NOT....to plan!!

SOMETIMES I have a lovely clear idea in my head for a design.....SOMETIMES no matter my good intentions it just doesn't go to plan.

LESS IS MORE has a "masculine" theme this week.....great..sometime ago I scanned some denim fabric and it prints brilliantly and I have made quite a few successful cards (the blokes/teens seem to have liked them) with it.

With the CAS style in mind I thought my "white" space would be denim this week.....with a simple focal point of a circular sentiment with a couple of small mock rivets...........

First the printer ran out of ink.....ended up with some very pink hued denim (not great for blokes). Plus I couldn't find the sentiment I wanted...so had to quickly make a text box message....made that too big!


Cut and scored the card, hoping to lose the worst area of pink....was so busy thinking of a redesign I scored it completely in the wrong place and ended up with uneven sides .....ok.....best of bad job decided to attach a nice navy textured scrap of card that I had found to extend the front panel.

Decided to ink the message (disguise the pink) went too mad with the ink (getting flustered now ....should really leave it alone).....ok..... will distress and sand it to lighten...although not sure that these are great techniques for CAS, IN FACT....I can decidedly feel the CAS slipping away, really should leave it alone now and come back. No. I carried on and inked and distressed the base card.....getting carried away now!


Panel needed more detail so rounded up a couple of old drawing pins...they didn't match (distressed these with a file), bent the pins over (hammer...that actually felt good!!) and attached them through the card.


Design was still lacking...OK...... will do some jeans style stitching on the join....great... test piece went well....

The card........didn't!

......will now have to use an insert (will draught print the denim and make a matching insert later.....need ink first!)
The stitching was so wonky (hadn't been drinking honestly), I had no choice but to stick the message over the mess.

PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one who can so completely get things wrong....my advice to myself, if I'm doing any of my cards is "when it's not working.....LEAVE IT ALONE!!! come back later"

Why did I not take my own advice?????

A5 x 2 = SQ

I am still endeavouring to use up scraps of card rather than use new card blanks and I use this style of card quite frequently it's a great way to use up lightweight pieces of card.
For this card I took two A5 pieces of card, the green card had a bad mark on it, so creating the base card this way conceals defects quite effectively.



Simply lay two pieces of card together, slide apart to the length required and attach together with glue. I used photo glue as it allows for a lot of manoeuvrability and any excess can be wiped away. Trim the width to half the length created, score and fold to create a square.

As my sewing machine was out (a rare event) I decided to add a stitched detail on the joints both on the front and on the inside.
For the focal point I wanted to use some old scrabble tiles (bought very cheaply from a charity shop as the set was damaged). That was the easy bit......the bit that I have spent the most time on is .........WHERE TO PLACE THE LETTERS!!!!!!??????

Less is More has a recipe of using 3 squares....which is great, as ultimately I want to recreate this card for a friend (3 letters in her name ....and a scrabble fanatic)

So where oh where looks best

No.1 (pic. at top of post) Sticking my neck out a bit.......but does it look unbalanced? (the card not my neck!!)

No. 2 is my standard format and where I always seem to settle for....bottom right.



N0. 3 Getting brave...very rarely place things centrally...so formal!



No. 4 I like ...but does it cram all the details together too much??



N0. 5 getting adventurous......



No. 6 Really getting quirky?????

Seriously need some advice.............I am truly rubbish a decision making., BIG thank you if you take the time to leave me a comment on this one
(and thanks for all the really lovely comments last time....I truly appreciate it).

Just realised haven't photographed the inside....just need to charge the camera then I will try and add pic as I love the reverse effect inside this style of card.

Each moment....

I have created this card using inspiration from three sources,

First was Clares Challenge at Do Crafts, she has chosen a wonderful atmospheric black and white photo...so I have used a special photo taken at dawn on our silver wedding anniversary trip, to enhance the misty effect I washed over the picture with water to blend the ink.

I then cropped the image and trimmed it into three. After I lightly attached these into position with glue, I fastened them down with red thread, This was the inspiration from DYSU RED HOT challenge.... I have used my red more subtly...I found red stood out better just as a slight accent ...perhaps more of a ...slow burn rather than red hot!!!
And finally I have joined ALLSORTS again, their challenge is Love love love. This card is filled with love as it is for my husband (Valentine ...or Anniversary..not sure??), but I wanted the wording to reflect the Love element. I often think the wording or sentiment is more important than the image and decorative elements.
I created the wording in a Word document...draft printed it ...attached a scrap of vellum over the wording then passed it through the printer again. Once dry I ripped the phrase of the carrier sheet and attached it over the image. The final touch was a little drawn heart on a sticky price label, enhanced with clear nail varnish. It was self adhesive but I also attached it with a dressmaking pin.....I removed the point with some pliers...I would hate to draw blood when Steve opened the envelope!!!