Diwali is a very important Hindu festival, so efforts are made to send greeting cards to near and dear ones. Such cards provide a feeling of togetherness and strong bonding.
Abhay Burande
Diwali is a Festival of Lights in India. Oil lamps, illumination, and brightness are the prominent features of Diwali cards. The popular symbols used in these cards are candles, burning oil lamps, and bursting crackers. Rangoli patterns and pictures of traditional Diwali sweets are also seen.
The picture of Lakshmi Ma and Lord Ganesha are the all-time favorite images seen on Diwali cards, as Laksmi-Ganesh puja is very significant. Handmade cards allow children to use their creativity.
Traditional symbols of the festival like diyas, candles, rangoli, and crackers are shown on the cards. There are also messages that convey people happiness and prosperity for the forthcoming year.
eCards
After the advent of the Internet age, eCards are becoming prevalent and substituting physical cards. The reason being, it's a quick and economical way of sending greetings to loved ones. To maintain the speed with the rising demand, sites have numerous options. There are several sites that provide free cards, and hence, make it more economical for everyone.
The use of Java and Flash technology has enabled to make these cards very vibrant and interactive. Some cards can furnish a virtual Lakshmi Puja experience, while others also show virtual bursting of crackers.
Glitter, sparks and illumination are used to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the greetings. All such features enable to add humor to the cards and make the recipients happy.
Mosaic Card
The equipment required are scissors, glue, colorful paper, ruler, and a marker.
Squares of colorful construction paper are made into small bits.
Store every color in a different part of an egg carton.
Fold a 9 inches X 12 inches sheet of black construction paper in half.
On the foreside of the resulting card, a pencil is used to draw a simple Diwali picture.
Color this sketch by gluing the construction-paper pieces on the card.
Glue sticks are best used for this work.
Position the pieces so that small amounts of black are visible and a stained glass look can be seen. Lastly, stick a white piece of paper in the card.
Use a fine-tipped pen to write a message for Diwali.
Fabric Picture Card
The equipment required are pencil, fabric scraps, glue stick, heavy stock paper (mail envelopes, manila folder, old cards), and a photograph.
Old heavy paper items like the poster-board are recycled as the paper is covered anyway.
An opened card is used by tracing around it to obtain the card stock. Fold the paper which is heavy into a card. Turn a fabric scrap to the wrong side and trace the outline of the card. Cut this piece out.
Cut a picture out which shows through the window of the card and place on the card-size fabric and trace the outline.
Remove the small area from the fabric. Trace the window area from the fabric on the card.
Cut this area from the card stock. Attach the photo to the card stock with the glue stick.
Further, the card stock is attached to the fabric.
This provides some depth and dimension to the card.