A lot of you requested that I share my secrets with you.
Secrets, what secrets?? LOL
------
{Cranking Out Those Card Sets!}
Tutorial!So many of you often comment to me,
'How do you crank out so many cards/sets all at one time? How do you do it?'
Well, here we go, are you ready?
It's really not as hard as you may think!
Part 1 - The Ideas/Inspiration!We all have ideas and inspiration.
We get it from everywhere.
- Other creative souls around us, both in real life and online.
- We read message boards, look through galleries, blogs and creative websites.
- We gain inspiration from the pretty-colored design of a piece of patterned paper or a colorful button.
- We look through one of our favorite home decor magazines or a store flyer, and suddenly, that fabric, that design - speaks to us.
- We drive around and see a billboard with a certain color combination, and right away, the creative soul in us thinks of a future project!
- We browse around our local Target and the colorful patterns and designs of this season's swimsuits speak to us and suddenly, we have a card idea!
Or is this only me? LOL
Ideas and inspiration really are everywhere these days!
Making one card, one layout, one project - or a complete card set! - starts with this.
The inspiration.
Time to take notice of
what inspires YOU. Live your life with your eyes wide open.Part 2 - Idea Book/Inspiration Journal!
Do you have one?
It could be as simple as one spiral notebook or composition book from the school supplies section, a blank journal, or it could be a notebook you've put together yourself. It could be a binder with a bunch of page protectors in it, where you slide in your magazine pages, your thoughts, your ideas, design patterns from flyers ,etc.
Is there a place where you keep your inspiration, so you don't forget about it later, as your life gets busy? Cmon, I know your life gets busy. I know mine sure does.
There's NO WAY I could keep all my creative ideas in my head! I have to sketch my ideas, write them down, keep them - somewhere!
It can be as simple as a little purse-size notebook, that you keep near you as you are surfing blogs and online galleries. When you see a card/project you wanna try, sketch the idea, write yourself some notes. Bookmark the page. So later on, you can look at the sketch - and try it yourself! Keep a pen and paper handy.. I have a little book by my desk where I usually surf on my laptop, it's always there!
This is why we all share our works, our creative awesomeness online. To inspire others! I find it's a huge compliment when someone copies one of my ideas - I'm humbled and happy when that happens! We're all here to help and inspire one another.. to make each others' life just a bit lighter. That's the way I see it.
Part 3 - Gather!Start with the idea and the inspiration. Look around you.
What's there in your creative space? Where you create?
Time to gather the supplies you'll need to start making stuff.
Pull out those papers, those stickers, those stamps, those embellishments, those strips of ribbon. This is how I do it. I take out a bunch of different things all at once. I lay them out before me on my desk, and I look. See what goes together.. I take a look at the patterns, the colors - and
I choose what works FOR ME.
I don't think what so-and-so might use.
No! I create what makes me happy!I look at all the happy designs, the colors, the textures, and go from there. I think of the stamps I wanna use. I look at my stamp stash and decide what I want to use. I look at what I have, the papers and everything else, then I make a decision what I wanna use for the idea I have in mind, and then, I put all the rest away.
Keep in mind, this step right here, can often take some time. When you're sitting there and looking at all the choices, at times, it can take awhile to decide, there are so many wonderful products out there!
Next - I'm now ready to create!
Part 4 - Assembly!Usually, the first thing I do is make my card blanks, if I don't have them already cut and scored/folded. I usually make at least 4-8 at a time! (If I'm not using pre-made blank cards!)
From here, the steps are different depending on what kind of project you are creating. Let's talk card- making.
In general, this is what I do:- I usually cut out all my cardstock and designer paper fronts first - to fit the card front. I cut all these first, and adhere to all the cardfronts first before I add my other layers/embellishments!
- I then work on my other card panels, or sentiment strips/shapes. For these I use stamps or pre-made die cuts. If there are multiple layers to the card, I usually trim up everything first and have it all in piles beside me.
- Now it's time to play! I start assembling the stamped pieces and papers, and making one card at a time, I add my various embellishments, ribbons, and flowers. I play till what I see, works for me! So fun! After making one I really love, I continue to make the rest, a cohesive set. I may use dft papers, a different color flower, but the design is the same!
- And voila, I'm done! I have a card-set in front of me, that I just love!
It really can be
that easy!
So to summarize, here's
the short version of how I crank out those card sets:- It all starts with what inspires you. Look around. Color and design is everywhere!
- Write your ideas and your inspiration down! You don't expect to always recall all this stuff, do you? I know I can't.. I have to write down what inspires me! Have a book to write your ideas down. Sketch. Have an Idea Book or an Inspiration Journal. Make it your own.
- Time to gather your supplies around you and decide what you wanna use! This is the fun part! Take your time and decide on your raw supplies, make it fun! Combine items that before, you may have thought would never work. Be daring.
- Make them! Assemble your cards using the supplies you've chosen in front of you. Go with similar designs and colors.. varying the colors up a notch if you want! Add a flower here, a flower there. Some bling here, some bling there. A ribbon here, a ribbon there.
And soon,
you're done! Making cohesive card-sets doesn't have to be hard!
It can be so much fun!
Try it and see!And remember, Card Sets make
beautiful gifts! Everyone enjoys getting some handmade cards to use for future events, or just because! Make some today!
A Proud member of
The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.
Labels: inspiration, thoughts
