Finally: a card

Two cards actually, for Father's Day. Things have been a little busy and awkward for cardiness lately, so I'm glad I got these put together and listed on Etsy. I described them as being maybe good to give to a new father, as the saying Biodh Gra agus Cairdeas i Reim (Let Love and Friendship Reign) could be a nice blessing for a future father/son/daughter relationship, aw.

First Irish Sale :D !

Yip, all that green energy paid off after all - a green customer, of the éireannach variety, my first! And she bought green too - all of the Patrick's Day cards except the snake. Poor snake! Anyway, voila the package...

Final St. Patrick's Day Card: promise!

This, like the Tricolour card (completely unloved and unhearted on Etsy btw! Boo!), has been kicking around in my head for a while, mostly because I do like drawing snakes; but, of course St. Patrick afficianado's out there will know, snakes are also relevant to the great man himself, seeing as it is popularly believed that he single-handedly drove all serpents from Ireland (and kept them out by growing fields of shamrocks - news to me ;p !)

So here's the before and after - dammit all but again I'm disappointed that I couldn't get all the details of the drawing to show through in the embossing, but CLOSE! Actually the detail - showing the under-and-overs of the celtic knotwork - can't be seen in the above pic, the final one is in Paint and I couldn't find it to upload. Silly!

Anyway, I'm retiring my Green goggles now - my Etsy page looks mouldy at the top, thank goodness for the featured spots to showcase a little colour!

No prizes...

...for guessing what colour jumper I was wearing today! Amateur!

More of the Little Grey Seal

More pics of the custom card: and voila in the bottom picture, the teeny tiny Big Sister card and teeny tiny matching envelope :p

Cute, cute, cute!

Custom Listing

Finally, FINALLY, I've finished the little boy's card - delays and premature aging caused primarily by a breakdown in communication between me and the printer, sigh...But it's done now, and thats...that!

Improved?

Well, I officially consider that I have 'tried': I retook some pictures of the wrapped-paper-package-tied-with-a-red-ribbon-bow card, in a light with HOPEFULLY less of a bluish glow!

On my map: Oklahoma!

Oh yes, I am so grateful and happy - a wonderful lady in Oklahoma has seen the light and bought the red/gold Claddagh Ring card! Phew! 'Cos I was starting to wonder if I was the only one who kinda liked it...if I do say so myself *blush!*

And I'm also happy that it gave me the shove I needed to make an effort with finding a consistent package for single cards at least: I always knew I wanted it to have a board backing, and to be something that needed to be 'opened' - that anticipation is what it's all about, isn't it? And it had to be something that I could put together quickly and efficiently (I don't want the packaging to cost more in time or material than the card itself!). And I'm pretty happy with how this one combined all of the above...

So there's a board, glued onto an A4 sheet of nice textured card with my etsy avatar and contact details printed on the back; I scored along the board and cut out the 4 corners, so I'm left with 2 small and 2 big flaps. The small ones are folded first, and the big next, and then it is tied closed with a little red ribbon. Yes, in a bow. I can't help myself!

Silver and Blue Claddagh Ring Valentine's Day Card

It just so happens that the red and gold of the other Claddagh Ring card - below - and the silver and blue of this one go so well together - nothing to do with gender stereotypes whatsoever!

Celtic Heart Valentine's Card

Agh, but this is a bugger to emboss! The finished product seen above is the last of a long line of Attempts, all previous of which were rejected...and, sshhh, this one would be too if I had ANY patience left - maybe you heard the shriek of disbelief and despair when I finally finished the embossing and folded it over and realised the image had been printed OFF CENTRE!!!! Nooooooo-oooooo! But I couldn't start again. Again. So I chopped off the edge of the card, artistically leaving a strip of the vibrant red inner paper to set off the bright white outer card :)

Scribbling...

Hopes for a new Valentine's card...

Final touches

The finished product...

Gold Embossed Thank You in Irish

Better than a viewing? An Etsy 'Conversation' ;p

Yeah, I freaked! I saw the little tag at the top of the Etsy screen, with nothing changed except, EXCEPT: a little number 1, a SOMETHING!!!
In fact, a conversation. And apparently a 'Conversation' means someone, someone real in the real world!, had sent me a message :)
So a lovely lady was enquiring about the wisdom of my costings ($0.20 per card) and listing fees (zero), which I replied to with an outpouring of adoration and gratitude...professional much?! And I haven't heard from her since!!!
But I have Faith...on researching the lovely Linda's bio, she is all about The Good Lord Above, and how Creativity is, uh, From Him, and stuff. So she can't NOT get back in touch, can she?!

Growing pains

So I'm happy with the images, the paper/card, the 'design', the embossing idea and the end result...and the pictures look absolutely crap! Grr!
I did what I have read recommended: put taking the pictures off for three days until I had the time to do it in the morning light; changed the white balance on my sister's beautiful new camera; USED my sister's beautiful new camera - a panasonic lumix (sumthinsumthin), 8 optical zoom, 12 megapixel wonder machine...colour Blue! How could it fail?!
And yet, they all look awful. My only idea is to try taking them beside the big sliding door windows, as opposed to under the velux window upstairs, which I was convinced was a touch of genius by the way!
FINAL straw to be clutched at: it was pouring rain that day...although having said that when is it NOT going to be overcast during an Irish December?!

Not a bad pile of rocks!

That's right, you heard me: I kinda like the look of the dry stone wall below!
And when I say it's the simplest of the drawings, it actually still took quite a lot of effort, so thaya...
I'm all about the positives at the minute - trying to, I should say, against tremendous odds (why is my printer printing all the black bits rusty brown?)
Anyway, it would be exciting to have some actual CARDS to talk about at last!

Oh, there is an update: my paper-weaving idea does NOT look like much after the initial honeymoon period, boo! And anyway, I found some lovely paper which is as close to card as is possible while still being able to go through the inkjet printer, fingers crossed we are still on such good terms by the next post!

RESULT

Well, it isn't that dramatic really, in fact it's quite anti-climactic - or is it just that I am AWFUL at lighting for photographs?!
Anyway, these are a few attempts at different coloured cards and papers. I also had a simpler idea for the layout - I mean, I have limited ambition and imagination so I'm just printing the images and text using my cheap old laser printer, which obviously doesn't print on card. Sooooo, I want to combine the printed paper with the card, and I did it by cutting slots in the card and weaving the paper through to hold it in place; in these photographed cards there are 5 cut slots, so that the image is framed on the front of the card and the message is framed on the inside of the card, using one piece of paper printed both sides and no glue or other fiddly bits. The simpler version has just one slot cut into the crease of the card, and the paper slipped through.

I thought I was being smart and creative...but is it just silly?!