Card nine in the black and white challenge - another that is mostly black and silver but has a white border around the tree panel, so it fits the criteria, just! I had an odd shaped strip of black card left which was just a little larger than the tree panel so I decided to attach this silver heat embossed tree to it. The card opens down the side, so it is much longer than it is wide (does that make sense?) There is a tiny silver brad in each corner of the tree panel and I love the Fiskars corner punch.  =^..^=

Card eight in the black and white challenge.  This Art Deco style butterfly is great fun to use and lends itself to lots of different styles.  I used cobalt blue metallic embossing powder and three medium sized gems in the bottom corner.  The antennae are always a little tricky if you decide to cut the image out.  After a few boo-boos I gave it away as a joke and decided to cut around the entire image leaving a few millimetres as a border.  Much easier and looks pretty good too.  I love this embossing powder =^..^=

Meow, Meow, Meow.............

I know that we all love our furry buddies, but practically every handmade gift I have ever given has had an extra special present tucked away somewhere if the receiver only looks hard enough.  Of course I am talking about cat fur, black at that (probably would be helpful in my Black and White challenge).  It's not really a problem with patchwork, especially since quilts are made to be washed.  It causes some problems with cross stitch and I know that moment when you get a picture back from the framer only to find that you haven't checked it with a fine enough tooth comb - boo hoo.

I think of all the crafts I do cardmaking is the messiest because there are so many bits and pieces that are essential.  Like ribbons, brads, embossing powders, stamps, ink pads etc. etc.  The cats graciously allow me about 15 minutes completely uninterrupted card crafting time.  Then the wagons start circling and I can see their noses twitching and their tales swishing.  And one of them leaps up onto the craft area, straight onto a sticky embossing pad or piles of brads and decorative papers.  What to do, what to do.....as you scramble to make sure that they don't hurt themselves, or some of the precious craft stash.  I tell you, it truly is a fine balancing act.  I was writing earlier about craft discipline and this is another area ( I WILL not reveal all the areas!) in which I dismally fail to have any discipline.  Anyone who has visited my humble abode will know that the cats have the run of the house and that I am theirs, they are not mine.

So what does that mean for card craft?  Take more notice of how I lay my bits and pieces out.  But mostly the understanding of friends and family that a wonky line doesn't indicate lack of care.  Just the nosiness of a whiskered furry face.

MEOW =^..^=

Craft Discipline

Is there such a thing as craft discipline?  I have heard tell of those strange creatures who never start a new project until they have finished what they are working on.........unbelievable.......Personally I have at least a million things on the go at any one time.  Lets see, at the moment there are 2 knitted blankets, 1 appliqued quilt and too many cross stitch pictures to count.  Not to mention the ideas that are percolating away in the back of my mind.

There are probably lots of reasons for this.  If it's a big project it is easy to get disenchanted with the time it is taking....so that is the boredom factor.  Then there is the need for fresh inspiration, and having things bubbling away is an inspiring thing for me.  Also there is the fact that you might be making something as a gift so it has a 'date due'.  You might be addicted to many different crafts and you have to spend time with the craft that is exerting a pull on you at that moment.

But what would it be like to finish one thing before you start the next?  Would I actually have a lot more finished projects?  Or would it just take a lot longer to finish each project?  I know not. The other version of this type of discipline I have heard of is having two projects on the go at any given time.  One long term project and a quick one that would give you a sense of satisfaction.

I guess the bottom line is that craft is about creativity and enjoyment, so as far as I am concerned you should do whatever you want to do.  After all, there are not many other things in life that this is true about.  =^..^=

Number seven in the black and white challenge.  I guess it seems to have become the black, white and silver challenge because this is another card with only a smidge of white showing.  But there is quite a lot of white in the ribbon, so I am counting it!  It is made with one of the new stamps from the craft fair =^..^=

Craft Fair

Well, as expected there was nothing worth buying at the craft fair last weekend and I didn't spend any money at all.  And, if you are interested I have a nice bridge to sell you, and probably my nose just grew a little.  There were in actual fact quite a lot of purchases made......and only a few were presents for others.....um ah!

My Cuttlebug got a boost with some Spellbinders die/embossing shapes and inking 'pads' to add colour to the raised part of embossed card.  My friend bought me a fab birthday present and let me go round one of the shops and fill a tray with stamps, metallic inks and a brayer.  I only have a vague idea of how to use a brayer so I imagine I will be having lots of fun with it learning some new techniques.  My friend has a good eye because she pointed out the mosaic stamp which I had previously passed by.  It was the first stamp I used when I got home and I am just about to post a picture of the card that I made with it.  I think it's probably going to get a lot of use.

There didn't seem to be as many people at the craft fair as there had been in previous years.  Which was good for us because it made it a little easier to get around.  But not so good for the people trying to sell their products no doubt.  As usual there were some really good deals and it would have been way too easy to spend every single cent in my purse.  Good thing that it's 365 days till the next craft fair. =^..^=

                           

                                                  Number six in the black and white challenge.  Okay, so this is mainly black and silver, but I promise that there is a small white border.  I have had this stamp for ages and found it on special in a discount bin.  But I haven't used it all that often even though I love it.  I just have never really thought of anything really nice to do with it.  It's just a fluke that I stamped the images reasonably evenly and the teal brad fitted well in the middle.  The images were heat embossed and originally I tried to set the panel on point. But that made the card enormous and then you get into the whole problem of finding an envelope to fit.  In the end I liked the final layout. =^..^=

The craft stash that breeds...........

Do you ever think 'That's it, I'm done.  I cannot buy one more thing for my card making stash, not one tiny little thing or I won't be able to get through the front door'. Or have you scrambled to hide things away when you know someone is dropping by?  Because you don't want them to witness the extent of your obsession.  For sure there is no way that they would understand it! Not to mention the quiet horror inside that you have amassed so much decorative paper, ribbon and bling.  And you wish that your little house was like the inside of Doctor Who's Tardis.  But it just isn't because the special wishings fairies are not listening.

So you have to work out what you can possibly live without...........and you think about all those cross stitch and patchwork magazines that you haven't looked at for ages.  But looking at them just re-awakens your passion, and you wonder to yourself 'How could it possibly have been so long since I took out my cross stitch or put together a quilt block?'  And what you end up with, temporarily at least, is a house that looks like a pigsty with your card stash, your patchwork stash, your cross stitch stash AND your knitting stash strewn everywhere.  It's around this time time you start wishing that you had bought that van instead of that zippy little hatch with the sun roof.  Because surely if they can fit a van out for a plumber, they can fit one out for a crafter.

And did I mention that the annual craft show is on in a few days?  I know that there won't be anything worth buying there......................................=^..^=

Some new stamps to have fun with......an early birthday pressie to myself, but don't tell anyone okay? =^..^=

Card number five in the black and white challenge.  It's funny how sometimes the fancy papers, flowers and gems take on a life of their own.  The final design is not at all what I thought it would be.  I am fairly happy with it, but I think that black, white and pink will reappear in this challenge before I am finished. =^..^=

Card number four in the black and white challenge.  The top row of stars is a repeated border punch and the bottom is sheer black ribbon with shimmery silver stars.  The sentiment is a sticker.  I am not 100% sure about the placement of the elements in this card, I may want to play around with it a little more.  But I do like the black, white and silver combo. =^..^=

Card number 3 in the Black and White challenge.  Actually, this was the first one I made and I really like the effect of the faded, crackled look of the flower pot stamp.  The idea was to create a window sill / curtain effect and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  I think that a solid red ribbon would work better though. =^..^=

There was always going to be another frangipani card posted at some point.  The large yellow panel is corrugated cardboard and the top panel is patterned vellum attached to cream cardstock with a large star brad.  The spotty ribbon is threaded through the brad.  The happy birthday sentiment is a sticker.......I'm not sure about stamping on vellum?  Can you do that?  I have heat embossed on vellum, but I haven't stamped it. =^..^=

Some ponderings about Buddhist mandalas.......

My understanding of these mandalas is that once they are completed by the monks they are swept away.  It's hard for me to imagine what it must be like to create such a work of art and then watch it blow away on the wind.  I do understand that they represent the impermanence of all things, but still...............I mean, giving something away that you have made is one thing.  Sure enough it is no longer in your possession, but you know (hopefully) that it is being treasured by the person that you have gifted it to.  But to actually sweep it away..... I just can't seem to get my head around it.  I guess from my perspective it would mean that the creative process itself is more important than the finished product.

I definitely think that I could 'sweep into the wind' a card that I had made, purely because there isn't all the much time invested in it, comparatively speaking.  I don't know that I could ever consider doing the same with something more 'substantial' like a piece of knitting or patchwork.  Do you think that deconstructing a creation is a somehow liberating?  Or is it merely ridiculous (for the non Buddhist) ? =^..^=

This card opens down the middle, like a cupboard.  The card itself is black and the first panel layer is cream with black spots.  The second panel layer is black flocked decorative paper. The thin black strip is card and just seems to finish each side somehow.  The sentiment is gold heat embossed and layered onto a small piece of flocked off-cut then onto a piece of black card.  The ribbon wraps around the back and ties in a bow at the side. =^..^=

My favourite flower is the frangipani, and I love it with black and white.  They are transparent stickers layered on a small white panel.  The larger white panel is dry embossed with the Cuttlebug and the corners rounded with a corner punch.  My favourite so far.  This is an alternate version of the black and white butterfly design and doesn't really count in the challenge as it is not different enough. =^..^=

The butterfly is a rub on, and I have attached small black brads in each corner of the small panel.  I dry embossed the large white panel with the Cuttlebug and used a corner punch to decorate the corners.  =^..^=

I really love the three panel look, and this is one of the few times that I have stamped over quite busy decorative paper.  In the past I have used black ink, but this time I have used purples and deep oranges.  I know that there is a fair bit of light reflection in the photo and the right panel shows the colour most accurately. =^..^=

Help - how do you successfully take pics of your cards?

Any advice gratefully received!  As you can tell from the pics I have uploaded so far I am not exactly great at it.  All I can say us thank goodness for photo editing software. =^..^=

This card I am really pleased with.  It is horizontal with the fold on the left side.  The chocolate brown base card is heat embossed with a cobalt blue embossing powder.  The stamp is Hero Arts (I think) and a simple feathery 'vine' that is actually quite small.  I just stamped it fairly evenly over the card.  The sentiment is stamped in a pearly chocolate brown ink that I am in love with, and I attached 3 flower jewels in the corner.  I love off-setting some elements of a card as it creates interest =^..^=

The Black and White Challenge

Every now and then when I don't have cards to make for a specific occassion I set myself a challenge.  Like choosing papers, ribbons and other embellishments from my stash that I wouldn't normally put together.  And I play around with different layouts and try things I wouldn't normally try.

So, right now I have set myself a black and white challenge: 20 different card designs using black, white and one other colour only, maybe red, green or yellow.  But mostly, they are to be black and white designs.  So far I have made two, and I will put up the pictures soon.

I don't really know what entices me about setting myself a challenge, but I think that it's something to do with setting small, fun goals.  I mean, there are so many challenges in life that make you invest your body and soul, how about a challenge that is just fun, fun, fun.  And also, it makes me feel less guilty about having such a big stash!!!!!  And it's not like my other craft stashes - those are fairly well packed in boxes and hidden under the bed and in every nook and cranny around the house.  Not so with my card making stash - it's all over the dining room.  So if I don't get creative with it on a regular basis then it just sits there looking at me.  So setting myself a challenge helps me feel less guilty.

How and why do you decide to get crafty with your card making stash?  Just wondering.........=^..^=

Why write a blog..........

I don't really know why I thought it would be fun to start a blog to be honest.  There are many fab card making blogs around, so what is the point of another one?  I guess one of the things I've been thinking about is the meaning of craft in our lives, whether you have plenty of time for it or you grab your craft time on the run.  Part of who we are goes into the things that we make, and is probably an essential part of creativity.  I have a good friend who says that making something is like cooking a meal.  You can get the same thing at a restaurant but it tastes better when it is home made because there is love in it. 

For me craft helps my life most of the time.  When I am feeling good it kind of celebrates that, and when I am feeling a little blue it takes my mind off my worries and distracts me.  Also, taking time out to create helps keep me sane when everything is crazy busy or so complicated it makes my eyes cross.  Of course, sometimes it's just plain old fun.

What does it add to your life? =^..^=

This was made for the teenage son of a friend.  I find it really hard to make cards for boys and men, I guess like many others.  Even though I like bright and bold styles, that doesn't necessarily lend itself to a male creation.  I stamped the white panels with a black pigment stamp and heat embossed with a clear powder.  I swiped the edges with a silver stamp pad to finish it.  He loved it =^..^=

I tend to usually work with the same size card, 10.5cm x 15cm.  I just find it easier for envelopes and postage etc., but mostly because that is the size my eye creates in.  I guess that I am mostly attracted to bright colours and simple styles because that is what I seem to create.  Which is odd really because I thought when I first started card making that it would be pastel shades and more traditional 'busy' kind of cards.  This one is fancy wrapping paper, some Kindy Glitz glitter glue and some doodling. =^..^=