One Year of Damask Loving - Can you believe it!?

Hi there blog friends!

This week (on Wednesday to be exact) will mark one year of Damask Loving! I am so excited that I made it this long. When I started  - I wasn't sure if I could keep it up this long, but here I am - still crafting away.

I went back and forth about how to celebrate this fun occasion. I've decided that I want to use this week to reflect on the ups and downs of this whole crazy world of crafting. If you're not so interested in the whole "reflecting" thing - I'll also have a couple of giveaways and lots of projects too. I hope you'll hang out with me and celebrate a year of the good, the bad and the ugly - and boy have their been some uglies - which brings me to today's reflection.

Blogs are such a blessing and a curse. That may be a bit of an overstatement, but I'll explain what I mean. I love being able to chronicle all the crafty things I've made. Especially since many of them are gifts for other people, it's really nice to have photos to look back on and remember the fun things I've made. That's the blessing.

Then there's the curse. You see, last week, I did something that I haven't done since I launched Damask Love...I went through my whole blog. All I have to say is YIKES!  There are some doozies buried in there. As I looked through the projects of the past, I was a little embarrassed by some of the things I've posted. It's nice to see how my style has changed and developed over time and how I've grown as a papercrafter. Even with that said - there are a few cards in the archives that need to be laid to rest.

It would be completely disingenuous for me to delete those projects and act as if they never happened. After all - I made them and liked them at one point. They are a part of the growing process, BUT - that doesn't mean I can't try to make things right - right?!

So - this week, in addition to sharing my thoughts, I'm also gonna call a do-over on a few projects from way back when...

and without further adieu - here's the first do-over:

Now, this card isn't terrible by any stretch. The borders are even. I love the stripes...but when I look at it today, I'm thoroughly unimpressed with myself. The overall feel of the card isn't as sophisticated as I'd like and it's not really my style.  And if I'm gonna get nitpicky...I really don't like how I stamped the sentiment on the middle stripe. Generally speaking, this card is not one of my faves.

Hopefully, I don't sound like a complaining, pessimist. That is not my intent. Instead, I really wanted to take the opportunity to study my past cards and make them better, and truer to my current style.

For my do-over card, I used stripes and die cuts, just like in the original, but this time, I used a layout that is much more my style.

This card is certainly not rocket science but it's right up my alley! I positioned the sentiment in the upper right of the card which is a little different from what I typically do. I also positioned it tightly within the stripes without any space above or below the letters. Compared to the first pink & white striped creation, this card speaks more to my preference for graphic and modern cards!

And with that card done - I'm signing off for today! Come back tomorrow for another "do-over" and a giveaway!!!

Supplies for "Hi" card:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Sweet Blush, white craft)
Other: Alphablock Dies