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maybe that is my problem....
I just kinda wing it. It can take me hours to make just one card! LOL
Of course, my first passion is scrapbooking and there after looking at the pics, I pick color and then layout.
__________________ Laura P. Wife to Gorgeous, Mom to Yakko 22, Wakko 21 & Dot 14; Oma to Zeke 5, Aiden 2- now from a-z.
UPDATE: Yakko 26, Wakko 25 & Dot 18; Z 9; A 6 and now lovely Layla 2.
I wing it a lot too lol i will say ok i want to use this template then try to pick stamps that will go together and fit in the template i chose. blah i need to organize my thoughts I guess.
I usually start with the challenges here on SCS. There are certain stamps that seem to go with the particular challenge or feel, either from the colors or the sketch or even the type of challenge. I'll confess that my favorite (if I can admit that I have a favorite) is the sketch challenge. If I don't start from some parameter (like the limits of a challenge), it takes me much longer to design a card.
If I have a stamp I want to use, I usually go for the DP next and then match that to the colors.
I choose what type of card it will be, symapthy, birthday, etc. Then I choose my stamps or premade focal. From there I choose my color scheme and accents.
I almost always start with the stamps. The only exception to this is when I want to use up some scraps. Then I'll start with the patterned papers and cardstock first and choose stamps next.
I love to participate in challenges so that usually determines where I start. When I don't I typically start with an image. Of course I do have times when I want to create, I have nothing in mind and start scrounging through my supplies, that is fun once in a while!!
Image first, then papers if they are a dominant feature, and colours last to match the papers. It's easier to match colours to paper than the other way. But if the patterned paper isn't a big feature of the card, then I'll happily colour first.
I am new to this, so I don't have every color in the rainbow of paper. So, I start with the paper and colors I have. I figure I can color the stamped image to coordinate with the paper.
When I started I bought some DP from Michael's, but found I didn't have solid colors to match . Now I use SU solid or DP or Gina k's papers. However, I cut a small square of the solid colors I have and take them with me to the store if I am going to buy DP paper. This way I can match what I have. I have avoided the paper pads because there are too many sheets I have no coordinating solid colors to use with them or I am not fond of the some of the prints .
It is no savings to have paper I can't use.
This month it is the list of commitments I have.....first the ATCs I am due to make all themed, then SS with their own themes and finally my blog group challenges....Once these are all completed, I will probably change tack.
It really depends ... if I'm making something for a swap or shoebox gathering I usually start with cardstock and paper (to be sure I have enough of what I'll need). If I'm making a card for a birthday I usually start with the stamp but sometimes start with paper (more likely for masculine cards). Special occasions like a baby shower usually start with a fun embellishment. But lots of times I just start with a color or two and gather everything I have in that scheme and play.
It depends - if I have a specific card/person in mind that guides me - like I know tomorrow I have to make my nephew a bday card - so I know masculine - will probably pick the colors first and then go through all my bday stamps and choose from there.
But other times - a stamp or a technique "calls me" and I start from there. Those are the cards I tend to love when completed.
Like Andrea, if I have to make a card for a specific person, that guides me. I have to make birthday cards for the children in our Sunday school. So I will look at the list for the month and think about the child's age, what they like, etc, and that guides me re: the stamp and the colours.
If I am making generic cards for the church - I donate birthday, sympathy, encouragement, etc cards to them - I start with the stamps. I will pick a set of images I am in the mood to play with, then go to my idea folder for that stamp set, and start CASEing.
Every card is different for me..I almost always start with the reason of the card being made. .Sometimes I start with Designer paper then move on to stamped images or diecuts- then sometimes I come across a stamp not used in a while and then go looking for paper in my huge stash. I have no rhyme or reason to get started besides I need a card for "X" occassion.
I start w/ the design first. Either my own design or one that has caught my eye.
I try to use card ideas that others have made as a guide and not CASE too much<grin>. I OD'd on stamps and supplies when I first started and I'm REALLY trying to use what I've bought. So if I don't have the exact stamp, I make do
I'm all over the place - it depends on my mood. I can start with a color, paper, technique, stamp, embellishment, or what happens to be laying on my desk from the last project. If I'm stamping for a particular person I'll it will their favorite color, an image that represents them, etc. I really don't have a preference and I like the freedom of choice.
Location: Dedham, MA just outside Boston where I was born and raised
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I wing it too mostly. My most successful cards are the ones I plan out in my sketch book first. They also move the fastest and time is of the essence these days for me!
I have a folder of Sketches and card samples which I use for inspiration or for layouts, then I usually pick my main image stamp first to suit the layout, my dp (if I am using some) then my ribbon because the number of times I've coloured an image only to find that I don't have matching ribbon :mad: makes me crazy!! I have no close stores where I can just pop in and buy ribbon - they've all closed down :( I used to spend alot of wasted time fumbling & getting frustrated with nothing matching or working. But I find with this different approach, I use my time more wisely & get alot more enjoyment out of it & are happier with the end result. Now if I get frustrated at my desk, I walk away and look thru my card samples & sketches instead.
I also have a sketch book & greylead pencil in the car and will play around and draw layouts while I'm waiting to pick my DD up from school. I will stamp an image I like in my sketch book & just draw a sketch around it - nice, uninterrupted "me" time.
maybe that is my problem....
I just kinda wing it. It can take me hours to make just one card! LOL
Of course, my first passion is scrapbooking and there after looking at the pics, I pick color and then layout.
Only hours? Shoot, it can take me *days*! :mrgreen:
About half the time I'm making something for a specific person/occasion which means that I'll pick stamps & colors that I think the person will like. You know, like masculine stamps & colors for my dad, BFF doesn't like pink, etc.
The other half of the time I start with a technique. Whether I want to try something new & cool (which is why I'm a member of Technique Junkies) or I just want to practice watercolor techniques. It can make it difficult to find matching papers, but I wouldn't have it any other way!
__________________ All inked up... and somewhere to go. My gallery, small but mighty... or maybe just mighty small! Come see my almost new blog... M'ija Stamps!
........I also have a sketch book & greylead pencil in the car and will play around and draw layouts while I'm waiting to pick my DD up from school. I will stamp an image I like in my sketch book & just draw a sketch around it - nice, uninterrupted "me" time.
I REALLY like this idea I have a few :rolleyes: stamps that I bought on a whim and really haven't explored what to do with them yet. When I get some time to stamp, it's usually for a specific card rather than just to play. But I DO have breaks at work where this kind of sketch book would be perfect. And it's PORTABLE!! Then when I am stamping I can pull out the sketch and do it Much more efficient!
I try to start with the person and the occasion I'm making the card for, unless I'm mass-producing. (This approach can make it hard to keep a stock of general-purpose cards on hand. ) That helps me choose colors and themes, and sometimes even specific stamps. If I'm going to go to the trouble of hand-making a card, I want it to make the recipient feel special and recognize that I made it with him or her in mind. It probably doesn't always work out that way, but at least it makes ME feel better!
__________________ Carol
*Olim velis me peraudire.*
Rock is dead. Long live paper and scissors!
I also have a sketch book & greylead pencil in the car and will play around and draw layouts while I'm waiting to pick my DD up from school. I will stamp an image I like in my sketch book & just draw a sketch around it - nice, uninterrupted "me" time.
I love this idea!!! Now that I have liberated myself from my 8-5 job I now go pick up my DD from school so I can sit there and think instead of just mindlessly listening to a stupid program on our one radio station town!
I usually start with the rubber stamp whether I use solid stamps or outlined stamps -- depending on how much time I have.
However, I am finding that to use up my designed items such as patterned paper or non solid ribbons I need to start with the paper or ribbon. I've bought patterned paper but tend not to use them as they don't go with the stamp/colors or since they are out of sight they are out of mind. So I am going to take another approach and begin with the designed paper or ribbon and go backwards.
I usually stamp alot of images at one time and then color them and cut them out either with nesties or cut out around the images, once I have done that then I pick the colors from one or more of the focal colors in the image and go from there. I usually don't decided on what kind of card, birthday, sympathy, etc. till I am done the card. If I am making a card for a specific person or reason I will pick out the stamp them color it according to the colors I know the person likes and go from there.
Every card is different for me..I almost always start with the reason of the card being made. .Sometimes I start with Designer paper then move on to stamped images or diecuts- then sometimes I come across a stamp not used in a while and then go looking for paper in my huge stash. I have no rhyme or reason to get started besides I need a card for "X" occassion.
Sheena
Every card is different for me too. It all depends on who and what occasion the card is for. Plus, I'm so un-organized I never know what I'm going to do LOL
Because each month I pick a theme for all the birthdays, thank yous, etc, I always start with the stamps. Then I choose techniques as I love to try new things. That determines colors and layouts. Sometimes a layout comes before a technique, depending on which particular thing is calling the loudest! I would spend way too much time deciding what to do if I did it differently as there are so many colors, techniques and layouts out there and they are all beautiful and mind boggling. I only have so many lighthouse stamps, sea shells, time pieces, horses, roses etc. so it limits my choices and confines my thoughts.
For those of you with patterned paper for which you have no matching solid card stock, make up that paper into cute little bags, boxes or to cover jars, file folders and other containers. They can usually be used with white, black, cream or some other neutral for a simple card or bookmark. How about a bunch of tags to bundle up as a gift? Can you tell I'm trying to use up MY stash?
Because each month I pick a theme for all the birthdays, thank yous, etc, I always start with the stamps. Then I choose techniques as I love to try new things. That determines colors and layouts. Sometimes a layout comes before a technique, depending on which particular thing is calling the loudest! I would spend way too much time deciding what to do if I did it differently as there are so many colors, techniques and layouts out there and they are all beautiful and mind boggling. I only have so many lighthouse stamps, sea shells, time pieces, horses, roses etc. so it limits my choices and confines my thoughts.
For those of you with patterned paper for which you have no matching solid card stock, make up that paper into cute little bags, boxes or to cover jars, file folders and other containers. They can usually be used with white, black, cream or some other neutral for a simple card or bookmark. How about a bunch of tags to bundle up as a gift? Can you tell I'm trying to use up MY stash?
Thanks for the great ideas for using up patterned paper.
Most of the time, I have a new product, new technique, or a recently unearthed "toy" that I bought and then promptly forgot about that I try to base my project around. Sometimes that means a lot of wasted time and circular thought to make the new technique that I want to try work for the occasion I'm making for. It's rare that I make cards quickly unless I'm mass producing. I do quite a bit of that whether it's 12 favors for the Red Hat meeting, 23 treats for my daughters in class birthday celebration, or 180 staff appreciation gifts for my 2 children's schools. When I'm coming up with a mass production idea, the number one thing is always cost. Followed closely by how much time it will take. I could get a lot more done if I could just get organized!:rolleyes:
I always start with an stamp, color it and then later on use it to make a card based on what I colored it. I tend to not use decorative papers (need to, I have a ton), but instead paint, ink or design my own background papers... Yes, it does take a long time (at least for me) to make a really good card (and sometimes, they just come together). I have found the best thing for me to do is to gather everything to make the card, cut it out, lay out the card and then come back to it later. DO NOT ADHERE right away. If when I come back I think it's great, I'll put it together, if not, I get a chance to change it and make it better....
where do you start?
