Show and Tell from AZ!

I put a call out last month for my first Show and Tell.  The response was less than I had hoped for.  Well, honestly, I only got one project.  It didn’t surprise me that it came from my friend Sarah, back in Arizona.  Sarah is not a beginning crafter, but sticks to safe projects, mainly only because she doesn’t give herself nearly enough crafting credit.  (I taught her to knit a few years ago, and she recently passed her skills on to another beginner.  I think that definitely means she ready to advance to more accomplished crafter status…especially considering she’s a lefty and her student was a righty!)  Take a look at the adorable invitations she made for her daughter’s upcoming first birthday.  Aren’t they cute?

 

This is the kind of great friend Sarah is.  Not only did she send me the pics to post, but she took the time to write out notes and tips for all of you.  She’s the best, and I miss her already!  Take a look at what she had to say about her cards.  I did add some suggestions where she asked for help.  If anyone has any other ideas to offer, both Sarah and I would greatly appreciate it!

 

1.  I used your computer/printing idea to make the big number “1” that is on some of the cards… I picked a font that looked good and made it HUGE and formatted it to the “outline” feature so that there was no solid color, just the outline of the number. Then I printed a whole page of the number 1 and cut them out as embellishments for the cards.

 

2.  I think the stamps were the hardest part…I never figured out a great way to make sure they were evenly spaced and on the same line…that’s the real reason I stamped the word “one” instead of “party” which was my original idea – fewer letters were harder to screw up! Anyway, any tips for next time on stamping straight and even would be appreciated 🙂

Sarah, that is a major drawback to using individual letter stamps.  I, too, tend to stick to shorter words.  As your stamp collection grows, you could maybe look into getting a set of clear individual letters that stick to an acrylic stamp block.  The block has preprinted lines on it that you can use to align your letters before you stamp.

 

3.  Since I was doing a bunch of invites (20+) I cut a whole bunch of paper at the beginning into the right size for the “base” and also some smaller squares. This made the creative process a lot easier because I could mix and match and see what looked good because I had all the paper pre-cut…it also made me more resourceful at the end because I was using “scraps” and putting patterns together that I might not have picked otherwise because they were already ready…this also made the process faster I think, not to have to go back and forth to the paper cutter.

 

I totally agree.  Not only is assembly line fashion the most time effective way to go when doing any large scale project (cardmaking, quilting, etc.), but also, having your left overs in front of you definitely helps you to be more resourceful and think of creative ways to use as much as you can, leaving the least amount of trash…or should I say scraps because I refuse to throw anything away!

 

4.  I bought really cheap but cute stickers and put one on each envelope so that the outside of the invite would have something fun.

 

5.  About halfway through I figured out how to use the ribbon better…I started using it as the border or dividing line between two paper types, rather than cutting across the paper…I think it looks way more professional and I like the invites that use it this way much better than the earlier ones I did.

 

I hope these tips help next time you start a cardmaking project.  I know hearing other people’s suggestions and questions helps me to think of more creative ideas.  I also hope this gives you a little glimpse of why I cherish Sarah’s friendship so much.

 

Thanks Sarah for contributing to my Show and Tell, and for being such an amazing friend!

Happy Birthday, Little Monkey!

 

Nikki, In Stitches