I've Been Lying for Weeks

Well, the paper gods took a major can of whoop a** out on me yesterday. I think they decided that I've been lying long enough.

It's true. It's a fact. I now admit it. There IS such a thing as designer papers that shouldn't be put together on the same card. As successful as I've been on Saturdays fearlessly (and arrogantly) putting different patterns and colors together on my cards, I'm sad (and embarrassed) to say that my win/lose streak has come to a screeching, painful halt. Paper gods=1, Amy=0.

My first blind dig into the scrap drawer yesterday was a success. I grabbed a winner. The second dig, however, caused me to shriek out loud, something I've never done before. Even Eldest Son in the next room called out to make sure I was ok. What he didn't know was that I wasn't ok. Visions of failure flashed before my eyes as I drew out the 3rd and 4th pieces of scraps. I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that making today's card would NOT be a pleasurable experience. I had a sudden, overwhelming urge to put all the scraps back in the drawer and start over. You guys, after all, would never know. I COULD have gotten away with it had I done just that. But, the old Lutheran guilt in me (yes, Catholics are not the only ones instilled with guilt!) refused to do that. My goal here at Heartfelt Greetings has always been to teach you that in the right proportions, any designer papers can be combined into a cohesive, eye-pleasing manner.

I'm not sure I was able to accomplish that today. Oh, I tried. I tried ALL DAY yesterday to accomplish that goal. But I'm afraid I came up short this week. I think today's card is proof in the pudding that there IS that "proverbial line" that I should not cross when putting different patterns and colors together!

So, are you chomping at the bit to see the papers I blindly chose? Here they are, in all their glory! Do you see what I mean? Do these not just make your heart stop in fear for me? My oh my. What did I do to deserve this punishment? My skills as a cardmaker were put to the test yesterday, of that I'm confident. I had to dig deep into my well of knowledge to make these papers work together. In the end, I could not find one single place to put the 4th paper (the non-patterned Basic Grey). I tried every trick I could think of to include it so it wasn't visible to the naked eye, but sadly, I failed. I couldn't make it work. By itself, it's a neutral color and should be easy to pair with anything, but it did NOT go well with bright pinks, purples, green and black.

Ok......grab onto your chairs ladies. Here's today's card. Maybe you should put on your sunglasses first! Like I said earlier, this little ditty took me hours to finish. I'd put something on, then take something off. I put it away thinking I was finished, then I'd take it out again and add something else cuz it was bothering me. In the end, I settled with this. Honestly, I'm actually ok with how it turned out. But that feeling didn't come until 1130pm last night, if you can believe it! I think I could actually send this to a friend and not be too horribly embarrassed! The card represents struggle to me, and I guess struggle is a good thing if you come out on the winning side eventually. The lesson in today's card is to teach you that it's ok if something doesn't turn out the way you've envisioned. The struggle to get to that point of acceptance is invaluable. You've got to make the most of what you've got, and if you do that, you've succeeded. That's simply all that can be asked of each of us.

By the way......do you see that beautiful sentiment on the front of today's card? It's a set of six stamps. The brainchild behind it is none other than.....whoops, that's right. I can't tell you WHO'S behind it yet, but I CAN tell you this beautiful sentiment was designed to be used with the SU window punch! How many times have you wanted to use your window punch but none of your sentiment stamps fit inside it? For me, it happens all the time! Now, I've got FOUR sentiments to choose from that fit inside my SU window punch! What? You want to know more? You silly peeps, you just can't stand the thought of not knowing where you can buy new rubbah, can you? Ok, ok. I'll stop teasing. This fabulous new stamp company is called Verve Visual and you won't believe who's behind it! The site is not fully active yet, but at least by seeing it you'll be able to get a feel for what lies ahead! All I can say is we are destined for some beautiful stamping ladies! You definitely won't want to miss this launch!

Hugs!