somewhere on this blog? I haven’t been on stage for about 8 years! Maybe you just took it from the previous comment…
Anyway, thanks for the support. I’m currently making papier mache pots (well, I’m learning). Collecting “stuff” and books is one of the best bits. If I ever set up a shop on Etsy, or Folksy, I’ll be sure to tell everyone on this thread. Or not. Hahaha! xx
Number 17 in your 40 random items about me …
17. I’ve performed stand-up comedy at about 80 gigs.
Is that not true?
That has been put on a forum by me (only because I read it on your blog) ‘cos I wanted people to understand they may have interpreted your post not quite in the way it’s been taken. Happens to me …. a lot!
If you didn’t write it tongue in cheek …… well – ooops!
Haha! Oh OK THAT’S where it was from! And yes it is true and I DID write this post tongue in cheek. Thanks again. xx
You’re welcome :) x
I read your post, and it made me laugh. I got here from a post on FB, so you may get some more crazies dropping by lol! I’m a crafter, relatively new, but a lot of crafters have been doing this for many years, and they seem to take it very seriously. I will admit some of my stuff isn’t wonderful when I can’t be bothered, but I love the fact that all the cards I have given to my 90 year old relatives they have kept, and a couple are on their dresser thingy.
But I think you have riled some people because you are saying something that maybe they all secretly fear -” no one likes my cards! ” and yes we spend an inordinate amount of money on this hobby. I know I have. The craft industry is big business, and growing.
Not all crafters are crazy, or wish you a miserable life lol! You should start writing again, you’re good!
My husband has just read your post, sniggered and said ‘ She’s got a point!’ The bastard.
Thanks Pauline! I think I did dredge up some self-doubt in people. That wasn’t really my intention – I wrote this mainly for the “victims” who receive these cards. Hahaha! Oh dear. I’m sure your elderly relatives were thrilled actually.
I’ve been watching “Create & Craft” (the shopping channel) and some of the card stuff is VERY expensive indeed! Some of it doesn’t leave the card maker with much to do, apart from some brief assembly work… I think that’s cheating. The presenters though… I did laugh.
I stopped writing on here but I still write in other places (like the church magazine LOL) and I’m on Twitter. I think perhaps the people MOST offended by my post are Americans, who like comedy to be flagged up as such and to have “only joking” at the end of every sentence. I don’t do that.
Get your husband to make a card himself and then show him where he went wrong. Or send me a photo of it and I will. x
I don’t watch create & craft, mainly because my brain withers just a little bit more each time I see it! I’m not a fan of the decoupage either, but I think it is popular for people who are infirm, or have poor mobility in their hands, or even poor sight. i prefer to colour my own Stamped images from stamp companies, and I love throwing glitter and buttons, ribbons and twine at it too – I use a glue gun (dries like plastic) to stick it down, not spit ;-)
I’ve been to a few craft expos the one at the NEC in Birmingham is huge, and there are a lot of disabled people that attend. It is a hobby that people can do sitting down, so its popular for those who need to. It also passes the time if you are confined I guess, it makes a change from reading or watching tv!
It is not a cool hobby to have (one FB friend threatened to de friend me if he sees any more cards on my wall lol) so I know its not for everyone.
Have a good weekend xx
Aw, that was mean of him, I made a general jokey post, not a personal dig. I’m still an evil old witch though. ;-)
It IS good that the hobby can be done by disabled or infirm people. Much as I made fun of it, it has to be better than just watching TV.
Have a good weekend yourself… And just to make you laugh, I’ll admit that my latest experimental papier mache bowl (made with yellow tissue paper and PVA glue) looks HORRENDOUS! Nice shape but unfortunately looks as though it has been fashioned out of ear wax. Eww!
Looks like ear wax, hunh? Would that fall under Shrek Chic, Shrek Deco or Modern Shrek style? ;)
(Geez. maybe I should cut back on watching American Pickers…)
I haven’t made anything in papier mâché since I was 8, but I still remember the smell, yuk! Now who are you going to gift it to? Hehe!
I’m anosmic (I have no sense of smell), so I’m OK with it LOL!
I don’t know who will suffer my pots yet, although my cousin foolishly expressed an interest.
home made cards are the best, gosh… its appreciating the work put into them that makes them special, not its quality or appearance.
LOL
I have no idea how I ended up here, but even though it is an old thread, I HAVE to add my 2 cents. .. this whole thread is too funny… I like to send cards… some people get store bought, some people get handmade. It really depends on my time and inspiration. I like to think that my friends appreciate my handmade cards, just because I have 4 friends that complain when they get store bought ones :P
I don’t care if people toss them after they read them. It is just paper (and crap glued on to it ;) )