“For me, making cards is all about the feeling. It’s how the creative process makes me feel—and how I can make someone else feel special with the gift of a handmade card.” —Susan, a self-described cardmaker, scrapbooker and Paper Queen

Consumers are talking about cardmaking. Even more important, they’re buying cardmaking supplies.

You’ve probably seen the cardmaking category grow, with increasing magazine coverage (PaperCrafts, PaperWorks and Paper Creations, to name a few). You might have noticed that more and more manufacturers are offering cardmaking product lines, like Hot Off The Press’ Cardmakers™ collection. Yet as a scrapbook retailer, you might be asking yourself: “Do I want to carry cardmaking in my store? Are my customers really cardmakers? Who is the cardmaker, and what do I need to know to sell to her?”

Here are the answers. We’ll introduce you to a couple of dedicated cardmakers—each of whom shares the reason why she loves to make cards. You’ll also learn about seasonal cardmaking hot spots, plus the newest looks and trends in cardmaking.

Who is the Cardmaker?

The typical cardmaker is a lot like the typical scrapbooker. Look around your store—most of your customers are probably women; they like expressing their creativity, especially when the outcome is a practical one; and to honor and celebrate special events and occasions in their family. Want to meet these cardmakers—and find out why they love making cards?

Because She’s a Scrapbooker

As the scrapbooking category evolves into a larger “paper crafting” market, cardmaking stands out. “People have always made cards,” comments Hot Off The Press President Paulette Jarvey. “Yet now cardmaking is emerging as its own, separate craft quite apart from scrapbooking.” Yes, this means scrappers are making cards—in fact, research shows that 50%-75% of scrapbookers are creating their own handmade cards right now.

“I love to give handmade cards because it makes my friends and family feel special,” says Paris, a dedicated scrapbooker. “It makes me happy to give them something that comes from my heart. It’s faster for me to make a card with my paper crafting supplies than to make a special trip to a card store and spend time searching for the perfect card. It’s also a great excuse to pick up cute supplies at the scrapbook or craft store!”

Many scrappers also find that cardmaking is a nice break from scrapbooking, since a card can be completed in an evening. “When I get scrapper’s block, I put away my scrapbooking stuff and make a card or two. It always gets me out of my rut!” Paris explains.

To Create Something Totally Personal

“I made cards before I started scrapbooking,” says Brookes, another scrapbooker who also makes her own Christmas cards and even made her wedding invitations. “I’ve always enjoyed the creativity involved with cardmaking and the fact that I could make a card that said what I wanted it to say was really important to me. I love being able to say exactly what I want and not have a verse penned by Hallmark that isn't quite right.”

The personal touch is an important one: Focus groups found that consumers typically spend 17 minutes when shopping for a card in a store, and frequently feels as if they’ve “settled” for the card they ended up buying.

To Celebrate Her Family and Friends

“I enjoy cardmaking because it's a fast, easy way to express how much I value the loved ones in my life,” says Lynne. “I get a payoff in expressing creativity and my sentiments for them and they feel special knowing I took time to hand-make them something!”

Creating a handmade card is a personal, unique way of wishing a happy birthday, welcoming a new baby, or just to say “I’m thinking of you”. Cards often become part of the gift itself. And in today’s information age, a handmade card can celebrate, comfort, inspire, and convey messages that just can’t be communicated by e-mail!

To Celebrate Her Own Creativity

“For me, making cards is all about the feeling,” says Susan. “It’s how the creative process makes me feel—and how I can make someone else feel special with the gift of a handmade card.”

Cards are a great way to create—and get instant gratification. One evening or a few hours can allow for unrestrained playtime, especially when the results don’t have to be archival. “I can experiment more with a card,” explains Susan. “I can use three-dimensional embellishments or metal, which I might not want in my scrapbook. I can also play with different paper combinations or techniques—and if I goof up, I’m only out a few sheets of paper. It’s not like I’m experimenting with my precious photographs.”

What are the hot spots in the year?

Like scrapbooking, cardmaking is a year-round activity that gives retailers consistent sales opportunities. Cardmaking isn’t limited to just one holiday or season—after all, consumers celebrate birthdays and anniversaries all year. (In fact, the average person receives 30 cards per year, eight of which are for birthday.) All said, seven billion cards will pass from sender to receiver in a year.

Just-because cards are gaining in popularity. Sending a card to celebrate a “non-occasion” is on the rise as people look for ways to stay in touch with loved ones. Personal and unique methods of communicating are gaining popularity with the general public just as quickly as e-mail, voice mail and cell phones have become a part of everyday life. This is especially true for women, who often rely on a card to convey thoughts to busy friends.

Although your customers make handmade cards throughout the year, there are hot seasonal spots retailers should prepare for. According to the Greeting Card Association, the top card-sending holidays are Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduation and Thanksgiving.

Christmas. No surprise that the top card-sending holiday is Christmas. The timing, however, might be a surprise for retailers: Paper crafters begin the cardmaking process in October (looking at magazines, mentally designing their cards, sourcing supplies). Don’t wait until December to stock up on holiday cardmaking supplies, samples and cardmaking classes.

Valentine’s Day. Christmas is closely followed by Valentine’s Day, with a staggering 900 million valentines changing hands February 14. Not just for the romantic, Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged between family members, friends and from parents to kids. Who’s the number one Valentine recipient? Teachers!

Cardmaking trends

Open up any issue of PaperCrafts, PaperWorks, Paper Creations or any of the other paper-based consumer magazines and you’ll see a few distinct styles and trends in cardmaking.

Words. Words, quotes and definitions have made the full circle of the trend routing circle, first appearing in the stationery market (where many paper craft trends begin), moving into the rubber stamping world, then to scrapbooking and finally to cardmaking. Look for large quotes to decorate the card front, with matching sentiments inside the card. Words, either singly or in groups of three, pack a punch as card accents.

Simplicity. Just as in scrapbooking, sleek, straight and simple lines are also popular in cardmaking. Look for high-contrast color combinations (red and black for example) and a simpler layout on the card front. Far from being simplistic, this look is hip and very modern.

Collage. Layers of torn paper. Chalked edges. Direct-to-paper inking techniques. The collaged shabby chic look is strong in scrapbooking—and strong in cardmaking too. Look for layers of tone-on-tone papers, vellum and specialty paper like vellum and glimmer.

Embellishments. Three-dimensional embellishments play a key role in today’s cardmaking. Look for slide mounts, ribbons, tags and metal embellishments on handmade cards.

Yes, cardmaking is definitely on the rise, and savvy scrapbook retailers are quick to jump on the category. “Hot Off The Press believes in the category so strongly, we’re creating cardmaking products to fill the consumer demand,” says Jarvey, who debuts a trendy new line called Cardmakers™ to independent retailers at ACCI.

“We’ve seen the category grow, and we know that consumers are eager for cardmaking product developed especially for her. This is also an easy way for independent retailers to maximize consumer interest and really sell the category,” Jarvey adds.

The cardmaker is probably already in your store. Why not tap into this sales opportunity with the supplies she’s looking for?