Breast Cancer Awareness Month

We're back! It's feels like forever since we've posted an update but really it's only been a little over a month, right? But this past month has been busy busy busy! We continue to create cards for Gabby Road Studio, trying to finish our Christmas cards and find the time to make cards for family and friends who've had birthdays, losses, ect. O, and create a set of cards celebrating and bringing awareness to Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

We were very concerned and nervous to create this set of cards for the Breast Cancer Awareness Month because A. we were on a VERY tight schedule (only the weekend) and B. it is such a popular cause that we didn't want to 'mess it up'.

So when we mean a tight schedule, we mean we only had the weekend to think up ideas, buy supplies and not only start the card but finish it as well. Why only the weekend? This is where living an 1 1/2 hour away from each other and only having the weekend to work on projects together kicked us in the butt. We can normally work separately on weekdays and have a couple different weekends to regroup, but with this project's time limit it just wasn't possible. Our normal time period for the entire process from idea to completion is usually around two weeks to a month for us. This is because sometimes the creativity isn't there, we need time to buy the supplies and sometimes we need a break from the card. But in the end (thankfully) as usual we pulled through and had very happy customers. Only time will tell if we 'messed up' the project, ie: if people buy them from Gabby Road Studio.

Check out our Instagram feed for individual features on each card.

But putting all that stress and craziness aside, we have to think back on why we originally decided to take on this project (and deal with the time issues). And that is we truly hoped we touched in some positive way all the breast cancer patients and survivors out there who see these cards. We personally have been affected by this disease through family members and close friends. Their spirit and the memory of those who have died was thought of often during the making of these cards and we dedicate these cards to them.  We hope we made them proud!

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We hope to see everyone back in (hopefully) a few weeks for our next 'Behind the Card' series featuring...Christmas cards!

New Pictures on our Etsy Shop!

Exciting news!... Well, exciting news for us! We have new pictures of our cards up on our Etsy shop. Like any person new to selling items online and NOT an expert with the camera, this taking great pictures of our cards has been a HUGE learning curve. Who knew taking a picture could be so hard? We cannot tell you how many times we have taken a picture that looked great on our phone or camera. But, as soon as we post it to Etsy and other social media sites, we are always like, 'What were we thinking'?! Now we aren't saying our new pictures are professional level quality but they are certainly a step in the right direction for us.

So what was different this time from ALL the other times? Well, several things. Like all of our other pictures, we used natural light BUT got lucky with the perfect lighting this time. Sometimes in the past we had issues with it being too windy (and therefore blowing our cards away!) or the sun not being in the right spot and therefore created weird shadows.

This time around we also used the 'selective focus' on our smart phone. It's amazing what special features like that will do to change a picture quality. We had used a camera in the past but either we don't fully understand all the features on the camera (which is very possible) or our camera just has better quality. The camera is probably around 10 years old so it is very possible that the smart phone, which is only a year old, has better quality.



Finally, the biggest and best change was...the props we used! We have used the brick of M's home in past pictures but never seemed to find the right item to sit the cards on that created the best light and also showcase the cards to our liking. Yeah, we could always use all black or white background, but that is boring to us. So when we found the wooden stool, we were in heaven! It's the perfect size, shape and height for what we need. Now, the problem. It's not our stool. Our 'unofficial' 3rd member of M&K, and as we always say, the real artist in the family, Bob (yes, that is his real name) had this stool hanging out in his industrial arts shop since he just completed the refinishing on it for a customer of his. K saw this stool when looking for a prop to use and instantly thoughts of our cards. Now, another problem. The stool is an antique and family heirloon, so the stool is definitely NOT FOR SALE. K did a little pity party after learning this. And we know, the things we are willing to do for our cards is a bit extreme, lol. So who knows what the future holds for our pictures and our business for that matter but for present time, it's a win!

   

 

New Card...Kind of

Does this card look familiar? Well, it should except for the fact that it is a new card we are selling at our Etsy shop. Huh? Well okay, it's more like a card we overhauled....dramatically. We basically simplified the card and changed it from a 'thank you' card to a 'happy birthday' card. Doesn't it look more like a birthday card? Well, we hope you do and come check it out at our Etsy shop!

See below for what the card looked like in it's previous life. As you can see there is a WHOLE LOT of craziness going on with this card. We usually embrace craziness but this card got to be too much. It just took us a while to admit it.  Important lesson learned with this project is: you can and will go overboard. But then you just fix it.

    

Behind the Card: Bridal Gown Style!

For this edition of 'Behind the Card', we are featuring our new bridal dress cards. As we stated in our previous post, these cards came from our 'Secret Project', that wasn't so secret. However, even though it ended up not being a secret, having a name made it fun for us (at times) and kept us motivated (at times). And the best is, we can't even remember where the 'secret' idea came from. But with all our projects, they have to have a name in order for us to keep them all straight.We can't make it easy on ourselves and work on one project at a time. That would be too simple, lol!

But getting back on topic, this project had the usual fazes of thinking up the idea, planning, starting with Plan A, moving on to Plan B, taking a break from the project because we lost our motivation to finish, find our motivation again and finally...finish the darn project! You know, normal stuff.

Like we have stated previously, this project came about from creating a couple of bridal dress cards for friends of family in years past. Both cards were a huge hit at each bridal shower with people asking us more about the card and our business. Or in the case of the first card, when were we starting a card business. Basically free and easy advertising and marketing for us. With all the positive feedback we received, we decided we would try our hand at selling them.

To make this project a little different from the other dresses we created,  the 'original plan' was to have them look completely different from the original dresses. The original dresses were ball gowns, simply decorated and catered to show the personalities of each bride.  Now each bride didn't have a ball gown dress but we learned early on that they were easier to cut out, easier to put a message inside and not so flimsy in general. So construction wise, the best decision to use.

Mermaid dress is a mixture of the two dresses on left side.

We conveniently forgot about those points when we started this project because we wanted to push the limits look-wise and skill set-wise. We just wanted to be different. So we tried...and failed. Badly. At least we can say we tried, right? But we failed so badly that we almost gave up on this project. 

Yes, creating cards that work and look great is a physical process, but it is also a mental and emotional one too. When you look at a card and just feel emotionally drained, it is time to step back, do something else for awhile and eventually rethink the original ideas. And that is exactly what we did. By the time we rethought and refocused, it involved putting cards we put our whole selves into, into the trash literally. We honestly could feel a weight coming off our shoulders and our motivation coming back in full force the second those cards hit the bottom of the trash bin. We did end up keeping one mermaid dress that was actually a mixture of two previous dresses. But the ball gowns were back and it was the best decision we made for the project. And as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Material used. Part of our hints for the 'Secret Project'

 See our Instagram page for individual stories on each card! 



And the 'Secret Project' is....



 
We are proud to state that we've been completing projects left and right recently, including the 'Secret Project'.
It's funny that we have been calling it the 'secret project' because it really hasn't been a secret since pretty much the beginning of this project. We never actually told anyone we were working on this project.

However, let's face it, ever since we posted the picture seen below on Facebook, everyone who follows us, knew exactly what we were up to. And if anyone had any doubt whatsoever, when we posted the second picture to our Instagram page, the secret was out.

Facebook

Instagram

 We are still working getting this social media and advertising thing down pat and the secret project is the perfect example of that. We really thought we could have people guessing throughout the process, but we definitely picked the wrong kind of card to do that with. This was still a great project for us, just better luck next time with the advertising! But either way, thanks everyone for being troopers with us and pretending that you had no idea what you were looking at, lol!




First bridal dress we ever made.

By the way, if you aren't familiar with our cards, here are two cards we made previously that was the inspiration behind our new set of cards. ...And the reason why everyone was in on the secret.  



Card we made for a friend of the family's bridal shower
 this past spring 2015.



 

 Check out are Wedding Dresses at our Etsy shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CreativeJuicesofMK?ref=hdr_shop_menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 



Update on Current Projects!

Hi Everyone! Long time no see :D

We've been keeping busy with what it seems like a never ending list of projects that need completed. Therefore, we are very happy to announce that one project (or goal) is now completed! We now have cards up for sale with a locally owned store called, Gabby Road Studio! They are great not only because they are taking a chance on our card business but they truly believe in supporting local artists (not that we consider ourselves artists) and the local economy. They take the 'stop local' statement to another level. We hope to have our cards in more locally owned stores sometime this year but for now, project completed! For more information, check out the Gabby Road Studio website. Until next time!

http://www.gabbyroadstudio.com/

Creative Process of Making Cards

We have mentioned this subject before in other posts but have since found a new, more in depth angle to the subject. As we have stated previously, each card usually has the same steps to it but yet vastly different at times. For this card,  K was making a sympathy card for a co-worker but was having a difficult time with getting the 'right' colors and look for the card. K wanted 'royal blue' as the main focus but wanted to add secondary colors. K decided to take pictures of the card, with different colors in the background. Pictures are great to use to get a different perspective then just staring at them with the naked eye. Because of the pictures, K ended up finding the right color combination (thankfully).
However, it clicked with K afterwards that these pictures show EXACTLY how the process of making cards is. Yea, our 'behind the card' post showed step by step. But that process is only true when you know exactly what paper and colors you want to incorporate. And then they look perfect on the card, just not in your head. These pictures show just HOW many times a card can be changed before the final product is agreed upon. See captions below for the story.

Original idea for the card. Realized it needed 'more'. LOVED the idea of the saying in the middle of the flower.

To add 'more', the idea came to add more color inside the petals. Ended up being a good idea. You will also see blue flowers in the picture. At the time, K thought she wanted the flower in the middle. Deleted that idea and decided it still needed 'more'. Smaller petals were also added to this version.

K was convinced that brown was the way to go for the background. Taking the picture changed that idea REAL fast! The pearl was also added to this version. This pearl just happen to be lying around on the table. Was never even a thought for the original vision. Lastly, another petal was added. The pearl was what made that happen.

The brown was deleted and thought only the blue strips might work. They worked but still needed 'more'. Also, notice the little petals have changed. Still there but different paper. 

A white specialty paper was added...and then deleted. Did absolutely nothing for the card. 

Finally! K was so set on having only 'royal blue' that originally another shade of blue wasn't even an option. The little petals were completed deleted from card. Now it is time to glue! K is so glad she waited to glue.

Obviously not the finished product but that was not this post's objective. The process was. Either way, the front is definitely done and not going to be changed. Not to worried about the inside since it needs LOTS of room for all of K's co-workers to sign.

Handmade Paper

We know we have plenty to do since finishing our Teapot Projects buttttt it was definitely time to celebrate a little... at the craft store. And not just at any craft store. But at our favorite one that is not anywhere near where we live. But.It.Is.Worth.It. Seriously. This store has all kinds of crafts obviously but what we love is their huge selection of different sized (and cheap) envelopes, selection of cardstock and of course their handmade paper that K just dies over every single time. They are a 'Paper Craft' store so of course they have specialty items you either can't find elsewhere or it is very difficult to find. Basically they take their paper Very Seriously. Who knew cardstock paper has different weight and thickness? We certainly didn't before this store.

http://hollospapercraft.net/hmp.html

 

 However, we don't want to bore you with all kind of facts about paper. Unless requested of course. But for the time being, we want to show off our new handmade paper we bought! And show that there are more options for paper to use out there than just cardstock and scrapbook paper. Be creative!

 

 

 

 

 As you can see, we blew up the pictures pretty BIG, but for good reason. As you can see, handmade has a different look and feel to them then what you find with say, notebook or printer paper. You can tell these weren't made in a factory. You can't really tell with these pictures but they are also a thicker paper and therefore can be difficult to cut correctly. Definitely need very sharp scissors to cut or you will have jagged edges.

 

But for today, lets end with the 'wall of handmade paper'. The wall that K falls in love with every time. (Not the best picture. Real life is much better!).

 

 

 

 

 



Breaking News! Teapot Projects cards are now for sale!

Yes, you read right. Our teapots from the Teapot Projects are finally for sale at our Etsy shop. Did you think we forgot? LOL. Huge relief to be able to get them up for sale...and be able to move on to other projects.

 

 

'Behind the Card' of the Teapot Projects. Special Edition!

If you are familiar with us and our Facebook page then you know 'behind the card' is something we've been doing for quite a while now over on Facebook. In fact, we got the idea to start our blog because our 'behind the card' posts are so popular.

For this 'Behind the Card' we have decided to feature our 'Teapot Projects' cards since we have been blogging a lot about them lately. However take note, this story is only about our 'Etsy Teapots'. Nothing against our teapot cards we are donating. We just don't have any pictures to show of the cards 'during the process' of making them. And to be honest, we have never done a feature of showing pictures 'during the process' let alone take pictures. So we ask to bare with us and give us plenty of feedback if needed. Hence the 'Special Edition'!

The beginning of this story starts over a year ago with 'K's childhood friend's bridal shower. As children K and said friend loved going to local tea houses for special occasions like birthday parties, ect. So when it came time for said friend to have her bridal shower, of course it was at a tea house. This is where the 'teapot' card idea came from. K decided that the card HAD to be a teapot since there would be a lot of meaning behind the card (childhood and bridal shower).  K got help from M and her dad (yes dad) to decide on the size and overall appearance. A pattern was made (for future reference) and the card generally wasn't all the difficult to complete. BTW, the card was a hit.

Fast forward to March 2015 when M&K decided to start making teapot cards to sell on our new Etsy shop. One problem with this. K could only find bits and pieces of the previously mentioned pattern, that you know, was made for future reference. M&K were back at the drawing board (literally). K tried making new patterns without help. But honestly, K cannot draw to save her life. M for that matter too. This is where dad comes into play once again since drawing can save his life. By the time, dad came in, two different patterns were already made, also known as the cards we are donating to Card Care Connection. Like we have stated previously, these patterns are not bad look-wise but AFTER dad stepped in and saved the day. Once these patterns were altered, K and dad made a third pattern that is shown below. And no worries, this pattern is in a safe spot and being taken care of much better than the original pattern.

Honestly, making the pattern was the hardest, most time consuming, most frustrating part of creating these cards. There are so many different design options and looks of teapots to consider. Then we have to consider what will be the easiest to draw, cut out and decide what was within our skill level. As you can see, when dad is involved, the pattern is very detailed and measured to the EXACT detail. Also, having the card fold at the top and have the teapot lid not attached was very much deliberate in our design. BTW, we want to add that dad insists that he 'doesn't do teapots'. Too girly for him, we guess? We had to hear this continually throughout the pattern process, but yet the proof is in the pictures.

Like we stated, once the pattern is made the hard part is over. We move on to drawing and cutting it out on to cardstock paper. We use cardstock for the base of all our cards because simply, it is thick. If you use 'printer paper' or scrapbook paper it is too thin and the card will most like flop around and fall apart sooner rather than later.

Now to the fun part! This is where we pick out paper to use (if we haven't already decided before the pattern was even made). This also known as picking out our 'theme' for the card. Once this is decided we of course start measuring (again) and cut/paste the paper onto the cardstock. Usual issues with this step are of course cutting the paper correctly (takes us back to kindergarten, lol) and making sure the scrapbook paper glues correctly. Sometimes after drying, the scrapbook paper and the cardstock come undone if not done correctly initially. Also, as you can see, the teapot has tight corners and curves which also make everything listed above more difficult. To ensure we wouldn't have any issues, we used 'concrete glue' on the tea lid, handle and spout which we knew would be 'problem areas'. As a side note, the smell of the glue is memorable to say the least but it did its job and that is what is important.

 As you can see, not only did we have to measure (again) correctly for the outside of the card, but ALSO the inside of the card. It's like this obviously for every card we make, but this card made it a little more tedious. You will also notice that the spout and the handle are actually the outside AND the inside of the card depending if it is open or closed. You see cards like this all the time in stores, but this was a new concept for us to create. Also, as you can see in the picture below, the lid was covered in the same paper pattern as the inside. However, it is not seen when opened. It is just glued (with the smelly concrete glue) on to the outside. Originally we wanted the handle to show when the card was opened but it became too much to handle design-wise. Maybe our next pattern adventure we will figure it out!

 But back to the present card. As you can see, it is finished! However, this is where we make sure we like every part of the card and nothing is sticking out, not sticking, needs cut, ect. Basically it is either now or never! For these cards, obviously they will be up for sale on Etsy as previously stated. So the creative part of the card is finished. However, the business part is just starting. We need to take (hopefully good) pictures that will help the card sell, find a price point, figure out the shipping nonsense and of course create its profile on Etsy. And of course each step takes time. Definitely not the fun part of the business. But it comes with the territory so there be it.

Of course when we have custom orders or giving the cards to someone, this last part is a little different. But those are stories for another day! So until then, have a great rest of the holiday weekend and if anyone is willing to give constructive feedback or has questions, let us know.