crazy creative.....

I have been getting my crazy creative on lately....just can't help myself.  I had started looking at some really cute bee stuff from CTMH and my brain went tilt with joy!  The only problem was that at the time there was just no money in the budget to order anything.  So I had to figure out how to make due and still be happy.  Because we all know that making due in the paper crafting area does not always lead to happiness.

I figured I could at least get the color scheme going with most of what I had and then I supplemented with some yellow and black paper from joann's.

 
The patterned paper is from stamping up, also the coordinating flower stamp and punch are also from Stampin Up.  The cute little bee and the sentiment are from CTMH and the rest of the paper is joann special.

 The background paper on this card is from a DCWV stack called Lemon Flower.  OMGGGG i fell in love and decided I didn't need a lot of gas in my car to get around and bought this instead.  Yes, a little insane LOL.  The butterlies are Stampin Up as are the little flowers and strip of ribbon.  

I also tried a new size format and I love it!  I almost always stay within the 4.25x5.5 card size and it is out of my comfort zone to wrap my brain around other sizes.  I am only a little ocd :).  But I think I will be doing more of these, I like them.  Then of course I went back to my original size just because I love it.

I did get to play with the brown and yellow bee stuff that first ispired this wave of creativity, but you know when you get so excited about something that you don't stop to enjoy one idea before you are on to the next one?  Oh, they call that A.d.d.? HA! 

Anyway, I am having some fun and loving getting creative again!!  enjoy your day :) 

Enjoying my Journey

This is a Tim Holtz stamp set that I absolutely love.  I love it partially because it is vingtage but also because many of Tim Holtzs' stamp sets have a little bit of a message.  This particular set has a message that I have been needing pretty badly lately.

Enjoy the journey.  I often forget that the reason I started this blog was to share what I love to do most, that is after loving God and my family.  I love making cards, I love experimenting with textures, I love colors and papers....oh on and on!  For crying out I get so excited when I get a new catalog from Stampin Up or Close To My Heart!

But I have a bad habit of looking back pretty critically on cards or projects I have made in the past that did not turn out quite the way I had planned it. I see one of my "failures" and I think to myself "did I really think that is such a great card?"  "Really?!"  Most of the time I am my worst critic almost embarrassed by the ones that didn't turn out so great.

If I am totally honest, on my more self critical days, I let my perceived failings discourage me to the point of not even looking at my card space.  What a shame.  Because there is more to me than one stupid, little, failed card attempt.  There is more to me than 100 failed card attempts, and maybe card # 101 will be the one that makes my stomach flip over because I am in love with a card I just made.  Wow, how fun is that???

I want to enjoy my journey in card making much more than I have been.  I want to look back and be able to smile, or even laugh, not with criticism, but with joy because I had fun making the bad card and in the process learned to relax, have fun with it and make the lemon cards into lemonade cards.  

So here's to lemonade cards......hmm, that could be a great idea for a card :)  

even if no one sees

So here it is, another post with a long stretch between this one and the last one.  I have not stopped creating, just sometimes it seems to much trouble to put up things that don't get read.

Sorry, I don't mean to sound bitter, but we all have that need to feel as if we are seen and heard.  As if somehow that validates our creative impulses.

But really it doesn't.  What validates the creative spirit in us is the joy that we feel when we are finished.   It is the AHHHHHHHHH when I create something I love.  Sure I want others to love what I create also, but not everyone does.

I have pom poms, and painted vases and yarn covered tins that I think are pretty darling , yet others are less impressed.  Does this mean I should stop?  Should I stop making cards because no one will buy them?

How many artists did not become famous until their death?  Not that I believe that if i died tomorrow my creations would become something to be fought for....but you know.

So I continue making my cards and putting out this little blog not so that the world will be convinced of my talent, but because I am created in God's image, and He is the greatest creator of all time.  So I in some small way must also create, it is in my nature.  even if no one sees.

     

It's True Love

It's true love this card making thing.  Sometimes when I make a card I can't give it away because I become emotionally attached to it.  I wonder if artists feel the same way about their work.  Knowing of course that I am not nearly at the same level of a professional but still is it hard for a sculptor or a painter to let go of a piece of their work?

 Having asked that question when I get home from getting to know my grandbaby I think I am going open an account on etsy and see if I can sell cards.  

There is a part of me that does others to see my cards and pat me on the back because I am so amazing!  No worries, I recognize that I often have an issue with approval seeking.

The bigger part of me however is very selfish and I just want to make enough money to be able to afford my habit.

Do you see these cards?  I love them.  

 I rarely venture into black and whites because they require much more precision.  And lets just say that precision isn't my thing.

But when I do venture into the world of black and whites I always love them.  In photographs I actually love black and white much more than color.

I kept these simple because I think the black and white speak for themselves.  I added the ribbon because I felt like the card needed a little bit of emphasis.  I am not  

 in love with the red, but it was all i had.  Next time I think that a silver or even a deep charcoal would look stunning.

I love these and am not sure anyone will get them LOL, but I will definitely be making more of these.

By the way I used Close To My Heart stamps on these enjoy! 

 

Someday......

Someday I am going to.....
Someday I will.......
Someday I want......

My life is always about someday, not today, not tomorrow, but .....someday....

So instead, today I will write a new post, make a new card, share my joy in creating and know that through Christ I can accomplish all things.

This card was fun to make.  I am really into the vintage/weathered look.  For one, I am not good at perfection and it stresses me out to have to do something perfectly.  The other reason is that I just think that aged things have a beauty all their own and I love trying to capture that in a card.

So although I do make cards that require more precision and I enjoy it, my true joy is in making a more vintage look.  

The base of the card is one of the stampin up browns.  Sorry I really can't remember which one.  The background is stampin up whisper white cardstock. 
Utilizing my big shot I took a piece of Stampin Up whisper white cardstock and ran it through using a Tim Holtz embossing folder called distressed frame. 
After taking it out of the embossing folder I used one of my large background stamps with Stampin Up early espresso card stock and stamped the paper I had put through the big shot.
Using Tim Holtz distress ink vintage photo I just lightly wiped the ink pad over the top of the stamped paper.
I then very carefully ripped the paper around the edges of the embossed frame.
Using a small piece of Stampin Up sahara sand card stock I stamped the wings with the Stampin Up island indigo ink pad.
I ran that through the Big Shot using a Tim Holtz embossing folder called post marks.
Using the Tim Holtz distress ink vintage photo I swiped that over the paper I had just embossed.  
Glued it all together and then added some blue embroidery thread for a little more umph.

And there you have a very long post that took me longer to write than it did to make the card!!! :)
 

mixed bunch

So, as usual it has been a while.   I have been struggling so much with what I want to do with my cards.  It has been difficult because so many people say they love them but nobody seems to want to buy them.  So for a while I felt kind of worthless, blah, blah, blah.Then I had to remember that there are literally millions of creative and talented artists out there that never are "successful".  I am not nearly as talented as most out there so I should probably just get over myself.

 Then I bought a new stamp set that happened to coordinate with a punch that I already had and all of a sudden, once again i didn't care if anybody liked or wanted my cards.  I have a need to create and a love of doing it.  So I created........

created and I am so glad I did.  I love this punch and stamp set.  they are both from stampin up as is all the paper.  The stamps are called mixed bunch, the word "heartfelt is from a stamp set that has long been retired but it fits so perfectly with this set.

So out of my funk and my need to feel special and into just doing what I love, which is making cards that I feel I can be proud of and if they happen to bless someone else, well then even better!

Happy creating!

 

So i just love this paper from stampin up.  It is called nursery nest.  I used a stamp set called Aviary also from stampin up.  Honestly they have some of the best coordinating products I have ever seen.  

 The embellishments are also from stampin up, the flowers are a 3 flower punch from several years ago and the brads are a current stampin up product which my demonstrator gave me as a gift.  She has an awesome blog - procrastistamper.com her name is Kimberly Morris.  You should check out her blog if you get the chance.

happy stamping :)