Card Ministry
I’ve been in charge of our church’s Card Ministry for almost 2 years now. I make and send out birthday and anniversary cards. When I first took over the Card Ministry, I was given a box of Current cards. I asked if I could make cards once the “store bought” ones ran out, and got the okay.
Since the church pays for the cards and postage, I comparisoned shopped to make sure I wasn’t spending more money by making the cards. I started by using the Simply Square notecards and the Matchmakers A-2 cards. Both came with envelopes, and it was definitely a savings over the store bought. I have since found that I can save even more money by buying the 25 sheet packs of 8 1/2″ x 11″ Bazzill cardstock and 2 boxes of A-2 envelopes. That gives me 50 cards & envelopes per “set”. I donate all of the embellishements, patterned paper, etc. to complete the cards. I find I use a lot of my scraps, as well as both current and retired products to make the cards.
This is a photo a the “production line”. There are supplies for 350 cards on the table.
First I have to cut all the 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheets in half to create my cards. After they’re cut, I fold each card and smooth the fold with my bone folder.
Since the Bazzill cardstock packs include 5 different colors, I get 10 cards of each color. I select paterned papers in colors that will compliment all the colors in a pack. This allows me to mix-and-match as I feel like it.
I like to use whatever I have on hand: current TAC papers, retired TAC papers, and even some non-TAC paper left-over in my stash! As for the stamps, I only use TAC since that’s all I own!
Because I make and send out as many as 40 cards per month, I need to keep my card designs pretty simple. I have a basic formula I like to use depending on whether I am using 12″ x 12″ patterned paper or 8″ x 8″ patterned paper. I cut either 2″ x 5 1/2″ pieces, or 2 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ pieces. The pieces can be oriented either horizontaly or vertically on the cards.
Here are a couple examples of birthday cards. I always stamp a coordinating image on the front of the envelope and/or stamp the flap. Can’t have a naked envelope you know!
This one’s so simple, I added a litte Crystal Stickles just for fun. Keep checking back for more samples of Card Ministry cards!
Posted in Card Ministry, Projects & Tutorials | 2 Comments »
June 30th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I would like to thank you for some great ideas because I do the same thing in my church but that is how I got the calling was because several of the ladies received handmade cards from me and asked if I would like to do it for the Relief Society and I said Yes because it is something that I love to do. Again Thank You for some wonderful ideas on how to do this without feeling overwhelmed at times.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
I love the step by step instructions and awesome photos. You have inspired me to do something similar and I am very excited to now approach what seemed to be an impossible task with eager anticipation! God bless you abundantly!