Card Share Catchups - Tuesday

Last catchup on card shares for awhile, I promise...

atc tag card. collage sheet image courtesy of terri kahrs and crowabout. stampers corner sketch.

We've had a rough time with weather down here. It is in the 50's tonight. Twenty-eight hours ago it was 81 degrees. Twenty-fours later, it was 59. Happy Spring! LOL

paper artsy ferris wheel stamp, hand drawn and colored background.

While the rain does its dance, I am keeping busy at home. I grocery-shopped Monday and was exhausted, so today's bad weather (and Wednesday's lighter remains) gave me a good excuse to rest and recover. Anytime I go anywhere or do anything physical, I always have to recover a day or two.

Basic Grey Porcelain papers, unknown tree and sentiment stamps, Stampers Corner sketch

So, I kind of messed up. I vacuumed Sunday night because we had this freaky weird carpet bomb infestation of doodlebugs (pillbugs) in the kitchen and family room part of the house by the back door. I should have rested on Monday and then shopped Tuesday, but I didn't because we were low on toilet paper and the storm was coming. Anyway, I wound up pulling something in my back and or groin, and by Monday afternoon I was hurting.

The Hubster happened to have one hydrocodone that he'd been saving from his root canal a year ago, and he gallantly offered it to me. I went off those cold turkey 6 years ago, against my doctors wishes. But I needed one last night, and it truly saved me, too. Helped me sleep. Woke up today to buckets of rain and while reviewing my discovercard statement I discovered (haha - literally) 2 erroneous charges for $19.95 each from MVQ Credit Complete and Experian Credit Report! I get on the phone and it is now a fraud case. Avoid those companies, they are either scams or they get consumer info illegally or unethically, because I never bought anything from them. And if you see a charge from either on your statement, call your cc company!

Anyway, my card making tip for today is to make card components to have on hand. If you want to enter a challenge for atc's, make one to put on a card like you would a stamped image or a collage sheet image. Make some backgrounds on bigger paper and then cut them into card base sizes. You can pretty much use any technique or material on a card. Practice hand lettering an inside or outside phrase on a precut or diecut label or shape.

You can even make a game of it. If you have some really old diecuts, like Sizzix's toast and toaster and jam diecuts, you might have to make a larger card (5x7 or half-sheet) so they will fit, but arrange those with the caption "A toast to you" or something similar. Use patterned paper to cut them out of...it doesn't have to literally look like the shapes would realistically.

I happen to have some old Sizzix lipstick, purse and compact dies (don't mean to pick on Sizzix, but some of their dies were / are just plain silly-looking now, lol). In the back of my mind has sat an idea like I'm talking about. The front has all those diecuts and then I stamp an old wrinkled lady inside with a printed smart-assed caption that I can't yet quite think up. But look out when I do.

Another game to play is to just blindly or randomly choose some bits and bobs in your stash, choose a color combo, grab some paper, some tools...and just punt. This is a good idea when you need a challenge..when you are bored by your regular way. Still another idea is to almost do the opposite when you need to just keep your hands busy to do some thinking or whatever. Then you would look at doing something routine and assembly-line-ish, like drawing or painting or stamping or coloring backgrounds, focal point images, etc. You've seen me do the herringbone technique for a few backgrounds. I can do those almost blindly now.

If you are trying what I've been doing, you might want to stick to just a couple of color combos at first, until you get used to doing cards a different way. It makes it easier to combine elements from your "started stuff" pile into a card. Color and style are the two elements that stop me when they are not complementary or similar.

Well, I am off to a hot shower and bed -- and hopefully not too much pain, Advil is my only help tonight!