The Craft Room Podcast - #2 - Top 6 things you need to start card making

#2 - Top 6 things you need to start card making

02/25/19 • 25 min

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Hello! I am so glad to have you in the craft room with me today! Today, I thought we’d talk about card making, specifically ... what exactly do you NEED to start.

Firstly, let’s consider a card you might buy at the newsagent, or even at the dollar store. Essentially, you have a folded piece of heavy weight cardstock, with an image, and usually a sentiment, on the front ... a matching envelope, and possibly a sentiment or longer verse inside. It might be funny, pretty, whimsical, macho, minimalist, arty ... there really is something for all ages, occasions and tastes in all sorts of colours, themes and sizes.

If you’re considering taking up card making as a hobby, you may be wondering what you really need. If you’re already a card maker, you’ve probably seen this asked in card making groups on Facebook A LOT. Here are my top 6 must haves for card making.

CARDSTOCK
TRIMMER
BONE FOLDER
PATTERN PAPER
SENTIMENT
ADHESIVE

When it comes to the must-haves ... that’s it! Of course, there are other fun things you can use to make your cards beautiful, but I always say this ... a simple card made well, beats a complicated card made badly. In other words ... good workmanship is the most important thing in your toolbox. The most simple card, like I talked about today, can look amazing when you take the time to do great workmanship.

Now, if you’re just dipping your toe into card making, and are unsure if you’re going to be into it, there are a few ways you can do so without breaking the budget or investing in a lot of expensive tools.

Kits
Pre-cut card base & envelope packs

Ask a card making friend
Party Plan

Can card making take over your life and your house? Absolutely! There are so many awesome tools and pretty papers, and gorgeous embellishments ... it’s really easy to go nuts in the early days and just buy everything! But if you start by buying small amounts, and making sure you use them, you won’t find yourself a year down the track realising that you bought a bunch of useless stuff that doesn’t work, you don’t really like, and that doesn’t do what you thought it would. I’ve been making cards for over 25 years, and in the beginning I made do. When I picked up Scrapbooking about 17 years ago, I accumulated a lot of stuff that is still sitting unused in boxes ... so I know what I’m talking about here! LOL But then I got smart, and I added to my tool box in stages, as I could afford things, and after doing my research. I think we can go into that in another episode though, because there’s been lots of information here already today, and I don’t want to overwhelm those who are just starting out.

Don’t forget to check the blog post for photos, a transcript, and links to a whole lot of things I mentioned today. Remember ... people will tell you that you need a whoooooooole lot of things, but one persons need is another person’s budget-buster or want-list item ... so ease in at first, and if you get hooked, then you can start investing in the new toys.

Hello! I am so glad to have you in the craft room with me today! Today, I thought we’d talk about card making, specifically ... what exactly do you NEED to start.

CARDSTOCK
TRIMMER
BONE FOLDER
PATTERN PAPER
SENTIMENT
ADHESIVE

Kits
Pre-cut card base & envelope packs

Ask a card making friend
Party Plan

Previous Episode

#1 - A quick introduction and welcome

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Hello ... and welcome ... I am so excited that you’re joining me today for this very first podcast episode. I’m going to try to keep this intro episode short and sweet, so we can get to the good stuff, but I thought I’d introduce myself and give you an idea of what this podcast is all about.

You may have guessed by the title, each week we will be in the craft room ... talking all things craft. You may also have guessed that I really love craft ... and this is true. I love it so much that I created a career around it, and I can talk about it all day long. Since lots of my crafty friends live far away, and my cat doesn’t seem interested in discussing Mama Elephant’s new release, or the fun crochet pattern I just discovered ... a podcast seemed like a good idea. I’m super excited to have someone to talk to about all sorts of crafts, and I would love to know what crafts you’re into. You can let me know by leaving a comment on the blog post ... HERE.

Fair warning, I will likely talk about stamping, cardmaking, colouring and papercraft quite a bit, as that’s the main focus of my business. However, I have a couple of quilting projects on the go, I just bought a new crochet pattern to try, and I usually have a couple of embroidery or cross stitch projects underway at any given time. I do enjoy painting, although I don’t get to paint as often as I’d like. I teach classes locally ... embroidery, dollmaking, crochet and painting on fabric ... and it’s so fun to connect with other craft-loving ladies in person ... definitely one of my favourite things!

At this point you may be wondering ... “Who is this Dawn Lewis, and what does she even know about craft?” ... a fair question indeed. Well ... while I wouldn’t call myself a specialist expert in any one craft, I do have experience with a LOT of different types of crafts, techniques and products, and I’ve worked professionally in the Australian craft industry for over a decade. Being a professional crafter is incredibly cool, and I’ve been able to say yes to some incredible opportunities ... designing for some amazing brands including Semco, Francheville, Milford Threads, DMC and Australian Girl dolls. I’ve been on some cool design teams, like KennyK Stamps, Little Miss Muffett, Tiddly Inks and Kindred Stamps. I’ve had original projects published in Australian craft magazines including Handmade, APQ, Patchwork & Stitching, Australian Stamping Cardmaking & Papercraft. Definitely the coolest job I’ve ever had has been hosting and present on Scrap It TV, from seasons 3 through 7. That was such a fun gig! I’ve had businesses selling handmade things, from ceramics to folk art, dolls to bags, and right now I have an online store specialising in stamping. I’m a qualified Copic instructor and authorised Copic stockist. So ... yeah ... when I said I loved craft, I really, really meant it. Craft isn’t just craft ... it’s so much more, for so many people. For some people, it’s their happy place, for others it’s a way to exercise their creativity. Getting lost in your favourite craft allows you to take time out from the craziness of life and do something that makes us truly happy. Craft can help us express ourselves, meditate, earn a little extra cash, meet new people and so much more.

When it comes to this podcast, I have so many ideas, but what I’m most interested is helping people craft within their budget, and get more bang for your buck from the craft supplies you choose. And while I will probably talk a lot about papercraft, I’m excited to mix it up, because so many ideas translate across many different craft mediums. I have some fun guests to interview, and other times it’ll just be you and me, and I hope you’ll join me each week. Episodes will be positive, upbeat and encouraging, with practical tips and ideas ... and they’ll likely be longer than this one. I tried to keep this intro episode short-ish, so you can move on to episodes 2 and 3, in case you’re a fan of binding new podcasts (which is something I love to do!).

So rather than continuing to waffle on, I’ll sign off so we can get to the good stuff, and I’m sure we’ll get to know each other better as the podcast goes on.

Thanks so much for joining me in the craft room today. If you enjoyed this episode and want to know more, check out the show notes, or the blog post at dawnlewis.com.au/podcast__. Maybe tell a friend or leave a review on itunes or stitcher ... I’d really appreciate it. I do hope you have a very crafty day, and I will see you next time. Bye for now.

Next Episode

#3 - Top 5 must-have supplies to begin stamping

Hello! Thanks for joining me in the craft room with me today! Here I was with only the cat to talk to, and now, here you are. Last week we talked about card making, and my top 6 must-have items for making a basic card. A lot of card makers become stampers, so today, I thought we’d talk about stamping, specifically ... what exactly you NEED to start.

Naturally there are a lot of options, as with card making, so I’ll try to break it down for those who are just starting out in the world of stamping.

STAMPS
ACRYLIC BLOCK
CARDSTOCK
INK PAD
STAMP CLEANER

That’s it for the absolute basics you will need to start stamping. Of course there are lots of extra things you can get ... like embossing powders, heat guns, anti-static pouches, markers, pencils, paints ... but these are the things that you will need to get you started.

If you are working with a limited budget, don’t be afraid to purchase small stamp sets. You’ll be surprised how versatile they can be. I have a number of video series on my YouTube channel showing you how to take one stamp set and use it 3, or 5 or 7 different ways. I’ll link to a few of those series in the show notes.

I enjoy stamping because I can’t draw, but I enjoy colouring in. Stamps solve that problem for me. If you are looking for stamps in Australia, I invite you to check out my online store, as stamps are my specialty.

Remember ... people will tell you that you need a whoooooooole lot of things, but one person’s need is another person’s budget-buster or want-list item ... so ease in at first, and if you get hooked, then you can start investing in the new toys.