Valentine’s Day cards are one of the great expectations and attractions of this special day. Such cards embody a very wide range of emotions – traditional capricious, humorous, charming, ornate, romantic, sensitive, and many more. Cards for Valentine’s Day are invariably sent or given to anyone considered a lover or a romantically inclined boyfriend or girlfriend.
The tradition of Valentine’s Day greeting cards dates back to the middle ages. Some say it began with Charles Duke of Orleans in 1415. He addressed a poem to his much loved spouse while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following the battle of Agincourt. This particular greeting card is a special memoir and a part of the manuscript collection which can be seen in the British Library.
But did the Saint Valentine have anything to do with Valentine’s Day? And who was he anyway? It is thought that he was most probably a legend; however, there are in fact three Saints who go by the name Valentine or Valentinius, each associated with the 14th February. One was a priest, another a bishop, yet all three were said to be martyred. One of the most popular legends states that just before his beheading for refusing to deny Christ, Valentine wrote a letter to his beloved which he signed “From Your Valentine”.
By the sixteenth century, the tradition of Saint Valentine’s Day greeting cards had really started to gain momentum. Handwritten cards were then being elaborately decorated with laces, silk or satin, flowers, gold-leaf and even perfumed. Coloured paper and watercolours were amongst the essential elements used to create the greeting card. Also in those days ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions at a time when subtle emotions were the appropriate response and direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged.
Paper Valentine greeting cards have long been very popular in the UK. Manufactured cards with images of Cupid and hearts were even on sale at the end of the nineteenth century.
The most common one liner in these cards is “Be My Valentine”. Don’t forget, a Valentine is ‘a person’ singled out as one’s sweetheart on Saint Valentine’s Day.
In the age of electronic greetings there has been a real revival of, and fascination for, handmade Valentines Day cards. Even though cards have also found their way into the e-cards form, electronic Valentine’s Day greeting cards that can be sent and received virtually through the World Wide Web, such e-cards are often frowned upon and thought by recipients to be the result of the sender ‘forgetting them’ and using an e-card as a last minute, better than nothing, option.
Whatever the form you use, a unique, sentimental handmade card or a pre printed card with a personalised message, it is the message the card carries that truly matters.
As Saint Valentine’s Day approaches, there is even more to consider these days, there is also the Valentine’s gift, with chocolates, flowers, fragrances and jewellery being the gifts most readily received.
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Help answer the question about Greeting Cards
What should I do with greeting cards that have been given to me?I have a big shoe box of greeting cards that have been given to me over the years and am wondering if there is a creative way that I can use them? I don't want to throw them out but I also don't want to keep them stored in a shoe box in my attic. Anyone have any creative ideas?
About Author
Mike Nicholson
can’t believe it’s drawn out of nothing, could be a photography!
wow
Caed stock is available at Staples, Ofiice Depot, WalMart and stationary stores in a variety of sizes. You may be able to find the ones for cd's with holiday themes there too. I found them at Staples for the cd's I'm giving as gifts.
If you aren't sure where to start, I really, really recomend the book "Artists and Graphic Designer's Market." I included a link to this year's copy. It not only has suggestions for how to submit, but addresses to every greeting card company in America as well as the guidelines for submitting to each. Be warned, though, they're really selective. My boyfriend and I each submit to dozens of things a year, and only every once in a while do our submissions get accepted. The bottom line, though, is to keep trying. If your work at it hard enough and if your art is good, you'll make progress.
I have encountered people using e-bay before. Try it.
Excellent work. Pleasure to watch. Perfect music
))
You don't need a factory. Just contract a reduced rate with a printing company to handle your designs in low volume with the hope of increasing business as yours grows. In slow economic times like these, you can negotiate great deals like this. That frees you to spend more time on designs and distribution. Not a bad idea right now so go for it.
whoa!!it looks like a PICTURE!
ur an amazing painter!:D
Hi:
You might try to find examples on HGTV and DIY's websites. I don't think there is an individual card making show, but I know I've seen spots on Carol Duvall and other craft shows that have cards made from various materials including die-cuts, cardstock, fabric, rubber stamps, and many other unusual items. I make my own holiday cards from my pastel paintings that I take digital images from and then print them out on usually Strathmore deckle edge cards, and use vellum envelopes to mail them.
Hope this helps and gets you started.
*sub*
Great talent Der Mann.
Try Vistaprint, iPrint, Zazzle
Good luck with the greeting cards.
i have then stored away like you do. Some people would say throw them away, but when you read them they bring back fond memories, which are priceless….perhaps some day you would sort them out, it is a personal choice really
Nice work, you did pretty good.
Incredible! He looks so life like. Just amazing…and what a beautiful subject
You’re really good man. You’ve got excellent talent.
Hallmark sells a package of blank greeting cards that's 85 lbs. You can buy it at Hallmark or from various stores online.
You'll have to look around to find them, but there is a charity that accepts greeting cards
Also, a good place to check is…
http://www.knowledged.info/go.php?link=freecards
All the best to you.