Groovin’ with the Go-to Gals – Evolution of a Card

Jessica Witty

Have you ever seen something that just immediately sparked *the perfect* idea for a card?

And you had a vision and saw that card all laid out in your head and you just KNEW that it was going to be AWESOME?

And so, of course, you were super excited to make that card so you sat down at your table to bring it to life. But then…something happened. 

And that card turned out totally…um…NOT awesome?

WHAT?!

How did that happen?

You saw the vision.

You knew exactly what you were going to do and what it was going to look like.

Or maybe that only happens to me.

Here’s the story.

It all started with this picture:

Photo courtesy of Oh Happy Day

I was totally taken with it. 

I mean, come on. Crepe paper, check. I have three children and, therefore, a virtual birthday party supply store in one of my kitchen cabinets. Not to mention, it’s cheap and always available at my grocery store. I should have been on top of this crepe paper as paper crafting supply thing long ago.

While I loved the fringey ruffles, what hit me at first was the texture…crinkly and thin…perfect for some techniques where the weight of cardstock or even patterned paper would be too much.

I decided that it would be the perfect weight to execute the connected garlands of my youth. And I had the perfect little paper doll die in my stash to do it. I would just fold the crepe paper up without cutting it apart, lay it over the die so that the edges would not be cut off, and ta-da! I was already congratulating myself on my brilliance.

And then this happened…

WHOA.

That is NOT what I pictured. 

While the technique technically worked, my vision of a super-cute-paper-doll-card-perfect-for-a-little-girl’s-birthday-party-invitation did not come to fruition. 

Sooooo…on to round two.

I decided to get back to basics and really focus on the inspiration picture.

Easy enough – colorful fringey crepe paper.

I got this.

Riiiiiiight….

I live in Texas, people. Trust me when I say that I have seen more than my fair share of piñatas.

That was NOT the look I was going for here and yet, somehow, it’s what I ended up with. 

Festive, but too overwhelming.

This time when the crushing disappointment came along, I fought back.

I would not let it get the best of me. 

I gave it one more good ol’ college try. 

{Or, rather, “post-college-by-almost-a-decade-at-this-point try,” but that’s beside the point.}

Ahhhhhh.

Sweet relief.

Festive, but not fussy.

Fun, but not overwhelming.

Simple, but still striking.

It would make a sweet birthday party invitation, too, don’t you? The supplies are cheap and the process is quick and easy – the perfect recipe for mass production.

There are a few morals to this crafty story. 

a). Stay focused on your inspiration…

b). But not TOO focused.

By that I mean to really hone in on what it is about your inspiration that you want to bring to life. While I have had success in the past with my connected garland idea (see my blog if you want to check it out), that wasn’t really what this inspiration picture was about. 

When I did focus on what it was about, I took it too far and overwhelmed my little card. The addition of a little restraint when it comes to your inspiration can go a long way. My final card turned out much better by pulling back a bit and refining my second idea. 

All right, folks…I hope you enjoyed this little evolution of a card idea post. It’s sort of peek into what the design process looks like inside my head. Can anyone out there relate? Tell me I’m not alone! I’d love to hear how your design process compares to mine!

Paper Crafts Go-to Gal,
Jessica Witty

P.S. The Paper Crafts editors just posted a new call for submissions! Click HERE for more informaton on their spooktacular September/October 2011 issue!