Saturday, August 02, 2008

This is my....trade secret.

Today's "this is" subject was chosen by Ameila and proved to be a hard one for me. After all, I don't sell anything I make. My cards and crafts are my way of having fun and enjoying myself. I make all different kinds of cards. Some are all handmade, others are all computer produced and still others are a combination of both. I guess even I have strategies that I use all the time and I think they qualify for today's blog. The following trade secrets have been lessons learned at my own expense. So without further adieu...this is my....TRADE SECRET!
1: MEASURE. Check and then double check then check again to confirm the envelope and card size. There is nothing worse than completing the card to find it is too large for the envelope.
2: SPELL CHECK. Again, double and triple check that the words are spelt out correctly. If you don't have a spell check on the program you are using then copy and paste the content into the word program on your computer and do the spell check there. It takes a bit of time but is well worth it in the long run.
3: SAVE your work as you do it. Never assume that the program you are working on will save it for you. I remember loosing about three hours of work in a single key stroke in the early years. Now I name and save the file before I even put one word to it.
4: PICTURE it! Take a picture of your final project. I am still learning to do this and more often than not I give a card to someone and then remember that I forgot to take a picture for future reference. I sometimes have a working copy but it's always great to have an actual view of the final product.

2 comments:

Two Peas In a Pod said...

You have really great advise. I am a horrible speller so, I have to check, recheck, check again...and then when I post something sometimes, even though I have spell checked 5 times I think in panic and horror if I spell checked it...silly me.
Cheers Kyla

Gingham Skies said...

Great words of advice mom!! Spell check and picture taking are definitely two very important tools of the handcrafting trade. :)