~~~When making Christmas cards~~~

[maslex]

I'll be going to a Christmas card stamp camp later this month. In the price of the camp, you'll get a stamp set and then we'll be making 8 cards using that stamp set (2 each of 4 designs).

Today, I plan on going through the gallery and also my pinterest board to see which cards that I'd like to make for this year. Here's my question.....

When sitting down to make your Christmas cards, do you make multiple of one design? Or do you do quite a few different designs so it doesn't get boring? And how many do you make of each design? And do you just stuff them in an envelope and address them to friends/family or do you pick out a certain card for certain people?

No real reason I'm asking, just curious.

[Metalcharm]

I do all the one design. I know that would drive others up the wall but I like it that way. Cutting out all the elements and then bringing them all together is how I prefer it

[lutheran]

The most I can do of any one design is about 12. Then I have to move on. Sometimes I get an idea or CASE something that just doesn't work out as planned so that card will remain one-of-a-kind. Just depends on how I'm feelin' it! I do enjoy using as many different sets and color combinations as possible at Christmas time.
Mary Beth

[thescpells]

When I first started stamping I would make them all the same. Then I got bored with that and started making 2 different designs. That was problematic for me because then I had to decide which one to send to which person. I did that for a few years, then I decided I just didn't want to make them at all - it added too much to the already busy schedule.

Then I missed making Christmas cards because I would see so many beautiful ones in the gallery, so I started making "one (or two) of a kind" here and there whenever the mood struck. By Christmas I had enough to send out (I only send about 30), but I still had to get over the "hump" of deciding who received which card.

So, I've been all over the board. I know that probably doesn't help you at all, but that's been my journey!

Julie

[binkiemonstermom]

This year is my first year for making my cards. I am making unconventional Christmas cards though. I am making small changes to my design so I don't get bored but I have about 200 that I need to make1!! I am changing up paper pack that I using, changing the main stamp to another stamp in the set (I dig out set...told you it was unconventional!!!)

Here is my blog post about my crazy Christmas card~!!
3 Monkeys throwing around some....PAPER!!!: My unconventional Christmas card

[LaLatty]

I used to always make all 1 design for my Christmas cards, but this year (and last year) I started making cards throughout the year so I should have enough of those to send out. It's so much easier this way rather than waiting until the last minute and trying to put all the cards together and get them in the mail.

[LancasterLurker]

I make them in pairs - because once you cut into a sheet of cardstock, you might as well! Stops me getting bored too.

[Cook22]

I get bored if I make all one design. Sometimes I'll make 4, but that's probably the most. One year I did 40 because I had a time crunch and a production line was easier, but never again. I make a lot to fit in with various challenges all through the year, and that keeps me from being rushed at the end, and from feeling stale.

[ttemby]

I make about 8 different designs. Some people get religious themed cards and some get snowman, Christmas tree cards. I have been making 2 or 3 Christmas cards, then I do a few Halloween cards, then I do a few Thanksgiving, then a few all occasion cards. I did about 90 Christmas cards last year, only needed about 30, so have plenty already! I keep track of who gets what, so don't duplicate from year to year.

[winnieu]

I get bored too easy to do mass processing of cards. I make a few of each I make (2 maybe), and get a large stack together. I plan to start today and work on them in my spare time. I end up making a lot, and never get bored that way. What is fun of rme, is having a large stack and then picking out ones for various people that I think they would like. Some like religious, others cute, others celebrate Hanukah etc. It is part of the fun for me. I also bring some to work and sell them and that money goes into a box for stamping supplies for me.

[Jill with a G]

My first year or two I made one design with one stamp set. I would vary the colors and papers but they would all be basically the same.
Then I signed up for the Christmas Card Challenge here on Splitcoast, and I would make about ten or twelve of one design each month, but vary the colors or papers. That really helped to get my Christmas Cards done early!!
I signed up this year, but have failed to make hardly a Christmas card yet! Life got sooooo busy and I'm battling a health condition that takes quite a bit of my time! I will get my cards done this year, but it's looking like a last minute thing once again!
When I sent the cards out of the different designs, I found it kind of easy to determine who would get which design. Some years, I simply wrote the addresses out on the envelopes and just simply put cards in each one!

[CraftyMel2]

Last year I made 4-5 dfferent kinds and now that it's time for this year, I can't remember who got which card. This year I will make them all the same. In my mind, I go back and forth because I have a lot of nice Christmas stamps and I want to use them all!! I have just stamped out 30 snowmen though so I guess I will be doing all the same. Maybe I will end up doing a couple of different cards but all with snowmen so I will have the best of both worlds

[Chipchick]

Hi!

I've been making my own Christmas cards for about 7 years. The first few years I made them all the same layout, but changed up the paper color and glitter color. Now I make them all different. I usually make about 60 and I might make 4 the same but that is about it. However, several years I've also made sets of 20 to donate to the Juvenile Diabetes fundraiser that my husband's company does. These are all the same.

Even when I bought Christmas cards I would buy different boxes of cards (I was sending about 80 back then) to have a mix. I learned early on to note who got what each year so that if I had some left over, I could use them the next year and not send repeats. Now I use iPhoto to keep track of who gets what.

I also make cards for other holidays: Easter, 4th of July, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, Fall, Thanksgiving, etc. so keeping track of who gets what is important, especially since not everyone gets a card for every holiday. I usually run out of time and can't make enough for everyone every time.

Sometimes I will make a card with a person in mind (religious ones at Easter and Christmas), funny Halloween ones instead of spooky ones for folks with little kids, Easter bunnies for the lady who has a bunny, etc. but mostly I just pick up a card and put it in the addressed envelope.

So I've done a bit of everything, but mostly I like making different cards.

[dianne krickovich]

I make all the same card....A lot of the design I cut by hand...get them ready in steps...my problem is finding a good verse for inside. I only send about 30 cards so its not bad. If anyone has any ideas for verses let me know.

[buggainok]

I make all the same design, but only send out about 30 or so. I like the process of mass producing, and for some reason, I don't find it boring. (I crochet, too, and do rows and rows of the same stitch when making an afghan, lol. Maybe I have a great tolerance for sameness.) My life is sometimes pretty unpredictable, so it is calming to have a routine for my cardmaking after I do the creative part and think up the first one!

[RosieLP]

I only send out about 35 cards and I use the same design for all the cards. I'll change something about the card, i.e., color of ribbon, if I run out of the ribbon I started off with but I won't change the design. I don't particularly enjoy mass producing cards but I don't want to spend the time coming up with a bunch of different Xmas card designs either. In general, I keep the design for Xmas cards clean and simple cause I know they're only going to get trashed anyway.

I don't know how it is for anyone else but my family and friends keep the cards I make and send to them for everything else that goes on throughout the year but none of them keep the Xmas cards they receive from anyone. And I have to admit I don't keep any Xmas cards that are sent to me/family, either.

[ceramicat1]

I make the same design, but I only make between 12 and 15 cards for each Holiday.

[cat_woman]

I only send out 10 Christmas cards, so I do 2 designs, 5 of each. Then I sort of shuffle them out like a deck of cards to decide who gets what card. Last year I had made enough cards throughout the year that I didn't have to make any cards and everyone got a different one, so it was a nice break. Its funny that my family will call each other to see which card design they got for Christmas.

[alicaz]

I would get bored to death doing them all the same. Last year I made about 5 cards with SU Snow swirled set , but even then they were different colors.

[cobby]

I have to mix it up or I get bored. If I REALLY, REALLY like a design I make or had fun making it I might make up to 6 the same; uses up all the "base" card stock I cut for that design anyway. But usually I get bored after about 3.

I will make sure that immediate family all gets the same design but after that it's whatever strikes my fancy. I should keep track of who gets what card but I don't. I probably have sent repeats to a few friends over the years. Sometimes I like a design and if I still have the stamp set I'll want to make 2 or 3 more the next year.

[jeanstamping2]

I always make different ones. Cause I make them for each person I am sending them too.

And I usually make about 20 cards.

[Kiwismum]

I have only been making cards for 3 years so still feel quite new to it. The first year my hubby bought me a cuttlebug, a heat gun and some supplies and asked me to make cards to send to his clients. I a made a few of each design using what I had, and some of them were pretty good for a beginner.

The last year I didn't know who had got which card so I decided to make them all the same. I started early so I had plenty of time, and interspersed each step with whatever birthday cards needed making. I coloured all the cardstock with distress ink and that was a bit of a mission, but the card turned out nice and they were all finished by October.

This year I have ended up with one design again, completely different from last years, and now I can get creative and make gift tags. Those can be all different so I can have fun with them.

Anyway I think this is what is going to work for me as I am very slow at coming up with my designs and getting them just right, so one design a year will work for me.

[SophieLaFontaine]

I made one intricate (lots of colouring and cutting) design for multiple (lost count) cards. Those cards are going to my best friends and favourite family members. For all the rest I'll make singular (no multiples), simpler cards. On the complex cards, I leave the sentiment blank and add it on at the last moment, so while every card is mostly the same, I will customize the sentiment. For example, for my former French teacher, it will have "Joyeux Noël" instead of "Merry Christmas".

To get over that "hump" of deciding who will get which card, I address all the envelopes first, and I will have an envelope out as I'm finishing a card, and then immediately match it to that person's/family's envelope.

[gr8cards]

I can only do about 10 of one design, then it gets old. I make very complex, special cards for the close family and a few friends...after that, I still use cqrds that I buy after Christmas at 75% off. I have to send too many to make...I'd rather be doing something else with my time. Yet, I have friends who can make dozens of the same design and each one is just perfectly beautiful. During college, I worked At Libby's canning factory during corn and pumpkin season....assembly line "anything" hasn't worked for me since.

[Minders]

I make two of almost every card I make since you get two from a sheet of CS. So, most everyone gets a different card! I hate mass production!

[KayInFL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggainok

I make all the same design, but only send out about 30 or so. I like the process of mass producing, and for some reason, I don't find it boring. (I crochet, too, and do rows and rows of the same stitch when making an afghan, lol. Maybe I have a great tolerance for sameness.) My life is sometimes pretty unpredictable, so it is calming to have a routine for my cardmaking after I do the creative part and think up the first one!

Me too! I tried complicated crochet and found I much prefer the soothingness of a mindless repeat pattern. Never thought to apply that to card making - maybe I will experiment this year

[Oddesigns]

I have too many to make for each one to be unique. Ack! Just the thought of that makes me cringe.

I used to do one or two designs and just crank them out like an assembly line. Honestly, I used to wait until the last minute so I was too pressured to get them done to really feel bored making so many of the same card.

Last year I joined the Christmas Card Challenge here on SCS, and now I make a certain number each month. I vary the design each month, but try to use the same stamp or stamp set for the entire year. That way I'm getting more variety in my designs, and am no longer trying to make 100 cards in a week.

[RiverIsis]

I make unique - birthday, baby, anniversary... cards for each individual.

Christmas I make the same. I have always liked sending the same card to all at Christmas. Mixed card boxes used to drive me nuts.

I must get started soon. I normally computer generate a brief update, and internal greeting as well as a back, so I can't do it too early. I probably will do the 2nd design I came up with last year as I am struggling with mojo. Both stamps are at least ten years old so no danger of them being in style or the latest and greatest either! LOL!

[buggainok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RiverIsis

I make unique - birthday, baby, anniversary... cards for each individual.

Christmas I make the same. I have always liked sending the same card to all at Christmas. Mixed card boxes used to drive me nuts.

I must get started soon. I normally computer generate a brief update, and internal greeting as well as a back, so I can't do it too early. I probably will do the 2nd design I came up with last year as I am struggling with mojo. Both stamps are at least ten years old so no danger of them being in style or the latest and greatest either! LOL!

I'm with you about the mixed card boxes, Kristen. I can remember getting a box like that by accident before I started making cards. I agonized for hours over which card to send to who! Life is too short for those kinds of decisions.

[meloleary]

I do almost 200 cards each year for the holidays, and I do them all the same, assembly line style. I'm Jewish and my late DH was Catholic, so I try to create "mixed holiday" cards, and I use a "happy holidays" or "season's greetings" sentiment. You can see last Year's card in my gallery, and this year's card will go up once it's mailed.

[lylacfey]

I go to the store and buy the cards, lol. Now, I will never be able to post here again after I admitted that.

I do make a few cards for loved ones. I have to really love these people. When I make the cards each one is different.

[bound4london]

I generally make one card but will switch up colors and papers if I don't have enough. I did make two different ones last year. One was a lot of work, fancy fold, etc and the other was simple. Then I found out people didn't know how to display the ones that I agonized over so it's back to simple once again.

Oh but I do make person specific birthday cards by looking ahead on the calendar and using the tutorials, sketches and challenges found here.

[Allisa]

I make Christmas cards all year long. If I happen to run short come the holiday season, I will mass produce a simpler design. I usually send my more embellished cards to people that I know will appreciate them. I mail about 100 per year.

[craftymomto2]

The last three years I made all of the same design, but this year I'm making two of each design, I've already started and when I get done, I address the envelope and sign the inside, come the first of December, I should be ready, I only make about 30 to 40 cards each year. Most are simple and not a whole lot of embellishments either.

[roxy64]

I send out about a dozen or so cards, so I do it assembly line style. 1 design every year. If I were to do several designs, I would have to document who got what design so they don't get a similar designed card 2 years in a row.....and I'm too lazy to keep track of who got what.

[bobkitten]

To the OP, I think this comes down to how many cards you plan to send, and when you construct them! I send about 60 cards each year, about 20 each to three different categories of people. I usually mass produce 20 cards for each of two designs and these are done in steps. I just finished them this week, except for the glitter which I'll do a couple days before sliding them into the envelops. The last 20 cards are sent to stamping friends and I'll make them as I have the inclination between now and Mid-December. They'll be cards I have fun with and there'll be anywhere from 10 to 20 different designs.

[jennv]

I make about 50 cards, all the same design. I enjoy the process. Also, I am a perfectionist, so I spend a lot of time coming up with the "perfect" design. I'm still working on this year's design!

[c.mcaskill]

I usually make about 4-6 of each design and then mail out. I have about 5-6 different designs. Kinda going crazy and takes too long in our busy lives...next year...one design for all. Family saw different designs and requested the 'other' card, so...one design...one happy family. Family has mentioned that they look forward to my cards...kool! So we all need to keep it simple and make it beautiful. I find it gets just as boring with many designs as it does with one. So next year I will pick one fabulous design and then run with it...perhaps they will be on time!!!!

[dianne krickovich]

Jenny.... you sound just like me....I spend a lot of time planning the right design and especially finding just the right verse for inside. I enjoy doing it but feel relieved when they are all done. I just finished this years and I love seeing them all done. It's like mass production....now onto everybody's Christmas list and shopping.

Dianne

[DLS881]

This is the first year that I've made some multiples. When I made the first one, I thought it came out so cute that I made another one ande then another, etc etc. I leave the inside blank until I have time to think about what sentiment to stamp