Paper Princess's Paper Picks and Tricks

I just finished reading my May/June Paper Craft Magazine.  It was mostly about making cards for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.  However there were a couple of things that I thought might be of interest to share with you. 

New Collection!  BasicGrey, one of my favorite paper companies, was advertising its new collection of papers - Life of the Party.

It looks like a really great line that will be perfect for scrapping your favorite party photos.  I’ve been able to find it on occasion at various A.C. Moore Stores and random craft supply stores in my area, but it’s been hit or miss for the most part.  So, since I have a business that lends itself to carrying craft papers and fabrics, I’m working on opening a retail account with them.  Stay tuned for more information on availability.

Cards, Cards and More Cards.  This issue focused mainly on card crafts for May and June.  Since Mother’s Day had already passed, those cards weren’t as appealing to me as the ones for Father’s Day.

  As I was looking at the cards, I realized that I actually have this paper sitting in my paper stash.  While I won’t be making this card, it gave me some ideas for future scrapbook pages.   If you would like the instructions for the card though, visit http://www.papercraftsmag.com/articles/Walkin__Boots_Card.

They also provide ideas for teacher appreciation cards.  If you are looking to do something special for your child’s teacher(s) this year, consider making a homemade card.  Anyone can buy a ready-made card, sign it from you and your child and send it into school.  If that is all you have time for, that’s great. I’m sure your child’s teacher will be most appreciative. 

However, if you have a little more time, consider making a homemade card with your child.   If you’re a scrapper, card-maker or crafter, then you probably have the materials around to create a card.  If you don’t, there are plenty of online resources – like www.papercraftsmag.com and www.marthastewart.com that have pages and pages of templates, lists of supplies and tips for creating that perfect card. 

One of the things that I’ve been encouraging my daughter to do is be creative.  While she may be too little to cut out the patterns and write the actual sentiment for the card, she is not too little to paste the paper and embellishments together.  She and I can sit for an hour or more, working on paper projects together.  For cards, I will cut or fold the paper for her and then give her stickers, kid-safe/friendly markers and other embellishments to use to decorate the card.  If you don’t want to write in the card and your child is too young to write, try giving them appropriate sentiment stickers to stick in the card.  Don’t worry if they are upside down or catawampus, that’s part of the charm and makes the card unique to them and their personality.

If you don’t have scrapbook paper or craft paper lying around, but you have loads of “art” projects from school, consider using one of them to make the card.  It’s a great way to use something that your child made and give it new life instead of making its way into the tired art portfolio or the ever loving recycle bin at the end of the year.

If you’re child’s teacher has been encouraging creativity in the classroom they will love the specially made card just for them.  Who knows, they may even keep it as a memento.