Make and Do for Grown-ups
There must be huge money in card making and scrapbooking. Many are more than happy to spend significant sums on stamping kits, creative scissors, fancy papers and glitter to help them create fancy handmade cards or keepsake albums of photographs and memories.
I first became aware of this through my Mum watching the surreal yet strangely addictive shopping channel QVC. The queen of paper crafting, Dawn Bibby, regularly presents 2 hour long shows demonstrating the latest techniques and kits and you could easily spend € 100 a time. She must be making an absolute fortune from stickers and buttons and coloured glitter pens and she is far from the only one.
I gather this craze started in the USA and most new products come from there. There are a rake of retailers and home businesses in the UK now cashing in. The new mammoth Argos catalogue even devotes 4 pages to craft supplies. At least you won’t need to remortgage the house if you head there rather than QVC. You can get their top of the range deluxe Do Crafts card making kit with tons of stuff for €70. I have noticed that Easons and Roches Stores have started stocking card making supplies lately and I am told that the Inspiring Ideas store in Blanchardstown store has a huge selection of good quality materials. Online, CraftSupplies.ie is an Aladdin’s cave of craft goodies with very reasonable postage.
I have not got into it myself but I can certainly understand its appeal. As an anti-social geek, I wonder who you keep giving all the cards to though? 
I just cannot get my head round the fact that a huge industry now caters for producing make and do activities for grown-ups. I well remember making homemade cards when I was little with crayons, glue pens, glitter and odds and ends of old wrapping paper and tissue and anything else I could find. It amused us for hours and all cost little or nothing. If my Mum had sat down beside me with lots of expensive equipment to start doing the same thing I would have found it rather strange though!
August 7th, 2005 at 5:46 pm
A girl I know in work is mad into crafts. She makes cards for anyone in the office if it’s their birthday or if they are leaving. She’s done some fantastic designs and really has a talent for it. Unfortunately the stuff can be quite expensive as I’ve seen her spend quite a bit of money on supplies.
August 9th, 2005 at 5:06 pm
It’s about time I confessed to being a card-making geek. There’s something therapeutic about it, but then I think it’s really personal to give a card you’ve made yourself.
I’ve been doing it for years from furry Christmas cards, cards with mirrors, miniature clothes pegs, stencils, ribbon, organza and tons of other things, to elaborate bead-feather combos for a friend’s wedding invites. Although I’ve tended to make 40-50 Christmas cards each year which is a killer.
It’s much easier to get stuff now. I used to have to rely on crap glitter in Eason’s and those felt squares from Hickey’s. I ran amok in Inspiring Ideas when it first opened, and The Woollen Mills trimmings place was always good, as is the lovely
ribbon shop in the Westbury mall(tres pricey though).
Daintree has an amazing range of handmade paper, card, envelopes and some craft materials. Another place worth checking out is Wraptures which has the best collection of stencils and embossing equipment as well as paper, ribbons, etc.
Another amazingly cheap option that a friend told me about is buying feathers. They’ve very expensive to buy in craft/haberdasherys, but you can pick them up dirt cheap and in lots of colours in fishing tackle shops!
Must get back in to making cards now that Sigla is taking a breather.
August 13th, 2005 at 6:39 pm
jeepers sinead thanks for all the info - would have made a far better blog post!
it’s a lovely hobby to have, especially if you’re creative. i just feel sad that it is so expensive now that the craze has taken off…
even though i don’t make cards, i will have to check out the shops you mentioned. i am a big fan of lm ruban already for buying ribbon for wrapping presents - it’s not expensive for that and they have a great selection - but the other trinkets they sell are a bit dearer - i saw large safety pins for about 20 euro each!