Made with love
Two members of the Scrapbooking Guild of P.E.I. share their enjoyment of making homemade cards
Julie Watson and Sandra Bruce enjoy putting their heart into making personalized Valentine’s Day cards for friends and family.
Watson of St. Patrick’s and Bruce of Winsloe are members of the Scrapbooking Guild of P.E.I. and meet every Thursday at the food court in the Charlottetown Mall to work on different scrapbooking activities.
“I tend to do a variety of cards and give them as a gift to people. When you send a card to somebody, you hope they realize that you put a lot of love and time into it.” Sandra Bruce
Over the past three weeks, they’ve been making one-of-akind Valentine’s Day cards for loved ones, which can take anywhere from 20 minutes to eight hours to make.
“People in our group send a lot of cards,” said Watson in an interview with The Guardian. “I know people have gotten out of sending cards, but when we send a card to somebody, they are always done with a lot of love because we make the card for the individual.”
Bruce says they make these custom-made cards at different times of the year, including Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day.
“I tend to do a variety of cards and give them as a gift to people,” said Bruce. “When you send a card to somebody, you hope they realize that you put a lot of love and time into it.”
Although it can be time-consuming, Watson and Bruce said just about anyone can make these homemade cards.
They use a variety of tools and supplies, including dies (cutouts), cardstock, glues, inks, coloured pencils, markers and stamps. They also use something called the Big Shot machine, which is used for cutting and embossing.
In addition, they embellish their creations using stickers and rhinestones.
“We tailor them to people,” said Watson. “You can follow people’s passions and make things that are really personal.”
Bruce began scrapbooking about 15 years ago but admits to being a craft person long beforehand.
“I grew up in a family where art and everything that was associated with it was very highly valued,” said Bruce.
Her journey into scrapbooking arose when she started organizing the family tree.
“My mother had this box full of photos, so I started putting them into scrapbooks,” said Bruce. “I was trying to preserve our family history.”
Watson began scrapbooking about nine years ago after a friend introduced her to scrapbooking classes at Michaels.
“I think probably the first four or five times I went, I just sat there punching scrap paper into pretty little shapes…Then eventually, you want to turn that into something.”
Watson, who is a writer by trade, says she has always enjoyed sketching and drawing but admits she was never very good at it. Scrapbooking was a way for her to be artistically creative in a way she never was before.
“I enjoy doing the inside of the card as much as the outside.”
Watson and Bruce said the group members share their scrapbooking supplies and often draw inspiration for their creations from other members.
The pastime brings happiness, contentment and creativeness to their lives as well as great conversations between the members in the scrapbooking group.
“It’s a place where your creativity can come out in your own individualized style,” said Watson.
“It’s a social group,” said Bruce adding. “We have great conversations.”
For more information visit the Scrapbooking Guild of P.E.I.