Card Making Hellp

[babygirl-is-my-cat]

it seems i "waste" alot of paper when i'm trying to make a card...no matter what the idea is in my head it always take several tries to make it come out as good as i want....is there a soluntion to this ??? and ideas??? thanks!!! Oh and yes i look on line and Youtube...thanks

[crrimal]

How is it not coming out right - placement, image, colors? When I have an idea in my head, I always sketch it out on some scrap paper first, then I prepare all of my materials, cut everything out, color things in, etc. and finally lay it all out before I adhere anything down. I find that by doing it this way, I've got all my ducks in a row and if I'm not satisfied with some element, I can change it out without ruining anything. That being said, I'm wondering if maybe you're being too critical of yourself. Several times I've thought a creation wasn't very good, but when I've come back to it later I've found it to be quite nice, maybe not exactly what I was going for, but still good. Remember - we all our own worst critic!

Christi

[Angelnorth]

I suspect you're already doing the thing that's the only real solution - practise! Don't think of it as wasted paper so much as more knowledge and experience for next time. Have a little think about what didn't work out quite the way you planned and whether you can identify why then keep that bit of knowledge tucked away so you can use it in future.

Like Christi, I sometimes do a quick "mock up" of someting with scrap paper if I want to test placement and so on. I usually use paper that's been through my printer but has one side still blank. A stamped impression will never come out that cleanly and I don't colour it or anything but it can be a good way to think through what you want to do.

I think the biggest thing though is to remember that it's your way of having fun - just relax and enjoy the process of making something without stressing over whether it's going to turn out "perfect". You'll probably be a lot happier with those projects than the ones you've worried over!

[mddavis53]

My best suggestion beyond that fact that it will get better with practice is don't glue anything down until you like it. Create the elements you thinks will work and then move it around until you are happy with the layout. It is easy to change one element or relocate something. Most of all don't look at it as a mistake. It is a creative challenge. Lastly I won't tell you how many cards have come out differently than I planned but no one else knows what you planned so go for it.

[buggainok]

Lots of good advice above. I do what the others have said. Also, if my card has a stamped image that needs to be colored, I stamp several on my white cardstock. Then I can try different colors out on the image to see what looks best with the colored cardstock I'm using.

Not gluing anything down until you're happy with it is very good advice. I can't tell you how many times I've changed my mind about making a card layout horizontally, 5-1/2" across, instead of vertically, 4-1/4".

I always make cardfronts and adhere them to my white cardstock base, so if I do change my mind, I haven't used a whole sheet of colored cardstock, just a piece 4-1/4" x 5-1/2".

[babygirl-is-my-cat]

thanks everyone...i guess maybe cause i needed a card quick and remembered a technique i had saw on YT i thought hum i will try that...should be easy enough...well the part that i didnt like was the distress ink...it was where you take a tree stamp it on your paper then take the same image and stamp on something slippery (i used the clear sheet that holds some of my stmaps) so you can you a reverse image...even that part turned out good but when i went to ink the grass and the water and the sky that part look HID-E-OUS!!!! but like you said good practice...if i hadnt been in such a hurry i would have tried it the same way again...(i need a "male" get well card)...but anyway...thanks for all the good advice!!!!

[babygirl-is-my-cat]

here is the video
Stampin' Up! Lovely as a Tree Reflection Technique w/Dawn O - YouTube

[happigirlcorgi]

So, in response to your original post...
- there is no such thing as "waste"... they are called "scraps", and they are there for you to practice with! the more you practice, the fewer scraps you will have.
- Play with the pieces. Think of the tutorials as "suggestions", rather than strict rules to follow.
- I have yet to have a card come out as brilliant as it is in my mind. The day that happens, I am sure pigs will also have wings. Which gives me a challenge to work towards every time I sit down to make a card.
- That particular technique? It is hard! Have a lot of patience, practice and willingness to keep trying until you can get it exactly the way you want it. I used the technique shown here on SCS with a horse, I think. It IS do able, but it took me awhile to get the hang of it.
- Have FUN! Everyone here has given you great advice. Remember though, you should be enjoying your creativity. And "they" always say, you learn more from your mistakes than from your successes.

[babygirl-is-my-cat]

thank you so much...I do think we are always hard on ourselves.....I see these YT videos and I think why don't mine turn out that good....they make it seem sooooo easy!!!! thanks again

[QueenOfInkland]

I think Joanne said it all when she said, "Practice."

When I got started with paper crafting and artwork, I struggled no matter what I tried to do and then I realized that it was because I was experiencing a 'learning curve'.

And the 'learning curve' is never-ending because the industry is always coming out with new products and clever people are always thinking of 'one more new way' to use such-and-such product and we all love and embrace that, thus the never-ending learning-curve.

It is part of the creative process. Don't be hard on yourself. Be patient with yourself and if it's a technique or a product or a tool that you're enjoying but you haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet, stay with it and keep working with it and you'll get it. And when you do get it, you will own it and take it to new levels.

SO MUCH FUN

As for the paper waste, I often use text weight copy paper or inexpensive cardstock (but mostly copy paper) to mock up a design or try out a color scheme or play with stamp images. Of course, I started doing this after YEARS of wasting paper HAHAHA but I was happy that at least I figured this out at some point instead of continuing to go through my 'good' paper unnecessarily forever and ever.

[BashfulStamper]

Everyone here already given wonderful advice, so I'll just add something that made me feel a lot better...

I love watching YouTube videos of cardmakers, and I have a few favorites - some that I would call "professional cardmakers", who actually make a living from this. One of them - my personal favorite - did a video a couple of weeks ago where she mentioned that it took five tries to get this particular card element to look right. It's so easy to assume that those videos are someone just sitting down to play, and they get it perfect the first time... but who knows how many tries it took before getting to the version we see? YouTube isn't live. ;)

[Rachelrose]

Interesting... I recently almost posted a thread asking people about their personal creative process. Neat and orderly? Messy and experimental? Sometimes one and sometimes the other? Usually somewhere in between?

I always imagine that everyone else makes their cards in a very linear, step-by-step way. They envision their card, they select stamps, sketch a layout, pick a color palette, gather papers and put together their project.

And it seems that many can and do work this way, but I am here to tell you that not everyone does. I don't. Yes, once in a while I will have a very clear idea of what I want to end up with and it will come together without much ado, but most of my finished work is the result of lots of experimenting. I often do things over, either because I have to or because I think of a way I could have improved the finished result. My workspace looks only one of two ways - it is very tidy between projects (I am very organized) and extremely messy and full of piles and heaps of everything from stamp sets to supplies while I am working.

I think that this is just how I work. I have stopped agonizing over it. Instead, I have learned how to make my "process style" work for me:

I try to cut paper frugally to leave as much scrap as possible and I keep my scraps filed in a way so that I really use them. There are a lot of ways people file their scraps, and everyone is different. Lots of people seem to keep some sort of folder at the front of each of their paper files (whether upright or hanging) where they place their scraps of that color. This does not work for me, though. I have a plastic shoebox on my worktable with super heavyweight page protectors standing in it, and each is labeled with a color or color range (blue needs it's own page protector, while reds and pinks can go together, for example, as can browns and tans). Having it right there means I actually will use my scraps. I am not telling you to use this system, but you need to find one that puts your scraps where you will really reach for them first. There is nothing that will make you feel worse faster than finding yourself cutting into sheet after sheet of new card stock.

I rarely discard any card element I make and then don't use. I have a plastic container stuffed with embossed card stock that didn't make it onto the card I thought I wanted it for. I have die cuts that I've stamped. I have a folder of plain die cuts (Nestie shapes and various flourishes). I have a folder of stamped imaged that are either colored in or not. I have a small, low plastic bin sitting on my desk full of small stamped and embossed elements that I can go through and pull stuff out of. I have often said on this forum that if I had to I could probably make cards out of nothing but rejected bits and pieces for weeks. And lots of my cards are made either almost entirely or partially with these various "leftovers" or "rejects".

Not seeing your unused work as "waste" but as things you can save and use later will free you to see your process as "play".

It may be that you will develop into the kind of orderly card maker that I am not. At this point, you need to stop being so hard on yourself. Yes, Joanne is absolutely correct, through practice I now make fewer of the kinds of mistakes I made in the beginning. But I really doubt I'm ever going to be entirely linear in my process. It's always going to be about playing around and playing around some more until something strikes me as what I want to do and I can then work onward from there. And I'm okay with that.

Also - do you think all those YouTube videos are really someone just making a card in front of you? Don't you think people make a lot of decisions before they sit down to record and set everything up so that it seems like they are just doing it 1-2-3? ;-)!

[QueenOfInkland]

I create with reckless abandon. My profession requires precision 100% of the time. For me it's about balance.

[buggainok]

Rachel, you make some very valid points, and thanks for sharing your "method" or maybe "non-method" with us.

I think it's especially important to give encouragement to people just starting out in this craft, and even those who have done it for a while and still struggle.

So much depends, I think, on your personality type to start with, whatever you are trying to accomplish.

There are those of us that are quite logical, sequential, and orderly. There are also those of us that are all over the place. What's important is to remember that this is a hobby, and meant to be enjoyed, however you do it.

There is no "right or wrong" way to be creative, which is what crafting is all about. Some of us are naturally more "artistic" and creative by nature. Others need something to look at and get an idea. Some people need specific instructions and want everything spelled out for them in a step by step fashion.

One thing I do know from reading hundreds of posts here - there are not too many card makers with big egos. Most of us tend to be too hard on ourselves, and we are own worst critics.

So I say, lighten up. It's just paper, not brain surgery. No harm if you screw it up and have to start over!

When I look at a card I've made and see little "things" that aren't perfect to my eyes, I always remember those tags that used to come on clothes sometimes. The ones that said: "Note: This garment is made from silk, a natural fiber. Any imperfections are not flaws, but a part of the natural beauty of the fabric."

So that's what I try think to myself when I look at my cards: Natural Beauty.

[Rachelrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggainok

One thing I do know from reading hundreds of posts here - there are not too many card makers with big egos. Most of us tend to be too hard on ourselves, and we are own worst critics.

So I say, lighten up. It's just paper, not brain surgery. No harm if you screw it up and have to start over!

When I look at a card I've made and see little "things" that aren't perfect to my eyes, I always remember those tags that used to come on clothes sometimes. The ones that said: "Note: This garment is made from silk, a natural fiber. Any imperfections are not flaws, but a part of the natural beauty of the fabric."

So that's what I try think to myself when I look at my cards: Natural Beauty.

Words of wisdom, indeed!

[babygirl-is-my-cat]

i have some favs to on YT...I like Kristin Werner and Darlene Design...they are sooooo darn good!!!!

[babygirl-is-my-cat]

so much good advice from so many good people....Love it!!!! <3

[scrappinspadiva]

Thank you for posting this thread. I'd taken a break from my card-making and just pulled out my supplies again this weekend. I've had fun, but have also been somewhat stressed. I have a vision of how I want it to look but it never turns out that way. A couple of things I figured out this weekend for me to not stress too much: 1. choose the DP first and then the coordinating cardstock 2. don't glue anything down until you're ready 3. it's just paper! After I'd colored in a precious girl, I was on her face (the last part to color in) and the paper pilled up.... I had to toss her after all that work. Grrrrr, but it gave me a chance to color some more. ;) Just have fun with it! That's what it's all about!

[bound4london]

Another thing that really helps me if I'm in a rut is to look at the many tutorials here for ideas, the card sketches or a google search for the stamp set that I want to use. If I follow sketch and it turns out different than the sketch, oh well. But for me I know if I'm in a hurry it will ultimately fail, too much pressure on myself.

Try a New Technique Challenges Forum: Monday's Technique Lover's Challenge

Card Sketches Forum - Wednesday Challenge Ideas, Rules, and Submissions

Resources: Tutorials for Card Making, Craft Techniques & Projects - Splitcoaststampers

[StamperDea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachelrose

.... I always imagine that everyone else makes their cards in a very linear, step-by-step way. They envision their card, they select stamps, sketch a layout, pick a color palette, gather papers and put together their project. .... I rarely discard any card element I make and then don't use. ..... And lots of my cards are made either almost entirely or partially with these various "leftovers" or "rejects".

I'm glad that sketching out a card before making it is not a requirement. I start with a stamp or a paper I want to use and maybe have a general idea of what I'll do, but mostly it's ad lib all the way. One time I glued a card front onto the base upside down. So I changed my embellishments to make the card "read" in the other direction and ended up with a better card than I'd planned.
I too rarely discard my mishaps. It's surprising how much better a card can look after it's aged for 6 months. (Wish that worked for me! Sigh.)
Dea