march meet the maker : day 18 : technique/skills

day 18 : technique/skills

have you ever been around someone who has seen a jackson pollock painting and they've made the statement "i could do that" in response? know what the difference is? they didn't. 

they could throw paint on a canvas, but that isn't what jackson did at all. it was all meticulously planned out, but most people only see the final product. he had an arsenal of supplies and knowledge and above all else, he had talent. 

i often feel similar emotions when i hear people make comments about my cards. things like "oh i could make that" or "my aunt makes cards" or my favorite, "i could get one at the dollar store" [insert major eye-roll here!]

these things are probably true. you could probably make a card - if you have all the supplies to make it, but you won't have my eyes, my talent or my vision. same thing goes for your aunt who makes cards. i don't copy card designs or make the same card as everyone in the card-making club. [not that there's anything wrong with that - for those people. it's just not my style or how i roll.] and in terms of the dollar store - yes you can buy cards there, but they're mass-produced, predominantly flat and haven't got any of the goodness that mine do. 

it's taken me a long time to learn as many techniques and skills as i have, and i really enjoy learning new things. this photo collage shows off a few of my favorites:

starting with the upper left:

die-cutting. first of all, i've got a rainbow of paper at my disposal to use. so i die-cut with a variety of kinds of dies in one of my various machines, because i have [at the current moment] five that all do slightly different things. and then add in the stamping. i not only have several kinds of ink, but also tools to help me stamp as well as the stamps themselves. it's not an exaggeration to say that i have literally 1000's of stamps. 

upper right:

ink blending. so i've stamped one of my gazillion stamps and then i've used a special powder and yet another tool to heat set it. then i use a plethora of different inks with different qualities and properties to blend the colored background. it takes a lot of practice to get the colors to blend just right!

lower left:

one of my newer tools is a wax seal. so not only do i have special wax, but a different kind of stamp so that i can seal envelopes with a special closure, reminiscent of the middle ages - on purpose. this is a newer technique to me and i was instantly obsessed! it's so fun and adds such a cool element to snail mail. 

lower right:

another one of my favorites - foiling! there are a handful of ways to go about this technique, but my go-to is to use a stencil and a special kind of gel medium that dries clear. then i overlay a decorative foil on it and run it through another machine, revealing the bad-assery of shine and sparkle. i mean, come on! look how amazing that is!

there's so many different ways to get different results, but it's taken me years to learn and to collect the supplies and tools needed for each individual one. that's one thing that i love about creative hobbies, there's always something new to learn. 

i've got a list going of crafty things [and not just paper-crafting] that i want to learn and the beautiful thing is that the more i search for inspiration on pinterest and instagram, the more things i discover! 

what's something that is on your list to learn?