Christmas Eve is an occasion of pomp and festivity celebrated across the globe. Sending greetings on this auspicious occasion divulges your well wishes, love and care for the loved ones. This is an occasion when merchants all over the world have special offers to communicate to their customers. Effective communication has the potential to mount the sales of an organization to increase the profits. Sending Christmas greetings to the customers is an efficient form of promotion used by the marketers. This form of marketing encourages customer loyalty as well as maximizes the profits of the organization.
How is promotion through greetings effective?
An entrepreneur can send greetings to the customers on the occasion of Christmas. By continuously sending the cards to the customers you can remain in the mind of these customers. You can also convey special offers to your customer through greetings. This can keep you in the mind of the customers whenever they want to purchase any product that you are selling. A marketer should yearly send Christmas greeting cards to the customers. This not only promotes your company constantly but also encourages customer loyalty among the customers. Sending greetings on such occasions shows friendly attitude of the organization towards the customers. This can allure the prospective customers towards your organization as well as its products and services. It is also an effective way to retain the existing or present customers.
How to make beautiful cards to entice customers?
A marketer can create cards that reflect the image of the company. One should play with various design elements to create exotic and attractive card. You can draw the nativity of Christ, the star of Bethlehem, Santa Claus and the reindeers, the decorated Christmas tree, the White dove and much more. One can make use of vibrant colors so that the card becomes emphatic, unique and memorable for the viewer. An entrepreneur can keep the inside verses simple or creative. At the envelope as well as at the end of the verse, you should not forget to print your signature. One can attach a pamphlet or leave enough space in the card for the special offer. There are many tools that enable the marketer to create attractive cards for the promotion of business.
Giving a personal greeting card to other people is a wonderful expression of how much they are treasured. For beginners, card making may seem a tough craft to achieve. But, with a few techniques or knowledge, creative imagination and basic tools you have, you can quite make personal greeting cards real quick, fun and interesting.
Distinct from other crafts, card making is not an expensive skill to develop. It is very easy and very emotionally rewarding. Certainly, when we give someone a card it nurtures best the relationship you have with that person.
Here are several basic tips and needs for beginners in card making craft. As you develop into an expert card maker you will gain more skill to create astonishing cards, with remarkable appearance and designs.
FUNDAMENTAL EQUIPMENTS
In advance prior to making beautiful cards, you will need some equipment that is indispensable for craft.
- Pens and Pencils – to sketch lines and dimensions
- Scissors – purchase basic cutting styles or those crease edges to create serrated edges on paper.
- Ruler – for measuring correctly cuttings in the paper
- Cutting Mat – when you use a cutter of any brand to cut your paper, a cutting mat will not damage the surface you’re working on.
- Glues and Adhesives – will be needed to glue paper together and double sided tape can be used to create 3D effects.
PAPER SELECTIONS
When you are creating your own card it is ideal to use card paper. This paper type is thicker than the normal paper. You will have a more durable card. You may also purchase a paper that is pre-folded.
Paper with different types of colors and prints expresses different emotions and messages to the recipient of the card so it is best that the most suited type of paper, print design and color is used for the card.
If you have a specific theme in mind, for example a wedding or a birthday, it is much easier to select paper around the themes of the event.
EMBELLISHMENTS
Adding embellishments into your card making is a nice idea. It does give special effects to the card and it brands them sophistication and glamour. You can incorporate add-ons to the card by using stickers, beads, buttons and other stuff that makes the card more appealing. One may also include personalized rubber stamps and punch kits to make the card more unique.
Card making with cricut has become more popular than ever especially with the help of Cricut cartridges. Making cards can be fun for the entire family. It is a creative way to expand your children imagination.
The cricut machine cuts the just right lettering and shapes that will produce the perfect greeting card. There are other uses for the cricut machine instead of creating greeting cards. You can use it for making signs, decorating dishes, decorate you walls, vinyl lettering projects, and scrap booking.
The cricut machine should allow the artist to design a project, print the project, and then very accurately cut the project out automatically to decorate your card. There are many cutting machine on the market but the 2 most poplar ones are the cricut expression or the Provo craft machine. I recommend the cricut expression because I believe it is easier to use.
There are tools you need to make a uniquely beautiful card is by having the right cricut cartridge for the job. The right cartridge will bring out the best in your card making ability. You can visit www.cricutcards.net and find a good cartridge for sale.
Sending cricut cards to a lovely one is going to make them feel very special because they know that you put effort into making them a card instead of buying them a already made greeting card. Sending personalized greeting card really expresses all the human emotions, joy, thanks, sympathy, humor, love and admiration. It allows you to connect on an emotional level with the people who have touched our lives.
The ideas are only limited to your imagination on what you can make. Card making with cricut are fun and very thoughtful to make. They are very economical because you get many designs on one cartridge. The card is very easy to create just follow the manufacture directions and you can make a card in minutes.
Giving a personal greeting card to other people is a wonderful expression of how much they are treasured. For beginners, card making may seem a tough craft to achieve. But, with a few techniques or knowledge, creative imagination and basic tools you have, you can quite make personal greeting cards real quick, fun and interesting.
Distinct from other crafts, card making is not an expensive skill to develop. It is very easy and very emotionally rewarding. Certainly, when we give someone a card it nurtures best the relationship you have with that person.
Here are several basic tips and needs for beginners in card making craft. As you develop into an expert card maker you will gain more skill to create astonishing cards, with remarkable appearance and designs.
FUNDAMENTAL EQUIPMENTS
In advance prior to making beautiful cards, you will need some equipment that is indispensable for craft.
- Pens and Pencils – to sketch lines and dimensions
- Scissors – purchase basic cutting styles or those crease edges to create serrated edges on paper.
- Ruler – for measuring correctly cuttings in the paper
- Cutting Mat – when you use a cutter of any brand to cut your paper, a cutting mat will not damage the surface you’re working on.
- Glues and Adhesives – will be needed to glue paper together and double sided tape can be used to create 3D effects.
PAPER SELECTIONS
When you are creating your own card it is ideal to use card paper. This paper type is thicker than the normal paper. You will have a more durable card. You may also purchase a paper that is pre-folded.
Paper with different types of colors and prints expresses different emotions and messages to the recipient of the card so it is best that the most suited type of paper, print design and color is used for the card.
If you have a specific theme in mind, for example a wedding or a birthday, it is much easier to select paper around the themes of the event.
EMBELLISHMENTS
Adding embellishments into your card making is a nice idea. It does give special effects to the card and it brands them sophistication and glamour. You can incorporate add-ons to the card by using stickers, beads, buttons and other stuff that makes the card more appealing. One may also include personalized rubber stamps and punch kits to make the card more unique.
When you own a business, you will observe that everyday is a hectic day for you. In this regard, it is important that you make advertising campaigns so that you will be able to lead many customers into your way. With greeting card printing and envelope printing , you will surely achieve your goals. What you have to make sure is that these two are well presented in a manner that they will easily reflect the good image of your company. Having a well designed greeting card printing and envelope printing will give you more access to the business opportunities that are lurking in the corners.
Competition is tough so you have to be equipped with all the tricks when it comes to advertising. The theme of the envelope printing and greeting card printing should be appropriate for the occasion. For instance, if it is Christmas, the designs should be related to it. The envelope printing and greeting card printing should create a good effect for the celebration. The images should also be similar to the mood of the season. There are lots of choices and people will be able to bring to mind what you are trying to market.
The colors should also be well-chosen. Do not just go for your favorite colors. They should match the background and the texts so that it is readable for the customer or the person you have given the envelope printing and the greeting card printing to. It is important that you are able to portray creativity in a professional way when it comes to envelope and greeting card printing. These two should be able to represent your company as well as the subject matter that you want to impart to your clients. A good greeting card printing and envelope design will give you a great boost in the business world today.
Card making with cricut has become more popular than ever especially with the help of Cricut cartridges. Making cards can be fun for the entire family. It is a creative way to expand your children imagination.
The cricut machine cuts the just right lettering and shapes that will produce the perfect greeting card. There are other uses for the cricut machine instead of creating greeting cards. You can use it for making signs, decorating dishes, decorate you walls, vinyl lettering projects, and scrap booking.
The cricut machine should allow the artist to design a project, print the project, and then very accurately cut the project out automatically to decorate your card. There are many cutting machine on the market but the 2 most poplar ones are the cricut expression or the Provo craft machine. I recommend the cricut expression because I believe it is easier to use.
There are tools you need to make a uniquely beautiful card is by having the right cricut cartridge for the job. The right cartridge will bring out the best in your card making ability. You can visit www.cricutcards.net and find a good cartridge for sale.
Sending cricut cards to a lovely one is going to make them feel very special because they know that you put effort into making them a card instead of buying them a already made greeting card. Sending personalized greeting card really expresses all the human emotions, joy, thanks, sympathy, humor, love and admiration. It allows you to connect on an emotional level with the people who have touched our lives.
The ideas are only limited to your imagination on what you can make. Card making with cricut are fun and very thoughtful to make. They are very economical because you get many designs on one cartridge. The card is very easy to create just follow the manufacture directions and you can make a card in minutes.
Christmas Eve is an occasion of pomp and festivity celebrated across the globe. Sending greetings on this auspicious occasion divulges your well wishes, love and care for the loved ones. This is an occasion when merchants all over the world have special offers to communicate to their customers. Effective communication has the potential to mount the sales of an organization to increase the profits. Sending Christmas greetings to the customers is an efficient form of promotion used by the marketers. This form of marketing encourages customer loyalty as well as maximizes the profits of the organization.
How is promotion through greetings effective?
An entrepreneur can send greetings to the customers on the occasion of Christmas. By continuously sending the cards to the customers you can remain in the mind of these customers. You can also convey special offers to your customer through greetings. This can keep you in the mind of the customers whenever they want to purchase any product that you are selling. A marketer should yearly send Christmas greeting cards to the customers. This not only promotes your company constantly but also encourages customer loyalty among the customers. Sending greetings on such occasions shows friendly attitude of the organization towards the customers. This can allure the prospective customers towards your organization as well as its products and services. It is also an effective way to retain the existing or present customers.
How to make beautiful cards to entice customers?
A marketer can create cards that reflect the image of the company. One should play with various design elements to create exotic and attractive card. You can draw the nativity of Christ, the star of Bethlehem, Santa Claus and the reindeers, the decorated Christmas tree, the White dove and much more. One can make use of vibrant colors so that the card becomes emphatic, unique and memorable for the viewer. An entrepreneur can keep the inside verses simple or creative. At the envelope as well as at the end of the verse, you should not forget to print your signature. One can attach a pamphlet or leave enough space in the card for the special offer. There are many tools that enable the marketer to create attractive cards for the promotion of business.
I thought looking into the history of the greeting card might be a fun activity with the holiday season nearly upon us. Doing so, I discovered a plethora of history, statistics and fun trivia. So, at this very busy time of year, take a moment to sit back and educate yourself about the traditions and history of the Christmas Card.
– The ancient Chinese utilized written greeting cards. The New Year was often celebrated by sending greeting cards containing messages of good will. In Egypt, the ancient peoples sent greetings written on papyrus scrolls. New Year’s greeting cards were printed by the Germans by as early as the year 1400.
– England originated the Christmas card. They were invented by school boys who wanted to practice their writing skills. The boys would create Christmas greetings for the mother and father.
– Sir Henry Cole had the first Christmas Cards commissioned in London in 1843. Sir Henry was simply too busy that year to compose individual greetings. The words inside the card simply read “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You”. The picture on the card was a John Callcott Horsley illustration; it showed members of a happy family hugging each other and raising glasses of Christmas cheer to the card’s recipient. As the design promoted drunkenness, the critics condemned it.
– Louis Prang is credited with producing America’s first commercial Christmas Cards. He immigrated from Germany and, in 1856, opened a small lithographic business on the outskirts of Boston. The beginning of the American greeting card industry is usually credited to him. In the year 1881 he was already making 5,000,000+ cards a year. His card creations grew in popularity throughout the 1890s. Prang was forced to abandon his greeting card business when cheap imports began to overtake the market.
– The first official White House card was issued in 1953 by President Eisenhower. The White House mailed 2000 cards in 1961. That figured had snowballed to nearly 1.5 million by 2005.
– Now you can buy your Christmas cards singly or in boxed sets. Boxed card sets are better suited to larger Christmas card mailings, while individual cards are usually purchased for special individuals. The great majority of holiday cards are sold in boxes.
– Around 2 billion Americans sent cards in 2006.
– In 2006, 85% of American sent cards.
– A third of all holiday cards contain a religious message.
– The holidays account for nearly one third of yearly greeting card sales.
– More Christmas cards are sent than any other kind of greeting card. Christmas card sales total 60% of seasonal card revenue. Sales of Valentine’s Day cards comes in second place and accounts for 25% of total card sales.
– It is estimated that there are 3,000 greeting card publishers in the U.S.
– The greeting “Merry Christmas” is preferred by 53% of us. 21% like “Happy Holidays” and 12% prefer “Season’s Greetings”.
– When deciding which boxed cards to buy, 56% of people decide by the variety of cards offered, and 63% of people decide based on price. These conditions can both be satisfied by shopping with an online distributor. Online stores are not limited by space like physical stores, and can thus offer a greater selection.
I hope you have been entertained by these Christmas card facts. Don’t feel like you’re the only one obsessed with the greeting card ritual. You are not alone!
With a little bit of creativity and just a few simple steps, you can easily convert any card with a special meaning to you in to an unforgettable card making craft and keepsake for you or your loved ones. Here is how you do it.
Recently, my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with all the fanfare and memories that should be afforded a couple that make it to that point in their loving relationship. They also loved what I was able to do with the announcement I kept from the happy event when I transformed it in to a crafty keepsake and a marvelous card making craft.
You will need the following supplies: Please keep in mind that you will need extra rub-on lettering in case you make a mistake and have to redo any of the lettering. You will also want to pick colors that coordinate with your greeting card as noted below.
- Greeting card: For this project I used my parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary announcement.
- 1 clear acetate sheet: Must be durable enough that when folded, it can stand up on its own.
- 1 sheet of decorative scrapbooking paper: We chose a sheer background with a cream colored floral design.
- 1 package of letter rub-ons (190 count): We chose brown to coordinate with the gold anniversary card and cream colored scrapbooking paper.
- Satin ribbon ½ yard: We chose a brownish gold color.
- 1 package of decorative jewelry used for jewelry making: We chose a gold colored heart shaped pendant with a rhinestone. The pendant has two openings, which will make it easier to insert the ribbon.
- Gold cording 1/8 yard
- Glue adhesive stick
- 1 package of crafters adhesive foam stickers
- Scissors
- Hole puncher
- 1 card envelope or gift box to protect your card design
Step 1: Fold plastic acetate sheet in half creating a card base. Next, center greeting card under your plastic sheet to determine how much of the plastic you want seen once the greeting card is secured in place. Be sure to leave enough space at the top so that a hole can be punched through the plastic without touching the card underneath. Remove greeting card and set aside.
Step 2: Measure and cut scrapbooking paper to cover one side of the plastic. Next, apply glue adhesive to the back of your decorative scrapbooking paper and position on to the clear plastic acetate in the bottom inside half only.
Step 3: Apply clear foam stickers to the back of your greeting card, attaching one to each corner of the card. Once adhesive stickers are secure, carefully insert and attach greeting card to the center of your decorative paper, leaving enough space for a punched hole to be made at the top of the plastic.
Step 4: Remove and apply rub-on lettering according to package instructions to the top outside area of the clear plastic acetate. Note: Having your greeting card underneath will help to guide you in placing your rub-on letters.
Step 5: Using your hole puncher, punch out one hole at the top middle of your clear plastic. Punch a second hole right next to the first one. Next, fold ribbon in half and loop through the back side of each hole pulling the ribbon up until both ends are even. Secure with a loose knot.
Step 6: Thread cording through the heart pendant openings and secure around the ribbon knot. You are now ready to make a decorative bow, tying the ribbon and allowing the heart pendant to hang loosely as a focal point. Once your card making project is completed, place your decorative keepsake in a pretty gift box or envelope. Another idea would be to display your design on a wooden or metal easel.
The Principles of Design have to do with basic assumptions that guide you to arrange elements within your layout. They have to do with pleasing the eye and making things look ‘right’. Often we seem to know what these things are without necessarily being able to name or describe them. I find it helps to have the principles spelled out for me. Then I can think more deliberately about them when a page or a card stumps me. Maybe it will work for you too.
The Seven Principles of Design I am talking about are these:
- Balance
- Gradation
- Repetition
- Contrast
- Harmony
- Dominance
- Unity
Let’s look at each of the above principles as it applies to scrapbooking or card making (NOTE: you may find more principles of design mentioned elsewhere. These should get you started though):
1. Balance.
When you were a child and played on the see saw, you were using the principle or balance. When the weight or force was greater on one side of the see saw than it was on the other, that side of the plank was grounded (not balanced). When the weight or force was equal on both ends of the plank (the heavier child may have to shinny towards the centre of the see saw to help this to happen) you could get the teeter totter to balance perfectly.
In scrapbooking or card making, using a large object close to the centre of the page (such as your main photo) can be balanced by placing some smaller objects (or just one smaller object) close to the other edge of the page. Try it and see how your eye responds
Think in triangles too. Using three elements in a triangle create balance for the viewer.
Another item to consider is the tone of your shapes. The darker a thing is shaded, the more ‘weight’ it will have. Lighter tones seem less weighty to the eye so may need to be balanced with darker shapes.
2. Gradation
The shades of colour and toning you use in your layout (the gradations) can help lead the eye along a certain path. If you have a ‘static’ gradation, that means the tone or hue you are using is all one colour or shade. The eye will tend to stop still on that place.
If you want movement, or dynamic gradients, use warm colours blending out to cooler colours. The eye will travel from the warm to the cool colours. When using shades of grey or black and white, the eye will travel along darker to lighter shadings (gradients). You can add interest and movement to your layouts with the use of gradients.
3. Repetition
Repeating a variation of a shape can add interest to a page. If you use all the same shapes or shapes of the same size, your viewer may be bored with your page or card. Vary the size or colour or shape of repeated elements to add interest to your project, similar to this idea:
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Or use several different sized circles to add an element to your page – smaller ‘bubbles’ can rise to the top, bigger ‘bubbles’ may collect closer to the bottom of your page. This will lead the eye upwards and downwards and create more interest than if the circles were all the same size.
Using the same sized circles as background shapes for letters may work. The letters themselves will vary, thus adding interest and variety even though the circles may all stay the same size.
4. Contrast
Contrast happens when you place two opposing elements next to or across each other, like the letter ‘X’.
Do you have a colour wheel? The colours on opposite sides of the wheel will contrast with each other. Red and green contrast with each other, as do blue and orange, and yellow and purple.
Light and dark contrast with each other.
Horizontal and vertical lines contrast with each other.
Unless you want to create an impression of chaos or confusion, make your contrasts close to the centre of interest on your layout or card. This will create a more unified feeling and make it easier for people to study your design with interest.
It is worth thinking about where you want the eye to rest on a page or card and make that your area of the most contrast. The ultimate example of this is a layout using lots of white space (or undecorated, plain background).
Chaos and confusion can reign if you place contrasting elements all over the page! Sometimes you may want to create such a mood, depending on your subject. If you had photos of an exciting sporting event with lots of action they could be displayed with lots of contrast, for example.
5. Harmony This is the principle of creating satisaction for the viewer by using similar and/or related elements on your layout. This is where you would use the colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel, or you would use similar shapes or patterns.
Wavy lines can create a feeling of harmony and calm especially if they are long wavy lines.
6. Dominance
This is what you do to give a layout interest – you make one shape or the direction of lines dominant. If every element is the same shape or size, then the effect may be monotonous, like this:
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Lots of scattered lines can cause the viewer to be confused, for example. If all the lines go in one general direction, this is making a direction dominant.
If all of your elements are the same size, this can create monotony. Make one of the elements noticably bigger than its fellows and you have created a dominant shape.
If you use two shapes in equal proportions, this can create monotony. Allow one shape to dominate over the other to avoid this.
7. Unity
This is where you relate the subject of your page to the type of elements you are using on it. For example, if you have a picture of a baby sleeping, to create unity on your page you would use soft, pastel colours, smooth lines, and maybe velvety or lacy textures.
Imagine this technique working with an aggressive subject such as a picture of a boxing match! There you would want primary or darker colours, rough textures and angular lines to create unity.
The subject needs to be enhanced by the elements you use on your page, in other words, for unity to happen.
Visually linking your elements together also causes unity. Adding a trail of dots to link up circles on a page may invoke a feeling of unity, for example.
If you have a dominant picture and a smaller picture on a page, try linking them together with a curved or straight line or other shapes so the eye does not have to make uncomfortable jumps between them. It’s about relationship. Create a link between your subjects to unify your page.
I trust this discussion of the Principles of Design has helped you to think about scrap booking layouts and cards in a new or different way. If you would like more information about the elements themselves, you can read about them on PaperCraftCentral.com under Scrapbooking Tips.
Happy Paper Crafting!