Friday, September 20, 2013

sending smiles...with determination!

This has been a good week.  I received great news -- a job offer -- and will be a grants manager for a small family foundation starting next week!  Can I get a woot woot!

I immediately thought of sending thank you cards to the colleagues who recommended me for this job. The first on my list is my mentor, Jane.  She works for a community foundation in Chicago and was instrumental in my learning about philanthropy.


I made this card for the 10 Minute Craft Dash hosted by Pretty Pink Posh and the CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge.  The card was finished in 9 minutes and 57 seconds.   Talk about close!

I love the color combination and the sketch was approachable...


     

...however, I made lots of mistakes in earlier versions.  Lots!  I can't send a thank you card that I'm not fully satisfied with, so I kept trying until I finally got it right.  Here are the cards that didn't make the cut.  In this first card, I had some issues with the colors from the craft dash.  I thought my embossing powder was grey (i.e., it looked grey in its container), but it turned out to be silver.  So, I rushed to get a grey ink pad, rushed to stamp the sentiment, and well...messed it up.


Second try...rushed to write in Brooklyn, NY, and ended up not even finishing in 10 minutes.


Ok, I really really liked this one and was so sad that I messed up at the last minute.   After I put foam adhesive on the back of the main piece, I turned it over and saw all these blue splotches.  Unfixable splotches.  Waah!


Here they all are.  I'll go through the early versions and see what pieces can be saved and used for other projects.


Lessons learned: (1) Use my embossing buddy to prevent messy embossing, (2) Constantly clean work area so that I don't get ink everywhere, (3) Keep trying until I get it right.

Thank you, Jane!  Only the best for you:)

Supplies:
Stamps: Mama Elephant Central Park, Up and Away
Inks: Memento (tuxedo black); Memento Luxe (rhubarb stalk); Tim Holtz (faded jeans); Versamark
Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling Card
Other: embossing powder, pattern paper

7 comments :

  1. How cool that you shared your first attempts! Rest assured, you are not alone! LOL!
    I love your final card-- such a perfect combination of both challenges!
    Thanks so much for playing along with the 10 Minute Craft Dash and CAS(E) this Sketch!

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  2. Delightful final project! An amazing card in less than 10 minutes. And don't worry, you should see my recycle bin! Lol. Way to rock two challenges. Seriously great card, and wonderful 'attempts'! Bev

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  3. Love your card...I couldn't even imagine embossing a 10 minute challenge. Good for you! Congrats on your job. I really like the Brooklyn card. I am hoping to travel there soon to visit my son. Thanks for sharing your other cards, that made for a fun post.

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  4. Oh my I would cry if my card is perfect and then turned it and have blue ink all over it. But the awesome part is that you keep trying. Love all the effort you made.
    Thanks for playing with us in the 10 Minute Craft Dash.

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  5. Love your card sets, great job. Thanks for playing along with us in the 10 Minute Craft Dash and CAS(E) this sketch! Hope to see you again.

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  6. Love seeing your process - and all your cute cards! Good lessons too :-) Thanks for playing along with us at the 10 MInute Craft Dash!

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  7. It was worth all the effort - lovely assortment of cards.
    Thanks for playing along in the 10 Minute Craft Dash.
    Hugs,
    Caryn xxx

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