Card Making and Resolutions

Do you adore cards?  I love searching through the card aisles for hilarious or heartfelt messages.  My favorites are usually found among the Papyrus brand.  I simply love the handmade look and the oftentimes simple designs.  This is probably one of the reasons I decided I wanted to make cards instead of purchase them.  At typically $3 per card, and 4 Mother's Day or 5 Father's Day cards each year (that would be 9 total for me to buy--I buy for my grandmas and grandpas) just those holidays alone made it worth a try.

We are approaching Father's Day and I have not purchased a single card this year.  We've had birthdays, the Valentines, Mother's, and Father's holidays, and graduations, and even one bridal shower.  I have been LOVING the time spent card making.  Shapes and colors are what it comes down to artistically.  This is perfect for me as my siblings got the physical talents of music and art, I simply have the 'ear' or the 'eye' respectively for those talents.  When it comes to colors, that is my area of art.  I love to work with colors and textures but I can't draw a stick figure to play hangman.

I'm progressing in techniques and embellishments but I'm still very much a beginner.  Catch a recent glimpse at where I've been in this adventure:

Metalic Markers!

Love the lined paper (it is a heavyweight and dry embossed with alphabet).

Later I added "Grandpa" vertically...gotta work on my spacing that direction.

Love my gears dry embossing folder.

I love the texture this embossed frame gives when it is cut out!

Ribbon flower and traditional paper pattern!

Matched up the black paper with the green after embossing and added some ribbon accent threaded through.  (Added the age later because my Mom wouldn't appreciate if I posted that online for all to see!)

I am loving the progress I've made (if I had pictures of my work from the beginning of the year, I'd show you, I swear).  This is exactly what I wanted to accomplish as my "New Year Resolution"!  Progress in a skill, something tangible but not with pressure behind it.

I'm proud of these even if they still have visible flaws.  Trust me, I can see them, but I put a lot more effort into these than I did picking out the perfect card from the store before.