Are You Over Thinking Crafting?
When you are crafting do you analyze, over think, change or even throw the project out on occasion?
On a normal day I don’t. Â Last night I did all of the above and then… walked away.
No clue why this card gave what I call “fits” but I ended up just going to bed and not finishing it. Â After at least 4 cups of coffee this morning I was ready to tackle it again.
I want to share the process of this card because it reminded me of this below…
Let’s call it exactly what it is. Â Kimberly was looking for perfection. Â I wasn’t seeing “it” therefore my frustration was building. Â and it was time to let it go…
This is a life lesson in the making as well. Â Sometimes we have to remember not everything is going to be perfect and learn to let go more often.
The first card…
What went wrong?
- the diagonal piece of cardstock stuck out like a sore thumb to me.
- PLUS I changed the color of that small strip which was blech. Â It also stuck out like a sore thumb.
The second card….
This time I added the Pool Party cardstock for the bottom piece of the card. Â I also added a small piece of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper to break up the top and bottom layer.
I was okay with this until I stamped the greeting. Â It looks like it’s floating in the air. Â Maybe it’s the way the greeting is slightly rounded? Who knows but it was NOT turning me on.
It was after this one I decided to walk away. Â I was only growing more frustrated.
The keeper…
and I’m still not sold 100% on this one.
I took the greeting and made it straight on my clear block and then decided to make a banner. Â When all else fails, make a banner.
Get this… I had to change the bottom piece (Pool Party cardstock) Â AGAIN because I had an itch on my face and when I touched the cardstock I had a big make up smudge. Â FOR REAL???
Since we are here looking closely at the globe portion of the card.  If you look really close… the horse is about to run away too.  This die is pretty intricate and I jerked the paper right out and never noticed the horse was about to trot off.  <sigh> When you have  your die, be mindful of that.  They are very delicate.  Me, not so much.
The globe portion of this card was the easiest but the longest. Â I did 5 layers total.
- Large Circle die cut (you will use this size for all of the layers)
- Vellum Circle Die cut
- Pool Party Circle die cut then cut houses using the Sleigh Ride Edgelits.
- Whisper White circle die cut then cut trees using Sleigh Ride Edgelits.
- Whisper White circle die cut then cut sleigh and horse using Sleigh Ride Edgelits.
The bottom two layers were embossed with Iridescent Ice Embossing powder to make it look snowy.
What I learned…
Stop overthinking and trying to be a perfectionist. Â In the end, would the first card bring a smile to someones face? Absolutely. Â Sometimes we just need to roll with it.
-OR-
Learn to walk away, take a deep breath and come at it again when you are in a better state of mind.
Baby steps…. For those of you in a creative slump, remember to take those baby steps but don’t put off going into your crafting room much longer. Â Create something EASY and be easy on yourself. Click HEREÂ to see what I’m talking about. Â I am LOVING your cards. Â LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Sweet Weekly Deals-
Just a reminder, the weekly deals are pretty sweet this week. Â For those of you that create handmade Christmas cards, there are some things that would be great to stock up on for holiday crafting. Â Gold Glimmer paper is the BOMB!! Â Add the Very Vanilla Satin ribbon… GORGEOUS.
Punches… if they are on sale get them. Â This is always a great deal. Just click on the picture below and shop till you drop!
XOXOXOXO
Love to each!
Built for Free Using:Â My Stampin Blog
19 thoughts on “Are You Over Thinking Crafting?”
Kimberly, I feel your pain! I, too, have to just walk away sometimes and let my brain rest. I love that you showed the progression of cards 🙂
I am so thankful that you are blogging mostly everyday now. You do not know how much you have inspired me, with your words, your attitude, your crafting skills, and your faith in God. I went thru the same process yesterday trying to get a card “just right”. It didn’t happen, then after reading your post this morning I just added a little bit more and now I am happy (sort of) with the card. Thanks Kim, Hugs to you
Your blog post is SO me! Every time I sit down to craft, I have to tell myself to not analyze and over think. You are so fortunate that that is not a normal state of mind for you! I am most satisfied with my work when I just “go with the flow”. The funny thing is that I don’t measure or worry about if my paper is cut straight or stray ink smudges, stuff like that. I fuss and futz over colors, placement, and embellishments.
My new mantra: Go with the flow!
You make me laugh 🙂 I love actually reading your posts as opposed to just looking at the pictures (as let’s be honest we do for most crafting sites). And I just want to tell you- I absolutely love all three versions of your card. I was even thrilled seeing the first one. Guess we all have our tastes right 🙂
I haven’t gotten time to play with this set yet, but now I can’t wait to try it out- and good to know not to let the horse ‘run away!’ 😉
Kimberly, I am SO glad that I’m not the only one that does this! Thank you for reminding us to come to our senses!…… and also, to keep our fingers off our faces! 🙂 I am loving all your posts. TFS!
For real… I couldn’t believe I did that. LOL. I would have left it had it not been so crazy noticeable. UGH. XOXOXO Thank you for taking the time to read my friend. I do appreciate you.
LOL. Yes. Don’t let that horse run away. ha ha ha. By the time I was satisfied with this card I had to laugh hysterically. It wasn’t until the end I noticed the horse about to gallop away. UGH. Thank you for reading my friend. I do appreciate anyone that takes the time out of their day. We are such busy people now a days.
Kay, your words make my day. It’s a process, isn’t it? We are our own worst critics. Thats why I can’t ask Russ what he thinks of a card anymore. He likes them all so I suspect he is lying. Ha ha ha.
Thank you for reading my friend. LOVE YOU!! XOXOXO
Kimberly It’s so nice to see you back creating! I love both of your cards but we’ve all been there, struggling to make the perfect card and it doesn’t come out exactly as planned and when that happens to me I just need to walk away from it… hopefully coming back with a fresh idea and most of the time it’s even better that I had originally planned. I like the sentiment on the first card because it’s curved up on both sides.. a happy mistake! If you still want to change it though you could add a snowdrift to cover over the rounded sentiment then just add your sentiment to the front of the snowdrift banner style! Either way it’s a really cute card!
I do this sort of thing so often it isn’t funny. Sometimes by the time I’ve finished making a card I’ve trashed enough cardstock and DSP to make 4 more cards! Sometimes I leave them overnight, and when I look at it in the morning it’s obvious what’s wrong. Sometimes I go to bed satisfied with what I made, and when I get up the next day I see something wrong immediately. And I always try to fix it. And sometimes bollux it up so badly I have to start over.
You are cracking ME UP!! Yes. I went through more cardstock for this card it wasn’t even funny. Well, I guess it was funny by the end because if I didn’t laugh I would have cried. LOL.
It’s great to be creating and blogging again. 🙂
Yes, walking away was the best medicine for that card that night. LOL. I’m not touching that card again… I might frame it for the frustrations it gave me. LOL. XOXOXO
Anyone who designs feels your pain right along w you. 3 cards hit the trash for every beauty. This one is so interesting with it’s layers, and gorgeous! In scrapbooking, I recently packaged kits class and the next morning looked and see a better approach to specific embellishments. The first thing isn’t wrong, but it could be better. Perfectionistic? maybe. The mind percolates over night and works all kinds of issues out.
I have to say that I enjoyed reading your blog as much as the pictures as well. I have also learned to walk away until I am in a better frame of mind. I am learning not to always toss what I don’t like. Sometimes, when I come back later it looks great after all. And I love all the versions of your card.
Thank you for reading Sibylle. Yes, many times I’ve walked away too and even let it sit for a day until I think I might have a better idea. LOL. Sometimes that works, sometimes the project might still make it to the trash…
I love that you posted this! For newbies like me it is encouraging that you feel the frustration of things not coming out right. I make a lot more mediocre cards to get a couple of good ones! Thanks for sharing your struggle with this card.
Yup, I so relate to everything you’ve shared here, Kimberly. Thanks for the great reminders & inspiring me with all the versions of the card. So true that anyone would love to receive any of the them.
Best wishes, Di
When I saw this card on Pintrest, I had to see how you did it. Then when I read the entire page, I thought how right you are!! I get so stuck on making my next card be so much more awesome than the last, that I forget how much people really do appreciate any handmade card. I consider myself a simple person – I need to think that when crafting! Thank you for getting my feet back on the ground!
Michelle, I find we all get stuck in this crazy cycle at some time or another. Thank you for taking the time to read. 🙂 XO
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