Wednesday, May 19, 2010

cards!


For the last few months, I've been making these cards for various occasions- thank yous, new babies, birthdays, etc., and today Nicole suggested I share the idea. It's so easy that even a person such as myself can handle it. Please don't tell the feds about my (probably) infringing upon copyright laws to make these. I don't sell them! That makes it ok, right? Sorta? Anyway, here we go...

Supplies needed:
  • your favorite children's books
  • white cardstock or sturdy white paper
  • computer and printer/scanner
  • notecards (I buy them cheap at Michael's- the ones that come with envelopes)
  • something sticky, like tape or glue or those little photo stickers
  • contrasting paper (optional- I only use it when I'm using white notecards)

1. Scan pages from your favorite books. The ones pictured above are (left to right) The Best Nest, by P.D. Eastman, Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey, Are You My Mother?, by P.D. Eastman, and Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gág. I've also done The Little Engine That Could, Corduroy, The Runaway Bunny, and my personal favorite, The Story of Ferdinand. And in the works are Where the Wild Things Are, Make Way for Ducklings, and Caps for Sale. I have LOTS of favorite children's books, and I can get seriously carried away with this kind of thing. But I digress...
2. If you have iphoto, crank up the contrast and the saturation until you have a nice bold image. I've sharpened a few of them when the scan comes out a little blurry, but I don't stress out about making it perfect. On a PC, you can probably do these things in MS Paint? Or, even better, download Picasa.
3. Drag the photo into Word and adjust the size (locking the aspect ratio) to fit your card.
4. Print it onto your sturdy paper or cardstock, cut it out, and stick it on the pre-made card.
5. Give credit where it's due: On the back of the card, write (or print and paste) the author and/or illustrator's name and the title of the book.

Finito!

8 comments:

Claire Cramer said...

Lovely!

Brooke said...

Wow. I have a talented woman. Keep up da good wurk hunnie!

Sharon Sloop said...

Cute! I was wondering where you got the one you sent me a while back. I love childrens' books too and I think that's a great idea! :)

Missy said...

I love it! I will definitely try this. Thanks!

the sleepy time gal said...

hooray!!! now the world knows!! i love those so much and have a feeling i know what card you made for johanna banana....

Anonymous said...

I love these! Such a cute and clever idea!

furrever said...

So clever. We loved the Ferdinand card we got.

Isa said...

these are great! (and WHEN exactly did we turn into crafty people, haha!)