What it takes - Part 1

Recently I was reminded of my hire date at my local scrapbook store (timeless treasures).This september will be 10 years! Every single month for the past 10 years i've taught a card making class... I love those that come to my classes... some every month, some once in a while, some in the summer when their schedules are more open, some when their moms are in town. There are alot of different senarios and i've made so many friends. A few years back I started offering my kits to customers out of the area and last year I launched MY SHOP. It's always alot of fun and always alot of work! I thought it would be fun to give you a little look in to "how" I come up with my kits every month.

So here we go!

First up I scour catalogs for papers that i've ear marked when I was at CHA. Back in the day I would make random cards and put them all together. These days I like my whole kit/class to color/theme to coordinate. It's a delicate balance between what I really "want" and what I think is appealing to everyone and I pay special attention to what my local store will carry, so I can support them as well. Then I order paper and matching cardstock and wait for them to arrive.

After the paper shipments arrive I like to fan them out and pull out ribbons and buttons or embellishments that match. I keep a pretty good supply of these kinds of supplies on hand. I pick them up as I find them and eventually find a kit that they will coordinate with. This gives me an idea if I need to be on the lookout for anything extra.

Next up I design sentiments and supporting paper embellishments on photoshop. Every month I try to learn one new skill. I really enjoy playing around with different fonts. I also start looking at any die-cuts, punches or things I can use as an accent on my cards.

Next up I start on all my samples. I cut the card bases to size or sometimes die-cut the bases. Then I match up the patterned papers to the cardstock bases and figure out which ones coordinate best. And then I do the same with ribbons. Then I like to plan out my sentiments, I've started to include a bunch of extra sentiments in my kits so they can be subbed out or used to make some extra cards.

I'll stop there for today... Part two to come soon (thats where all the "hard" work is). Like right after I find those photos and edit them. :)

These supplies/photos are from the MAY KIT, i'm knee deep already making the June kits which have an awesome muted color scheme. Grey, yellow and a sea green color!

Hope you enjoyed my little peek and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Comments

[Bonnie]

Thanks for taking me behind the scenes. I was wondering how, why and where all the wonderful items in my kits come together.

Bonnie

[tiffany h.]

Love the behind the scenes look! Thanks for sharing. Hope you have a nice long weekend with your girls!

[Shantaie]

thanks for sharing your personal process...its always fun to "peek into the minds" of fellow paper crafters!