Cards

I've been making lots of cards lately. Mostly because I keep thinking I'm going to "plant" my hummingbird stamp somewhere as a letterbox, but haven't made a decision about that yet. It's one of my favorite stamps, and the fear of losing it is great. So I have been making tons of impressions of it, so that if it does disappear, at least I have something of it to keep.

The cards have been selling really well at the orchid shop, which is really nice, though not a huge money maker. I made about 15 new orchid cards last week to put on the rack, and today I've been whipping together more of the hummingbirds. This is just a small handful here. I don't think any two are alike, which suits me, as if I've done something once I really don't care to do it again. I love to explore new ways of displaying the stamp in a way that is bright and fun. Some work better than others. I learned straight off to not try to stamp onto the card, since the texture of the paper makes a clean impression difficult, and if it was messed up, then the whole card was trash.
Other projects have been at a stand-still, mostly due to time. There's been some skirt-making for bellydancing and a lot of graphic design work, but nothing notable, and nothing truly my creation. Summer is not a good time for me to be crafty, as there's too much to do outside!
Stay tuned, however, as I just bought some great new fabric scraps to make more purses, as well as some awesome bamboo handles to try out a new style of purse.

Whoa!

Did you think I've been slacking on the projects since I've been quiet? Oh, no. Quite the opposite, in fact. I've not had time to photograph anything, and so I haven't been updating.
But yesterday I did start work on a new stamp -- soon to be another card. A friend mentioned that his mom loves owls, and since I did a hummingbird stamp already I thought "Oooh! A lot of people are into owls and may love to have an owl card!" So here ya go! I started to create one. I must say, though, that whoever it was that recommended this pink carving stuff (Speedball Speedy-Stamp) really got it wrong. It doesn't crumble, I'll give it that much (several other varieties crumble, making it hard to do fine work) but it's really bendy, really flexible. So if you're trying to carve any thin lines, they bend away from the knife, rather than get sliced. The only reason I used it was a) I had it laying around; and b) I was out of the orange stuff. And you know how it goes -- once you're in the grip of projectitis, you sorta have to just go with it. No waiting around for proper materials! In any case, I think he's looking really cute, and hope the cards come out well. I did sell a couple orchid cards already, and that makes me happy. $2 isn't much, but it's $2, and it's more than I had before. :)

Other projects lately involve the paying, work kind. I've got a couple magazine deadlines looming in my future, so I've been busy designing. Also spent an afternoon making beautiful headpieces for my bellydancing troupe. Hopefully I'll have photos of those soon. There were also orchid centerpieces to create for a benefit dinner, and several more of the "couture clutches." LOTS more of them, in fact. I got really gung-ho with those, and if not for all the work I have to do, I'd probably be making lots more. They're really awesome.