If at first you don't succeed...

I have been making cards for about a year and a half. I have made over one-hundred so far, and yet I still have those times when I finish a card, inspect it, and go....yuck. I challenged myself to take one of my "yuck" cards and try to salvage it. This is one such project. I am overall happy with the result. I do recognize there are certain flaws left, but ones that I can live with.

This is the original. Let me tell you what I think is wrong with this card.
1. The ribbon is too dark
2. The ribbon is too high
3. The embossed image is upside down
4. The stamping on the embossed image is hard to see and it's not visually appealing.
I think that's enough to start off with.

So here's the revised card.

First off, I took off the ribbon and when I did, it tore my paper >.< So I decided to distress the edges of the patterned paper to make it look like it was supposed to be that way. Then I took off the embossed image and decided to go with a stamped image on some specialty paper I purchased at Hobby Lobby. Then I took some thin fabric and sewed it to the card base to cover up more areas that had torn after I took off the ribbon, and to keep going with the new grunge look for the card. Then, I realized I had forgotten to open the card up while sewing, so I had sew the card shut. >.< So I cut the back off completely and made myself a new card base. Not perfect, but better. Also, not sure how appropriate the grunge look is for a sympathy card, but oh well. Thanks for looking! Feel free to leave questions or comments!

Materials:
Textured card stock - tan
Patterned Paper - DCWV variety pack
Stamps: Autumn Leaves - Flowers by Rhonna Farrer
Ink: Stampabilities pigment dye - purple

Until next time!
Jessica

Many Thanks

Today's CAS (Clean and Simple) card is the result of my attempts to reduce my scrap pile. It's easy to make and only uses a few materials. I used a 1 1/8" square punch and a corner rounder to make the 3 patterned petals. The final petal is simply traced right onto the paper with a black marker, then text stamped in the middle. Thanks for stopping by! Please feel free to leave questions or comments!

Materials:

Cardstock: The Paper Studio - white

Paper: DCWV - variety pack

Stamp: American Crafts - Thanks

Ink: StazOn - Jet Black

Until next time,

Jessica

CAS: Meant to Be

Do you ever buy variety packs? Of course you do, we all have. I have a habit of letting those hard to use pieces sit around and sit around because I'm never inspired to be THAT creative. I have had these small spikey paper pieces ever since I started crafting. I'll pick them up from time to time and try to use them, but each time they have thwarted me. They're too small for putting text on them, they aren't in the shape of anything, and the colors are too crazy for most palettes anyway. Then, I finally thought of a use for these small spikey pieces. Add some teeny googly-eyes, a popped up heart, some sentimental shmop, and boom, you've got yourself a card! (Think I used enough made up words in this post so far?)
I've always been a science geek, so it's really only natural for me to come up with some microbe-looking critters on a love card. Noted: this card is not for everyone. Eccentricity and good sense of humor required. Also note, when trying to work with teeny tiny googly-eyes, use liquid glue on the paper, and then position the googly-eyes with an exacto-knife. (or if there's an easier way, I would like to hear it :). Feel free to leave questions or comments!

Materials:
Cardstock: white-the paper company
Text: printed from Microsoft Word
Misc: 1/8" googly-eyes

Thanks for stopping by!
Jessica