Posts Tagged: Creative Process

Wendy’s Design Team Creative Process and Craft Studio

Good Morning and Welcome! Wendy here and I am taking you into my creative space by sharing some photos and creating a card. First up, a tour through my craft studio. When I first started crafting several years ago, my children all still lived at home and there was no extra space for my new hobby so I would spread out my paper and stamps and stand at our pool table to create…since then I have become an empty nester, moved a couple of times and have several empty bedrooms (which makes me a little sad as I never did look forward to that day).

-3

I left the walls as they were when this room was my daughters – most of the furniture is recycled. The table I craft on is our very first kitchen table, the entertainment unit is from when we had a finished rec room and large projection TV. My hubby made me the Copic organizer from PVC pipe. I like to re-use what I can and make do with what I have. With the kids still in college and university, my crafty budget is small and very modest, but with some creativity it can be stretched.

-12 -11 -10

 

I store all of my YNS dies in this art bin organizer

-18 -19 -21

To stay organized, I have a write board calendar on the wall above my computer which I fill in every month with my design team commitments. I really feel the need to stay ahead because  I cannot create under pressure or if I am feeling behind or overwhelmed, I tend to enjoy  early morning crafting and have my day finished up before anyone gets home from work or school. I volunteer 2 days a week at our local hospital which makes my heart happy and the rest of the week I make my creative side happy. For the most part,  it is rather quiet in my studio during the day,  but I do have 3 companions who hang out with me and keep me company… Aspen, Axle and Asia.

-14

Now onto my project. This time of year is a busy time for making Christmas cards, shopping and of course, baking…I had a friend ask for my sugar cookie recipe so instead of just jotting it down I created a cute card for her with my recipe on the front in a pocket.

I usually start by picking my stamps and then the paper I feel relates most to the theme , unless my card is for a particular sketch, I usually just follow the vision I have in my head but I never glue anything down until I’m sure it is the way I want it to look

-15

I used the YNS set Recipe Card and the coordinating die , wrote out my recipe, made a front pocket from designer paper added my die cut apron. Lastly, I added a few stars  cut from shimmery gold paper for a lil sparkle for the season

-16 -17 -20

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my creative process!

Wendy

FacebookPinterestTwitterEmail

Angel’s Creative Process and Craft Space

Hi all!  Angel here and I hope you have your favorite drink handy because I have a picture-heavy post for ya!  First up is my creative space.  We moved to OK back in April and I’m blessed to have snagged this room near the front of our house.  I work from home so a small portion of the room is dedicated to my work space and the rest of it is dedicated to my FUN work space 😉  I have a nice view and some great natural light that shines in most of the day.

Here’s my desk.  It’s just a folding table that I’ve used for years, but I’m looking out for a replacement, just waiting to find the perfect one.  Yep, my desk is normally this messy.  Just keepin’ it real, folks!

 

Here’s where I store just about everything.  I scored the tall wire racks on the right for $7 from a yard sale. The bars and wire baskets are from IKEA (purchased a few years ago).  And there’s my lovely Vagabond, always close in reach 😉

Here’s my view when I sit at my desk.  I have the tv to my left and the window view to my right.  I just try to ignore the ugly real work computer and desk right in front of me, lol!

 

Here’s my photo set up.  A BIG shout out to Debbie Olsen for sharing her process because it made me rethink mine.  I bought that cute little birdcage a while back from Hobby Lobby, but it was just sitting on a shelf.  The lighting is perfect for pictures several hours during the day in this spot, so regardless of when I finish my cards, I wait to take a pic for that right moment.  It’s worth the wait because I’m so happy with how my pics have turned out lately!

Finally, here’s a view from the window-side of the room.  That would be our foyer area.  I ‘hide’ my mess with that bamboo screen I picked up from Hobby Lobby.  Our front door is immediately to the right of the screen.  The walls are a soft buttery yellow, but look a bit bright here…

 

Ok, now on to my creating process!  First off, I almost always, like 99.9% of the time, am creating a card with at least one type of challenge in mind.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a sketch challenge (which are my faves), a color challenge, inspiration challenge, whatever…  you can pretty much bet that I’m making a card for a challenge somewhere!  Once I found the challenges I want to create for, I take pictures of the screen – see my phone on the upper right?  That’s a pic of one of the challenges I’m using for the card I’m about to make.  Having the pics handy keeps me from needing to go back and remember which blog I found it on, etc…  then I get to work!  For this card, I’m using the NEWLY RELEASED Little Darling January set, which I colored with Copics.  I knew I was going to fussy-cut her, so I stamped her with Memento black ink onto a scrap of Neenah solar white card stock.

 

One thing I’ve done for YEARS – I cut out the middles of any card stock layers that won’t be seen.  Make sense?  So here, the white layer will be behind the Blu Raspberry layer, so I cut the middle out. For one, it cuts down on the weight of the card and two, it leaves me with decent-sized scraps for sentiments or whatever.

 

Before I adhere anything, I lay it all out to make sure there’s nothing else I need to add, like ribbon, twine, whatever.  How cool does that silver metallic paper look with the embossing?!  The sentiment is from the Celebrate the Season set.  I thought the pretty font went perfectly with this sweet little girl.  Another thing I’d like to point out is when using the YNS gumdrops, in this case the sparkly white ones, I always use my paper piercer to get them off the packaging and place them lightly where I think I want them.  I don’t push them onto the card stock until I’m happy with the placement.

 

Here’s a pic where you can see the silver metallic paper.  I like the first pic better, but that’s just me 😉

 

Phew!!!!  Well, you can’t say I didn’t warn you about the long post, ha!

Don’t forget, we are currently in the middle of a new release hop — there is still plenty of time to check out the new images and leave comments for your chance to win a $20 YNS gift certificate. Read all about the hop HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Angel

 

FacebookPinterestTwitterEmail

Brianna’s Creative Process and Craft Space!

  Hello everyone, Brianna here with you all for today’s post. I’ve got something a little bit different for you today. Why you ask? Well, today I am letting you get a look into my creative process, if you wanna call it that, I consider it more of an un-organized creative mess *grin* It gets the job done though and it works for me. I never really know what I am going to do when creating. I usually start with the stamp set I will be using, I then usually pick out my patter papers based on the theme of the stamp set. I like to color after I pick out my papers because I want my color combos to coordinate, I am kinda OCD like that. I don’t usually follow any type of sketch unless one is provided to me to follow along with, I just go with the flow and choose my layout as I am putting my card together. It’s the same concept with embellishments, once I get my card all done I will just start laying things out on my card that I feel I might want to use, If I like what I see then I will adhere it down. Here are a couple of photos I took along the way, while creating my latest card.

Stamp set used: Little Darling Jack

Here are a couple pictures showing how I mask my image to stamp some snowflakes.

Step1

step2

step3

Now that my images are all done and embossed, I can start my coloring. For today’s card, I used my Spectrum Noir markers.

jackbrianna120114

This card was very simple and and the only embellishments, I used were: a button, ribbon and white twine.

I no longer have my own craft room. My three-year old moved out of his nursery ( my old craft room before he was born) into my newer craft room (bigger, better, more room/space, more toys) and I moved into the basement, also mine and the hubby’s sleeping quarters. Eventually we are going to have another child so we wanted to keep the nursery open for when that happens. The sacrifices we have to make! My peanut loves his new room and as long as he is happy, I am happy. I am still fortunate enough to have somewhat of my own space.

Here is a  picture of my craft corner/wall.

Craftroom

*****

Before you go…have you seen Karen’s Cyber Monday SALE!!!

Take an additional 30% off the Retired Stamp Section in the YNS Store

Online Code: YNSCM

*****

Plus have you seen the Deal of the Week?!!! Check it out HERE!

*****

Stayed tuned later this week for some sneak peeks of this months release and then the blog hop taking place on Dec 7th!

Thank you all for stopping by!

Brianna

FacebookPinterestTwitterEmail

Design Team Series – Deborah’s Creative Process

Happy Monday YNS crafters. Deborah here and I am sharing  how my creative process works when starting a card or project.

My process doesn’t have a set amount of time, but really is based on my schedule with work and my boys extra curricular activities.  Those times of  hectic schedules will cause my projects to be done in pieces.  I will admit that I am no longer a night owl, but I used to burn the midnight oil in the past. Hee hee… Those times are unfortunately long gone.  I am now an early morning crafter or afternoon crafter.

So allow me to share…

Selecting an image:

IMG_0583

This is how I organize my stamps, which I adapted from Jennifer McGuire’s organizational system.  I have them separated by stamp company that makes it easy for me to select a set for creating.  Here is one of the full bins I use:

IMG_0584

You can see that each set is labeled and in it’s own package. This makes for locating the stamp set really easy.  Depending on what is needed to be made, I will decide on the project.  For example, if it’s a new release for a design team, I will use the set that is required.  But if I am making a card for a deadline in which I am able to choose my image, I will go with what my creative instincts are telling me.  Another way to make this process easier is that I have another bin that sits on my desk that has all the sets that I need to create with for design teams or sets that I want to create with.  That way, I am able to thumb through that bin first to see what is needed to be done.  I call this little area of my desk my essentials.  It’s all the things I use and need all the time.  Those things in the picture are:

IMG_0587

Copics (of course!), the organization bin I spoke about above,  paper snips, metal snips (for the die sets), eraser, pencil, washi tape (for holding things in place), tweezers, my ATG gun, my scraps system, and my score boards.  Now that I have selected the image I want to color, I select the paper I think will coordinate well with that image.  Here, I have my holiday/seasonal 6×6 pads that I keep separate from my everyday 6×6 pads I may use.  The everyday pads, I file by company.  But for the seasonal/holiday ones, I just file them as such.

Selecting Paper:

IMG_0585

On a side note, I always look at my scraps for that collection first to see if there is any piece or part I may want to use on my project.  In order to keep my scraps together with the collection, I have a system using envelopes attached to the back of the pad to keep it together.  If you are interested in knowing more, here is the link on my blog that gives a step by step on how to make it.

IMG_0586

Now that the image and paper is selected, It’s time to color it.  I stamp my image on X-Press it cardstock and begin coloring it in with Copics.

coloring

As far as my layout consideration, I either create one on my own sketching on the scratch pieces of paper you see, or I will use a challenge layout.  The thought process really depends on the size of the image and the size of the base card I may use.  Most of my cards are the average A2 size, but sometimes I like to make  5.5×5.5″ cards.  I always color my image on top of some scratch paper I keep on top of my desk. That stack of scratch paper is on top of a self healing mat and my craft sheet.  That way, when something calls at the moment to use my X-acto knife or my airbrush system, I have what I need right there. And my Copics are always right in front of me ready for selection.

Finished Card:

Untitled-1

Here is my finished card using Little Darling Jack.  I used my stickles for the snow to add some sparkle, but once I did that, I wished I had just used some glitter.  That’s ok.. it will give the card sparkle, and perhaps later, I will add some glitter to hide some of the bald areas.  I do like to finish the inside of my cards, but I don’t always do it right away.  Partly because I always forget to take a picture of it! But I will add to the inside when it is time to give the card.

Now, here is a peek into my craft room that I am fortunate to have and my husband is so patient and accepting about.  Secretly, he calls it the black hole, but he knows it makes me happy.  I have a good man…

My crafty area:

IMG_0588

This is my desk where I sit and create.

IMG_0589

And this is my computer/Silhouette  desk.  I definitely have an office with a view! 🙂 A view of my children while they play, really. Either way, my room is functional and there is a bit more in it that it not shown, but this is my main area.  The hardest part of it would be that I have to move it all every 2-3 years! My husband is in the military, so all my beloved items get boxed up and moved when it is time for him to move.  It’s crazy, but a fantastic time to purge my items!

Thanks so much for taking the time to peek into my space and be sure to check back next Monday to see Brianna’s creative process.  Now.. go CREATE something beautiful!

Deborah

FacebookPinterestTwitterEmail

© 2024 Your Next Stamp. All Rights Reserved.