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Showing posts from February, 2022

March 2025 Procreate Designs

Looking back on the art I’ve been making for the past few months I’ve done quite a bit of digital work.  I started really delving into Procreate when we went on Vacation earlier this year, and I haven’t stopped exploring the possibilities since.   While planning for our vacation in late February and early March of his year I opted to take only my camera and iPad.  No knitting, no sketch book, no art supplies.  This was the first time I’d ever taken only my iPad, with the intent of creating art while on a vacation.  I had a plan to limit my supplies and challenge myself to only using procreate.  My plan worked, I learned a lot about procreate and I enjoyed to process.   The biggest thing I learned was how very freeing being able to sit on the couch or the porch at night with just an iPad and a pencil was.  There was no figuring out where to put supplies, or how to juggle a sketchbook on my lap, or being confined to the table.  The other bonus ...

Tallent

March is National Craft Month. In the vain of National Craft Month, I want to talk about the ever-elusive "talent". I wish I had a dime for every talent-related comment tossed my way. "I wasn't born with talent." "You're so talented." "I don't have your talent." and my personal favorite "You create beautiful things, I can't even draw a stick figure." I'd really love to know what drawing a stick figure has to do with being creative, but I digress. I'm gonna cut right to the bone, I loath the word talent. In the world of creativity and makers, it's made out to be some magical power that you're either born with or you aren't. Those who feel they don't have it generally feel they can't get it. I'm gonna be straight up honest with you, it's not magical or elusive, nor is it a gene we're born with. Being "talented" has more to do with passionate curiosity, practice, an...

Do People Still Send Cards?

These are three of the most repeated sentences I hear when I tell someone I left my day job to become a handmade card artist. Ironically, I hear them most often while standing in line at the Post office... "Do people really still buy cards?" "Your cards are beautiful, do people still send cards?" "I'd buy your cards, but I don't know who I'd send them to." These statements do two things; they validate some sort of guilt for the person saying it and they sting the recipient. I'd say it's a classic knee-jerk reaction. When actually I wonder if the sayer is very often someone who would be delighted to receive something other than junk and bills in their mailbox. As the recipient, I am often saddened by the lack of value placed on what I create. So, I thought I'd take a moment today and address these awkward comments. "Do people really still buy cards?" The short answer is, Yes! There are still people who find comfort, j...

Neenah Solar White is Not for Me

I don't usually talk about products if I don't love them, but I felt like this might be an elephant in the crafting space no one is talking about. If you've been around the card-making world a minute and you love alcohol markers specifically Copics, then you've heard about Neenah Solar White. It is professed to be the magic paper for color with alcohol markers. For me, it is not. When I first bought my Copic markers I had to have the magic paper. I drank the cool-aid and bought a small package of Neenah Solar White 80-pound. I was so excited to get the paper, I couldn't wait to try it. Was it magic? No, I hated it. I still have most of that small ream and it's collecting dust on the shelf. How could I hate the magic paper? I struggled with marker bleed. On every single project. No matter how careful and lighthanded I colored with my amazing alcohol markers, I ended up with marker bleed. I was so frustrated and terribly disappointed. I began to ques...