"Wait until day after Valentine's and it'll be on sale!!"

People always say that handmade gifts are the best gifts, but until recently, I never really thought that would apply to my life. As a marginally creative person who completely lacks the ability to bake cookies or paint pictures, I figured it would probably be better just to buy handmade soaps and junk like that. But I have come to realize that crafting is awesome! And not really that difficult. You, too, can make sweet little handmade cards — all you need to do is learn how to heat emboss.

Luckily, heat embossing, despite the Martha-esque results, is actually super easy. But before you get started, you're going to [...]

The day my husband announced he was leaving, two days before Halloween, a pack of Rider Waite tarot cards arrived in the mail. Tarot folk wisdom suggests that instead of seeking out your own cards, you should wait for them to come to you. (Although I don’t think deliveries from Amazon were what anyone had in mind.)

Of course I had ordered the cards myself. When I picked out the pack, I was already predicting my need for them. My husband was on tour in Australia, operating concert lighting for a musician's world tour. Most times his absence didn’t bother me — I knew what I was in for [...]

Since you've already mastered heat embossing, it's time to move on to the next big thing in creative stationery: pop-up cards! Though they can be a bit time consuming, pop up cards aren't all that difficult, and the same principles apply to all manner of cards. Though the ones I've made are all colorful and cheerful, you could also make something a bit more subdued by subbing in white paper (a white-and-red "I <3 U" card would be really cute). Interested? Dust off your X-acto knife, crack open a fresh glue stick, and let's get started.