It has always been a joy to receive cards during special occasions, especially if the card is made personally just for you. When someone you really care about gives you a hand made card, making the occasion more memorable and special is a sure thing. It clearly shows how much that someone cares about you because of the time and effort spent on doing that card. The effect to the receiver created by a hand-made card is very much different as compared to ready-made cards that one just picks out of the shelf of a bookstore or gift shop.

Beautiful gift
A hand-made card makes a very nice gift for every occasion. It can be given as a stand-alone item or neatly tucked in a bouquet of flowers. It can also be a very nice piece to top a gift box. Surely the receiver will understand the emotions it took the giver to carefully choose the materials, think of the design and meticulously put the elements together to convey the message of “I really care for you”.

Treasured remembrance
On the part of the receiver, it is always a joy to receive hand made cards. Hand-made card making will definitely give you very nice tokens to remember you by. Instead of throwing it in a heap of conventional bookstore-type greeting cards, a personalized hand-made card is often treated as a cherished item, cared for through the years to come.

Therapeutic effect
Card making has also gained popularity as one of the exercises used in schools, medical institutions and homes for the aged because of its unique positive stimulating effects on the participants. It provides the people who engage in this activity a venue to improve their creativity and stimulate development of the hand and mind.

Bonding moments
Further more, card making has also brought many friends and families together because it can be a very fun and enjoyable thing to do with them. The thrill of choosing the right paper, using the perfect colors and endless possibilities for the design have brought people closer together.

Business opportunity
And then for some, card making provides a very viable source of income. It not only occupies their time productively but also gives them a unique product catering to the sentiments of the heart, which many people forget and take for granted in this age of digital technology.

Self expression
Making cards likewise provide an avenue for creative self-expression. One does not need to an artist or highly-skilled to practice this because this is a highly personal activity. One just needs to be himself and do his own thing driven by his own preferences and emotions that will guide him in choosing the right elements to put together in a wonderful card.

Sponging: Of all faux finish techniques, sponging is the easiest, even children can do a somewhat messy reproduction of this technique. In order to sponge, you must first paint the entire area one base color. After this coat dries, then you can take a sponge or even a plastic bag, dip it in paint, and apply the paint randomly to the walls. Although this is a random process, you want to be careful not to get any one area of the wall extremely dark or leave it extremely light or your eye will be drawn to that spot immediately.

Combing: Combing is a little more difficult. When combing, you use a squeegee with teeth to comb through the top layer of paint. As with sponging, you want to have a bottom layer so that when you comb there will be a matching layer beneath it. Using a combing technique is also very inexpensive, and you can use the squeegee to make wavy, zigzags, and other designs on the wall.

Glazing: Glazing is actually the product that you put over your first coat of paint. In order to glaze your walls correctly, you should take a class. You may be able to find a home improvement store that offers glazing classes or you may need to talk to a local interior decorator about classes, although these will likely be very expensive. Glazing places a transparent coat over the base coat of paint, making the wall look a bit shiny and transparent. You can use as many coats of glaze as you want to get the desired look.

Trompe-L’oeil: Trompe-L’oeil is French for “fool the eye.” This finish fools the eye into thinking that the wall has a marble or granite finish. This is probably the most difficult finish to accomplish on your own. For creating the marble finish, you use a technique very much like sponging, but this one takes a bit more talent. Visit local stores to see if they have classes or tips on achieving this style.