More Stuff I Don’t Do…

There’s a certain comfort that comes from knowing who you are, from acknowledging your strengths and living within your limitations.

And then there are those times you get squeezed out of your comfort zone and pushed into challenging those limitations.

First it was running.  I’ve already posted about that one.

Next, it was making centerpieces for my mom’s birthday celebration this summer.  Seriously folks, I *don’t* do centerpieces.   I can’t tell you how stressed I was just creating this:

Now, it’s card-making.  I’ve posted about that before, too.  Twice.  No…three…or maybe even four times.  And each time, my mantra has been the same:  I don’t make cards.  Although friends have tried to convince me otherwise, I just don’t believe I have the skill or designer’s eye to make cards.

So when it came time to select a gift to bring to my Pokeno group’s game night, what did I do?

Yep, you guessed it.

I made a set of cards.

Did you read that correctly?

I MADE (by hand, by myself, with my own materials)

A SET (meaning more than one…in fact, there were 10, all coordinated)

OF CARDS (and by cards I do mean little notecards that you can write in and put in an envelope and send to someone).

They were darn cute, if I do say so myself.  I even took pictures. So I’m going to treat you to my “Top 10”, counting down to my #1 favorite.

Coming in at #10, we have this one.  It was by far my least favorite.  It was also one of the last ones I did.  I love the paper I used for the background, but by this time my brain was tired and I was starting to run low on materials.  I found the composition challenging, but I think I still made it work.

My #9 creation was this one.  I loved the inside of the card.  The front, not so much.  That busy background was hard to work with, as much as I loved that paper.

At #8 I have this one.  This WAS the last card I made and I was ready to just slap anything on it and be done with the whole mess.  I was nearly out of dimensional stickers and I was incredibly frustrated trying to make anything work on this paper.  The front turned out amazing.  The inside needs help, that’s for sure.  But whatever.  You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.

My #7 pick was this one.  This was the first card I made and I really liked it A LOT.  It was my favorite until I made the next 6.  I realized after looking at it later that I probably should have made that center strip a little smaller to make the butterfly stand out more.

Standing firmly in 6th place is this creation.  I spent a lot of time debating whether those two papers coordinated well enough without making your eyes spin.  Finally, I decided that with a small strip it would work and the little embellishment helps to bring it all together.

For my #5 pick, I was thrilled with the way this one came together.  I love the casual, fun look.  If I’d had a few little rhinestones on hand, I would have added some to the centers of the flowers to really make it shine.

With my #4 favorite, I wasn’t sure about adding any more embellishments to the front with how bold the background paper was.  And really, the pictures don’t do it justice.  At first, I was pretty ambivalent with the finished product, but as I looked at it later my reaction was definitely more “WOW”.

My #3 favorite was definitely one I was excited to put together.  I finished this one very quickly because it all just fell into place.  I love the vintage look and the simplicity.  I admired this one for quite a while.  I probably could have made a whole set of this design, if I’d had enough materials on hand.  In fact, if I made cards, I’d probably do that someday.

Which brings us to my top 2.  At #2 is this one.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I love it.  LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  Love it so much I could marry it.  Okay, not really.  But seriously, for someone who doesn’t make cards, this is gorgeous.  I was so proud.  I couldn’t believe I had made this.

But my very favorite, #1 pick of the bunch is this one.  Yeah.  I rocked it.  Totally.  Still makes me catch my breath a little.

So there I go, not making cards again.  After I had not gone for a run and not made any centerpieces.  Who knows where you’ll find me next.  Probably not shopping at Wal-Mart.