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texchanYeah, I know. It's only October. But I realized I had better start thinking about what I wanted to do for my Christmas cards if I wanted to make them again this year. Last year, I did a very simple card -- lots of hand coloring but, overall, very simple concept. And I was still pushing right up to the wire in trying to get them into the mail in time. Every year I say I will start earlier, and I pretty much never do. But ... this year will be different!
*raises fist to heaven in a vow*
So, I picked up one of those stamping / card-making magazines the other day. I love those. I'm not a huge fan of stamping, in general, but I love the idea of using it as a small part of a bigger whole. I like how it can coordinate with and enhance different ideas. And, of course, I love paper. Love, love, love, love paper. I have no idea why. I know it's weird ... but I always have. I'm one of those people who has scads of scrap paper sitting around, or who is lured in by the "ooh! pretty!" factor at the craft store.
Anyhow, the magazine was a good tool for getting my inspirational juices flowing a bit. Just seeing all those different ideas in one place is inspiring to me. Today, I took the time to have a leisurely visit to my local Michael's so that I could browse the paper, stamping, and beading aisles to see what might strike my fancy. I came away rather inspired, with the inkling of an idea taking root in the far reaches of my brain. I knew I wanted to do something with one of my photographs, and I took home several different papers, as I wasn't sure what colors I might want to use this year. I am not a huge fan of the "traditional" red/green Christmas color combination. I tend to go toward blues a lot; well, I like blue ... so I guess that's no big surprise. This year, I kind of wanted to do either a pink or a sort of cranberry hue, but the papers I found (that I liked) in those colors were too busy for what I wanted. So I ended up doing blue tones. I know ... very boring. I found a photo I liked, played around with it a little in Photoshop, and managed to put a prototype card together. It needs some tweaking; I initially wanted to go with a sort of muted, tonal kind of look, but I found that a little too boring when it was all put together. For the finished product, I am envisioning some combination of blue, brown/sepia, and a light green color -- with a little bead/charm, of course. I'm actually pretty excited about it, although I know it's going to take me until at least the end of November to get them all put together. Here's hoping I still like the prototype in the morning. I always have to let things sit for a while before I decide for sure if it's a keeper or not.
In other news, I feel like crap. The one bright spot is that my ongoing "issue" seems to be showing some improvement. This is a good thing, because the meds are not fun. They make me tired, a bit shaky, sometimes sick to my stomach, sometimes headachy, and sometimes dizzy. Tonight, I am extremely dizzy -- and probably should not be trying to type an LJ entry, considering I keep making weird typos. Argh. Delete is my friend. I never know exactly what I'm going to get when I take a dose. My hope is that, as my body gets more accustomed to it, they won't bother me as much. Failing that, I am going to focus on the positive of feeling there is some improvement with my other issues. Otherwise, it's going to be a very LONG 3-6 months. >.O
*raises fist to heaven in a vow*
So, I picked up one of those stamping / card-making magazines the other day. I love those. I'm not a huge fan of stamping, in general, but I love the idea of using it as a small part of a bigger whole. I like how it can coordinate with and enhance different ideas. And, of course, I love paper. Love, love, love, love paper. I have no idea why. I know it's weird ... but I always have. I'm one of those people who has scads of scrap paper sitting around, or who is lured in by the "ooh! pretty!" factor at the craft store.
Anyhow, the magazine was a good tool for getting my inspirational juices flowing a bit. Just seeing all those different ideas in one place is inspiring to me. Today, I took the time to have a leisurely visit to my local Michael's so that I could browse the paper, stamping, and beading aisles to see what might strike my fancy. I came away rather inspired, with the inkling of an idea taking root in the far reaches of my brain. I knew I wanted to do something with one of my photographs, and I took home several different papers, as I wasn't sure what colors I might want to use this year. I am not a huge fan of the "traditional" red/green Christmas color combination. I tend to go toward blues a lot; well, I like blue ... so I guess that's no big surprise. This year, I kind of wanted to do either a pink or a sort of cranberry hue, but the papers I found (that I liked) in those colors were too busy for what I wanted. So I ended up doing blue tones. I know ... very boring. I found a photo I liked, played around with it a little in Photoshop, and managed to put a prototype card together. It needs some tweaking; I initially wanted to go with a sort of muted, tonal kind of look, but I found that a little too boring when it was all put together. For the finished product, I am envisioning some combination of blue, brown/sepia, and a light green color -- with a little bead/charm, of course. I'm actually pretty excited about it, although I know it's going to take me until at least the end of November to get them all put together. Here's hoping I still like the prototype in the morning. I always have to let things sit for a while before I decide for sure if it's a keeper or not.
In other news, I feel like crap. The one bright spot is that my ongoing "issue" seems to be showing some improvement. This is a good thing, because the meds are not fun. They make me tired, a bit shaky, sometimes sick to my stomach, sometimes headachy, and sometimes dizzy. Tonight, I am extremely dizzy -- and probably should not be trying to type an LJ entry, considering I keep making weird typos. Argh. Delete is my friend. I never know exactly what I'm going to get when I take a dose. My hope is that, as my body gets more accustomed to it, they won't bother me as much. Failing that, I am going to focus on the positive of feeling there is some improvement with my other issues. Otherwise, it's going to be a very LONG 3-6 months. >.O
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-16 04:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-16 04:48 pm (UTC)The cards are my absolute favorite part. I love playing around with the paper and making them, so I always do it first. (Although I guess that's silly of me, as the cards are probably the thing people notice the least during the holiday season. *nervous laugh*)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-16 06:11 pm (UTC)I admire you for making cards every year. We did it one year and I totally burned myself out on it even though we have a pretty small list.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-17 02:24 am (UTC)Awww, thanks for the kind words re: the cards. It is a lot of work, but it's also something I really love doing. I like to come up with a new concept from the very first inkling of an idea all the way to a finished product. And I love playing around with them. If not for that, I would never do it, as it takes a lot of time. And can become something of a chore.
I stamped designs on 30 cards today, which took a couple of hours because I had to hand ink the stamp each time. It was the only way I could get the exact color of green I wanted to use. And I printed the photograph I want to use, as well as assembling all the pieces for making the rest of the cards. So I actually made a surprising amount of progress today. o_o