I have been thinking about "design principles" for some time but somehow there has always been a block to my understanding how to apply them in card making, so much so that over the last couple of years making a card has become a source of frustration for me - a card taking me a week or so to construct & much of it ending in the recycling. I've kept going, knowing deep down it was something to do with understanding design that was the block, for I could not let go of my NEED to create, but I'd approach making a card for someone with a sense of dread. A couple of years ago I took a design course specifically for card makers but somehow I wasn't ready to understand although I believe it laid a foundation so that concepts such as the Rule of Thirds weren't completely new to me. Learning is very much a cumulative process & we cannot predict how or from where the brain will absorb information. Sometimes it needs to be given the same information but presented in a slightly different format for understanding to be gained.
"Clean And Simple" or CAS has been totally outside my comfort zone, mainly I think, because I didn't understand what it entailed & I couldn't see what lay behind all that uncluttered space. However, when I saw that My Creative Classroom (MCC) was offering a Clean and Simple Card Workshop with the focus being on how to apply design principles it seemed an opportunity, not only to further my understanding of design, but also of CAS. I was explaining CAS to my husband when he remarked how sensible it would be to see design principles utilised in a clear uncluttered format & how that might facilitate learning.
The following are what I created for the 'homework' challenges set during the course.
Focal Point
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| Stamps: Chocolate Baroque Big Flowers & Celebration Words Inks: Distress Inks, & Markers (Walnut Stain & Barn Door) Die: Spellbinders Shapeabilities Framed Tags 3 Other: Lace & Gem |
Single Line
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| Stamps: Penny Black Paisley Outline & Words Express Inks: Emboss Tinted Stamp Pad with Steward Gill Ultrafine Clear Embossing Powder; VersaFine Majestic Blue Die: Spellbinders Shapeabilities Framed Tags 3 Other: Floral Ribbon |
Weight
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| Stamp: Penny Black Words Express Inks: Distress Inks (Walnut Stain & Dried Marigold) Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilites Standard Circles Small & Splendid Circles Other: Joanna Sheen Paper, Sizzix Embossing Folder, Woodware Butterfly Punch & Stickles Glitter Glue |
Colour/Contrast
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| Stamps: Penny Black Air Mail Inks: VersaFine Onyx Black Die: Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Tiny Tabs & Tags Other: Winsor & Newton Pan Watercolours, Salt, Derwent Coloursoft Pencils & Ribbon Inspiration: Diana Nguyen - Yours Truly |
Asymmetry
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| Ink: Pine Needles Distress Ink Dies: Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Florals, Spellbinders Nestabilities Splendid Circles Other: Woodware Flower Punch, Stickles Glitter glue, Ribbon & Gem Inspiration: Jane - Purplejet Loves Crafts |
Texture  |
| Stamp: Chocolate Baroque Clear Fancy Flourishes Inks: Emboss Tinted Stamp Pad with Stewart Gill Ultrafine Embossing Powder Die: Spellbinders Shapeabilities Ironwork Motifs Other: Woodware Butterflies, Inverse Corner & Corner Rounder Punches; Gems |
I thought I would write of my own difficulties with design in case it might help someone else. I'm not saying that I have arrived at a magic formula for making a card: I still need to consolidate the principles I've been learning through working with them practically. However, I now feel that I am able to move forwards & approach making a card without it being the burden it had become for I have something concrete with which to work instead of reinventing the wheel every time. I'm really surprised by how I can appreciate CAS cards now & I know that the principles that underpin their success are also at work in product/technique based cards which catch my attention.
