Product Review: How to Make Greeting Cards with Children (Grades 1-6)

Correlated and engaging educational resources

When I told a good friend ( I won’t even call you out because, see, I’m nice like that! ha!) I was doing a craft book review on how to make greeting cards with kids, she gave me a big chuckle. OK, it was more like a snort then a chuckle and then a , ‘what?’. Then I got worried. What was I thinking? Coloring or finger painting are one thing but making holiday greeting cards from templates and make them look presentable? I don’t think so! I needed help, I needed to recruit, so I sought out my best and brightest crafty friends with kids to help me give a complete review on the book How to Make Greeting Cards with Children (Grades 1-6). And, yes, I tried, too!

Now, I love writing thank you cards and sending cards out for the holidays and, laughingly, I thought this 38 greeting card variety pack ‘how to’ would be right up my alley. Au contraire. This E-Book (oh, yes, it’s an E-book, so how old do I feel? Yes, old.) is filled with many different types of how-tos on different types of holiday cards (11 to be exact), get well cards, birthdays, May Days and even invitations. E-books are actually really great for craft books because you can save paper by only printing designs you want to accomplish and you can do easy keyword searches to find and make that perfect Kawanzaa card. There are many different types of styles such as pop-up, accordion fold, puzzles and even cards with moving elements, so it is quite extensive in advancement. Each project includes a materials list, step-by-step instruction and reproduced patterns when needed. Besides the patterns, you really just need glue, scissors, crayons and LOTS and LOTS of construction paper. There is also a great section for making envelopes and some decorating tips.

These are card templates for the holidays in the book:

Grandparents’ Day
Thanksgiving
Kwanzaa
Christmas
Hanukkah
Valentine’s Day
Chinese New Year
St. Patrick’s Day
Easter
Mother’s Day
Father’s Day

Do I think they are simple and easy to prepare for someone like me? That is questionable. Would it be simple for those creative types even as young as six? I think so! And honestly, our Grandparents’ Day Frame was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. If you are looking for a fun way to incorporate the lost art of card-giving for the U.S. major holidays and special occasions in this creative book, look no further than this How to Make Greeting Cards e-book! I had fun getting messy and silly with my daughter and there is a lesson to be learned that not all cards have to be store bought to be impressive (and, no, I did not even attempt the open house invitation pop-up…..but I know some of my readers would be excellent at it!). Check out their section of Crafts with Kids Books and those crafty types will not be disappointed.

In order to get advanced input from a real crafty lady (see, I do my homework for my readers!), I didn’t have to look far. My cousin Lisa (who happens to be a teacher) has a daughter going into 6th grade and they are an extremely talented crafty tag-team who were able to give me some very honest and direct feedback very quickly. I’m including their feedback below for your reading pleasure and insight:

This is well thought out craft book for kids. It includes basic cards for the primary grades and some advanced techniques for upper-elementary children. Rachel (who is going into the 6th grade) can do the advanced cards like the Hanukkah card with the pop-out candles that caught her eye.

Here are some ideas that we both liked:

Each card included patterns with the card description so that you don’t have to turn to the back of the book and go searching for the patterns. Many books have the patterns in the back.

Card sentiments are included with the pattern which is a BIG plus. The kids don’t have to come up with their own sentiment.

The scratch off tempera paint technique on the fall card was something unique

Barnyard puppets could be used for other projects even if you didn’t make the barnyard card.

The instructions are both written and visual so even a crafty kid could figure out projects without parental help.

Thank you, Lisa and Rachel. Great insight! Crafty types rejoice!

How to Make Greeting Cards with Children (Grades 1-6)

www.evan-moor.com

List Price: $10.99 (E-Book)