Learning through Inspiration with Joan Bardee

Welcome back to another edition of my Learning Through Inspiration series here on the Penny Black blog. This series is all about improving my cardmaking through studying other designers’ cards and I hope you enjoy it.

Today I’m concluding my study of the talented Peet Roeven. You can find her gorgeous cards at her blog and her IG account.

PEET’S CARDS

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT PEET’S CARDS

*As I mentioned in my earlier post on Peet, her signature style includes hand or die cutting. These cards are perfect examples.

*In her first card, the stamped black foliage background offsets the beautiful flowers, without detracting from them. And I love how the flowers and the die cut frame are popped up above the background. Peet’s use of dimension is fantastic.

*Peet included a lot of detail – the die cut frame, cut out flowers, clear sequins, watercolored background, black mat, sewed frame, etc.

*Even though it’s full of details, the entire card looks cohesive. It’s like a beautifully decorated living room. You walk in and are delighted, but it’s only when you sit down and relax that you notice the pretty lamp, the stunning artwork, and the gorgeous fireplace mantle. If you are making a card, or decorating a room, you don’t want a beautiful rug sitting under an ugly or clashing sofa. You want the whole room to be beautiful. And that’s what I like about Peet’s cards. They are like a beautiful living room, with each piece supporting the whole card.

*The second card is so clever. Those flowers are on one sheet of cardstock! Peet hand cut the space for the sentiment. LOVE this. One of these days I’ll have the nerve to try this! And I love how she placed the paintbrushes. They support the sentiment, both in content and style, without distracting from the beauty of the flowers. She’s so talented!

MY CARD

WHAT I LEARNED

*It is possible to hand cut all sorts of flowers and stems and images; just go slowly and then edge with a black marker for a more finished look. I also learned that the beauty of Peet’s cards relies, not only on her great techniques, but on her eye for fantastic layouts. I can practice technique, but a good layout (like a well designed living room) takes talent and/or a lot of trial and error!

Speaking of trial and error…

*Over 3 days, I stamped and fussy cut and colored a pile of birds and flowers. I stamped backgrounds, and die cut frames. I watercolored birds, broke colored pencils, and dried out a Copic marker. Little pieces of cut up cardstock littered my table and floor.

In the midst of my “design work,” a friend of mine came over to stamp. Pam is an interior designer — she knows what she is doing — so I was anxious for her advice. Pam saw my piles and heard my whining. She recommended I use the bird I had colored with red Copics (I had colored around the bird with a blue/green Copic). She suggested I frame it with some of the cut out flowers in my pile. By the time Pam left, I was optimistic.

*The next day, my optimism turned to frustration. I couldn’t fit the flowers around the bird. They didn’t look balanced and they didn’t leave room for a sentiment. And the right side of the card, above and below the bird, looked empty. Finally, I gave up. I drafted an email to Jill Foster, explaining that I had hit a block and this card would have to wait until after I returned from vacation. In the middle of my draft email, I got distracted, and eventually went in to clean up my craft room.

But instead of cleaning, I reached for the panel with the red bird and stamped the sentiment. Then I placed the flowers around it. This time, rather than giving up, I cut out some leaves to fill in the blanks but didn’t pop them up so that they would be more like Peet’s stamped background. To balance the bottom right of the card, I cut out the berries and leaves under the bird (I had so many already colored!!), and popped them up, and finished the card in 30 minutes.

*I was so relieved to finish the card and thought about how much effort went into it. I realized that I stamp the same way I write. My first draft of this blog post was twice as long, rambling, unorganized, and full of typos and poor grammar. Then, I edited it many times until I was happy. It’s easy to do that with a laptop and word processing – typing and deleting are free! And, frankly, for me, writing is a lot easier than stamping.

But that process is relevant to my stamping. I learned that, after a decade of stamping, sometimes I need a few first drafts before the card comes together. I need time to fail before I can succeed. The 3 days I spent making one card weren’t a waste of time. I was editing my first draft, but didn’t know it. In the future, I’ll be more patient.

MOOD WHEN DONE: I’m happy with this card. Would I change a few things if I had more time? Yes, but I will send this someone, and that’s my ultimate test. Studying Peet’s work and trying to learn from it has changed my attitude towards my cardmaking process and I’m very grateful for that. Gosh, I love this hobby!

Thanks again to Jill Foster and Penny Black for providing me with some gorgeous stamps and dies, and the opportunity to share here on the Penny Black blog. And thank you to Peet for your talent and inspiration.

for the PENNY BLACK products featured on Joan’s cards above

Dreaming 40-673; Bouquet Ballet 40-674; Huggable 30-588; Copic Markers; Memento Tuxedo ink; Versamark; white embossing powder; white gel pen; detail scissors; Exacto knife; Neenah solar white and black cardstocks; foam tape.

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