Plato is credited with saying ‘The beginning is the most important part of the work.’ That may be true until you are facing that blank canvas or card! Where do I start, how do I begin, what am I doing, just one more cup of coffee may help! Card kits are great as someone has done the hard work for you, but what if you can't find exactly what you are looking for?
It is always the hardest part, putting the first piece on a blank card, it's like making the first cut into that precious fabric. Talking of cutting, I never seem to have that problem with a cake!
Anyway back to that first piece. Unless you make cards for a living, the chances are you are sitting down to make something specific for someone which means you have some of the hurdles already crossed. You will already know what you are making the card for, an anniversary, wedding, birthday or as we are just about to get to Mother's Day, let's add that one.
Great, so we know what the card is for, the next hurdle we have crossed is that we know who it is for. This is another bonus as you are likely to know something about the person, unless it's your auntie's cousin twice removed who emigrated to Timbuktu! So you are already narrowing down your options, does the person like flowers, trains, teddy bears or working out at the gym (we have a 3d decoupage sheet for that!)
So now you are starting to fill your blank canvas with ideas. What about colour? Everybody has a colour they particularly like, if you haven't asked them, is there a colour they wear a lot of, is there a colour specific to the Season?
You should now have a small collection of ideas and it's time to raid your craft supplies. I gather all my ideas together and then sit and play. I don't commit anything to the card, but I move things around, chop up pieces of paper and generally play like a toddler, without inhibitions! Why can't I place a green piece on top of a blue piece? It may clash but I'm not sticking it down so I can move it, but if the blue was a teal and the green was an orange, wow that works well together. Believe it or not, this is part of the design process, a very special part that as we get older, we forget how to do, how to play, explore and just have fun. Playing and experimenting is how all the great artists and designers work, otherwise they would be creating the same thing over and over again. This process doesn't have to last long, you will find by moving things around, adding, taking away and generally experimenting with all your craft goodies that you will quickly come up with a design you like. Once you are happy with the design, then you can commit it to glue and hey presto, one finished card and I would hazard a guess that numerous other cards have been considered along the way.
Just remember, we craft because it's fun.
Happy crafting
Louise