What do you admire....

[arimum_123]

I also have to say that I can't make a card to save my life - it starts so well, everything looking fine where I have placed it (without sticking just in case) then I either start sticking and something gets moved and doesn't look right when I try to put it back in the right place OR I decide it needs just one thing more and ruin it.

OR BEST OF ALL IS THAT I LIKE IT WHEN I FINISH IT AND THEN 10 MINUTES LATER THINK IT LOOKS DREADFUL

I have been 'shimelle-ing' my pages recently and they are so much better - I might give a card another go. Must read leonie's ratio and composition guide too,

Louise x

[Miss Lemon]

I can't do the minimal look either (with cards or LOs) - I end up filling up all the space even though I didn't mean to!

I've never really gotten to grips with proper stamping techniques either (using masks and combining stamps to create scenes etc). It seems so complicated but I love watching other people do it and make it seem so easy.

I also admire professional artists who can draw/paint a picture so well it almost seems like magic. I watch the Painting & Drawing Channel most days on TV and watching some of those artists create their paintings just fills me with admiration (and envy!).

[poohbear]

I love the grunge look, or really full pages, but when I try it it looks like i've accidentally spilled the contents of my stash on my page!!

[Azimuth]

yeah i can't do grunge either - mind you, i don't much like it so it doesn't matter except when i'm trying to make a card for a boy who would like grunge. at that point it becomes a double whammy: rubbish at cards, rubbish at grunge! hehehe

really full pages I can do if you consider lots of photos and not a lot of embellishments to be full. I start by cropping and placing the photos on the page so that my eyes follow them in the order i want (Z shape or starting top and/or left ending bottom and/or right). then i look at the overall page and decide where i'm going to put journalling or a title, and add some PP in either strips or blocks, to complete the page.

then i try to not move anything while i'm glueing it down not always easy

[WeirdCat]

People who flick ink or paint onto their layouts or cards, if I do it it just looks like I knocked it over, or I'll get a lovely fine spray with a blob. Cal I remember you spilling coffee on a layout years ago and it ended up looking better than it did before the coffee went on it, a very happy accident!

[SilverTiger2]

.... but find you just can't do?

I came across this beautiful CAS card and absolutely love the simplicity of it but just know that when I try something like that it just doesn't look right.
I just see a space and need to put something in it yet when I look at gorgeous cards like this I don't see the space. Is that odd?

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3689/9...371a9d76_c.jpg

There's a definite knack to this style of card that completely eludes me but I really admire others being able to make so few elements look so stunning.


Is there any style you love the look of but have tried and not been too happy with the results?

That card is stunning! I like the simplicity of it ... and must find out where the hexagon background came from!?

My biggest problem is brayering. I love the effects that other people are capable of, but cannot recreate them myself. Barbara Gray does magic things with a brayer and a couple of ink pads - all | achieve is a muddy mess!

[scrappyJan]

I have been trying to embrace stamping on both layouts and cards but... I am heartened that I seem to be in good company.

In my efforts to improve, I had a go at a stamp thing (don't know its proper name), a Fiskars product that has foam feet in each corner and you put the stamp on the sheet much like you would on a block. It seemed not too bad to use but I wonder if it is just a gimmick and that I should keep trying to improve my technique with regular acrylic blocks.

Any thoughts?

[arimum_123]

That card is stunning! I like the simplicity of it ... and must find out where the hexagon background came from!?

It looks a lot like a jillibean soup placemat - saw one on Sarah's Cards (and it fell in my basket!)

Louise x

[CraftyPrincess]

I know Papertrey have a Hexagon die background, I've seen it used lots but there must be loads of similar ones and products that look similar. You could do something similar with Nestabilities cutting out the shapes one at a time from a piece of white card. I've made backgrounds like that before.

I don't know about stamping gadgets but if it's a gadget that works then it can't be bad right, anything that helps
My main tip would be using a good inkpad like a Versafine and making sure the stamp's clean, wiping over it with a baby wipe works and helps to get a clear image. My main problem is my clumsiness. I end up with fingerprints all over or being lazy and not using a clean stamp so it stamps so it comes out with missing bits on it or being impatient and not letting it dry so it smudges. It's just not my forte.

With the drips and flicks of ink there's lots of things you can try. Drip a paint brush in the ink and flick it for fine drops. For a fine mist spray the ink from far above your paper surface. For large random blobs take the lid off the ink spray and just use ink in the spray tube bit.

[leanie]

... must find out where the hexagon background came from!?

I made a version today using my SU Hexagon embossing folder and cutting out the hexagons - will upload a pic later
I'm a UKS sponsor, and if you don't already have a demo I'd be happy to sell you one with very cheap postage! x

[PinkSparklyScrapper]

I wish I could do those gorgeous fussy layouts, the ones with gesso and spray mists. Mine always end up just looking a mess!

[LaineyMay]

I wish I could hand journal on layouts without feeling like I've 'ruined' it. I envy the gorgeous handwriting of some scrappers.

[arimum_123]

What about writing on strips of paper and sticking them on? This way you can redo without ruining the LO,

Louise x

[Azimuth]

LaineyMay, it's funny you should say that about your handwriting. We had handwriting lessons at school - which is just about the only thing I ever completely flunked. When I started scrapbooking I didn't have a printer - or any money - and so I did the handwritten journalling thing. I gave my brother and SIL a scrapbook for a wedding present and my SIL said something about "oh can you write this story in for us as well: your handwriting is so beautiful." Well, I tell you, I nearly fell off my chair laughing!

What I'm trying to say is that no matter what your handwriting looks like to you, others will appreciate that you've bothered, and will no doubt also think it's nicer than their own writing.

I will say though, that finding the right pen is a must. borrow everyone's pen, always and try everything out: there is a pen out there that will make you write more neatly. mine is the zig writer. I can't for the life of me read what I write with a ball point or a finetip.

[arimum_123]

I will say though, that finding the right pen is a must. borrow everyone's pen, always and try everything out: there is a pen out there that will make you write more neatly. mine is the zig writer. I can't for the life of me read what I write with a ball point or a finetip.

American Crafts Precision Pen for me - I have one in black and one in brown

Louise x