Sometimes, you have a brain full of muck, no inspiration to create, and you have a deadline for a project that just isn’t coming together. This has happened to me more times than I can count. I can choose to walk away and drink some coffee on the patio, hoping to find inspiration, or just throw a bunch of stuff onto a card base and see what happens. You can learn quite a bit when you just start tossing stuff down onto a project.
Today, I am going to share what I discovered while creating this ugly blue card and how I adjusted some of the elements to make something so much better. Now you might be saying to yourself “there is no such thing as an ugly card”, but, when I posted this on my social media feed, I had quite a few people telling me that this bright blue butterfly card needed to be tossed into the trash.
I won’t argue with them. This card is not my typical design, but, haphazardly grabbing random items allowed me to discover some design elements I wanted to replicate. Here is what I learned.
Backgrounds Set the Mood
On the first card, the background consists of a bright distress oxide combination of blue diamonds with splatters of Peacock shimmer. I do like the look of this, but it doesn’t quite fit the theme of the card. This bright background stands out above everything else causing you to miss out on other elements in the design.
On the second card, I chose a muted french vanilla background with texture paste, distress oxide ink, toffee splatter, and some torn paper. This simple background complements the other elements on the card and the beautiful texture doesn’t compete with the other objects.
Lines Are Important
When you are planning a project, you need to pay attention to the horizontal, vertical, and arching lines you create. They formulate balance and movement. On the first card, I have quite a few harsh vertical lines. I attempted to create some curves with the vellum wreaths in the background, but they don’t stand out enough to help with the flow and they are contrasting with the curve of the flower and the curve of the butterfly.
In an attempt to balance out some of the rose gold, I laid down diamond stickers with more harsh lines and they became a non-linked element that just distracts your eye from the rest of the mess.
When planning my second card, I scaled down the vertical lines with a simple wrapping of gold thread, created an arching flow with the placement of objects and thread circles, and added a horizontal element to ground the card. The flow of the design walks your eye gracefully from the top, through the garden to the loving sentiment.
Big & Bold Isn’t Always Best
Sometimes an object you choose might just be a wee too big and bold for your design and you might be better off finding a more useful way to use it.
On this card, I really wanted to use that beautiful layered butterfly thin cut, but it is a bit too large for a slimline card. I tried to make it fit by adding some other large elements around it, but I should have scaled it down some. Creating it from peacock or black cardstock may have helped it to stand on it’s own or I could have just nixed the butterfly and stuck with the simple flower sticker. With those changes, the card might have come together.
I did like how the vellum looked behind the layers, so I chose to replicate this on my second card. I added the third layer to the image, adhered it together without foam tape, and shaved a little bit off the edge. Not only does this scale down the image, but it also helps to create an illusion of design continuation.
Behind the butterfly die cut, I added some rose gold sprig stickers and wooden leaves to create the illusion of floating in a garden. The stickers were backed in white, so I used some of the distress oxide ink to shade the edges to match the background on the card.
From the ugly mess to a delicate balance, I was able to learn so much.
It’s a bit like life. This past month, my head was full of rude comments sent to me, retreat from private messages telling me that I wasn’t made of the “right ctmh material”, and the battle of fighting my insecure brain monsters. The enemy was working overtime and my brain became as unsettled, unbalanced, and ugly as that bright blue mess.
Like me, I am sure that you also struggle with the mess, the muck, and the ugliness, but I encourage you to do what I did. Throw it all out on the table – reveal the ugliness – learn from it and make something beautiful.
I hope this inspired you to try something new. If you have any questions about this project or the supplies listed above, feel free to leave me a comment.
Hey friends! I wanted to let you in on the products I use in my videos. Just so you know, I’m not getting paid to promote any of them, but I do have some affiliate links available if you want to check them out. If you end up buying something through those links, it would mean a lot to me and my business. And don’t worry, you won’t be charged any extra. Thanks for your support! Learn more
Hey friends! I wanted to let you in on the products I use in my videos. Just so you know, I’m not getting paid to promote any of them, but I do have some affiliate links available if you want to check them out. If you end up buying something through those links, it would mean a lot to me and my business. And don’t worry, you won’t be charged any extra. Thanks for your support! Learn more
Hi Carrie, you are a very gifted designer and Close To My Heart Maker. I learn so much from what you do, thank you so very much
That is so kind of you to say. Thank you. I always enjoy your creations.
It is very upsetting to hear that there are those that would purposely send rude comments. Please remember that that is a reflection of them and not you. There are two phrases that come to mind. “You are Enough” and Let go and let God. I so enjoy your creations. You are very talented and inspiring. Keep it up!
Thank you for that reminder, Angelique, and for the encouragements. I am working at not taking them personally and learning how to get out of my own head. I am so glad you are enjoying these projects. I hope each one inspires you.