Fall cards for seniors

For many years I've made financial donations to a local organization that works to promote connection and meaningful relationships for older adults. Recently I learned that they have a program called Cards Connect -- individuals make cards and send/bring them to the organization, which then mails them to seniors around the state. They collect cards four times per year, and the donation deadline for fall cards happened to be a few weeks away. I pulled out some autumn-themed stamps, dies, and patterned paper and started creating.

The organization requested that the cards be fairly flat for mailing purposes, so I didn't add the dimension I usually would. I limited my embellishments to flat sequins and tried to add interest with textured or shimmery paper or a bit of splatter.

I created a total of twenty cards to donate this time. I made multiples of a few designs, but I also created some unique cards by using up bits and pieces that I've had sitting around for years (like the die-cut frames and the panel with the Emily Bronte quote).

Inside the cards I wrote a simple uplifting message with a couple of sentences about autumn. I also included a seasonal "dad joke" in each card for a little fun.

I'm hoping to make many more cards for the next round, which will be winter (not holiday-specific). I've already bought some cute patterned paper and coordinating ephemera so I can get a head start. Maybe I'll be able to finish some for my September Christmas cards.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spectrum Gardenia

With my craft room temporarily out of commission, I decided to make some cards at the dining room table with minimal supplies. I dug out the necessary tools (glue, scissors, etc.), white card stock, some pre-folded card bases, basic embellishments, and a few sentiment stamp sets. For the “meat” of the cards I used a few products from the Spectrum Gardenia collection (49 and Market): 12” x 12” card stock, ephemera, and washi tape. These are traditionally scrapbooking products, so some of the items are tricky to use on cards, but I did my best. I also found a few odds and ends that I’d made and never used that ended up working for these cards.

There you have it! Did you catch the upside-down card in the last photo? I promise I made the card the right way; I just goofed up the picture. Ha ha!

I’ll admit that I used more supplies than I originally intended. I kept thinking of the perfect punch or twine or what have you and had to wade through the craft room to find it. But I’m happy with how the cards turned out, so the extra effort was worth it.

As a little back-to-school surprise, I brought all these cards to the school where I work for the teachers and staff to use. Sharing is caring. :) Thanks for stopping by!