Color choice makes a difference!

Hello! We have deadline coming up for OWH. One deadline is for more masculine cards for Dad--- cards that can be used for birthdays and other celebrations for men. We also will be making Fourth of July cards for celebration.  The design below is one we wouldn't think to use for a Fourth of July card, even though it has a flag in the design. Look again.

 

The print design used above has much cooler colors in it. You can see the gray in the design is very strong and this color may indicate a cool background such as blue or blue gray to off-set the total card design.

Embellishments (like punched-out stars) might be brushed on the edged with a blue gray chalk ink color before we adhere them to the card front design. This might be used as a card for remembrance or for Memorial Day. 

When we design cards, we are expressing something of ourselves within the card. This is one reason hand made cards are so personal.  

I usually sit in my studio experimenting with colors before a whole design is finished, just ready for the next card. I love to look outside watch the birds and the trees now green. Its all the little creatures and their activities that make life so enjoyable.  We, like all God's creatures, make our own homes warm and inviting for friends and family. Likewise, we make our cards with the same spirit of hospitality, for the pure pleasure of enjoying the "free gifts" of life and liberty of expression. 

Operation Write Home is a wonderful way to give our cards away to soldiers in deployed areas who want to reach out to loved ones back home. The soldier can find a card they like that expresses what they want to say and mail these cards back home to family members for a birthday, anniversary, get well, or a special occasion. 

Its with this same spirit of hospitality when I sit in my studio watching the neighbors struggle with their garden, mowing grass, or digging in their yard, I look for subjects of life and colors; earth tones, neutrals and  natural sources of color and simplicity. I work and forget myself, leave my situation behind me and think of the one who might select one of these cards. I realize what motivated our Lord with the passage: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." I serve out of God's love. My only regret is I can't express this feeling to everyone I meet. 

In order to have a ready made selection on hand, I have a little box of  2"X3" of scraps in different colors cut just for this designing purpose. I try several combinations with my print papers before I make a final choice of colors and patterns for the design. Then, by adding on embellishments our design is completed.

A card is a special way to communicate who you are and share how you feel. Always choose to make a card a blessing to someone; one that communicates your freedom for life and your liberty to create a work of beauty.  

I hope you all have a great day making cards for someone you love and care about. 

Gloria J.

Riding High, Thankful Thursday

    Have you ever felt your life was just hum-drum, status quo, or your creative juices were a little stale? Changing just one thing, like our point of view, helps us to gain a different perspective. That's certainly true about creative arts or crafts. I know its true about card making. Creating something interesting is as simple as using a different color, finding a different subject or taking up a new challenge.
Now, maybe sky diving is not be your cup of tea, but it certainly does change your perspective!

I've found OWH's blog site www.operationwritehome.org./starsandstamps.blog has given us some new ideas and challenges to help with our creative mojo. Located on their site are tutorials and advice on card making. I found it to be very helpful when I'm looking for a new perspective.  I'm always thankful for new ideas. This site has ideas and suggestions to give us inspiration as card makers.

Other sites from card magazines such as Paper Creations,and Cardmakers are excellent publications for a fresh look at making cards. The editors of these magazines have a vested interest in showing us new products and artists in the field of card making.

Just by looking at the picture above, I am so thankful for the creative eye who saw the colors of the water and the sky. It helps me see people are only a small part of the space that surrounds us. I am thankful for the view. What could you do with these colors: aqua, gray and tan? What other types of balloons are there, beside the sky diver's canape?
Let's sum up this week's thanks for the creative minds, who share every week through OWH and its website.