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I was just sitting at my desk, trying to work on some cards I am doing for a swap and I just can't come up with any good ideas!! I always make a few and am not happy with the final idea or just feel it isn't nice enough to swap. I really want to send stuff people will WOW over!
So, I come back here & scroll through the gallery and end up "borrowing" a few ideas and changing them a bit so its more "me". I can't stand doing that. I mean for a regular card sure, no problem, but for a swap! come on get real! I am so Non-creative it isn't even funny!!! I did make a few and showed my Dh and he'll say nice or needs more pazzaz (& I agree with him). All my ideas are so lame and boring!!! AUGH!!! I wish I had more ideas like those in the gallery!!!
My question for you all is how do you get your ideas?? Do you have a certain "method" to your stamping maddness? (haha - that just sounded funny to me! ) what do you do? Are you the same as me? Do you "borrow" or CASE often? Do you feel bad showing people the card if its not fully your idea?
I guess I am at a bad start to the New Year - starting with stampers block! ICK!! :?
First rule is--you are your own worst critic! There have been times I've created something I thought was average and then folks that saw it were wowed! Remember--most of the world doesn't paper craft and they've never seen the cool tools you have access to.
That being said, since I've been stamping (nearly 7 years now) I am very much more aware of colors around me than I ever used to be. When I go shopping I notice the "in colors" how they are matched and what looks fun. I tend to stamp more in the Bold and Bright spectrum. '
You can either sit down with your favorite colors, favorite stamps or both. Sometimes I purposely pick embellishments that I have never used and match them up to images, papers etc until I find something that works. There is no real science--just a lot of experimentation and fun along the way. Sometimes it all comes together and sometimes I need three or four tries to find the balance I am looking for in the card. Thanks to layering and being able to use the other side of the cardstock--I probably have only ever thrown away 3 or 4 cards ever! Mistakes (like accidently placing a card in an open ink pad or inky finger smudges) are the inspiration to do something "new" to keep the card working!
I case from this site all the time! I'm like you and don't like to when I'm doing a swap, but the way I see it is there are probably just as many of me out there as there are not! (Does that make sense?!?) By that I mean, if I see something in the gallery and really like it I'm sure the people I'm swapping with do too and I figure it doesn't hurt to just make the cards for them. I also feel that if the ones who are creative didn't want us to case their work, they wouldn't put it up for us to see! I wouldn't be able to stamp if it wasn't for this site! I get so frustrated when I have paper, ink and stamps in hand and can't come up with a blasted thing! Then I come on SCS and start scrolling, viola! an inspiration, even if it's just part of a card I case, at least I'm doing something! HTH! I wouldn't feel bad about caseing, that's what it's here for!!
__________________
Powerful Women's Motto:
Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says.. 'Oh sh*t....she's awake'
I'm so glad to hear someone else say they have a block when it comes to ideas! When I look in the gallery, some of the cards are so beautiful in their simplicity that I wonder "Why didn't I think of that?" Then I sit down to stamp and can't come up with a single idea.
Thank goodness for SCS! An tip from a forum I read just a couple of days ago referred to the BLT approach--Background, Layering, Technique. I plan to keep that in mind when I get out my stamps next week.
Now if I can just not feel guilty when the house is in shambles from the holidays and I'm playing in the ink!
__________________ We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.
This site is where I also get some really great ideas. And you mentioned that you case ideas from the gallery and put your own spin on them....why do you think you need to do anything different? That's what most of us do when we see a sample we like.
Most swaps I host or join in are so everyone can get a really good mix of samples from very experienced and "wow" to beginners....we all need to see how others do their artwork and no one should expect perfection all the time. Just let go and you'll find your creativity too.
__________________ LeAne SCS#2819 & Grandma to Lindsey! [email protected]
When I hit a creative wall - I usually do one of 2 things. Either I visit a local art gallery and browse, or I visit my local scrapbook store for ideas. The gallery is my favorite. I observe textures, colors and leave feeling so inspired. If you don't have a local gallery near you, try a dept. store that sells prints. Actually look at the colors that inspire the artists' works and you'll get ideas that will be awesome. As you can tell, galleries get my adrenaline pumping!
__________________ ~Jan #6240
"If you have not often felt the joy of doing a kind act, you have neglected much and most of all yourself." A. Neilen
I got all of the scrapbooking and stamping magazines and came here and never made anything because I didn't want to case anything. then I asked myself why I am getting those magazines and coming here if I am not even going to use those ideas, kwim? So I allowed myself to case some stuff. And after having cased for a while, I am beginning to figure out my own style and come up with my own stuff, but I think it was becasue I played with so many other things before I felt pressure to come up with my own stuff.
I agree with granijani - look for inspiration in places other than cards. If you can't get to a gallery, look in non craft related magazine and pick an add you like and figure out why you like it - the colors, the layout, the texture. One of my best card layouts came from an add in a dirt bike magazine! Remember - designers and artists are paid big bucks to come up with eye catching add layouts, so use their ideas.
Try the Sketch Challenge! Just look at all the different looks everyone came up with. See a layout that you like and put your spin on it. Use different colors or stamp set and make it yours. Soon you will come up with ideas of your own.
As a matter of fact I was just sitting at my table and couldn't come up with a thing so I signed on here to get some ideas. I will usually alter the card in some way but I get most of my ideas from all the creative people here.
You mean there's something besides CASEing? I'll get lots of ideas from here and other web sites and usually don't copy totally but will get an idea for a color of ink or paper or use of an embellishment.
Splitcoast Dirty Dozen Alumni Creative Crew SU Design Team Alumni
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I've been having problems with my creativity lately and find that I'm tending to do and use the same things over and over again. So I wrote out a list of thing to remind me of extras I can do...
eyelets, minibrads, metal edge tags, metal magic tags, fiber, glitter
or other things to do..
embossing, plaidmaker, mulberry paper, designer paper, vellum
when I'm 'stuck' on trying to get something together...I look at my list (it actually has more on it then what I put up there put that gives you the idea. I'm finding that is really starting to help me break out of the rut!
how do you get your creativity??
