This is an oldie......I made it months ago.  In fact I don't think I actually have it anymore.  I really like the colours as I think that they blend well together, but it just feels unfinished to me.  Maybe there needs to be a stamped sentiment on top of the small panel.

Geez, I haven't made a card for a few weeks now.  No wonder I feel a little odd.........=^..^=

Turning a mistake into a success

This is actually my first attempt at the owl card that I was asked to make.  The pattern and the colour scheme seemed to fit the person that the card was intended for, but because the stamps are so little they completely over-powered the owl image.  Rather than toss the whole card I kept the three panel layout on the cream card and added a decorative horizontal panel and a cream 'satin' bow.  I have since used it as a birthday card.  Often my 'oops' cards go into the bin, so it was nice to 'save' this one =^..^=

Making a card to order

I have now found out that this is much harder than I thought.  All I was asked was could I please make an owl card and I was given a rough idea of colour and preferences.  I thought that it would be so easy!  I love owls, I love the decorative papers and bling that I chose.  But it was HARD.  Really hard!  I played around for ages with the layout, the embellishments and felt hampered by the fact that the owl stamps that I have are all quite small and they didn't seem to want to be the focus of a card.  I am happy with the card I finished up with, and hope that the recipient liked it =^..^=

Original Creations

I've just been wondering lately about creativity.  Can anything be called a truly original creation?  Surely if I have looked at the handcrafted cards that others have made I have been influenced by them to some extent or another.  So do I get to claim as an 'original creation' something that has been inspired by another card?

I'm not talking about when you re-create a card so that it is exactly the same as the one you have seen.  We've all done that at one time or another because the one you have seen is so perfect that any changes you could make would just ruin it.  But what about the ones where the card has many similarities to the one you were inspired by?  What if you use the same layout but change the colour scheme, the papers or the embellishments?

It's just that sometimes I look at cards that I have made and I see the ideas of others' in them.  But then I look at the other things that I like to create - knitting, cross stitch, patchwork.  All of the things that I have made have been inspired by the work of others, or been made exactly according to a pattern.  And I don't think of any of these things as not having been created by me.  Must be something to do with the essence of 'you' that goes into the things that we make.  Even if I do make a card that looks similar to one that I have seen it's my creation because I have used my craft stash in a unique way.  Just blabbing now, so I will sign off =^..^=