Card making "class" for 30 people - HELP

[CraftyMel2]

Gosh, do I need help!! Each year where I work, the bosses put together a little party for us to give us a chance to "de-compress" and have some fun. One year we made beaded jewelry, last year we made candy...this year, my supervisor has come to me to see if we can do a card making party. There are 30 of us and from the little info she has given me, she wants each person to be able to make a card to bring home. There will be about 30-40 minutes for this activity. The only way that I can think to make this work is that if each person has a kit where everything is already cut out and stamped and then they can put it together themselves. Maybe have markers and tape in the center of the table...maybe 6 tables of 5? Right? I don't know...for me, it's the PROCESS that I enjoy. Is it still fun if all of the punching and cutting is done ahead of time? It is not cost effective to have punches and cutters and stamps and ink at every table so I can't think of any other way to do it. Am I looking at this the right way? I just don't know...I need help from y'all on this one; are there any demos who have done parties this big that know how it all comes together? Any support that I can get is going to help, I am sure of it Right now my head is spinning!!!

[cat_woman]

If you only have 30 - 40 minutes to work on the card, then I would definitely say you'd have to have everything ready for them to put together. I know it can take me hours to make a card, so I'm pretty sure it would take newbies quite a while to complete a card from start to finish. You would just need to have adhesives ready for them on the tables. I personally wouldn't use an image that they would need to colour because, again, I know I can spend over an hour colouring an image. A pretty solid image pre-stampedfor them would work or they could stamp it themselves (then you would need to provide the stamp and ink). Perhaps as you go a long assembling the card, you can explain the process and what tools they would use if they were doing it themselves.

Thats my suggestions based on what I might do. Good luck. Sounds like it would be fun.

[XcessStamps]

I don't think it would take 30 - 40 minutes to just tape a card.
Yes, you would need to have pieces cut and measured but let them stamp, color, punch. Pick a technique that is not too complicated but has something for them to do - not just tape.
Have fun with this.

[Angelnorth]

I think some of the fun is very definitely in the stamping and punching etc - I still feel it's a bit like magic when I press an inked stamp onto paper and a picture comes out! I can see having 30 people make the same thing would be impractical though so I'm thinking out loud here.

• Maybe you could come up with a simple basic layout and cut any panels that need cutting (do some extras for the inevitable accidents) ahead of time. Everybody will work towards that basic design but their actual end product will depend which table they sit at.
  
• Have different stamps and ink on each of the different tables so people can stamp on the main panel of their card for themselves - you could even have a table for masculine, a floral, a kid's set etc. Try to pick sets that don't need colouring in since that's a skill in itself and can take a lot of practice to get right (not to mention the extra tools you'd need to supply!). Have some samples to show that are based on the layout and the stamp sets you've chosen so people have something to copy.
  
• Do a little demonstration of how to ink a stamp, line it up and stamp it. Put some scratch paper on the tables so anybody who has never stamped before can have a practice before they do it for real.
  
• Maybe have a selection of punched shapes and perhaps embellies like brads or bling that don't need any special tools to apply them for each table - depends on your layout I guess.

HTH!

[PBrown9624]

I teach a monthly card class. With that many people I think coloring would be a lot of hassle for the amount of time you have. What if you cut the pieces ahead of time and maybe have them assemble the precut layers of a flower together to add to their card. They could add a brad or button to the center of the flower. They could add some ribbon to the card. Maybe have them use versamark and a stamp to create their background paper. Maybe have a variety of stamps for the sentiments. OR maybe use a small stamp that doesn't require a lot of coloring to make a tag to attach to their cards. It sounds like a lot of time but believe me it will fly by! Good luck!

[winnieu]

Sounds like fun. I agree with Joanne, and think some stamping should take place if possible as it is fun. Maybe design a fun card and bring a few different sentiments that they could stamp on their card to make it "their own". You could also have the stamp an envelope maybe to match the card. Don't stress it, it will be fine and the key is to remember it is supposed to be fun. if all the cards are cut, and scored that should cut down on "time". Enjoy it!

[CraftyMel2]

Thanks for all of the ideas! I am going through my Christmas stamps trying to see if I can get enough together to have a few at each table. I am not sure I can pull it off though. I had thought about maybe doing gift tags instead because that way, people could make some and then take the rest home with them and finish them as time permits at home. It would mean having to either ask the bosses to get the 2 tags die from SU or coughing up the money myself and just adding it to my stash. (Heaven forbid! haha!). I will have to start looking on the BST thread in case there is someone out there selling one on the cheap.

I guess it just seemed funny to me that someone will be making just one card. Who would it be for? Ya know? ONE of their kids? Their spouse? ONE Parent? Seems like gift tags would be more practical to me. The boss said "card" though so I don't want to squash her idea. I told her that I would do some looking over the weekend to find some examples of cards so that I could price out paper and goodies. Don't want to go to high on the price...I am so flattered that she has asked me to help

[lovemycards]

Could you enlist the help of your demo? I think papers will need to be cut ahead of time. But you don't need to do the punching nor embossing ahead. Having different color combos at different stations may be nice, along with a few stamp choices and embellishment choices. Avoid having too many choices though, because that might overwhelm newbies.

[CraftyMel2]

Well, physical help...no, she is in another state But for ideas I am going to probably touch base with her over the weekend to see what she can maybe help me come up with. I am going through a stage at the moment where I feel like it is just not going to work and I am so scared that they won't enjoy it. Crafting is not everyones "thing" and I...I don't know...I think I just need a glass of wine right now.

[purplepatch]

Do you own the SU Owl punch?
If so, you could have a selection of owls punched from plain and patterned paper in a tray/box on each table which the people can fossick through and create their own owls. Add those goggle eyes for a 3D effect. Make the card front by
tearing paper strips and arranging them on a shape to create a background scene. Tuck the owls into the background.
Attach this background to a card base.
HTH!

[CraftyMel2]

I wanted to come back and share some of the things I have finished for our party!! The boss came to me and asked me to make gift card holders so I found a wonderful tutorial out there by Patti Chesky and made these!

The gift tags are from all over the place! I Google Imaged and got tons of ideas. So many names to list!! Tami White, Kerry's craft blog, Kim Assaly's blog...I spend more time going to blogs than probably anyone I know!! Thanks for the inspiration to all you bloggers out there!!!

[CraftyMel2]

Oh, and I forgot to add!! Thank you so much to those who sent me Real Red patterned paper!!! You will see that it went to good use in these pictures