Top 5 Things I Learned in Card Making This Year

1. More is Not always better:  I love cards.  Any cards.  ESPECIALLY those with lots of layers and lots of embellishments.  And that was usually the type of card I made.  However, this past year I tried something new.  I made cards that were SIMPLE (insert large gasp here!).  I never thought of simple cards as something to make.  To me, the more difficult, the better the paper crafter I was.  Then, I found myself overwhelmed, and in a funk, and generally uninspired.  So, I made a single layer card.  Then I made a card with one stamp.  And, before I knew it, I had fell in love with this "simple" way of crafting.  Call it clean and simple, call it KISS (keep it simple sweetie), call it what you will, but I will definitely continue to use and love this new found (to me!) style of card making. 

2. Variety is the Spice of Life:  This year was really an exploratory year for me in crafting.  I found myself drawn to things that I hadn't done before.  And things that we out of my comfort zone.  And guess what... I LOVED it!!  I tried cards that were pretty, cards that were fun, cards that were masculine, and cards that were simple (see #1).  So, my new found lesson is VARIETY!  Try a mix of styles, designs, and embellishments that maybe you wouldn't normally use.

3. Sketches are a Girl's Best Friend:  As I stated in lesson #1, I found myself in a big funk this year.  So, I turned to blog surfing and came across some AMAZING challenges.  There are challenges out there for every type of paper crafter.  Sketches are a popular one... and this particular challenge really got my creativeness going.  Other challenges are color challenges, embellishment challenges, and theme challenges.  Here are a few of my favs:

Moxie Fab World does a fun Trigger Tuesday Challenge

Retro Sketches does a unique Sketch Challenge

Colour Q has a great Color Challenge

4. It's OK to be in a Funk:  Let's face it... no one... and I mean NO ONE.. is creative every single day of the year!!  Even the best of them fall into a funk every now and then.  And that is exactly what happened to me this year.  I was a card making machine, posting on the blog almost every day, doing lots of classes... then BOOM!  I couldn't make a card to save my life.  I hated everything that was coming from my desk.  So, I took a couple weeks (give or take) and started surfing the web (see #3).  I started trying new styles and using new things, and before I knew it, I was back on a roll.  I CASED some stuff along the way (thank you to all the fabulous paper crafters out there), made some bad projects, found I didn't like using certain things.  But, all in all, being in a funk was a really good experience for me (in hind sight!)

5. Go Digital: Stampin' Up! really reved up the digital crafting this year with MDS2 and I decided to give it a try.  And what can I say... It really tickles my fancy!!!  I love digital design.  I can make scrapbook pages in a flash, try new things without ruining a bunch of product, and easily print out my stuff when I'm done.  I'm hooked... like truly, madly, obsessed kind of hooked.... and I know you will love it to!  Give it a try!!

So, I hope you liked my list of what I learned this year.  It was a big year for my crafting.  Did you learn anything this year about the style of things you like?  Or, maybe something you didn't like?  Leave me a comment and let me know!!

Comments

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