The WORST Messed Up Card Ever

Ever had one of those days where you sit down and you are excited to make a card?  You have some new products and you just want to create something pretty.  You have an idea, you start it, doesn’t work, you pivot, it works.  You move on to the next step.  Oh NO, that didn’t work either.  Hard think, then you pivot again.  Totally feel like you painted yourself right into a corner, and you are really not sure about the end result?  Welcome to my world, and today I’m sharing one of THOSE Cards!  The WORST Messed Up Card Ever.  (Ok, the most recent Worst Messed Up Card Ever).

The WORST Messed Up Card Ever - Intro

So as a maker for a variety of stamp companies, I receive product in the mail with the expectation of meeting the company deadlines and getting posts and shares done with nice cards in a timely fashion.  Pretty straight forward right?  WRONG.  Many times, the product gets here LATE, so I only have a day or two to get a card made.  Or, you don’t necessary LOVE or feel creative with what they send you!  That makes it much harder to create something.  Or, as in today’s case, you have a fun product that you LOVE.  In your brain, you have a great idea and you are SURE you are going to knock out a fabulous card in just a few minutes……..yeah, grab a cup of coffee – that’s not how this tail ends, LOL.  Oh yeah, I forgot to add.  All these companies have deadlines for when you have to get the photos to them, and it’s well before when my blog posts go live.  (more deadlines).

hand made greeting card with a pale yellow base, groovy colored flowers with die cut flower centers created with new card making products from Simon Says Stamp

Welcome to The Worst Messed Up Card Ever.

Start with a piece of Simon Says Stamp Lemon Chiffon card stock 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″.  Think that Simon Says Stamps Pawsitively Saturated Inks are going to be perfect to add some colored flowers with their fabulous NEW GROOVY BLOOMS Layering Stencils.

Next, find out the ink is too thin and doesn’t look good on this color of cardstock (It’s really awesome on white, and I LOVE this ink – so why didn’t I just change over to a white card base?  No, the idea was yellow!).  Try Pinkfresh: Bubblegum, Raspberry Bliss, Grassy Knoll and Mermaid Cove.  Much Better, saves the day.

Alternatively, I could have stenciled everything in white opaque ink first and then added the color – would have worked much better, LOL

Then you brilliantly decide that you are going to use Embossing Paste for the flower centers.  It’s white right?  It’s going to make perfect centers.

WRONG, using the stencils, you only add a very thin layer of the paste.  When it dries, it’s only semi opaque and you can see the yellow through it, so it looks like S____ well, you know!.

hand made greeting card with a pale yellow base, groovy colored flowers with die cut flower centers created with new card making products from Simon Says Stamp

The Worst Messed Up Card Ever – those flower centers.

Ok, so, now I need something for the flower centers that looks like “I meant to do this”, not that “I’m trying to fix this mess”.  (Really, I should have tossed this in the bin and started over).

So, out comes Spellbinders Mini Blooms and Springs dies, all the right size flower dies, so I cut those all out of white, with yellow centers and add them to the card with foam squares for a little depth.  I like it. Only problem, this is a Simon Says Stamp release and I’m only supposed to be using their products!….oh well, I like it, so I’m going to finish the card. (wasting more time with the deadline looming).

hand made greeting card with a pale yellow base, groovy colored flowers with die cut flower centers created with new card making products from Simon Says Stamp

Let’s move on to the sentiment.

For some reason, I decide that a pink sentiment on a white background is going to look great on this card!…So I ink blend two shades of pink onto white cardstock.

Next, I cut out the Bestie sentiment and the shadow from white, glue them together and don’t even audition this, yep, I glue it right down onto that card.

It looks terrible.  So while I’m thinking about this, I get out my #10 white gel pen and go to town adding highlights, LOL.

Finally, I come to my senses, gently remove the lovely pink sentiment, and add the black and white one. Much better.  BUT, I can’t submit this to SSS because I didn’t use their ink, the flower dies are not theirs and frankly, the card isn’t up to the standards I set for myself to submit to them.  So, I place it on the side of my work table, clean up and start over.

This card has been sitting on the side of my work table for a week now, so I decided to share it with you.  I’m sure you can relate to this story, and how you can get so sidetracked with a “great idea”, LOL.

HAHA, anyway, I did meet my deadlines last week with cards I was more than happy with, and thank you for all your kind comments on them.  Now I can throw this card in bin!

I’m sure you don’t care what I used on this one, but I’m adding the links below just the same, haha.

 

Visit my Card Making PDF Gallery for 350+ more card ideas

 

Card Making Supplies used for the Simon Says Stamp The Worst Messed Up Card Ever:

Here are the products I used today.  Compensated affiliate links used  where available at no cost to you.

Clicking on a thumbnail link and shopping provides me with a small commission which supports my website and allows me to continue bringing you new projects and videos.  Thank you for your support.  Affiliate and product disclosure are found on my disclosure page.  All products were personally purchased except for Simon Says Stamp Groovy Blooms Stencil which was provided/sponsored by the company.  As always, I was not paid to do this post.  I only use and recommend products I love.  Click on the icons below each product picture to go to my favorite stores.


 

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26 thoughts on “The WORST Messed Up Card Ever”

  1. What a tale! Ideas are great – in the head, but not always on paper!
    I think it’s so funny now but I know it wasn’t when you were trying to
    make your card! I like the card – pity you were’t able to use it!
    xoxoxo

  2. spilor / Lori Spitzer

    Sandi,
    What a tale ! I feel a kindred spirit in reading your post.
    I’m missing something, though: what ink did you use for the yellow in the card? I did not see the name of it. I don’t mean the one that was “too thin” — I mean whichever yellow you ended up using. It looks fine!!
    Don’t worry – we’ve all been there. Take solace in the fact that you mess up and have this sort of experience about 1% of the time. For me, I’m sure I’m more like in the 30% bracket.
    Lori S in PA

    1. It was a Pinkfresh Yellow, LOL. I’m “there”, all the time, I just thought it would be fun to share the trials and tribulations of card making and deadlines, LOL. And I mess up way more than 1% of the time, you just never see them, haha

  3. I chuckled when I read this! It’s like you’ve been spying on me. In the space of an hour I can go from “I’m never designing another card” to “oh my gosh I have the best idea for this product….”. Creativity is messy – AND requires a large recycle bin!

  4. I just rolled over chuckling as I read this post–IT was BRILLIANT to post this to your blog. HOW many–oh Lordie HOW MANY times can we NOT match our vision for a project. RARELY can you rescue them by digging deeper into the mess and adding something that doesn’t work either. When you told the tale of this card—You reminded me to TOSS when you’ve scored wrong, or cut wrong, or screwed up colors, or adhered something that you wish was on the FRONT! Love it Sandi. THANK YOU FOR SHARING this!

  5. I love your blog posts and your honesty and tenacity! I have a card started that I messed up and am trying to figure out how to make it work for something! Thanks for giving me hope to keep going and not trash it!

  6. I think you’re being way too hard on yourself Sandi… however I can totally relate to your frustrations. Sometimes it takes me a whole day of trials and errors before I come up with one that I like. My philosophy has always been, ‘Sometimes we don’t know what to do until we know what not to do!’ I think the colors you used on this card speak of sunshine and happiness… you can’t go wrong with white daisies!

    1. Thanks Bev, it’s more to do with the image I had for the card in the beginning and that fact that nothing I was doing was working, LOL. and yes, this was almost an entire day, and it happens very regularly around here, LOL

  7. You really had me laughing while reading this post. The same scenario plays out at my house frequently. Start the card, hate the card and then file it under “G” for garbage! Difference between mine and yours is that yours was saved from the bin and turned out great. I love the black & white sentiment with those beautiful, bright colors. No messed up card seen here.

    1. haha, thank you Susan, the card should have ended up in the bin right after the ink fiasco, LOL, and I should have given up on the yellow background and just gone to white, LOL, Oh well, it’s a regular occurrence around here and i knew you could all relate to it, LOL

  8. Well, Sandi, I can certainly relate to this 100%! I really liked your card – bright and cheery and I love the little flowers you put in the centres. So cute!

  9. Deondra K Crye

    I thought I was the only one who had this problem!! I will have a “fabulous” card idea, sketch it out and then begin to execute. NOPE! I spend hours trying to make it work only to throw it in the half finished project box. Then, because now I’m behind on my deadline, I just “throw” a card together in record time and WOW! It ends up being the best card I’ve ever made. Uggghhhh! Could that not have been the first idea that I had?

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