FOR YOUR INFORMATION...
If you've not yet held a personalized Kalico Kard in your hands, you've not experienced this special tool for connecting you with others! Each hand cut fabric design, in itself is unique, even extravagant and speaks for itself- "Kalico Kards say it with fabric". A Kalico Kard bears more than just a greeting and sentiment, they are the reason people call them "keepers"!
The catalog images do very little for Kalico Kards - the image just gives you a glimpse of what is available. In your hands however,, a Kalico Kard is heart-felt for both the sender and the receiver - their hand printed words give the feeling of love and belonging - they confirm who you are to the sender. So when shopping for a Kalico Kard, remember to have it personalized with the receivers personal name you know them by - there is never a charge for personalizing a Kalico Kard.
Your kardlady - Dianne
HAPPY SHOPPING!
Greetings-
Kalico Kards is in its 28th year, online however, it's been 16 years. My pricing has been the same all that time but supplies and postage have increased drastically and so I had to raise the prices of Kalico Kards recently.
I love creating Kalico Kards - I'm not as agile as I used to be, but I have gotten ahead of the demand since I'm not doing craft fairs anymore. Presently I've been designing a new breed of cards which takes more time and energy and I still love what I do.
Thank you for visiting today, I'm always available for questions or special orders - I'd love to hear from you
your kardlady Dianne
Hello again:
I am excited about the new style cards I've been creating - they are more about layout than anything else. Fabric has always been my medium and Kalico Kards were always simply one fold cards - the new cards I'm creating have more than one fold and are a little difficult for displaying online - however if you live in the Allentown area they are available at The Art and Frame shop located in the mall on the northeast side never Hamilton St. on Cedar Crest Blvd, Allentown, PA.
Covid moved in on the scene just after my husband died February of 2019. I had already given up the craft shows to spend more time with him. Kalico Kards are presently a priority again, and I didn't know how much I missed it.
With faith I've taken on one show for this year on Nov. 6, & 7, 2021 and I hope to see you there, I hear it's a great show for finding Christmas gifts. The show is at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1879 Applewood Drive in Orefield, PA - 9-3 Sat and 9-1 Sunday. I'll have a few of my new style cards available plus Christmas and general fabric cards. If my health holds out I might try another craft show later What I can't do again is what I used to - it is too taxing to prepare the display, load and unload it twice and set it up and take it down. My age is catching up to me.
Thank you for your support, your notes, and phone calls - it is uplifting to know the friends Kalico Kards have made for me. As long as I am able I'll continue with the website and if its not serving you what you want, don't hesitate to let me know what I can do to help you for I want to serve you and continue to be your kardlady.
Hugs to all of you!
your kardlady - Dianne
New style sympathy card- it opens to 5 1/2"x12" flat and stands to 5 1/2"x8" - the greeting is on a "bellyband" that wraps around the folded card for mailing; the message is hand printed on the reverse side. The card is created with solid and, silver card stock then topped with a die cut silver butterfly - the card comes with a sturdy dimensional envelope embellished with the same designer paper as the card. A beautiful gift of sympathy for a loved one.
your kardlady Dianne
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First I want to apologize for my absence - I lost my husband and things have changed drastically here for me. I lost myself and my inspiration and enthusiasm for creating and it's taken a while to get it going again.
It's only been recently that I actually made up my mind to begin anew - I've done a lot of thinking, making false starts and failing but I think I've got it together and can move forward with Kalico Kards. I've invested so much into it - time, resources, promises to my customers I'd be here and you have been so patient with me and so kind with your words of condolences and support for which I want to thank you.
The hardest thing for me to overcome is the loneliness I feel - after being married 64 years I can't wrap my mind around the thought that he's not here. We married young - there were only 16 years he was not part of my life - so I guess it's understandable that he is missed greatly.
I have been filling my lonely times with some activity - one of the things I accomplished was getting another 25 Birthday books ready for sale. You'll find it in the catalog - the picture has to be updated some - and I have been creating some different cards - some without fabric, using my die cuts designs and embossing folders. I do love card making - as a matter of fact, my oldest daughter has been creating cards and you may see a few of hers amidst my catalog at some point. She's building her confidence, sending them to friends and family the past months and she has a tender heart and is a great encourager in words and deeds.
Enough for now, I'll try to keep a regular routine with some tips and new things I come across in crafting and computer learnings.
Thanks for visiting and Happy shopping!
Your kardlady
Good Morning- I've been thinking about you and the rest of my friends, family and neighbors recently, wondering how I could help all with encouragement in this time of feeling isolated while in quaranteen. If there's one thing I learned about myself over the years, is I thrive on encouragement! How about you?
Did you know that every one of us is created in the image of One Great Creator - we are naturally creative, but many don't know it yet! Those of us who do. are blessed with the joy it brings us and one thing I'm sure of, is with a little encouragement we can bring it out in others, and ourselves.
Every human being is a potential artist! Being creative is our heritage! -Just watch a child when you give him or her a colored mark - and be prepared to clean up the exuberent overflow!
The problem isn't being creative, it's staying creative as you grow. Self-expression kind of goes out the window when we get out into the world - even before most reach adolesence - unless they still have the encouragement needed We lose our creative desires by the choices we make and creativity's fire dies down within from unuse!
If you're not one of the fortunate ones who had the encouragement, perhaps being an encourager is the key! Since life seems to mirror back what we put out there, you'll begin to see the change from the reflections you make that are mirrored back to you.
If you are one of those fortunate ones, why not be encouragement for others. Again, like a mirror, life will reflect it back and the wheels of creativity will continue to turn for you, your family and your loved ones and who knows where your passion will take you!
Here at Kalico Kards is a good place to begin- Kalico Kards are encouraging. If you can't find the words, allow a Kalico Kard to say it for you with fabric! The price of a card is so little compared to the effects that you are part of when you leave a legacy of encouragement and you are the benefactor of it in your lifetime!
Your kardlady
Hi there-
I pray you've been staying safe and well. I've been so engaged with my life the past 9 months I hardly know where to begin! After giving up the craft shows I thought I'd have a little more time for other things and those other things kind of carried me to many different things.
My husband of 64 years passed away in February, he was 84, and life became a blur for a time. I'm still not viewing all as clearly as I'd like to but I'm gaining a newer perspective with each day. Soon after his death the CoronaVirus left its mark on everyones life. Living alone is not something I would choose but the quaranteen kept everyone in and I turned to my creativity for friendship again.
I've created more than 300 fabric masks for my neighbors in the past 2 months - it kept me busy, gave me new purpose, and filled my days with busyness. It's the nights I can't get used to - I don't like sleeping alone! For 64 years I had someone beside me - it's gonna take some time to get used to sleeping alone.
My daughter and son have been here for me - he does the "mans" work and she does whatever else is needed. Recently she became ill - the test for Covid came back negative twice, but everything else they could think of was ruled out so they called it Covid. I wear my mask and go out on occasion for necessities but mostly I am in - I'm on the phone more than usual, don't cook very much - depend on the freezer for meals, spend my days in my studio or on the pc or watch TV. It gets a little boring, this same routine, but I'm getting used to it. Have no long range plans except to take care of myself the best I can and keep busy.
Thanks for your interest in what's going on in the kardlady's life. Call me if you want to talk or have a card to make. I'll try keeping up with the catalog online as long as you want me to.
Your kardlady
PS: I miss my customers at the Craft fairs, their compliments and comments, if you're one of them - make yourself known - email me at greetings@kalicokards.com
This book is something I created a few years ago and sold many! It's a birthday organizer book, a keeper for your birthday cards and your list. There's a "Forget-me-not" quote of encouragement hand printed at the top of each monthly page to keep you faithful because it's so easy to forget our loved ones' birthdays.
There is 24 pages in this hand made book - one for each months Birthdays behind their birth date- and across from it is a pocket page in which to keep the kalico kards you purchased beforehand, you'll know exactly where they are, in your monthly book. The last few pages contain their addresses so everything is in one place.
When you purchase a Kalico Kard, personalizing is free - their name on the card makes the message and its fabric image so personal- and easy to retrieve. Place the book at exactly the same place each time you use it and address the envelopes and sign the card when you receive it, then place it in your book! Anything that helps you to be timely in sending them helps!
The book is also a nice gift for a friend or a loved one - and if you include the gift of a few cards with it, is an inexpensive gift, I've heard makes a big difference! If she already has everything, I'll bet she doesn't have one of these and will appreciate your generosity as well as your thoughtfulness
Happy Shopping!
your kardlady
Hi there -
I'd like to share a surprise I received some time back at an Art in the Park Show - it was held in a local park in Perkasie, PA. It looked like rain when I was about to put up my tent and they announced the show was to be moved to the High School across the way. It was my first time there so I just followed everyone else after loading all my "stuff" back in the van. The show was late starting but the people were waiting in line- someone must have told them it was moved to the high school, and as soon as the last of us were finished setting up, they opened the doors and let the crowd file in- each was given a small form to fill out for their choice of the best in show!
A few hours later, they announced the winner and was I surprised to hear KALICO KARDS was selected as the recipient of the customers choice. It was actually a blue ribbon (it's kind of faded on the picture below) but I still prize it - it hangs in my studio. Here is a picture of it along with another one I was awarded at our local Allentown Fair a few years ago by the judges of handmade items. I also got a 2nd prize for one of my framed keepsakes of a Kalico Kard you can view it here:
Here's a picture I am very proud to say was in the local Morning Call.....
When an article on "Second Careers"was going to be published. The newsman came to my home where my studio is located, did an interview and snapped a few pictures. Wow! after 20 some years I was finally going to get some attention for my handmade cards, after more than 15 years of of displaying them at Craft Fairs!
I'll post more on this event with a pictures later - plus some other events I've added to my History Notebook on the progress of Kalico Kards....along with some of the first cards I created and some of the letters I received plus some tips and ideas I've learned along the way!
Twenty five years of Kalico Kards has flown by so fast - it will be fun sharing some of the funny and insignificant stuff you may not know, that happened. If you have any questions or comments about Kalico Kards, pass them along, and I'll add them occasionally to the blog.
Today I'm going back 25 years to when the idea of sharing my cards outside my family became a reality. Of course I needed a unique name for them- I wanted to call them "Calico Cards"- because the designs were all created and cut individually by me from cotton fabric. My grandmother who was an avid quilter called printed cotton fabrics "calicos", like many others - originally these fabrics came from seed bags in which farmers purchased for planting. However someone had already claimed that name- so I changed the "C" to a "K" and came up with Kalico Kards and it's been with me every since as my tag!
Online however, to get new customers you need a descriptive name for your website and unless you know what a Kalico Kard is and hold it in your hands, you don't realize what a Kalico Kard is. Online all you have is a picture and I'm not the best photographer. A picture however does nothing for a Kalico Kard or its sense of value - even in a close up ! On top of that the name "Kalico Kards" is being mistaken for an individual, so I'm looking to change it. Many of my customers locally know what a Kalico Kard because I've been around for 25 years. The name describes them but only if you know what "calico" is - cotton fabric with all over prints in colorful patterns.
I'd like you to see the first Kalico Kard display I created to begin marketing them locally - I have quilters blood flowing thru my veins and tried my hand at quilting:
I made 2 of these displays using 2 pieces of hinged plywood 30" square for each and quilted a runner 6 1/4 ft. long with pockets that held 12 different cards- totalling 24 pockets each holding a few cards which were the same. My first showing was at a local YM/YWCA and Kalico Kards was the new kid on the block there and went over big, which was very encouraging.
Since then I designed and helped make 4 different sets of display racks for my showings locally - the present rack holds 90 different cards with at least 10 more behind each of them and we made 3 of these - the 3rd one was only used when I had 2 different shows the same day! Att one time I did 25 shows in a year but the last few years I've gradually given up each one and the last two or three were the hardest!
Below is another set we made out of plywood to set on a 6 ft long by 30" wide table - I could display 42 different cards with a few behind each - but soon I outgrew them quickly:
The present ones for the past 10 years or so are shown below from one of my favorite shows outdoors - I only die 3 or 4 outdoor shows in the summertime but had to put up a tent for protection from the weather because the sun and the rain could damage the cards.
The spaces purchased at the craft fairs changed over the years - in the beginning they were 6 foot spaces available later they 8x10 ft or 10x10 ft so 2 of my final racks fit perfectly with a table between them but were bulky and somewhat difficult - we needed a van to carry them and all the stuff needed for set up.
Recently I've considered changing the cards' name again because I've gotten a lot of emails regularly posted to Mr. Kards and to Kalico Kards - they think I'm a guy and want to date me! I chuckle at these but it indicates what someone unfamiliar with Kalico Kards believes - so I would like to name them "Fabric Keepers" or "Saying It With Fabric" - both of which are descriptive. The one is what my customers describe Kalico Kards as: "keepers"- the other is what Kalico Kards are to me - ways of "saying it with fabric".
You can tell by the style of my cards in the racks 20 years ago that Kalico Kards has grown. In the past few years I've had some time to expand them with the purchase of a die cutting and embossing machine which is awesome! I wish I had 20 more years to expand on. It makes me sad when I think of retiring Kalico Kards, but that's the way life is!
Check out the new die cut cards in my catalog here . I believe a person is worth the expense of a more elaborate card which tells them they are special...and a few cents more to mail these shouldn't matter- so I pay for the postage to send them to you and you pay for the postage to send them to you loved ones.
Customers are pleased with the special cards that have pockets for their monetary gift inside - the pocket also doubles for your personalized information: their name(s), your name, the date of the event, and anything sentiment or blessing you would like to share - you add these to your order and I print them on your card no charge - ship it out for you to receive first class mail within 3 days. Some of them have fabric flowers, but a few are my own flower made with card stock but one is as special as the next because Kalico Kard customers are the best.
Thanks for your visit to my blog, I'll look for you again. Your comments are always welcomed, just contact me at greetings@kalicokards.com or leave a message for me on the contact page or review page if you want it posted and I'll get back to you within a day or two I promise.
the kardlady
August 2019
I have lots more time now so I decided to start a blog to keep in touch with my friends and Kalico Kard family. I've lots to tell you, so I'll just begin:
I've given up the local craft show for health reason and am missing the chit-chat that went on in front of my card racks at the craft shows - so I decided to share all the things left unsaid to my supporters who have become friends, some from the very beginning! I'd like to keep in touch with you and hear from you! I'll post your comments - as well as some of the laughs and interesting things I've encountered over the past 25 years with pictures and some of my first creations.
I decided to stop doing the shows because I can no longer handle the physical part of it by myself! My spouse and I are both getting on in years and I can keep imposing on my family and others to help. The past 3 years have been very hard for me physically to set up and take down. As for card making however, I will never be too old to create Kalico Kards - they actually keep me young in spirit!
I was diagnosed with AFib unsuspectedly more than a year or so ago - my heart had been skipping beats for many years but didn't cause any problems until recently. I am an "A" personality and give my all to everything I do so when the doctor said to cut back physically - I don't know how to do that!
I was already taking meds for skipped heartbeats when something triggered my heart to race at 180 beats per minute. I thank God for ER - because this happened a few times and the last two times they had to shock the heart to get it back into rhythm - this all happened within the past few years - it escalated.
The diagnoses was Atrial Fibrillation - many things trigger it - I didn't know how serious it was nor how wide spread AFib was for many. After trial and error, they did find a medication that helped - but even that failed me the last two times - now they doubled it! When it did overcome me, one of the symtoms is breathlessness - because like a car, my heart was putt putt putting on a minimum of pistons!
My oldest daughter is an angel, there's nothing she won't do for me - Jane has done too much already! Therefore I made the choice to give up the shows because they do take a lot out of me and more days to recover!
In the midst the heart issue, we lost our youngest daughter in a fatal accident last year. She lived in TX, and left for a trip to no one knows where and in Kansas left the highway over the speed limit and she had just passed a string of cars and a truck, and according to the trucker, she went into a field, hit a culvert, the car tumbled forward and according to the state tooper, she died on the scene! She usually wore a seat belt, but wasn't buckled up, and the sun roof of the car was open.
It's a hard thing to lose a child regardless of their age, and the last time I talked with her was an email a few days before. She still had a lot of life to live and we really miss her - we know she's in a safe place but the mind still wants to see her and searches for her!
Now to the happy stuff - I look forward to your visits to this blog and my website - I'm will continually add new entries on both and would love to make some new friends, so please keep in touch with me. There's more than 300 cards in the online catalog plus a lot more to come! The website is almost 14 years old and I hope to be around for a few more years - so add me to your address book, and sign up on my email list, keep in touch by email at greetings@kalicokards.com or telephone me and leave a message, name and number and I'll get back to you I promise!
Hugs - the kardlady
This is one of the first cards I created as a Kalico Kard - a scher-enschnitte pattern that inspired me to try a children's line of cards first. There was about 12 nursery rhyme designs hand cut from different patterned calico fabric, bonded and ironed onto water-color stock.
In the beginning, I found the messages hard to create, much harder than the card itself. With time, it came easier, I seemed to find messages everywhere - on billboards, posters, advertisements, and commercials, later on, quotes, puns, riddles and even jokes - a twist on words to add a smile to the card were my favorites. I tagged images with each one and categorized them in a notebook for when needed and making cards became the bright side of my day.
I miss hearing my customers while browsing through the card racks at a show, laughing or calling to their friends and reading inside a Kalico Kard! Kalico Kards were original and I was always busy growing my stock with new-ness. Presently I have a small room I call the "card room" with shelving and a file system for all the categories - with hundreds and hundred of different creations I enjoyed making!