The Road to 2 Cards ....A Half Day Journey of Creativity

Sometimes...things fall in place.

Sometimes...not.

A friend was coming by to pick up some cards

and mentioned that she needed 2 cards for twin sisters who were turning 16.

She asked that the cards be "similar..but different".

and...she said.."No hurry...take your time...I won't need them until April"

My response: "Okay...but the obsessor Michelle won't allow that"

It is impossible for me to be told something like that...and not act on it immediately...

it's just who I am.

And so began the half day journey to 2 simple cards.

What an adventure.

I had a nice pad of birthday paper...

an started with that.

Card #1

I made it

Looked at it

and I thought...NAH...too kiddie-ish....too pre-school looking

To be sure that my own critique was accurate, I ran it by a Facebook group of die hard crafty-types...who are primarily card makers.

The outcome: A split decision

Everyone liked the card...some said...Nice card....Yes..age appropriate for 16 year olds..

Some said what I was thinking...Nice card...but too young looking

This is the first card

(Too kiddie-ish....pre-schooly)

I wound up removing the 16...and will add this card to the Bellissima Card Shop

 I like the card...

LOVE the paper...

Love the dies...

But it just didn't "feel" right ...for a 16 year old.

The paper is really nice...

heavy weight..a bit glossy...with a little bit of sparkle on some of the pages...

Next up...I worked on card #2

By this time, my friend had come by to pick up some other cards that she had wanted...

and this is where we put our noggins together...

(She is not a card maker...

but ...I thought..Let me see what she thinks...

get her input)

Our 2 noggins working together can be a scary thing...haha)

This was card 2....

Still not "right"...

We both, simultaneously agreed...

it was the balloons...

The balloons put this into the "too kiddie-ish" category...

along with card #1

*At this point...I started to think....let's ditch the balloons 

Completely.

I should add....I DO NOT like "things" inside of a card

in my card-making mind...the ONLY thing that belongs inside of a card is...

Nothing 

Blank..so the sender can write something of their own....

or

a SIMPLE sentiment

That's IT

How and why these balloons wound up INSIDE of a card that I made is beyond me...

I highly doubt that I will EVER do THIS again!

It's just not me.

From here on in this will be an option ONLY if someone  requests it.

Confession and realization:
I think that I subconsciously used balloons
because I refuse to accept that all of our kids are growing up...
My own daughter is 22 now...
and all of our friends kids are grown...
Some are now married and having children of their own.
It's a joy to watch them grow up to become amazing young adults..
but t's also bittersweet...
If only we had a magic wand to keep them little...young...adorable and cuddly ...forever...

But alas...
There's no magic wand...
and they DO grow up..
so back to the 16 year old card dilemma...

Okay...here's card 2

Thumbs up on the print paper..

Thumbs up on the black base card

Thumbs up on the die cut front

So far...so good....

right?

isn't the detail in this die nice?

Especially on the black background...with the print being so colorful

Right?

And then....

there's this.

this is where it went wrong...

No No No...

Icksnay on the balloonsnay

Oh heck no

Someone will love this...but it's not me..

and it wasn't my friend...

We agreed...

OUT WITH THE BALLOONS

Completely!

My friend had to leave...and I was left to my own crazed card making devices...

(Scary...huh?)

I was off of the balloon kick...completely...

Loved the die

Loved the contrast of a strong solid background behind that die

and so..

Enter the scene...Card #3

Nice

Very nice....

Love Love love the big numbers on the front..
and I LOVE them even more because they are die cut using Metallic card stock...
from LCI Paper
(YOU MUST CHECK OUT THEIR WEB SITE..
but...be forewarned...
you will quickly become a card-stock-snob and a crazy-over-the-top-must-have-it-all-LCI lover...
...juts like me!
Their card stock..metallic and and all others that they offer...are off the charts magnificent!

Oh...About the numbers...
did I say LOVE enough times to reflect how much I like them?

(and more importantly...no balloons on the card front)

and...NO BALLOONS inside of the card

just a simple little Happy Birthday sentiment.

Good news...Card # 3 made the cut...

(3 hours later....may I add...)

But remember...these are twin sisters turning 16...

so..as per my friends request...she wanted 2 cards..."similar..but different "

Card 4 was a breeze...

"Similar..but different" was on the way...

in  a snap...this was done....

You can't see it in the pic..but the  big "16" is cut from gorgeous shimmer card stock....

The print is also a bit shimmery

it has an almost holographic look to it...

the pattern on the print is stars...

holographic shimmery stars

and inside...the simple sentiment in an ink color that matches the base card

And there you have it...2 cards that became a half-day creative journey

Not a bad thing, I think...

because I wound up with  few variations of a birthday card

I got to try out some new dies...and a punch... that I hadn't used yet

I got to use a nice paper pad that I hadn't used yet...

and...my friend has two cards that are...as she requested..."similar ..but different"

Did you have a favorite?

Card Loving friends: You can find some of these cards at the Bellissima Card Shop and I will be adding more...soon....in an assortment of prints...(all can be customized with numbers on the front)

Card Making friends: A brief supply list follows, below.

Thanks for visiting....

and remember...(as demonstrated with these cards)

Card making is art...

art is a creative process...

Sometimes..the process is a long one...

but in the end...it's a journey well worth taking.

Michelle

Supply List:

Paper: SU (base card and liner), DCWV (prints), LCI (numbers)

Dies: Memory Box Happy Birthday Die/Poppy Stamps Craft Die 990 and Top Dog Die (Hanging Birthday Banner

Punch: SU (Balloons)