Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap!

I realized yesterday that I didn't miss the news while I was gone. When I got home, I got debt ceilinged to death. Thank goodness I'm listening to a fantastic audiobook right now that I can break up the insanity with.

But I have been thinking about the economy.

It still completely amazes me that people don't associate their desire for cheap products with all the things that come with cheapness. Like low paying jobs, or jobs that go to China. I think people just think - "Yay - I can get 80 of these for a dollar - who cares if they fall apart after one use? I have 79 more!" You can't pay someone a lot to make something that costs a dime. That's an impossibility.

We need to go back to appreciating things that cost a little more so that we have jobs that pay a little more. It's okay if there are fewer of those nice things.

Here's a great example of a failing mindset that I saw on my walk.  There are companies that have the nerve to call themselves "landscaping" companies. What they are, in actual fact, are armies of mindless, chainsaw wielding cheap laborers that are given general instructions including a vague shape of the landscape and nothing else.

This is the result. Vast swaths of bushes mowed back from sidewalks, with no regard for the plants OR the aesthetic.

Oh yeah - that's so much better than a few branches sticking out a little, right? Those mangled sticks are exactly what the neighborhood likes to see.

 

 Beautiful, no?

Then I saw a little bird nest that they nearly sawed in half.

These bushes usually chirp and rustle when I go by, all buzzing with little finches. Now where are they?

This isn't landscaping.

This is cheap.

I don't like cheap.

There are lots of nice things you can do with very little and a little time - all stampers know this.

For example, I was lucky enough to be a sample maker for Bev Gerard's Dare to Get Dirty challenge this week. She is one of my favorite people in the WORLD and an incredibly talented stamper.

I decided to keep my card simple and focus on techniques, to make the most of what I had. The stamp set is Raining Flowers, which I got free at convention. I stamped the open flower image in white craft ink on vellum cardstock and heat set it.

Next, I flipped it over, and put it on my piercing foam mat and started to gently dry emboss the little circles with my embossing stylus. On some circles, I embossed a lot for a bright white, raised look, and on some, I just did a little, for a more chalky look. Then I pierced little holes all around the flower.

I put the embossed and pierced piece on some Poppy Parade for contrast, and then finished the card with white twine, Just Add Cake DSP and the greeting from It's Your Day, also free at convention.

You can add a lot with a little time and technique! That's one of the many ways stamping is better than a chainsaw.

Wanna play along with Dare to Get Dirty? There's still time, and there are tons of prizes to be had! So come challenge yourself, learn some new techniques and have a little fun with the Dirty Dozen.

I think I'll go put out some finch food. :)