Card Making Community

An acquaintance recently suggested that greeting cards are slowly meandering off in the footsteps of dinosaurs and dodos, but I suspect they may be mistaken. For one, no one's told the Card Making Community of its eminent extinction yet. And if the images and posts are anything to go by, there are still plenty of free-range greeting cards to be found. Some are simple and hand drawn. Others are opulently multi-dimensional. There are pop-up cards, collages that pay homage to the Nativity, as well as fun, quirky ones featuring mischievous snowmen and reindeer. Materials are equally diverse - textured paper, cut-outs, lace, paper flowers and even real buttons. While you can probably wing it with a pinch of improvisation, it also helps to stock up regularly from your favorite craft shop. One clip shows a card being made from start to finish.  Another post asks for ideas on how to incorporate a novelty napkin into a personalized card for a friend. Another wants inspiration for an alternate advent calendar and there's a thread for random Christmas Card buddies as well. Lots of wonderful inspiration within this space, helping you to get ready for Christmas and making sure no one feels left out, but it's not all tinsel and elves. There were beautiful hand painted card motifs as well as a collection of forest fairies, just as a reminder that greeting cards are not so much seasonal as timeless.

Members: 66.6k, at the time of writing.

Trigger Warnings: None.

Go here to visit or join. 

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Stories from the Road Museum AUSTRALIA

With rapid advances being made in autonomous driving technology, a persistent rumor suggests that old school truckers are on the way out. That would, of course, be an absolute shame. There's something utterly romantic about the men and women who hoist themselves up into the cabins of 18-wheeler behemoths to transport food, furniture, toys, and so much more to shops around the world. Their service is especially appreciated in countries where long distances separate cities and regions from each other. Road Museum, Australia pays tribute to these mechanical wonders through vintage photographs and roadside snapshots. Some posts share the heart and soul of long-time truckers, such as a tribute post for Ian Castles, an Australian country music icon who was also a lifelong trucker. There's even a have-you-seen-this-truck post, on behalf of a past owner and a video clip from a truck show. If you like your combustion engines supersized and rolling, this Facebook group is well worth a visit. The Road Museum is located in Port Pirie in southern Australia.

Members: 129.1k, at the time of writing. 

Trigger Warnings: None.

Go here to visit or join. 

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Toy knitting patterns (finished projects)

It is astounding what you can knit when you put your mind to it. And it helps when you have a pattern to guide you from casting on the first stitches to sewing in a quirky smile or mischievous eyes. But this is not a strictly pattern swapping community, although there are occasional requests for specific items. No, this is pure inspiration. In keeping with the time of year, there's an abundance of Christmas themed items - Santa's, elves, reindeer, snowmen, angels, tree decorations and even a grinch or two. There are also plenty of covers and cozies, ranging from can covers and orange covers to tiny cozies to protect your chocolate bonbons. I saw characters such as Super Mario, Postman Pete and even the K-pop Demon Hunters. Probably the zaniest exhibit was that knitted cyclops potted plant.

Members: 92.5k, at the time of writing

Trigger Warnings: None. 

Go here to visit or join. 

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Professional Portrait Artists

A beautiful young woman in graphite. The thoughtful gaze of an old man. The sparkling merriment that live in the eyes and soul of a musician. A freckled child holding her striped cat. A study that pays homage to a popular Netflix series. A self-portrait that captures the artist's amused gaze. A moody waif in watercolor. The close-up of an eye that brims with moisture and life. The carefree smile of a brown-haired boy. A rogueish centenarian betraying his continued love for life. An elegant woman resplended under her parasol. A war veteran showing off his medals Here and there, also a pet portrait. Not all of the work featured is by professional portrait artists, but each hint at the unique character of the subject in a way that is both compelling and insightful.

Members: 45k, at the time of writing

Trigger Warnings: None. 

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THINGS WITH FACES (original)

Sometimes, what gives us the biggest jump-scare, is adding imaginary sentience to an ordinary everyday object. Do you see a car's headlamps as eyes? What about the symmetric windows of a cottage? Is there a mouth forming in the creaky, knobby bark of an old tree? What's in the vegetable box? A potato with a soft, dimpled smile. There are even second faces hiding within folds of skin. Anything is possible. Some of these are accidental and totally random collections of objects. Some, like clouds or soap suds, make the briefest of incursions into our reality. Sometimes they are the stuff of scary stories. Others serve merely as gentle reminders that it is up to us to add significance to our own existence. This Facebook group prompts you to see your world looking back and smiling.

Members: 2.9k, at the time of writing

Trigger Warnings: None.

Go here to visit or join. 

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Industrial Heritage and Art

 The Industrial Revolution fundamentally changed our world and the culture of our communities. It created the immortal image of the blue-collar worker but also colored our world with rigidly structural imagery and the taint of pollution. It drives a mixed message of prosperity and decay, containing larger than life behemoths of industry and the work gangs that power them. Through the gaze of an artist, the human factor is amplified, highlighting a fascination with machinery, but also showing poignantly intimate moments swallowed from the relentless march of the machine. It encompasses the romanticism of rail travel, the ubiquitous presence of stark factory yards and the endurance of the human spirit. When I spotted a post by one of my favorite industrial artists, Ryan Mutter, I knew I had come to the right place. 

Members: 30.2k, at the time of writing.

Trigger Warnings: None.

Go here to visit or join. 

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Association of Cryptozoology: Fieldwork, Analysis & Veracity

What's Halloween season without monsters and some of the best monsters are the legendary creatures that lurk within the secret recesses of the collective unconscious. The shadowy presences beyond the campfire, that are surprisingly universal despite a distinct lack of physical evidence. In acknowledgement of St Patty's Day (20 October), a fair amount of posts and discussion alluded to the now famous Patterson-Gimlin film clip, an enigmatic piece of footage filmed in Bluff Creek, California documenting one of the most famous Bigfoot sightings in 1967, with links to several video essays on YouTube, as well as some memes. But there are also posts about the Loch Ness monster, an artist's impression of the Japanese kappa monster and some debate about the true nature of the Borneo crocodile. There are concept drawings from a Bestiary of an abandoned Disney series. One poster features the fearsome African cryptid, Mokele-Mbembe, known to haunt the rain forests of the Congo. One infographic details the differences between cryptozoology and paracryptozoology, while another post discussed the Double Bottom Effect as a possible theory to explain certain sightings, especially in bodies of water. 

Members: 12.9k, at the time of writing.

Trigger Warnings: Monsters.

Go here to visit or join. 

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