Working Smarter, Not Harder!

Some days it seems like a project will take me way longer than I feel it should. I am constantly being inspired and my head quickly fills up with ideas. Sometimes these ideas don't translate well when I actually attempt to do them. So isn't is sweet when things do work out?! And isn't it just the best when you find a short cut or way to make things easier?! I love when I am able to work smarter, not harder. But that is way easier said than done. It seem like in life when I work smarter I am really just getting lucky. With card making I can plan how to work smart.

One of the ways I work smart is to re-use images in a unique way. This is a big time saver. Now I want to make sure I am clear on this. I love my images and I take pride in their originality. I re-use images in a way that I am still making a unique card. Since my images are digitally manipulated I can change the size, color, and other attributes.

Some ways I re-use images are more literal than others. Some of my favorite cards use animal images I created in college for a project. The elephant image has been used for many occasions. The polka dotted elephants were made for Mothers Day. That image was easily translated to a Valentine's Day card to celebrate motherly love. The card on the right uses the elephants in the most unique way turning them into a thank you card.

Another way I re-use images is a lot more clever. To make a set of flower cards you might think that I would paint four different images, and in a way you're right.

These pink flowers were painted using watercolors. Not a very pretty painting right? I mean the flowers are nice, but the layout is weird. I spaced them out like that for a reason. When I do an illustration, sometime I plan on doing it half by hand and half by Photoshop. By spacing the flowers out like this they will be easier to manipulate and rearrange digitally.

Once the image has been scanned I can make tons of flowers out of the three original flowers. One simple change is color. I use the word simple lightly because though I am no Photoshop wiz I feel very comfortable using it. Just by changing the color once I have doubled the number of flowers in my bouquet. Another simply way to get more flowers is to flip the image. A mirror image can trick you into thinking there are even more new flowers. These images are pretty straight forward so I'm sure I'm not fooling anyone. But check out the finished products. Pretty convincing huh?

Finding new ways to use the same images is fast and most definitely smart. I don't want to over do it though so I limit how much I do it. Plus I have to make room for all my new ideas.

All of the cards in the post are available for purchase online. Each image is linked to its location in my online shop. You can also shop by clicking here.

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