GDT @ CAS On Sunday - Colour Challenge

A couple of weeks ago I was all kinds of thrilled when my card was chosen as the winner at

And I was even more thrilled that it came with an invite to be a Guest Designer for an upcoming challenge!  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Now, if you're a Huh. So This Is A Blog regular, you'll know that I generally don't do cas cards.  However, I do very much love cas cards.  I love 'em so much that I declared back at the beginning of January, that I would be making more cas cards this year.  So, this was a great opportunity for me to make good on that declaration.

But, I must admit, I just about DIED when Janneke sent me the challenge theme.....it was a colour challenge.  Not that there was anything wrong with the colours....they're absolutely lovely, just take a boo....

See, lovely.  It's just that I tend to have a mental block when it comes to colour challenges.  Like a giant-sized mental block.  So, the whole "simple" part of the cas acronym immediately took off out the window....at least as far as the thought process portion of the making of the card was concerned.

I thought about it and I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it.  At first I was thinking of doing something with a snowman...but I just couldn't make that happen.  Then, I was stumped.  So I decided to do something I've done in the past when I want to figure out something tough....I put my subconsciousness to the task.

It's not something I'll often do, purposely access my subconscious mind.  My life is fairly uneventful, just the way I like it, so it's not like I ever really have a pressing major problem that I need to get creative about solving.  And, there's another reason I don't rely on my inner id....it's annoying as all heck. 

I realize it probably says volumes about me to have irritating in-the-background mind but I'm betting you'd say the same thing about it if you were me.  So, in order to access my subconscious mind (or maybe even partially, my unconscious mind) I give it the problem before I fall asleep, and tell it to have at it.

And that's where the annoying part comes in.  Because rather than slowly and methodically coming up with a solution to whatever task I set for it, this is what my subconscious looks like while problem-solving....

  
....only there's actually about six of those guys and they all argue with each other.  So, while I usually end up with a solution, I also end up being woke up multiple times in the course of finding that solution.  And I think we can all agree, nobody likes being woke up.  (We can probably also all agree that JanR is slightly whack-a-doo, but that's old news.)

But, after a semi-fitful night sleep, at about 5:00am, all the pieces fell into place when, after hours of brainstorming and the laying forth and rejecting of ideas, with a small pile of usable scraps growing in the corner, one of the six looked at those scraps and screamed, "Yeah, The Love Boat!"  There was silence and gasping, and I think one of them swooned....and then in the morning (well, in the later morning, certainly not at 5am) I got up and made this....

Now, I really hate to sound immodest.....but I love it.  I just love it.  And believe me, there's maybe a one handful of times I've ever said that about something I've made.  Chances are in a week or two, I might look at this card and wonder how I ever thought that.  But, for right this instant, I think it's awesome.  And, I also think it's awesome that I think it's awesome.  I think all of us are guilty of being our own worst critics.  Most of us cardmakers create for ourselves rather than for profit or accolades.  [Yes, most of us give our cards away to others but (at least for me), making cards is much more about the process, and finding joy in that process, than the end result.]  So, if we've pleased ourselves with what we've created....well then, that's a pretty good day's work.

Holy man, how's that for a post, eh?  Waxing philosophical, a crazed muppet and a few rambling paragraphs, all containing way too many grammatically incorrect sentence structures, awkwardly placed commas and ellipses with way too many dots.  It does appear to be missing and all-important thank you though.  A sincere thank you to CAS on Sunday for inviting me to join them this week.  Without your invitation, not only would I not have been able to be featured alongside a fantastically talented DT, I would never in a million year have come up with a card that I truly enjoyed making.  So, hartelijk bedankt.

Do pop over to CAS on Sunday and check out the wonderful cards the DT made.  And, maybe you should let those colours inspire you.  You never know, you might have the same splendid experience that I did!

Also for:

Crafty Catz:  male cards
Sinply Create Too:  love
Cardz 4 Guyz:  something that begins with C - clouds, cardstock
Inky Chicks:  clean & simple
Tuesday Throwdown:  love notes
Pile It On:  hearts on fire
Come and Get It:  Valentine's Day cards
Crafty Cardmakers:  love, love, love
Simon Says: the colour of love
4 Crafty Chicks:  anniversary
Aud Sentiments:  masculine projects + sentiment
Craft Rocket:  it's a love thing
UnstampaBelles:  anything goes + something new - new boat & frame dies (sentiment was printed in Word)
AAA Cards:  shape your love + cas