Lazy Days of Summer?

Summer break from the day job started last week after much anticipation, with plans of being able to focus on card making and managing my Folksy shop and catching up with friends and family in between.

The relief of being free to do what ever I want with my days paired with a need to do nothing too active. The rainfall was welcomed as it saved me having to water my vegetables or even cut the grass.

I spent the first week waking up late, lounging around the house and enjoying the morning TV programmes on the BBC. However even when being lazy I found lots of things to do. There are some tasks that allowed me to relax with a purpose.

My Folksy Shop

All photos for my shop have to be edited to fit into the parameters of Folksy's display system i.e. square. I use this post on the Folksy blog to help me to remember how to do this and to check I am doing it right.

I organise my Folksy shop photos into a folder so I can easily find the specially edited photos easily when I am listing. That job done then I have to work on the next essential task.

If you're like me writing descriptions is a task you do not find easy. Or am I alone in this? Whenever I am faced with writing a shop description for items I want to list I get a bit anxious about what to say. To get started I recall a piece of advice I read somewhere and visit some of my favourite shops and browse the featured shops on the Folksy home page. Their descriptions are very helpful in giving you a starting point.

Visit my Folksy shop to see new items listed... so far! Let me know what you think of my descriptions. Do they achieve their purpose or am I falling short?

Sketching and Drawing

One of the things I want to work on this summer is drawing and creating images I can use for card making. So my sketchbooks accompany me on the soafa with my pencils and drawing pens. Despite attempts to use computer software for the task, hand drawn is still my favourite method of creating images. This summer I am practising and sketching different ideas - sometimes repeatedly. You can see a photo of one of the ideas I'm working on.

My inspiration for these sketches come from a book called 'Traditional African Designs'



Making cards

I find I am more creatively inspired when I am working to a brief. It's one of the reasons I relish the challenge and enjoy making bespoke cards. Look at the cardbook as an example. I was asked to make card that had something to do with music and libraries (my day job is in a library by the way).

Just before the end of term the bespoke card was presented in its custom made box along with other gifts to a colleague who was leaving to pursue music studies. The fittingly decorated little cardbook was filled with messages from the team wishing her well. She loved it and I got a nice warm feeling enjoyed all the more as I do not often see the immediate response in opening one of my bespoke cards.

Working with no brief except to make an attractive card is not so easy. When I sit at my craft table and start leafing through my background papers, I am not always quickly inspired. But I did create a few cards this week. One (which you can see above) was a very quick and simple make. The pink flower was so lovely I could not think of anything to do except make a sentiment panel to match. It is very attractive and I hope someone will like it as I plan to list it in my shop... as soon as I write the description.

I am still learning to make cards and add to my 'volume of work' and not worry so much if I don't think they are as good as I want them to be. I've got a bunch of cards that I would not list in my shop or even offer in a giveaway as I don't really like them. This video which I discovered last week on Craft Blog UK gives a great message to any creative person... press play and see what I mean.

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Now isn't that really empowering?

Creating...

There is something else I can do while sitting in front of the TV which has nothing to do with card making or managing online tasks. With that in mind I got out another dormant project last week... but I'll write about that another time. I think I've rambled on enough for one post....

I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time to read and (in anticipation) for taking the time to comment ;)