greeting cards Archives | The British Craft House

Posted on 29/03/202230/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Three ideas for reusing your old greeting cards!

Do you ever find yourself keeping hold of greeting cards to remember special occasions, but soon find them taking up so much space you just don’t know what to do with them? Well worry no more with my top three ideas on how you can reuse them!

1) Why not spread the love further, by cutting off the front cover and turning them in to postcards you can send on to deliver some happy mail to friends and family?!

2) Add your favourites to a frame for some instant wall art!

3) Crack open the craft supplies and turn them in to gift tags!

I’d love to hear if you have other ideas – let me know in the comments below!

Posted on 22/06/202130/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Making in miniature!

My creative style is known as CAS in the card making world – clean and simple! My designs are pretty minimal and I like to go for a natural, rustic feel letting the message speak for itself. My cards quite often feature one central, focal piece or embellishment so they aren’t too distracting. And wherever I can, I try to make the main embellishment by hand.

Card making has always been a relaxing, creative outlet and I love trying to come up with new ideas for embellishments when I have a new card design. They usually involve card, felt, string and whenever possible – googly eyes to add a little personality!

It can sometimes take quite a few attempts to get them looking just how I envisage – drawing and redrawing templates so I can make sure they look consistent each time. Although this is also the great thing about buying handmade – each item may be slightly individual and made to order! I’ve also slowly been learning how to paper cut over the last few years and this has turned out to be really useful when making small, fiddly embellishments I need to cut out. Once I have a new addition to my collection, I do also tend to have a little production line going to make in bulk so I have a stash ready for your orders!

There is nothing better than seeing a bundle of craft supplies turn into your own little handmade creation and there is something very satisfying about making little fried eggs, ice creams or cups of tea in miniature! If you have any ideas about what I should attempt next, let me know in the comments below and why not check out how a mix of craft supplies turned into a recent thank you teacher card here?

Posted on 08/01/202130/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Why do we send Valentine’s Day Cards?!

Ever wondered where the tradition of sending Valentine’s Day cards came from?! Well, if you want to learn a little more about its history read on!

Whilst the tradition of sending of cards didn’t really begin until the 18th century, there are a number of legends that date the origin of Valentine’s Day all the way back to ancient Rome! There are several tales believed to attribute the day of love to a saint who was martyred as far back as around the year 270. Saint Valentine is believed to have been executed on February 14 after being condemned to death for secretly marrying couples, to spare the husbands from having to go to war. According to the legend whilst he was in prison, he fell in love with his jailer’s daughter, who he miraculously cured of blindness. Seemingly the night before his execution, he wrote her a farewell message, signing it with the words “Your Valentine”.

Other tales suggest that Valentine’s Day itself didn’t come into being until the 5th century when Pope Gelasius I wanted to create a new holiday to replace the Roman festival of Lupercalia (a pagan festival known for its distinctive fertility rituals!). In an effort to end these types of pagan festivities, Gelasius introduced a feast day to commemorate Saint Valentine on his execution date instead.

However many believe that it wasn’t until the 14th century and the publication of Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem the Parliament of Fowls, and the subsequent appearance of letters being exchanged between lovers, that the day really began being associated with romance and love. Throughout the 18th century the tradition of sending Valentine’s Day messages became more common, with fancy cards being made with ribbon and lace. By 1840 the introduction of the penny post made sending valentines cards more affordable and the tradition became even more popular, particularly as sending cards through the post made it possible for them to be sent anonymously for the first time.

By the end of the 19th century, valentines cards began being printed and mass produced, an industry which has continued to grow into the huge celebration that is has become today! So, if you’re on the lookout for the perfect card to send this year, be sure to check out my collection here!

Posted on 16/09/202030/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Thinking of You Week

Established in 2014, every year the Greeting Card Association runs Thinking of You Week, usually around mid September. Its aim is to “harness the emotional power of cards” and to “create a wave of love, caring and happiness around the world” which is something I think all of us can get on board with! It encourages people to send cards to different people throughout the week, for no other reason than to let someone know you are thinking about them.

If you follow me on social media or have checked out my online shop, you’ll know this is something I am a big believer in and try to encourage people to stay connected through sending some good old fashioned snail mail – I even have a range of cards perfect for sending just because!

As I mentioned in my last blog post, there are many great reasons to still send greeting cards – it’s the perfect way to let someone know you care, is an easy way to make someone smile and according to the GCA, “science has shown that receiving a handwritten card creates a lovely warm positive boost!” So there are plenty of reasons to get involved and it’s the perfect excuse to keep in touch with loved ones.

There are usually various events taking place throughout the week in schools and local shops, and many of the big card retailers also get on board to show their support – find out more ways you can get involved here, including using the Thinking of You Week toolkit to help spread the word.

But the easiest way by far to get involved is to just send a card! And to help you do that I have plenty of just because cards available in my British Craft House shop,so go on, why not #sendacarddeliverasmile?!

Posted on 09/06/202030/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Five reasons to send greeting cards!

One of the reasons I started making my own cards a few years ago was that I love the idea of sending something handmade through the mail, and hopefully making the person on the receiving end smile when it arrives. It’s a great way to stay connected with people and recent events have highlighted this even more than ever. Read on to hear more on why I think sending greeting cards is still so important!

1. Stay in touch and keep connected

This may sound pretty obvious, but in the modern world when everyone is so busy, popping a birthday or anniversary card in the post is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family, especially if you don’t get to see each other very often. These days we have a tendency to rely heavily on technology and whilst an email or text is great, you can’t beat some good old fashioned snail mail landing on the door mat, and a handwritten note is much more personable than reading something off a screen. We can all appreciate how nice it is when you open your mail to find more than just bills and junk mail!

2. Let someone know you are thinking about them and make them smile

Receiving a card really can mean a lot to some people. Not only does it show you care, but it shows you have made that little extra effort to take a few minutes out of your day to spend the time picking out something you know the recipient will really like. You can get cards for all occasions and some of the best ones are those that you send ‘just because’. It’s a great way to let someone know you are thinking about them, or if someone is going through a challenging time and you’re not quite sure what to say, a card can say it for you. Thinking of You Week, run by The Greeting Card Association is taking place this year from 21-27 September, and it’s a great opportunity to get involved in sending some #happymail!

3. They make great memories and keepsakes

How many of you have a box hidden away somewhere full of old cards or postcards from friends and family, reminding you of special occasions?! I know I certainly do, and cards are a great way of reminding you of important moments. In fact when you think about it, for most of life’s big milestones, it’s the trusty old greeting card that we turn to, to mark the occasion! Some cards are even perfect for framing and keeping out on display all year round!

4. Buying a card is an easy way to support a small business

If you are shopping on The British Craft House, you are probably already a fan of shopping small or supporting handmade businesses, but buying a greeting card is a great way of showing your support to small, independent retailers. Not only card retailers but often museums, gift shops and art galleries have cards for sale – if you are able to, it’s a small purchase without having to spend a lot and it means the world to the seller!

5. It keeps tradition alive

Not only is sending a card a great opportunity to flex those handwriting skills, but it also helps keep the long standing tradition of sending greeting cards alive! The act of sending cards dates all the way back to the ancient Chinese who used to exchange messages of goodwill to celebrate New Year, but they really started coming into their own in the 1840-50’s….but I’ll save that for a whole other blog post…..!

Posted on 27/01/202030/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Meet the Maker: Crofts Crafts

So, here goes on my first blog post EVER! And I thought a good place to start would be to share a little bit more about me and Crofts Crafts!

My name is Becky and I currently make greeting cards and gift tags here in the beautiful North Norfolk countryside. If you’ve checked out my shop, you can probably tell my style is quite minimalist – clean and simple and I try to keep it quite natural and rustic looking! Most of my cards are made from recycled Kraft card which I print the greeting on myself, and then use a variety of materials to decorate them including felt, hessian, wooden embellishments and twine. I try to hand make as many embellishments as I can, which can lead to some pretty fiddly work!

I started making handmade cards when I moved to Norfolk from London a few years ago. It started off as a hobby, to send to friends and family, but I found it to be really relaxing and I really enjoyed doing something creative which was very different to the day job! I slowly started doing a few local craft markets which were great fun, and a brilliant way to meet fellow makers and get involved in the local community.

I make cards for most occasions, and also have several ‘just because’ designs. I’m a big believer in encouraging people to connect via good old fashioned snail mail to let someone know you are thinking of them, especially these days when it’s so easy to use technology to connect! There’s nothing nicer than receiving some happy mail and knowing that someone has taken a few minutes out of their day to let you know they care – especially by sending something handmade! I’m also trying to make my cards more sustainable and am moving away from using cello bags – I’m a big fan of the Naked Cards campaign…but I’ll save that for another blog post!

My aim for this year was to set up an online shop to try selling to a wider audience, so I was so happy to find, and be accepted to, TBCH. I love the fact that TBCH is celebrating British designers and makers, and that it is also a relatively new venture (like me!) and I’m excited to slowly grow my shop and get to know other fellow sellers and the TBCH community!