Old School Sympathy

Hi everyone, thank you so much for stopping by today.

With all of the gorgeous stamps and colouring mediums out there, it is very easy to let the more basic things fall away to the bottom of your stash.

For me, those things include my embossing folders. I remember a year ago when every card I made included an embossed panel. I just loved the texture and dimension it gave. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point I stopped using those folders and slowly they made their way from my desk where everything is so easily accessible, to a box on my shelf.

Today, I have three variations of a simple to create sympathy card.

While the design for each of these cards is similar, the use of a different embossing folder gives each a unique look. 

It was incredibly difficult for me to not use stamps or glossy accents or glitter. 

Every now and then, it's good to go through the things that have made their way to the bottom of your stash and get back down to basics. There is a simplistic beauty to the cards we used to create, that's why we made them to begin with, right?

Our styles and techniques will change and evolve over time, keeping up with our interests and the things about the art that excite us, but don't forget to give a little love to your roots. If my first exposure to the world of card making had been all the crazily intricate stamping and colouring and layering I would have been way to intimidated and overwhelmed to even get started. 

Like any process, it all begins with the basics. You have to be able to do simple math before you can move on to advanced algebra, right? The concepts in art are really no different. At least in my opinion. 

I have also found it to be incredibly helpful (not to mention a confidence booster) to return to the basics when a more complicated project has gotten me down. We have all had moments where we just want to throw our hands up in the air and give up because it wasn't coming together the way it looked inside our head. Putting together a simple but elegant card, can help clear your mind and get your creativity back on track.

Just my thoughts on it. I'd love to hear yours.