That's not a bad thing, really, except when you are having larger numbers of people doing your make-n-take. Quite honestly (and this is the scary part) I hadn't realized how many steps the card required from start to finish. In a word: many. Let's just say that I had a Cuttlebug and two Big Shots at work and they were all three busy processing embossing folders, cutting with framelits, etc. Oh, yes, the card had two embossing folders (Honeycomb and Lacy Brocade) and two different sets of framelits (three framelits from the Secret Garden and two framelits from the new Ovals).
That would have been enough, right? Well, in my world that is only the beginning. On top of that we also heat embossed the sentiment and made it appear like a chalkboard. We also used some of those darling flowers from the 5/8" Flower Trim, matching them to the appropriate flower by rubbing them into the stamp pads. We also punched down and used one of the adorable little Soda Pop Tops, stamped an image, adhered it to the pop top and then covered it with Crystal Effects.
Yes, that's already built up into quite a card, right. Oh---did I mention we also added a piece of that beautiful Indigo Blue and Very Vanilla lace pattern from the Fan Fair Designer Series paper? Well, we did and it was perfect.
I couldn't just leave it at that. Yes, it looked great already, but there was no place for that cute Soda Pop Top on the front of the card. It just didn't look right anywhere, in my opinion. Of course there was an easy (?) fix for that. I decided to make it into a Twisted Easel card. The Soda Pop Top was the perfect "stop" for the easel.
What's that peeking from under the Soda Pop Top? Well, with the inside of the card showing when it was propped up as an easel, of course it had to be decorated, too. Bring in the Delicate Designs edgelit embossing folder and its matching Large Scallop framelit and a bit of Island Indigo shading and the inside is done.
Was the card a success? Yes---everyone that made it loved it. They were delighted that they had managed to make such an involved and showy card. That made me happy.
But on the other hand a make-n-take at an event such as a large crop should be simpler and faster so that people can go back to what they came to do: scrapbook the heck out of their growing piles of photos.
So I have to learn to make the kinds of cards that satisfy me but also to make the kinds of cards that take less time for people who are not as experienced...
It's quite the learning curve, isn't it?
Well Heidi, it certainly was a WOW card & gorgeous too. It may have been an involved card to make but sometimes at these events it is nice to show that a card can be just as involved as a scrap page. Then they can take away elements & techniques to use on their pages. I love the colours you used too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tricia. Yes, that's one of the comments that was made, that the techniques were ones they would like to copy into their work. I think, however, at an event such as this, I am going to have to figure out a balance that allows me to do my "fiddling and fussing" and also makes it possible to do the card in less than a half hour.
DeleteGreat card. Love how you combined so many techniques and tips... although time consuming, seems that no one really minded! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steph. No, they didn't seem to mind the amount of detail. Like I said, until we began doing it, I hadn't realized just how much was involved. Now that's something I have to work on...my awareness of degree of difficulty.
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