Sunday, May 25, 2014

Hello There

I think I'll call this one a WHAT WAS I THINKING card, and enter it into the current Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge:


I don't know about you, but I have a lot of s-crap that I thought was a good idea at the time I acquired it, but now ... not so much.

Here's my card, then I'll explain:


This all started with a set of Plaid Folkart Peel & Stick Painting Stencils. I liked that they stick, so there's no need to tape them to your card stock. But I failed to see that they are narrow, and thus I got glop all. over. my. card. And I am so good I did it over and over again. Then I got smart and applied painters tape and/or washi tape to my next few attempts, but where it did reduce (not eliminate) the slop-over, the tape stuck to the card stock and tore it, more than once. FAIL FAIL FAIL

I finally decided all I'd ever get was a strip of the stuff, and once I embraced that idea, I was good. Oh, the paste was made by smooshing together some Pearlescent Embossing Paste with some Distress Mowed Lawn paint.

I had this idea to put tiny flowers between the leaves, and once I realized I didn't have any tiny flower dies (after going through each and every one of them), I remembered I had a tiny SU flower punch. *whew* I punched them out of remnants of Hero Arts layering papers and stuck them on between the leaves with mini glue dots.

I figured I needed mini brads for the centers to make them look more finished, and also to hold them on to the card, since one of the mini glue dots failed me right off the bat. You know what? I have a VAST collection of brads, in every color and shape. But mini? SURE! I have everything.  So I punched a hole in the center of each flower, then went digging for brads. The only pack of minis I could find were black, and they weren't very mini. Pretty much filled the whole flower. Anything smaller? Nope. FAIL FAIL FAIL

Sewing. Sewing would hold those things to the card, and also cover up the holes I'd punched. So I went out to the garage to retrieve my sewing machine that was wedged behind something else I had to move out of the way, hauled it into the 3rd bedroom, also known as the craft room annex, set it up, found some thread in my sewing box that was still in a moving box, a box that Bobra then took over:


Fifteen minutes later, I'd threaded the needle and sewn a mostly straight line through all the flowers.

Now I still needed to cover up some of the holes I'd punched, so out came my Viva black Paper Pen (which I so rarely get to work, so of course, I have it in many colors), and put mostly even-sized dots in the centers of the flowers.

Then I decided the green card stock was boring, so I stamped one of my Impression Obsession backgrounds with Versamark. If you look closely, you might be able to see it.

I finally stuck on the strip of flowers using foam tape. Almost done!

Sentiment, it needed a sentiment. I pulled out my Jillibean set that was made in China and doesn't stamp very well, stamped it not very well, then went over the whole thing with my black Memento marker to color in all the letters. I hand-trimmed it so just the loopy letters stuck up above, stuck it to the card and called it DONE!

This, people, is what it's like stamping without a net. I SUPPOSE I could maybe plan the card out, but where is the fun and adventure in that? And what would I have to whine about (about what would I have to whine)? :)

So there you have it: Narrow, sticky stencils and Viva Decor Paper Pen are my Crap du jour for the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

PS: I hate intensely dislike this card, but this is an example of why I think some cards should cost $10, just in sweat labor.

Products used: Plaid Folkart Peel & Stick Painting Stencils, SU flower punch (I think it was part of a 3- or 4-punch set), Tombow adhesive, sewing machine, and the following:




13 comments:

  1. Wow, that's a lot of effort for a card, especially one which you end up intensely disliking! I think it turned out well, due to your "never give up, never surrender" attitude :-) Note to self: do not buy those peel & stick stencils.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sometimes it's so hard to say which I like more: your cards or your commentary! I think I just may have to go with your commentary in this case! LOL! Your card came out looking fabulous (of course, after about a gazillion first attempts...snicker!) Thank goodness that you let all us other possible "marks" know about the con of "Plaid Folkart peel & stick painting sencils"! LOL! Thanks for joining us at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers for the Crap! challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This post was well worth the wait! I had several chuckle out loud moments! You get an "A" for effort with this one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Too funny! :-) Glad it worked out, though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh Leslie, you have a stubborn streak don't you? LOL. Well I love that you share these stories of crafting without a net. I think I have some of those stencils, like you I liked the idea of the sticky...I have pulled them out, but not used yet. I finally decided to put out a 12x12 bag in my craft room and as I come across stuff that is "what in the world was I thinking" it goes into the bag and off to the goodwill or salvation army. So for the card, your save works. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Reminds me of one of those repair projects where something from the "junk box" almost works, but not quite, and you spend the rest of the day adapting the project to this piece of junk that you could have fixed with a 65 cent trip to the Tru Valu.....

    ReplyDelete
  7. Muahhhh ha ha ha ha ha
    Love that Bobra invaded the box! He's such a cutie!! Thanks for joining the sisterhood for the CRAP challenge!! Another good way to use up stash huh?? LMBO

    ReplyDelete
  8. So, if I get what you're saying, it's not really a clean and simple card? :D I am incredibly impressed you persevered... and even ended up with a fun card to show for it! Maybe if you put it away for awhile, forget all you went through in its creation, then you, too, could come to like it. ;) In the meantime, thanks for joining the CRAP challenge at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think you may have described 99% of my crafting experiences. This is awesome - nice save :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. That is a lot of work for your card. Thanks for joining us at SoSS

    ReplyDelete
  11. I can empathize with you, I've had those crafty days at the cottage where I craft with limited supplies, Like why bring a flower stamp set and punch if you don't bring coloured ink? Love the comentary, it just makes me feel I'm not alone. I this you did a great job!!! Thanks for playing along with us at SOSS for the c is for crap challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I know it's a bad day when I have to pull out the sewing machine, or anything out of a moving box. Your card is made of epic crap and thanks for your great writing. Please continue playing along with the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!

    ReplyDelete
  13. After all your troubles you created a fantastic card! Thanks for joining us at the SoSS C is for Crap Challenge!

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear what you really think! :-)

PS: I've had to disable Anonymous comments, because the spammers were killing me. If you are unable to comment, please email me your comment and I'll get it posted for you. Sorry. (stoopid spammers)