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Saturday, August 7, 2021

My Brain Breaks When....?

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Today is the first day of my favorite week of the year at work - Dare to Get Dirty - a week of challenges that always gets me inspired. 

But I'll be honest - there are certain types of challenges that break my brain, and I *think* I've figured out why after like 47 million years of stamping!

The first type that I absolutely fail at is sketch challenges. And it makes sense to me after a little discussion of it with my live group this week. When you sit down to design a card, what starts your process? 

For me, it's one of two things - the stamp image or a technique. Today's card is about a technique. After those two things are decided, the actual layout of the card sorts itself out - how big the image is, for example, determines where it goes on my card. Whether the sentiment (I always search Airtable for a sentiment I have in mind) is vertical, horizontal etc. determines its placement. So to me, starting with the layout is impossible because it's the reverse of what I've been doing for decades. I didn't realize that until this week. Crafty habits are hard to break!

I wish I were good at them though because the people who are good at them are the card makers I am drawn to.

Color challenges are similar, because when I start with an image, the colors sort themselves out too - but these are a little easier for me. I remember some of my FAVORITE cards ever were cards I made for the Moxie Fab challenges back in the day, and many of those were about brilliant color combos. So while I'm not talented that way, I can do them, and that's sort of what I'm doing today. 

The thing about the Dare to Get Dirty challenges, is that it gets me out of my box. I've been working on cards for weeks to have samples for most of them and it's just such a creative boost that has nothing to do with new products - it's strictly stash-based crafting. We have seven challenges to kick off the first day, and there's plenty of time to join us!

My card today is for Dina's challenge. The challenges are for Fan Club members only, so I can't tell you the challenge, but I can show you my card! 

I did Kathy Racoosin's "color plucking" technique to grab Distress Oxides at random and use them together just to see what happened. It turns out a few of them were very rich fall combos, like this one today. My favorite thing about Distress and Distress Oxides is the derivative colors you get, like that gorgeous plummy color where the Crackling Campfire mixed with the Wilted Violet - amazing. Then the mix of the Mustard Seed and the Wilted Violet created one of those pumpkiny colors I just love, with more Crackling Campfire at the bottom. 

Randomly choosing inks for smooshing is hard core fun. Try it!

I finished the card with this Hello die (they are having a flash sale today only here) and the little heart from this set for a clean and simple messy card! The sentiment is from this set.

Hello Word Topper Die – Picket Fence...
[ PFS ]
Word Die Topper Subtitles – Picket...
[ PFS ]
Mini Gift Box Dies - Concord & 9th
[ C&9 ]
Tim Holtz Distress OXIDE Ink Pad -...
[ JGG ]
Tim Holtz Distress OXIDE Ink Pad -...
[ JGG ]
Tim Holtz Distress OXIDE Ink Pad -...
[ JGG ]
Understand Blue MINI Slimline Folded...
[ CTC ]
Understand Blue Slimline Folded...
[ CTC ]
Understand Blue Card Making Bundle #3...
[ CTC ]
Understand Blue Card Making Bundle #1...
[ CTC ]
Understand Blue Card Making Bundle #2...
[ CTC ]
Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473
[ SSS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSP | SSS | ELH ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC
[ ELH | SSS ]
Crafter's Companion GEMINI...
[ SSS ]
Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring...
[ SSS ]
Storage Envelopes, Medium 25pk,...
[ ELH ]
CheckOutStore Stamp & Die Clear...
[ CHC ]
Extra Large -50 pk, Avery Elle Stamp...
[ ELH ]
Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045
[ SSS | CST ]
Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies
[ ART ]
FLASH SALE! – Picket Fence Studios
[ PFS ]


What are you up to this weekend?

While I can't say it feels like fall is coming here, it has been an unusually cool and rainy summer, so my plants look great - and that's right - that means weeding is on my agenda today - yay for mosquito bites! :)

I'll also be editing a ton of videos that go with these challenges and playing my new OBSESSION - a game called June's Journey - it's like a combo memory/mystery/puzzle game and it's great. 

I hope you're doing something fun!

Loveyameanitbye.

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5 comments:

  1. Oooh! I love these colors! I feel like I would need to choose my inks intentionally to get that look!

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  2. I have trouble with challenges whether they are sketches or colors. I must work as you do, but I've never made a conscious effort to pick it apart to see what kind of creator I am. I think I do better with sketches, but I never seem to hit the target (win). Maybe I work the way I do according to the type of supplies I am drawn to...not cute, for the most part, and not many flowers to color, but lots of dies and stamps and stencils. I don't think I'll take the time to figure it all out, but I will continue to participate in challenges when I get started again. Right now, I have an abundance of new supplies, and I'm overwhelmed. (I went on a spending spree.) I hope to be ready to work at stamping soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is so ridiculously pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awesome card. I love the oxide blending and it's a favorite tech. I don't mind sketches but color challenges get me messed up as I don't like the limits of just the color challenge. I think we all have our weakness and strength. I love your card.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hit some kind of button and it got sent before I was finished, in case you were wondering about the thing not making sense, lol

    Shirl

    ReplyDelete

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