• Card Challenge Corner: Card & More

Card Challenge Corner: Card & More

One of my favorite features in CardMaker magazine is the Card Challenge Corner. Each week Lora Brinkman has a different challenge suggestion. I may not get to play along every week, but I sure do refer back to her feature when I need a little boost of creative inspiration. While trying to come up with an idea for this newsletter, I went right to the Card & More section of her article in the spring 2013 issue.

We are in a jam-packed stretch of card-giving holidays and occasions -- Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduations and end-of-school-year teacher thank-yous. The challenge given in Card & More is a perfect creative prompt for when you need to give just a bit more than a card.

The Card & More section's creative prompt is excellent for upcoming events in the late spring and early summer. This challenge has no expiration date though. Instead, use it as a plan to help yourself come up with creative ideas on a weekly basis.

The challenge states: "Create a card where something can be removed as a gift. It could be anything your recipient would like. You can make the gift or purchase something to incorporate into the design. A few ideas would be bobby pins, a brooch, drill bits, fishing lures, ear buds, earrings, etc." Wow! Such great ideas for moms, dads, grads and more! This got me thinking of some ideas on how to incorporate these types of gifts in or on a card.

For earrings or a brooch you could simply punch two small holes on a cardstock panel for the brooch pin to slide through or for the earrings to be inserted into. Then simply adhere the panel to the front or inside of the card. For drill bits or similar items, you could cut two slits in a cardstock panel, thread a piece of ribbon or twine through the openings, and then tie the item(s) to the front of the panel.

Now my head is swimming with ideas! What could I include in or on a card for my mom or my kids' teachers? How about instead of sending flowers for Mother's Day, include a package or two of flower seeds as part of a card so she can plant them in her garden or a flowerpot? I grabbed a vellum coin envelope and filled it with my mom's favorite seeds. Instead of gluing the envelope to the card front or simply sliding it inside the card, I used the ribbon-attachment idea to secure the envelope to the front of the card.

The possibilities are endless on what you could incorporate with a card for this challenge. What ideas do you have? With many card-giving events happening in the next couple of months, I am sure our readers would love to hear your ideas on how you would take on the Card & More challenge. Fill out the easy feedback form and let me know your thoughts and ideas.