A Merry & Bright Holiday Card Kit

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Reported by Kristine Fowler


Have you always thought you might like to make holiday cards but don't have the time or the creativity? Do you usually make your own holiday cards but simply ran out of time this year? If so, you might want to check out the Merry & Bright Card Kit by Close To My Heart (CTMH). Available from a Close To My Heart consultant (either locally or on the web), the Merry & Bright Card Kit gives you everything you need to make 12 whimsical holiday cards for just $14.50 Canadian ($12.95 US).

Even if you are a novice cardmaker, you can probably put your 12 cards together in about an hour - and in my opinion, they are just darling. The My Stickease artwork have a realistic 'layered' look to them, and most of the sticker and card base edges are 'muddied up' a bit to look like they've been inked.

So, what's included in the kit?

• 12 card bases (3 each of 4 designs) in the standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" size

• (3) 6" x 12" sheets of My Stickease adhesive artwork (if you're not familiar with CTMH terminology, My Stickease are cardstock weight stickers)

• (50) 1/4" 3-D Foam Squares

• (6 feet) 3/8" Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon

• 12 Colonial White envelopes and,

• photographs of assembled cards

The CTMH exclusive colors used in this kit are Cranberry, New England Ivy, Olive & Sorbet -- a very traditionally festive combination indeed. Here's a pre-construction pic of the kit contents.

So is it all good? Well yes, and no. While I do believe it's a great kit, I also think there's a couple of things that could be improved. Here's what I mean:

First, when it comes to assembly, almost everything you need is there. When I say almost everything, what I'm really saying is that I think that CTMH should have included some glue dots. For me, glue dots are definitely the adhesive of choice when it comes to working with and sticking ribbon, and well, there are just no glue dots in the package.

Second, the instruction sheet is vague to say the least. I see two problems with it right off the top. (a) the pictures are black and white making them hard to see and (b) there are no written step-by-steps in the traditional sense that I could find. Step-by steps would be helpful to the beginner given that to create the artwork exactly as shown some layering of stickers is required. If you're not the type of learner that can figure this out purely from a picture, you might be a bit stumped as to what you're supposed to do first. Also, the kit includes 3-D adhesive foam squares which are awesome, but quite frankly, the beginner cardmaker might not know what to do with them or how to use them.

Nonetheless I muddled through.....and here's a picture of my finished cards - one each of the 4 designs. When I initially began this review, I thought I might add some additional embellishment to a couple of the cards just to show that it could be done. Once I got into the assembly process though, I realized that I liked them just the way they were. It's a bit tough to see in the photograph, but I did use the 3-D foam squares to give the cards some dimension.

Pros:

• great for all skill levels - you can put the cards together exactly as shown, or you can embellish them up if desired

• time-saving; all the design work is done & there is no stamping required (it's all stickers)

• affordable

Cons:

• black and white samples on the instruction sheet -- color would have been helpful (color samples are shown in the CTMH idea book if you have one handy)

• no step-by-step instructions - the simple follow the picture style may not be appropriate for all learners, particularly beginner cardmakers

• there were no glue-dots in the kit

• only available through a CTMH consultant; sometimes delivery can take more time than you might have available to wait

Because Close to my Heart is a direct sales company, it is necessary to purchase the card kit through an independent consultant. To find a consultant in your area, there is a Consultant Locator on the company website - and you can find that Locator here.

When all is said and done, I rate this product an 7 out of 10 because the value is definately there, it's easy and quick to put together and the finished product is really, really cute! I have to be honest though, it would have rated it considerably higher had the instructions been a bit easier for everyone to read/interpret.

Have you used the Merry & Bright Card Kit -- or any of the other kits in the CTMH My Originals card kit series? Would you agree with my assessment? Drop us a comment and let us know.

P.S. If you're a stamper and just love the cute little elves featured in this kit, there is a also a coordinating stamp set available. It's called Merry Pursuits and is just $15.50 Canadian ($13.95 US).