One of the dictionary definitions of the word “sentiment” is a feeling or emotion. We send cards and create crafts to communicate our emotions.
Happy Birthday, Congratulations, I’m Sorry – the words should match the tone of the project, be matched to the style in terms of font, and fill the assigned visual space.
Theme
What is the purpose of your project? Do you want to shout the message, or deliver it in understated elegance?
Usually, it’s easy to decide on the overall theme because we are responding to or anticipating an event. Birthday, retirement, an illness, a vacation scrapbook page or a holiday greeting. There are words that come to mind.
Then we need to consider the recipient. How old are they? Do they like attending high tea or sipping beer in front of the ball game? You’re going to use different words to convey the same message depending on the audience.
Some people like a funny message. My upline created this birthday card to tease the recipient.
I thought it was incredibly funny, but not everyone has our sense of humor. Maybe you want to avoid the topic and use a sentiment like “It’s Your Day!” instead of the traditional Happy Birthday. If it’s a birthday card for a child, you’ll use a big, bold Happy Birthday sentiment right on the front of the card and probably include the age.
Size
The sentiment can be the focal point of your project or it can be complementary. A large die-cut sentiment can stand on its own. A small sentiment can be the perfect touch to a compliment the images.
The card on the left has the focus entirely on the sentiment. The paper, the flowers, they support the sentiment.
The bouquet card focuses on the flowers, but the sentiment complements the image in color and style.
Font
I’m not as passionate about fonts as some folks out there. I generally type a document in the default font, never considering the options. And there are a lot of options.
It’s an oversimplification, but fonts can be generally categorized by weight, slope, width, and serif.
Weight is thickness compared to height. I think I just had this discussion with a doctor?
Heavyweight fonts are shorter and thicker. Lightweight fonts are thinner and taller. Or for us – is the font BOLD or elegant?
Slope is the angle of the font. Does it look like it was handwritten? That is a font with a lot of slope. The “Thanks” in the bouquet card above is a heavyweight font with high slope. Fonts without slope, like the “friend” sentiment, have a graphic quality, like what you would expect to see on a sign.
Width is how much space the font takes up – the space is between the letters. Wider fonts are generally easier to read. Ironically, the majority of books are printed in Times New Roman which is considered a narrow font but is used so that more words fit on the page.
Serif refers to the “feet” on the font. The font I’m using for this website is a sans serif font or without “feet”. Computer applications usually use sans serif fonts. Books and printed matter usually use serif fonts. I think as a result sans serif font have a modern feel and serif fonts are more traditional.
Okay, that was a lot of information to say that some fonts are more casual, some more formal. Some seem more feminine or more masculine. Pick a font that works for your audience and your theme.
Interior sentiments
I love interior sentiments. The spooky birthday card wouldn’t be a birthday card without the inside sentiments. But, the main reason I like to add a message on the inside is that it means I don’t have to write as much. Isn’t that horrible? But sometimes it’s hard to find the words or I”m in a hurry.
I saw recently where a card maker said that her cards sold better at craft fairs than her friend’s cards. She thought her friend’s cards were prettier, but she noticed people opened the cards before they bought them. Her friend’s cards were blank.
So, stamp the insides.