Clean & Simple, Day 9

Hello again,

Here is my latest card, inspired by Jennifer's white on black stamping from Day 9 of the Clean & Simple card class.

I have to say that, while I quite like the finished product, I don't think I would regard this as a clean & simple technique - the colouring took me AGES...but I have learnt a few things about how to do a better job in future! I used Papertrey fresh snow hybrid ink and watercolour pencils, as they are the best pencils I have. However, they are quite soft & I think maybe weren't the best choice. They blunted quickly & I was too lazy and/or impatient to keep resharpening them to a fine point so it was quite difficult to stay within the white stamped image. After I'd coloured it all, I was unhappy with the blurred look I'd achieved where the colouring had moved onto the black cardstock, so I resorted to fixing up a few of the largest errors with a brush-tipped black marker. Of course, once I'd started this I kept finding more & more to fix, until eventually I think I outlined every single edge. The outcome was a much crisper image, but it took almost as long as the colouring did! In future I'd be MUCH more careful to colour accurately in the first place, and insist on super sharp pencils all the way through. I know Jennifer kept reiterating this...but now I believe her! I'd probably also try to leave the ink to dry for a day before I started colouring. I did heat set the ink, but there were still a few problems with the ink not being perfectly dry in some places.

Another tip: don't use textured black cardstock! It made the colouring much harder as it was difficult to get the colour into the valleys of the card, even in some places where the ink had managed to reach.

I've also become much more aware of the importance of accurate placement of various panels and matts in clean & simple card making. This card is a perfect example! I had the yellow matt accurately cut but when I stuck the black cardstock down I didn't line it up exactly enough, so two edges of yellow were wider than the others. So then I tried to fix it by trimming just the tiniest line from the two wider edges...and of course, went too far! When I've had similar issues with other cards I've made in the past, it's usually been relatively easy to cover up such inaccuracies with ribbon, a tag, or some other distraction, but in C&S designs it's impossible!

So....I learnt a lot form this card - which is, after all, the point of taking classes, huh?

Thanks for looking! If you try a similar technique yourself, I hope my experience helps save you some time.

-Kerri

Clean & Simple, Day...err, I've lost track!

Hi there,

Clean & Simple card camp is wrapping up on Monday & I'm frantically trying to have at least one card finished for each of the techniques/approaches we've learnt before then, so there will be two posts today, each with one finished card.

I have lost track of which day inspired me for this card - but the basis was the idea from one of the guest teachers that objects which appear high in the sky (eg. butterflies) should be placed high on a clean white space and objects which are ground-based should be low on the card front. I've had this city stamp from Hero Arts for a couple of months, keen to use it but struggling to find a purpose for it during my Christmas craft frenzy.

It was an amusing throwback to paper tole, which I dabbled in for a year or so a long time ago. The city image was stamped 5 times, then fussy cut into 4 layers to stick onto the main card, each layer leaving out some of the buildings in the immediate background of the previous layer. I was tempted to use dimensional dots for each layer but didn't want it to get too bulky, so I only used them on the bottom layer, then regular glue on the other layers. I'm not sure it's got quite the right amount of 3D effect...maybe a little more was needed.

I was going for a Sesame Street look - there's one particular cartoon I've seen a few times...or maybe it's the latest opening credits? Anyway, a cartoonish, fun city scape. I used distress inks and an aquabrush. If I was to make a similar card again I think I'd only colour a few of the buildings - it was quite striking just in black & white.

Stay tuned for another post very soon. Thanks for visiting!

-Kerri

Clean & Simple, Day 7

Hi there,

Thanks for visiting.

I'm trying desperately to keep up with the daily ideas from Card Camp but it is a huge challenge and I am slipping behind. I hope to catch up a little on the weekend...famous last words! I have so many ideas and inspirations in my head that it's difficlt to know what to do next, let alone find the time.

The card I have to show today was inspired by the Day 7 theme of white cards by Julie Ebersole. In the past I have been one of the people Julie referred to in her video who ran away screaming when the idea of a largely white card was mentioned, but these past few days of trying to stick to clean & simple designs has given me a little more respect for the idea, and - hopefully - a few more ideas about how to make such a card look great rather than just plain. I think in this case the use of textured white cardstock rather than regular flat has made quite a bit of difference to the final outcome, so I'll definitely be using that idea again.

I have been sticking to the plan to use all of the as yet untouched stamps in my craft room, and today's card uses one such stamp. As soon as it hit the cardstock in Versamark I was in love with it, wondering why on earth I haven't used it before! In case you're interested, it's from the Butterfly Garden set by Pink Paislee. I plan to use it more in the coming days, too, so it might become part of a "1 stamp 3 ways" theme before the classes finish for me.

Typically, though, as soon as I had "finished" the card I was thinking about what else I could add - rhinestones, ribbon, buttons....it's very hard to change old habits! It took great restraint and some admonishing from a friend who was crafting with me at the time to leave it so bare. Looking back at it now, I am glad I did.

I hope you're getting a lot out of card camp, too, if you're participating.

-Kerri

Clean & Simple, Day 6

Hi again,

Today's Card Camp focus was about using clean and simple embellishments. I LOVE embellishments, so this was right up my alley.

I'm not completely happy with this first card, but I really like the layout Kristina provided and the colour combination. I was also inspired by the idea of layers of tissue paper shapes, from the butterfly card we saw in one of the links.

I couldn't resist adding some very subtle sparkle to the stamped image with some perfect pearls, although it doesn't really show up very well in the photo. The shot is pretty dodgy, too - it was quite windy outside and trying to take the shot before the card blew over was a challenge. I could have taken more time to get it right, but as usual I am posting this in a huge hurry before I go out for dinner. This will have to do for now. I think I'll have another go at the simple embellishment idea again tomorrow....

Thanks for stopping to take a look!
-Kerri

Clean & Simple - weekend 1

Hi there,

I was very excited to see the extra links & ideas from the Clean & Simple card class posted on the weekend, and one of the links I followed gave me the inspiration for this card. It's a masculine card - yay! They are always so difficult for me - you can rarely get away with ribbons and glitter! This one will be my dad's birthday card, coming up in a few weeks. I'm really happy with the retro look of the card, and the unusual colour combination which is WAY out of my normal sphere. I even managed to take the shot of it in natural light, so I am making progress.

One of the things I like most about the card class - this time and the previous camps I've participated in - is the inspiration they provide to try something new and expand your repertoire. It's not always easy or comfortable, but definitely worth the effort and persistence required.

Thanks for visiting.

-Kerri

Clean & Simple, Day 5 - part 3

Hi again,

Here is the final card I've made today, using the Kaisercraft "Miss Nelly" rose stamp. I wanted to make an elegant wedding card this time, using one of my new favourite colours, very pale pool blue. The first version was awful:

It was too dull, the bold black I had imagined wasn't there because the sentiment font was too narrow. The curly border didn't suit the rose...in all: UGH. It looked like a card I would have produced years ago, when I first started.

However, I was determined to make 3 different cards I was happy with using this stamp. So I took a break, thought more clearly about what the important elements were in what I was imagining, and had another go - this time with much better results, as I am sure you will agree!

I am not completely sure it's finished yet - maybe a line of hand-drawn black stitching is needed along one of the front edges? Let me know what you think.

I am happy, though, that I have used some of the ideas from Shari Carroll's Day 5 card on this - the narrower card front revealing the pattern border on the inside, and the overlapping sentiment tag/flag. I am also very happy with the fact that when the card is shut, the faint rose image on the front lines up with the partially-hidden embossed white rose on the black panel. Something to try again in future, I think!

I am feeling a teeny bit better about the C&S style - a relief, after a few days of stressing and feeling incompetent! Bring on Week 2. If you're participating in the class, I hope you're experiencing a similar sense of growth and challenge.

Thanks for visiting.
-Kerri

Clean & Simple, Day 5 - part 2

Hi there,

Here is the 2nd use of the Kaisercraft 'Miss Nelly' rose stamp. The colours are undoubtedly influenced by this card by Tami Hartley, from a card class link. I LOVE her card, but didn't want a direct case, so I stuck to the colours. I also used the idea of a thin coloured strip along a card edge from Shari Carroll's Day 5 card, and I made some minor changes to one of the sketches from Day 1. So, I think I've also managed to use Julie's idea of gathering a few small inspiration points and incorporating them into a single card. Yay!

I'm pretty happy with this one - mauve is one of the colours that makes me melt, so I could hardly go wrong this time, ha!

Thanks for looking. One more use of this stamp to follow.

-Kerri

Clean & Simple, Day 5 part 1

G'day! Thanks for visiting.

Today I decided to use a single stamp in multiple ways, much like the Day 4 cards we saw in the card class, but so I can add them to the card class gallery, there will be three separate posts for Day 5. I chose a stamp I really like but had not yet used, from the stash on my desk which I'm forcing myself to use this week. It's a rose, from Kaisercraft's Miss Nelly clear stamps set. I also have the 6x6 Miss Nelly pad, so I started with finding a paper from it that I could use with the stamp:

 

I also took the idea of using a bacground or texture stamp inside another stamp image, so the large rose has a white grid stamped underneath the red embossed layer.

I am loving the scattered look of pearls and rhinestones on the cards shown in the class, so I am trying to emulate that look. However, I am never sure about where or how many of these to use! This looks OK to me now (it didn't when I made it) but I think I need more practise & skill on this point.

See the next post for the 2nd use of this beautiful rose stamp, if you're interested.

-Kerri

Clean & Simple, Day 4

Hi there,

I am almost caught up with my posts for the card class - yay! It's a bit weird to be posting so many times on one day, but I am trying to keep track of how the cards I've made match up with the days of the card class. So here's what I did on Day 4.

I was quite taken with the idea of using stamps in multiple ways. I am a shopping addict when it comes to stamps, paper and embellishments. I always have plans for the stamps I buy when I buy them, but I foften acquire them faster than I have time to use them. So, when I thought about using stamps in new ways, I decided to take a slightly different tangent and use stamps I own but have not used before. So I have a small pile of stamp sets on my desk which I'll try to work through in this class.

I felt like making something girly, but the stamps I piled up took me somewhere else! I have had a particular Stampin Up set for several years, but it never seems to get used as I couldn't really picture it on a card. But the C&S card I made for Day 2 gave me some confidence to try another card with lots of white space, which the stamp set suited:

I struggled to find a sentiment that matched the goldfish in a bag, but I figured this one worked better than anything else I had - I'll use the card for someone having a difficult time dealing with change in their life - maybe a new job? Or a reluctant relocation? Then again, it might just sit in my 'ready to use' card pile for years, lol.

Again, the C&S approach was a challenge. I stamped everything twice before I was happy with it - there are lots of sloppy, discarded (ha!) versions in my bin this week.

The plastic bag was stamped with StazOn black ink on acetate, so it's shiny and 'bag-like' in real life, and tied with some black twine. The goldfish has a life-like shine, too, thanks to some Twinkling H20s in orange.

As an antidote to this very clean, restrained style, I couldn't resist making something much more typical of me - lots of layers and stitching and some lace and twine and a button...heavenly! This card took MUCH less time than the fish, ironically - because I was back in familiar territory? I hadn't ever used this stamp set, either, though, so I'm still attributing the inspiration for it to the card class.

Thanks for looking.

-Kerri

Clean and Simple, Day 3

Hi there,

Today's C&S card class explored the idea of where to get inspiration, and how to incorporate ideas into a card. I initially planned to try the letterpress layout that Julie showed on Day 2, but as I worked on the card it took on a life of its own. The finished version is a RADICAL departure from my usual style - if you've looked at my previous blog posts I'm sure you'll agree!

The photo doesn't show the other details I couldn't resist adding: the castle turrets are coloured in with Twinkling H20s in iridescent red, so they shine subtlely in the right light, and the rest of the castle is covered in Rock Candy Distress Stickles, so it glitters in the light. Even still, I had to force myself to resist adding more bling. It seems I am a layering, embellishment addict!

The sentiment and fairy princess that I had planned to put on the front of the card ended up in the inside, which I think has turned out well.

I know a soon-to-be one year old who's having her first birthday party next week, so this card should find a happy home very soon. (And she's too young to care that there's no ribbon on the card, ha!)

And I will also add that I stamped the castle THREE times before I was happy with it. This Clean & Simple stuff is anything but!

Thanks for visiting.
-Kerri



Clean and Simple classes, Day 2

Hi there,

Here is my take on the Day 2 card class inspiration, which was about perfectly flat cards. I haven't made a perfectly flat card for a Very. Long. Time! But, with the spirit of giving everything a go which I am trying to apply to life in general, I forced myself to try this.

A friend of mine who is also doing the card class came over to my house and we worked on it together. We were all thumbs! There was ink smudged everywhere, lots of sighing and minor swearing as things kept going wrong. Cards were abandoned, mistakes desperately tried to be reversed....I even spilled embossing powder all over my desk. Ridiculous! I've been using it for years and I don't remember ever having spilled it before....it all seemed to sum up the extreme challenge of what is, on the surface, a very simple-looking card outcome.

My first version was a disaster. but the second was acceptable...if you don't look so close that you see the spots of watercolour that mar the green masked section, ha! Fortunately, my own scrutiny of this card is likely to be much more critical than whoever ends up the recipient of this card. Again, my photography skills are hopeless and the colours don't look true-to-life. The flowers are a subtle salmon pink. Even now, looking at the photo, I'm itching to add some ribbon or a button, or a new layer over the entire thing....

So. Still LOTS to learn about feeling confident and skilled in this style!

Thanks for visiting.
-Kerri

Clean and Simple, Day 1

Hi there,

Even though this post is a few days late, I've been trying to keep up with the ideas and techniques presented in the Clean & Simple on-line card class by doing some card making each day, inspired by the day's video and card ideas. Day 1 presented some sketches to use and the idea of making monochrome cards with a border created by masking the central area. This is my take:

I had planned to add the three small elements above the sentiment using matching coloured buttons, but they filled up too much of the central area because I'd used such a large sentiment....so I switched to a single button with a scrap of black ribbon on the side, instead. I was going for a super-modern style using bright colours and damask. The colours are more vibrant in real life, so I think this was a relatively successful attempt. (Thankfully the photos hide the extra tiny spots of black embossing powder smeared amongst the damask. Oops.)

But BOY OH BOY have I got a lot to learn about Clean & Simple style! I had to fight my instincts so hard with these cards...I've been working consistently for years at adding more and more to my cards while trying to keep them from looking overdone. This clean & simple stuff is turning my brain inside out as it requires the opposite! And I've also developed a whole new respect for the creators of the beautiful C&S cards I've seen on the internet. I had no idea of the skill and control and confidence it takes to make a truly beautiful, crystal clear C&S card. I'm realising that my stamping skills may not be precise enough to carry this approach off, despite many years of practise and feeling smug. :(

So, another huge learning curve...but I am definitely enjoying the challenge!

Thanks for visiting!
-Kerri

Clean and Simple

Hi there,

I'm participating in the Clean and Simple Card Class this January run by Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire and Julie Ebersole. It's perfect timing again, as I have to return to work in two weeks after a HUGE length of time off....the card class seems like a last hurrah before the routine and tedium of regular working hours kicks back in. So until then, I'm determined to make the most of the time off by making heaps of cards...maybe enough to get me through all of the birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions I'll need cards for until Easter? Time will tell, huh?

So, knowing I was going to change gears to make Clean & Simple cards, I had a few warm-up attempts before the class started. I used a recently-purchased poppy stamp from Hero Arts, stamped it a few times & coloured it in several colour versions using watercolour pencils. Only two of the images have made it to a card so far, but here they are. The photo of this first version hasn't really shown up the subtlety of the colours - the flowers are a mix of orange, yellow and shell pink, which I think is a reasonable imitation of the real flowers.

The purple version turned out beautifully - I am really happy with this card. It's nice to enjoy the moment, don't you think, when a card you have envisioned actaully turns out looking just as good in real life? If only it happened like that every time!

The actual card-camp-inspired photos will be posted in separate posts, so I can add them to the card class gallery, so stay tuned for more if you're interested.

Thanks for visiting.
-Kerri

December cards

Hi there,

I haven't posted in ages, as you might notice, but I have been very busy cardmaking and decorating Christmas presents over the last month or two. The cards below are some of what I've been busy with - the ones I managed to take a photo of before I gave them away, that is.

To save time as I have so many photos to post today, I'm not going to give the usual supply details, but if you want to know more about a particular stamp or other such detail, please leave a message & if I can find the answer I will reply. Some of the photography is a little disappointing - I really need to figure out how to organise myself to take the photos in daylight hours!!! In general the cards are brighter & whiter in real life, but you'll get the idea.

First up, a remnant from Holiday Card Boot Camp - I didn't get around to posting it at the time. I quite like pink Christmas cards and the velvet ribbon on this looks great in real life (in my opinion, at least).

A subtle birthday card, on Sahara Sand cardstock, with shell pink colouring done in watercolour pencils:

A wedding anniversary card for my dear sister & brother-in-law, celebrating their first year of marriage. They both have green as their favourite colour, so the decisions on this one were easy!

A birthday card, using some of the techniques I've learned in the on-line card classes I've written about previously:

A "baby girl" card, using a stamp I've had for ages but never used:

The Christmas card I gave to family & friends this year, mass-produced over about 2 weeks. I think the next round of Christmas cards I make will be simpler - this one was the most over-the-top I've made so far, courtesy only of the extra free time I've had due to being on long service leave!

That just about catches me up until the Clean & Simple Card Class started on 9th Jan - I'll have several more posts following which show the cards I've made while doing that course.

Thanks for looking - I hope you enjoyed your visit!

-Kerri