Ornament Card & DIY Lightbox
So, I’ve been thinking about what’s in store for Hubs and me over the next few years. He applied for grad school recently and I was struggling with the idea of possibly moving to another locale for a few years. I’ve given it great thought, and I think I’ve come to peace with relocating. In fact, I think it’ll be a good experience. For one, I will have extra time to pursue some creative fields of work that I’ve been contemplating. Two, it’ll give me a chance to get out of my comfort zone and introverted shell.
It might not come across in my blog, but I’m a pretty introverted person. I wouldn’t say I’m shy (shy and introverted are often thought to mean the same thing, but the two are not necessarily related). But, if I’m around a large group of people for an extended period of time, I can become exhausted. I need down time, and lots of it. Hubs is completely the opposite. He’s one of the most extroverted people I know. He gets energized at large gatherings with tons of people.
Anyway, I think that packing up and moving to a big city would force me to go out and meet new people, join clubs and groups, and do things that I wouldn’t normally do. Now, we’re just waiting to hear the schools’ verdicts to find out where we’ll be for the next two years. Unfortunately MBA applications have skyrocketed (up 40%) since the financial mess, so we’ll have to wait and see where the future takes us.
Today’s card is a simple one. I wanted to make an ornament shaped card, so I used a scalloped circle die and ran it through my Sizzix machine. The top of the ornament is just a thin strip of paper that I ran through my Fiskar’s paper crimper plus a ring that I punched from using two nested circle punches. Quick and easy. 
You might have noticed that the background for some of my card pictures have changed. I set up a makeshift lightbox in my house using a frosted plastic bin, binder clips, clip on lamps from Walmart, daylight energy saving bulbs, and a piece of white posterboard. It actually works pretty well! The whole rig was around $30. Lamps were $8/piece. The bulbs were expensive because I bought energy efficient ones at $7/bulb. I had the tub already, so no cost there. If you sell small items on eBay, this is a great home set up. I got the idea here.
Before I go, I just wanted to share Stampin’ Up’s latest promotion. It’s a few days late, oops, sorry! From the SU website:
Dates: December 1, 2008-January18, 2009
Product Offer: Spend $20 and get 20 percent off any stamp set from the Fall-Winter Sampler
Alrighty, have a great day, everyone!
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Comments
I love your ornament card and your lightbox. I was wondering how you took your pics of your cards. Very creative!
I’m relatively new to your blog and new to the world of DIY. Just wanted to say hello and thank you for your inspiring posts and projects!
New cities and grad school (especially MBA programs) can be so much fun! Good luck to your hubby with acceptances.
From your film set consisting of Ikea chairs to an extremely professional looking photography set made from a plastic bin, I must say you are one of the most innovative people I’ve come across!
Good Luck to your husband. You seem like you are going to make the best out of any situation and moving is fun! I grew up in suburbia outside of Dallas, TX and use to dream of moving to a big city after college to meet lots of new faces, new friends and to start over. It didn’t exactly happen that way. About 10 years ago, so many people from out of state moved to TX instead. I live in the city now and am really enjoying the newlywed life. When I met my husband, I realized that I can be happy anywhere as long as we have each other….it’s even comforting just eating instant noodles together. (so cheesy I know)
BTW, what machine do you NOT have? You have everything a true crafter could ever want and ask for……keep up the good work!
seriously, what machine do you NOT have? lol.
Wow, I love your makeshift lightbox! Now you should make mini models and take pictures. or create a holiday setting with your crafts. oh yes. lol!
Good luck to the hubs!!
[...] a set-up that looks something like this (a system I learned about through Mrs. Eggplant’s awesome blog!) A frosted plastic bin (I think mine is clear and I want to switch to frosted for the light [...]
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That Husband and I also plan on moving for grad school within the next year, or maybe 2 if his work wants to extend his contract for a third year. What schools are you guys looking at? (Or maybe you don’t want to count your chickens before they are hatched and be naming names
Thanks so so so so much for the tip on the photographing! I’ve been thinking lately about how I can create a better photo setup and this is absolutely perfect. I think we already have the plastic bin, and I will just need to purchase two lamps at Wal-mart the next time I go. Yay! I’m so happy right now.