Case Study #114

Heya!

The muse at Case Study is the fantastic Julia Stainton. I dream of making cards like her. Her's is the kind that belong in boutiques and sell for $8.00 each and is totally worth it because she puts a lot of stuff on her card and it looks expensive.

Let's see how much you would pay for my card...hehe.

Listen, I used some high quality buttons! That should be worth a few bucks!


Next week the muse is Angeline Yong. I. AM. SO. PLAYING.

See ya!

CARDIO 7 for Paper Made Bakery

A few people who hopped with Paper Made Bakery during their October Kit release asked how I made the card I featured. I decided to make a video for my CARDIO series and show them!

Here is essentially the same card, but with a different color scheme:

Enjoy!

I made the card using the SOLD OUT :( October kit from PMB

And since I was playing around, I also made this card using my latest love, inlay technique. Its hard to tell, but the banners lay flush with the blue card stock. If you want to see the rest of it, click HERE!

can't wait for the next kit to arrive!!

Pop Up Gift Card Holder

Ok, LOTS to link chat about!

Last night, I had my friends Caryn and Christy come over for card night. A group of us take turns hosting monthly and we try to show each other new ideas. I wanted to make gift cards for the holiday. While doing research for the best gift card holder, I found THIS awesome tutorial for a pop up gift card holder.

We cased made a card that was inspired by THIS one by the awesome Nichole Heady. See that beautiful background stamp? I won that and a TON of other stuff from JJ Bolton! Thanks JJ, I am putting your goodies to good use!

I put stickles in the green berries to make them shimmer!

and then made it into a POP UP GIFT CARD HOLDER!

it can also be used to put your family photos in it!

I am entering this into Casual Friday's Challenge, make a project using Kraft paper.

Tomorrow I will be showing a video on masking for my CARDIO series, hope you will join me!
and stay tuned this Thursday for a post showing you my new way to take photos!

Bye!

Papertrey October Blog Hop Challenge

Joining in on the fun today at Papertrey Ink. Their stuff makes my heart melt.

I loves me a good color combination. It is inspiring. I loved all of the colors, but I chose this one:

I got stuck more than a few times with this one. Finding the right supplies, sometimes you have a great idea but then no matching cardstock! Stamping on textured cardstock can be a challenge for perfect stamping goals, and then there was the concept itself. I took out what I had in these colors and the stamps I wanted to use. NOTHING was working! When I get creatively stuck, I go to PINTEREST. I found this photo and it took off from there!

I just got faux ribbon (my newest aquisition) and then pulled out Photo Finishers for the sentiment. The circle die is from Trendy Trees (also new).

I blame Tim Gunn from Project Runway for this mess...keep reading, you will see how he has messed with my head...

So I have been asking myself "WHO AM I AS A DESIGNER?" and it brought me to another question, "WHAT MAKES A GREAT DESIGNER?" For me this is:

1. amazing composition
2 flawless execution
3. beautiful photographs
4. Ability to explain how
5. unique design aspects
6. consistency of work
7. specific aesthetic/design perspective
8. IT FACTOR

What do you think? Would you agree?

The journey continues...

Runway Inspired Challenge #22

you would think I learned my lesson from the last post, but I didn't! Once again I mounted the star on pop ups before thinking things through on the card. Hence, it's not awesome, decent, but not awesome.

This card goes to Runway Inspired Challenge. See the right corner of her blouse? the stripes go kind of at an angle. It made me thing of Iris Folds. So after watching a few tutorials, I found a star template HERE. Nothing says Tommy Hilfiger like a star (very Americana)! Plus her jacket lapels kind of look like points in a star.

So some more on my journey to finding out who I am as a designer. (you can find more about this HERE and HERE) I like to try new things. There are so many techniques on the internet to learn. BUT if you want to stay true to who you are, you have to incorporate the technique to YOUR style. There were all kinds of styles of iris folds out here with patterned paper, and shapes like hats and cowboy boots, and so on, but I stayed clean and simple with a shape that I love. I am trying not to let the product, technique lead the way of the design as I had before, but rather, have the product fit into MY aesthetic.

Tim Gunn on the Brain

There is a new sketch challenge in town called Case This Sketch, and I thought it might be fun to push myself and give it a try. Lisa Arana, who is on the design team, and my Paper Made Bakery Design Team too :) made a helpful video to help ease my fear on how to approach sketches. The challenge starts tomorrow by the way, I am just getting an early start thanks to Lisa's video.

And I also wanted to enter Casual Fridays. 

The challenge is to make a card with a heart in it. They have an announcement coming up and IT. IS. DRIVING. ME. BONKERS with guessing and wondering and decoding. I can't wait to find out!

So here is my card. It was an accident really. I had planned on putting glitter on the center heart, but when I die cut it, it wouldn't come out! so I left it as is and mounted it on some yellow card stock.

After 10 months of blogging, I have found my love spot for photos. I will show you in an upcoming post ;) This photo was taken in this special spot! I love the mood and the lighting has been consistent. AND NO WINDOW SILL!


for the background of the below story, click HERE.

Tim Gunn Presents:

Step ONE in finding out WHO I AM AS A DESIGNER... I KNOW I am CAS. for sure no doubt. I love the beautiful layers and patterns and embellishments of other card makers, but in my core and when I see designs I especially love, they are clean and simple.

It's a first step indeed.

Consistency of photos is another. And I think I figured that one too. So far the self examination is paying off. Tim Gunn would be proud.

Embellish Challenge, I've Missed You So

So it has been a while since I made a card for one of my favorite challenges. I kind of feel like Embellish Challenges give me just enough guideline to make a cool project but not so much that I feel restricted.

This time it was about using paint. I used a grey sample of Benjamin Moore paint for the image and then built around that. Had to put it on a plate because it kept falling down!

this is also going to A Blog Named Hero because I love CAS and HERO ARTS!

So on a side note, I have been watching Project Runway and somehow Tim Gunn's words just stay with me, especially when it comes to this blog. I feel like I need to decide who I am as a designer. The best designers know what their perspective is, their "vision"and I, well I am experimenting. I know what I like, but I don't seem to translate it into a clear design aesthetic. If I went to Bryant Park, would my collection (of cards) be cohesive? would you know it was MY work? I am not sure you would. So I have been wrestling with that lately.

If you could narrow down your aesthetic to a single sentence, what would it be? Because I am always ANALYZING, such is my nature, here are some of my favorite card makers who have a clear vision, IMHO.

Jennifer Rzasa: futuristic CAS.
Laura Bassen: feminine Rainbow CAS
Mariana Grigsby: a perfect balance of complicated and simple with perfect color choices
Laurie Willson: universally Appealing
Debby Hughes: grey ultra-Crisp CAS
Cristina Kowalczyk: Pinterestably certified Everytime
Angeline Yong: elegant CAS
Iwona Palamountain: can do any style any technique awesomely.
Aga: BOLD feminine CAS
JJ Bolton: DIE magic
Ashley C Newell: Embellished Expert
Claudia Shadler: patterned paper chaos Perfection


I have analyzed many more bloggers that I love (the entire Runway Inspired Challenge Blog, the entire Embellish Challenge Blog, the entire CASE study blog, the entire Casual Friday Challenge Blog, and the ENTIRE PTI design team), but I won't bore you. I discover new people everytime I blog browse. WE are a talented bunch indeed!

Wida

Tag You're It!

How can I convince you this is worth a click? What if I said I didn't stamp a THING on this card? Would you check it out just to be sure?

I made the card using this months kit from Paper Made Bakery. 

A fine kit.

yes sir.

So have I convinced you to check it out? Click HERE.

Wida

CARDIO 6

Interested in seeing how I made my Runway Inspired Challenge card? I made a quick video. No kids and no chatting. YIPPIE!

Thanks so much,

Wida

In Typical Fashion

In typical fashion, haha, I have another card for the latest RIC challenge. Still playing withe the perfect place to photograph...thanks for your patience!

Inspired by:

and the great DEBBY HUGHES...sigh

Ok, let me dissect this for you in case it is not clear:

The striped washi tape is inspired by the lace shoes
The watercolored flowers on the card is inspired by the tank
The embossed white outline of the flowers mimics the white trim of the tank
The velum is inspired by the mesh top of the tank
The gray sentiment is from the gray in the shoes
The mood is light, fresh...


Want to see a video? click HERE:

Wida

Hey! Wobbling Isn't Just for Pregnancies!

Ok, you are probably not going to believe this, but that tree is an image in a newletter I got about 6 months ago. I loved it so much, I saved the page hoping to use it for SOMETHING.

Fast forward the Paper Smooches woodlands creatures challenge and you kind of have a match made in heaven:

But this is no ordinary card, no sir. Thanks to a little gift from my friend Tenia Nelson, this little owl WOBBLES! In case my friends Angela and Marcy read this, yes yes, I know you showed/gave me some me first! I thank all of you for your generosity :)

I think Paper Smooches is so generous to give free digi images to us who own no critters. I was happy to be able to enter the challenge using the free owl and my own sentiment stamp from PS.

Ok, well that is all for me for today! for my Paper Made Bakery Post, scroll down!!

Paper Made Bakery Sneak Peak

It's my day to share my Paper Made Bakery card...did you bring your tea and peanut M&M's? 

Click HERE to see the ENTIRE card. use your OTHER hand to grab a handful of m&m's. go ahead, I'll wait ;)

Wida

World Card Making Day 2012

Hi Everyone!

Happy World Card Making Day! I have so much to do, but because of this special day, I had to celebrate. Cardmaking has brought me so much joy and so has this blog!

I sewed the pleats on this card with the intention of distressing the edges, but then I kind of liked the contemporary feel of the card, so I left it alone. Guess I will have to try the technique another time.

This card was specifically made for my favorite challenge, Runway Inspired Challenge

Hope you got to make something good today!

Hello Again

 Casual Fridays has a really great challenge this week. I met up with Michele Gross, owner of Casual Friday's blog, and Tenia Nelson last weekend at Archiver's and we brainstormed. We laughed a bunch! Sadly, we didn't take a picture so you can't see how cute they are. Well, Tenia made 2 cards for the upcoming Paper Crafts Call and I spent most of the time picking Michele's brain. She has something coming up and it is KILLING ME not knowing!

**Edited to add: other than the die cut sentiment, this is not anything we brainstormed, but we did decide that getting a silhouette was definitely in our future.

I came home after a week away and went finally to work to create a card for the challenge which was to create a card inspired by your blog header.

I have a ton of bling.

But why waste packaging?

Inserted some sand to get that BEACHY vibe and sealed up the corner extra tight.

and Voila! my Beachorado inspired card! See the sand? Kind of a shaker card of sorts.

Thanks!!! Not much time to chat, the deadline is approaching!

Wida

Paper Made Bakery Blog Hop and Giveaway

Here is the kit contents for this month's Paper Made Bakery. The stamp set is by a new company called Fresh Squeezed Stamps! 

I decided to really play with the stamp set and see what I could come up with...

There was a lot of masking on this one. 

I punched out a circle in velum. Then taped a small strip of computer paper to the center. Like This:

I stamped the flower in gray and blue.

Then added green leaves and red hearts, filling in the circle.

Then I removed the mask and stamped the sentiment!

Here is the line up:

Paper Made Bakery

Wida Miller <----ME!

Michelle McClure

Lisa Arana

Jennifer Cuthbertson

Amy Tsuruta

Alicia Thelin

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