You are a BADASS card

So this is totally a salvaged card. You can kind of tell in the lower right corner in the gray, there are some faint lighter squares. This was going to be a modern, simple, stylish card to give to a total badass. That didn’t work out quite so much.

 

On the sentiment: when I made this, I was trying to think of a card that said something that I really wanted to receive. And I came up with this because it's fun, not overly sweet, and still complimentary. 

So I started out writing BAD-ASS out by hand, and using a gold pen to make a neat pattern of squares near the bottom of the card.  Unfortunately I also wrote, “I think you’re a…” near the top of the card and hated it, so I decided to fix it by masking off the center of the card and inking the rest of the card so it would be a medium gray-color.

Then I spent some time trying to figure out some stripes of paper that I liked together here. I inked the striped pattern darker, so it wouldn’t be such a strong visual element. Then I spent time arranging it all (and rearranging it!) Then I added all of the embellishments on top.

I made these leaf embellishments myself with a leaf stamp from Martha Stewart on tan Recollections cardstock and then cut them all out by hand. I popped a few of them up with foam tape to make the bunches more interesting without being overwhelming.

I traced the edge of the gem on the little tag and then cut it out, so I could pop it up on foam tape and still have it hug the gem. Normally I’d just put it behind the gem, but this card has some very interesting dimensional elements and I wanted to continue that theme.

This card and the card I’m posting tomorrow are two variations on badassery. My philosophy is that there are many types of badasses, so it makes sense that there are infinite types of cards for those badasses. Duh. Also this card relieved some of my hunger to make collage cards for a while.

Paper:

Yuletide Joy Paper Pack by the Paper Studio (checked pattern and striped pattern)

Colorbök Paperpad in Cool Earthtones

Recollections Value Pack Cardstock Paper in Kraft
Recollections Value Pack Cardstock Paper in Neutral

Artist’s Tape

Inks:

Martha Stewart Art & Craft Marker in

Colorbox Chalk Ink in Charcoal

Gelly Roll Metallic Gold Pen

Bling:

Staples

Brown Teardrop Build a Bauble Gem by Prima

Recollections Rhinestone Stickers (Pearl)

Photo Corners made from Dymo Labelling Tape

thrift store gray lace

Glue

Scotch Mounting Tape

Tombow Mono Adhesive
Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue

Stamp:

Martha Stewart Peg Stamp Starter Kit

Cutting:

Cutter Bee Scissors

EK Success Edger Punch, Fleur De Lis

Misc:

Bone folder

Provocraft Paper Trimmer

Typewriter: Xerox 6010 Memorywriter

German Happy Birthday Card

So early next week it's my grandmother's birthday! My mom usually asks me a week ahead of time to make a card really quickly and send something, and usually, because she waited so long to ask, I don't make it in time. But this year, I preempted her, and brought it to a family gathering so we could all sign it, even though I live five hours away from home.

Also, important note: my grandmother lives in Germany. So I wrote "Happy Birthday" in German, instead of English.

Because I don't have many stamps that say "Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag," (read: I own ZERO stamps that say that), I decided to write it out by hand. I drew horizontal lines, and prewrote it on scratch paper to find the middle of the writing (and still ended up a little off center, grrr!)

But I don't use the Martha Stewart Peg Stamp Starter Kit stamps very often, and I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to bring a little class to the one-layer stamping.

 I actually thought this could be only a one layer card, but the bright teal of the marker really brings out the printed quality of the black and white so nicely, that I added that in.

I did the stripes by masking off the center writing and stamping with sticky notes, and then very carefully inking up the rectangle stamp from the American Crafts "Thanks" set so that I avoided the dotted line part of the stamp. Then I stamped each line individually! Gah! (I really need to get some background stamps.) As you can tell, I still got some of the dotted line stamped, but I liked the printed quality. It makes it look like an old school printed piece.



Materials:
Recollections Value Pack Cardstock Paper in Kraft
Recollections Value Pack Cardstock Paper in Neutral
Martha Stewart Art & Craft Marker in
Black Pen
Martha Stewart Peg Stamp Starter Kit
American Crafts Thanks Stamp Set
T-square ruler
Tombow Mono Adhesive
Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue
Tsukineko Versafine in Onyx Black
Bone Folder
Provocraft Paper Trimmer

What Makes a Good Crafting Blog?

I've been thinking a lot about this question recently, mostly because on Emily Branch's website, she talks a lot about her goals.

I just started following her, and from what I gather, her blog just got a huge overhaul. In fact, as she says in this post, about her previous blog:

I wasn't designing for my brand. I wasn't making a name for me. Heck, I had been blogging for two years, with no changes in readership or influence. These questions and this top ten number one point also motivated me to re-brand Emily Branch Designs, offering new content designed to help you, the reader understand your brand, expand your readership and enjoy the being the divine crafter that you are.

My Response

I totally get what she's saying about her previous content not being inspiring. Now she's got all of these tutorials, top 10 lists, and how to blog better posts. And that's got me thinking, should I be trying to create all of these different types of posts? 

But today, I struck a pact with myself: I'm cool with doing a lot of simple project posts, where I share what I've been working on, for one big reason: that what I crave on other blogs: I get inspired by looking at a lot of other cool projects. So turns out, I'm cool with being uncomfortable with focusing on this targeted type of content aimed at improving crafters. I'm here to inspire and share.

 I mean, don't get me wrong, she's got some cool things to say. This post, about blog design, has me rethinking my backdrop and header. So, no fear, I'm trying to listen to what she's saying!

What I'm Planning

What I am thinking now, though, is that I do notice top trends and new techniques and stuff like that. And I enjoy sharing when I do unusual stuff myself. So in my longer posts, I'll probably alternate a bit between projects, and how-tos/fyi posts/ruminations about crafting. And in between, when the though strikes me, there'll be stuff like this, where I'm telling you my thoughts on crafty-things.

I'm also looking forward to some of my how-tos to be abou how to simulate new trends with older materials. As a college student, I'm crafting on a budget, with a limited supply. I don't like to order a lot of stuff online, and the nearest craft store that isn't Walmart is probably an hour away. But I like it that way. Keeping my materials basic and simple puts limits on me and forces creativity. So I have a lot to say about how to repurpose basic supplies for new trends, like that geometrical pattern stuff that's been so popular in fashion and in stamping right now. (Lawn Fawn is driving me crazy with envy about those arrow stamps: I think I'm going to have to do something with arrows and triangles very soon! And even fashion week is down on geometrical patterns. I mean, look at all of those flower fabrics complimented by bold, graphic shapes. And that's followed by the models in bold, graphic stripes. Super exciting, as far as I'm concerned!)