Monday, December 28, 2015

Commission: Vintage Collage Style

I made these cards with the instructions that the recipient likes vintage, cats, music, and gardens. Some of these got a little off the rails (is that phrase really applicable to cards?), but I think I kind of love these! 

--LJE









Monogrammed Gift

These cards I made as a gift, inspired by this the Frugal Crafter post

--LJE






Commissioned Holiday Cards with Bonus Emo

Readers,

As I close out my posts for 2015, I have to level with you. These cards that I made for a friend who commissioned me to make his holiday cards nearly killed me. This was by far the hardest and most challenging paper crafting project I have undertaken to date. With all the complex inking and accuracy demanded on a white background, it really tested my ability and sanity. I ended up ruining a lot of cards in the process--stray ink or a line of poor coloring could ruin a whole card. I fixed some by adding snowflakes in the right spots, and ended up making a few cards with just snowflakes. 

Before I started my salvage operation a few days after the main nine hours of work over Thanksgiving weekend, I had a mini breakdown. I was completely doubting my skills and whether I could ever be really good at this whole paper crafting thing. Sure, I do believe I am pretty good at the whole paper cutting thing and design part, but stamping, inking, and coloring? The parts which are so much closer to drawing? Drawing which I gave up last February? I have been making slow strides back towards any work with a stylus, but this nine hours almost broke me. Had anything really changed? Was I about to fall off this path, too? I felt better after sleeping on it, of course. Then, I sold cards at two events and got lots of compliments on both my cards and on my drawn postcards from 2013. I also received three commissions for cards as a result of those cards, sending my confidence back up a bit. 

I'm telling you this because at the close of this wonderful year of art and self-discovery and learning, I am glad this happened. I am glad I pushed myself so hard that it hurt. I am glad I did something insanely hard and failed at some of the battles, but won the war. I never pushed myself this hard with drawing my comic. I never loved my comic the way I love this. I am happy to have found something that challenges me and to which I accept the challenge. Thanks again for everyone's support. You have helped make this year great. 

Ok, back to the cards. I knew going in that this design my friend requested would involve lots of difficult inking that would demand consistency between cards. I followed the instructions posted by the Frugal Crafter after her friend Jody to make a DIY stamp positioning tool (the "real" one is super expensive). My version which I show below was not perfect, but it really helped me with these cards, I don't think I could have done it without it. 

--LJE











Commissioned to Match

A friend commissioned me to make some companion cards to some of the ones I made to sell earlier in December. This is what I came up with...

--LJE






Abstract Inlay Commissions and Gifts

Howdy!

You've surely seen this design a lot at this point, so I thought I'd fill ONE post with the rest of the 2015 projects made with my favorite die. All holiday gifts or commissions! 

--LJE




















Card Making Kit

For a gift, I made a card making kit! Just add glue and scissors! I would have preferred to print the labels, but my printer is inaccessible right now. 

--LJE





Christmas Tags

I made my own tags this year! Scroll down for some additional package embellishments! 

--LJE