Where Have I Been?

 

Blogging friends, it's time for me to be upfront about my blog. That sounds more ominous than it really is!

My poor blog has been neglected for so long that I sometimes wonder if I should even keep it up. My posts have been reduced to weekly Feline Fridays and this is far from the vision I had when I first started blogging.

The current State-of-the-Blog just makes me sad. 

It nags at me like an unfinished project.

As it happens, I've had conversations with a few people lately about blogging in general. In these casual chats, I've heard myself saying things like:

* Blogging isn't as popular as it once was.
* Videos have somewhat/largely replaced blogging.
* Privacy and safety concerns have led to the demise of some blogs.
* Google no longer supports Blogger and as a result, it has few features. Heck, there's not even an app!
* Moving my blog to another platform like Wordpress seems like more trouble than it's worth.
* Life has gotten in the way of my blogging. The pandemic situation resulted in a big uptick in my creative endeavors for the store where I teach. It's been super fun but has limited my time for blogging.

On the other hand, these things are also true:

* I still love writing, even though my lack of self-confidence sometimes gets in the way of it.
* I have relied heavily on my blog as a record to support my scrapbooking.
* Blogging gives me a way to share about topics of interest to me.
* I would be terribly sad to give up my blog.

So weighing all of these things, all of the positives are much more important to me than the negatives. So the logical answer to this situation is for me to dedicate more time to my blog and get back to the aspects of blogging I have always enjoyed. 

And just see how it goes. 

I think I still have a few folks out there who read my blog and there's a slight possibility I'd have more if I actually posted once in awhile! 😀

So here's to posting a little more frequently -- and about more than just CATS. After all, this blog is supposed to be about BOTH CATS and CARDSTOCK. I still love cardstock -- probably not as much as cats but it's close! 

Let's "get this party started" (this is as close to partying as I get) with some examples of cards I've made in recent months for various occasions. And yep, all of these cards feature cardstock!

I made this first card about a year ago on the occasion of a very special engagement! The hearts are from a large Hero Arts die set and instead of layering them, I inlayed each one to create a flat surface. This is a trick that's easy to do with any nesting die set you may have. I added die cut flowers, foliage, and a word at the bottom. To give the word more emphasis, I cut it three times and glued the layers together.

  

From the side, you can see that this card has a lot of texture and dimension but still mailed quite nicely. Incidentally, the paper is from an older 6x6 Authentique pad which has sort of a Bohemian vibe. Sadly, Authentique seems to be out of business, or at least not actively in business at this time. 

This birthday card also features an older paper from my stash and a few die cut hearts with a printed greeting. This is an easy way to use up some of those scraps you may have been hoarding! Just cut a panel of patterned paper and mat it with cardstock. Then die cut a few hearts and flowers in some colors derived from the paper. To finish the card, I embossed the yellow heart and added black Nuvo Crystal Drops to the flower centers.

These cards and tags are part of a set of samples I made for Memory Bound. I used a 6x6 pad from Echo Park to create lots of different projects. I enjoy making grid cards like the two you see here. They are easy to make with 2x2 or any similar size elements. I also like to save some smaller bits to add to tags. If you're giving a gift, it's fun to include a matching card and tag to make the presentation a little more special!

These next three cards were also made as samples for Memory Bound using the Graphic 45 fairy-themed line. This collection has a lot of different colors included but for these cards, I limited the color pallet to pinks and greens. This first card features fussy cut flowers from the paper.

 This next card features paper which I cut with a hexagon die. If you have busy paper that's hard to use, cutting it up like this is a good way to go. The card design also features a fair amount of "white space" (blank area) that balances out the busy papers and gives the eye a place to rest. The bottom corner also features a few fussy-cut flowers which is another good way to use Graphic 45 papers.

This is a simple design I've used often with many different papers and is a good way to use border strips and smaller cut-apart elements. This time I pulled in a blue border to tie together with the blue in the fairy piece.There was room for a small fussy-cut flower cluster at the left.

These two cards follow the same design. I'm never afraid to "borrow" an idea from a previously made card! As you can see, the cards look different even though they are made with the same basic idea. I had enough pieces to make several versions of the card at the left and I've used them this fall for many occasions.

This is a "book binding" style card which is designed to look like the cover of a book. To achieve this effect, you simply score the card front at 4.25" and 5.25" which creates a 1-inch "spine". You'll adhere this part shut with Scor-Tape. I really enjoyed making this card and will definitely be creating more from this design in the future. Since I was giving this card in person, I also took the opportunity to decorate the outside of the envelope, something I always enjoy doing.

This was a fun card I recently made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Memory Bound, the store where I teach. It's hard to believe that the store owners invited me to teach over 20 years ago and I'm still at it! 😀 For this card, I used colors to match their logo. I embossed a white panel for the front of the card and die cut it with a stitched rectangle. Keeping the background neutral allowed me to focus attention on the items in front. I die cut flowers and greenery and layered them in a "spray" across the top. In this case, I had the opportunity to again decorate the front of an envelope which always adds to the presentation!

I just made this last set of cards as a little gift for a co-worker whose husband has been hospitalized. The call went out that she was in need of thank you cards to send to the many people who have helped them during this challenging time. I went to my stash and found a 6x6 pad with masculine plaid paper. I simply cut the paper into 3" strips and added them to the front of each card. Then I added a strip of cardstock and some die cut leaves to each, along with a printed sentiment.

To give the cards, I stacked them along with 4 envelopes and wrapped them with a piece of tulle. I added a die cut tag and included a note on the back. This is an easy but nice way to present a bundle of cards.

I know that many of my friends love making cards but don't have all that many people to send them to these days. Bundles of cards make a wonderful gift, perfect for the holidays or to take along to a party as a hostess gift. Or drop off a few at your local nursing home. This is a great way to put your card-making skills (and stash!) to use and spread a bit of cheer at the same time!

 Okay, I've done it. I've shared just a bit more of what I've been up to lately and it wasn't so hard. Stay tuned!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Janet