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Hey everyone
I was just going thru the MFT blog hop for tonights' release and am BLOWN away by the awesome cards I saw. Of course in my wildest dreams I'd love to be "that good" - in terms of just coming up with the concept - THEN it would probably take me days to complete. I love making cards, but if I'm going to spend countless hours I'd almost rather it be on a scrap page that I know I'll have forever, vs. giving to someone who might trash it the following day. Just curious how long you spend, on average per card? And where do most of you find your inspiration? Thanks so much!
It takes me most of the day for a card that I have not done before.I try really hard....but then I second guess myself.I look at everyone elses and they are so beauitful and seem to have a perfect flow.Well after spending all that time making them ...I leave them in a basket LOL .Oh well I Love it so I guess I will keep making cards that nobody will see...it keeps me out of trouble right
If I'm not working off another piece for inspiration it can take hours. Then I have to attach it all together with temp adhesive to make sure I really like it. I put it on the top of the fire place mantel and look it for a while. Sometimes that is when I really see something that could be changed to make it better. Definitely not a fast stamper by any means but usually end up pretty happy. Now if I just had high speed internet I could upload the darn things here. It takes atleast an hour just to upload 2 cards.
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the turtle speed stamper!!
__________________ Elise--Proud fanclub member and mother of 3 beautiful furry children!!!
It takes me for what seems like over 1 1/2 hours on even simple looking cards!! I think I could re-create in 1/2 the time or less once one is finished. Even using sketch challenge layouts, it takes forever to decide what paper, what of the few stamps I own might work. The killer for me is the trying to measure and cut correct! Then, things never seem "squared" when I put layers onto the card base. And...I still can't tie a pretty knot or bow! :rolleyes: I'm amazed when I see people posting early in the morning with cards they have just made that day!!
Too long, that is what it takes me! That is the main reason I don't do many challenges or uploads. I start and then have to come back after some thought. That usually means I end up changing or adding. I tend to stick to the tried and true. Oh I know, stampers say practice, practice. Look when I joined SCS. That is a lot of practice lol.
I just did a 12 page calendar that took me 2 days to complete. Most of that was because I had to go out and get some stamps and supplies to complete the project.
Most of the time I can come up with a card in no time, but I have a creative mind.....not bragging or anything. Two suggestions, when you create a card you really like, take a picture of it or make several of them with the basic design and leave the sentiment(s) blank. For instance I made several with one or two favorite stamps, some ribbon and embelishments, but did not add anything to the outside of the card and omitted the inside sentiment. When I wanted a birthday card, I stamped the coordinating paper with the appropriate sentiment, attached it to the outside and stamped a sentiment for the inside. In a number of minutes I had a hand made card. This works for sympathy, "just thinking of you" or "thank you" cards alike.
The other thing is to just keep trying. The more you do the cards the more you will begin to see patterns that you like. As with anything in life - practice makes perfect. Good luck!! Ronda
Personally - I take hours, days, weeks to come up with a card idea (the layout, colors, ways to embellish). But once I'm motivated to head to the stamp space - 15 minutes tops to actually make the card. I usually get really inspired early in the morning - so i have to quick, make one, then get ready for work! Or Sundays - I'll try do get the featured stamper challenge done and uploaded before church!
When I started making cards [very basic], I always made them in groups of 4, since that's how I cut layers of cardstock, but I haven't been making multiples in a while.
Now -- if I took more time - who knows what I would end up with!
When I first started stamping, it would take me hours to come up with an idea and then fidget with it forever until I was satisfied. Now I can whip them out in max 45 minutes. I do alot of cut work on cards and have gotten really quick at it over the years. Sometimes, if there is no cut work on a card, I can get it done within 20-30 minutes, especially if it is a challenge card where the layout or colors are already chosen for me, kwim?
I use to feel the same about handmade cards... what is the point when the receiver will likely throw it away anyway, but I have spoken to alot of my recipients over the years and they say "No way! I do not throw them away". Now, if they are telling the truth , then I feel alot better about it, but then again, I have gained many customers from my cardmaking, so I think it must be true to some extent.
As for inspiration, gosh, where else do you need to go but right here on SCS?! I can peruse the galleries for hours... the inspiration is endless. I also find inspiration on different website (etsy, etc.).... and in nature itself.
I hope you live your "wildest dreams" and continue to grow as a stamper. One day you'll look back at that little blog hop and tell yourself that you ARE that good!
The other night I spent 2+ hours on a card, then i did one right after that took me 30 minutes... I don't do intricate that often because as Savitri said, i'm TOO LAZY. I get bored/loose focus if it's not done in under an hour.. lol
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Oh sometimes 4-5 hours depending on the card. I don't generally give handmade cards to people who I know will trash them ;) I do a lot of paper tole and watercolouing and it takes me awhile to come up with the design. I don't look at it from a time perspective of though - I put a lot of details into my cards because I enjoy it so I don't mind fiddling around with it for a few hours...or days depending on when I can get into my craft room aroung my kid's schedules!
Often hours, but sometimes it's faster... I used to premake cards in groups, too, but now I like to make them for specific events one at a time. I have gotten caught too many times, though, so I need to at least have sympathy and get well cards in a stash. My style has changed a lot, too, so I wish I hadn't made so many early on.
Because I look here for inspiration, I have so many ideas of cards I want to make. I like a lot of fussy stuff, though, so I tend to spend a long time on each card. That's why I don't get much done, I guess.
Depending on if it's a detailed card and one I'm just creating...those kinds take much longer........but that's the part I enjoy the creating part.
If it's a simple card.....with not much details.....then about 10 minutes.
It really depends on what type card I am making. If it is a basic card, simple card then it takes about 45 minutes to an hour(maybe a little longer) and if it is a more detailed card then we are talking about several hours(possibly longer). So like I said it really depends on the type card I am making. But a little secret I usually just make basic, simple cards!
If I have an idea of what I want to make, it only takes about an hour or so. If I have NO idea on what I'm making...it'll take a few hours. Coloring my images is the most time consuming part for me, so I try to pick what paper I want to use and color my images while I watch TV. Then puting the rest of the card together doesn't take too long.
I am so glad to see that I am not the only one that takes awhile to do a card ! I agree that it takes me the longest time to color the card, I dont have a lot of inks YET so I use watercolor markers and crayons.I have done alot of acrylic paints and have been using them alot but I have not put them up because I am not sure if we can use them (but they work great for as I am on a tight budget and use what ever I have on hand ! LOL )I do find that I take awhile doing my cards because it is like putting a part of yourself in each one...yes even my bad ones LOL I am human I make (lots ) of mistakes ! LOL Have a great day ! ....Sherrylynn
What a great question to pose. I try to do the challenges here on SCS. It stretches me and gives me guidance on layout or colors along with a little time urgency. I want to get some nice comments so I try to post the challenge card the day it is posted. That has helped me get through that phase of finishing a card. If I'm making a card for an event or person I usually don't finish it until the second day so I have time to add or change something to make it great. I usually take around an hour for a challenge card, but it could take much longer than that. Just ask my DD. She is so fast that she makes fun of how long it takes me. Happy Stamping!
The idea is the slowest part for me, I think. With some of the challenges, I get a chance to look before work, and then it can be simmering away in the back of my mind. Once the idea is there, anything from 20 minutes up to an hour. But then you have to factor in the tidy-up time afterwards .
I'm horribly challenged when it comes to coming up with an idea for a card so I usually use a sketch or another card as a jumping off point. Overall, the time it takes me varies. For me, coloring stamped images seems to be the most time consumeing part and about half the time, I hand-cut the stamped, colored image too but the rest is pretty quick for me. I find what keeps me most productive is to work in assembly line fashion even if the cards I'm making are for different occasions...
Oh I feel so much better although I know from some of the other posters that your cards are fantastic and I can understand why they take so long! For me it depends....I just recently moved and re-organized all my stuff which is so much better because now it's basically all in front of me and I don't have to lug it out piece by piece so that helps on time. Sometimes the worst partis the paper for me. I will stamp an image and have an idea but then none of the papers that are staring at me are just right. So it can be anywhere from a half an hour to hours and hours. Sometimes I will just walk away before I get to frustrated because then nothing good will happen! I now have a laptop which I am able to put right on my "craft bar" and have splitcoast gallery going so if I get really stuck I just look at my favorites or something new to give me inspiration because holy cannoli there are some amazingly talented folks out there!
Sometimes an idea will pop into my head, I'll run downstairs to my craft room (it's in the basement), and it will only take me ten to fifteen minutes to put something together. There are days though, more of these than the inspired ones, that I just can not think of what I want to make. When that happens, I usually pull out two or three colors of CS, set them on my table and then commence with cleaning or reorganizing something in the room. I typically end up picking something up to "put it away" when an idea will strike! This whole process can take anywhere from five minutes to three days! hahah! But....it's what works for me! I think I do my best work when I have had a challenging day at work: the therapy of it all seems to get the creative juices flowing! :o
If I'm being honest (and I am!), most of my inspiration comes from from SCS galleries. These are some VERY talented and inspiring ladies (and a few fellas, too). I've had very few (maybe 2) original ideas. If I'm using the sketch challenge layouts and the measurements are included (Thank you very much Roxy) I can whip one out in a couple of hours. The picking and choosing of cardstock, designer paper and embellishments is at least half of that time! Maybe that means I have TOO MUCH stuff from which to choose? Nah, no such thing as too much stuff, right? I have spent as much as 6 hours (YIKES) on one card from start to finish and that was a CASE from someone on SCS. But I've spent as little as 30 minutes on very basic layouts as well.
__________________ Randa Trying to be a Breast Cancer Survivor Follow me on Twitter @craftjunkiesc
Now that I check out SCS daily, I have come up with many ideas. In the past it has been the paper that slowed me down. Trying to match papers and designs just throws me off. But now I have started to buy SU papers, inks and ribbons knowing everything will match. If I could only win the lottery, I could have everything!...I will keep dreaming! But honestly, I think having the papers, inks and ribbons that match can get you started a lot faster, especially after seeing all the wonderful cards in the gallery.
hours to 3-4 days. If I have an idea, I have to play with colors I want, layout, how I want to color, do i want to emboss, etc... Sometimes goes faster than others, and other times, I can't get the result I want, put the pieces to the side, and come back to it later. Usually I will figure out what I want to do after taking a break. If it's for someone who I know will appreciate it, I spend more time on it. If it's for someone not so much into the handmade card thing, then I don't put as much effort into the design, and keep it simple. It seems to take me the longest to gather the supplies I want to use and clean up the mess I make!
After I make a layout I like, I'll make more (this being recent, as before I mostly made one of a kind). I know what to use and what to do, but may play with different embellies, rotate the card layout, add or take out something. It seems that the third version I make is the one that I usually like best. Guess third time really is a charm!
for me... but this week I decided each night I would try a new technique on a card....so far it's taken me at least couple of hours every night if not more.
I don't worry about how long it takes. I just want to enjoy crafting & take as much time as I NEED for it.
for me... but this week I decided each night I would try a new technique on a card....so far it's taken me at least couple of hours every night if not more.
I don't worry about how long it takes. I just want to enjoy crafting & take as much time as I NEED for it.
Yep, same boat here. It takes me a long time to make a card as I can only do them at night. :mrgreen:
How LONG do you take on your cards/Inspiration?
