Design DON'Ts- When projects fall flat

Ahh the vicissitudes of crafty life! Just when you think you're really jamming you find perhaps the work needed more think time and less "stuff". How do other designers do it? How do they come up with so many awesome details month after month? No really- I need a step by step please!

Here are 2 additional pages made for Studio Calico NSD challenges. Has this ever happened to you? You come up with the concept, the layout and choose the elements thinking "OO this page a winner!!" only to have the actual final piece fall flat? That's what happened to both of these.

This is a piece where I thought the Orange/Turquoise color combo, funny kid photos and

use of silver AC ZING would make for a smashing page- but it looks crowded- how disappointing!  Plus the circle punch thing has been done (better) a zillion times. Plus- what's my HAIR doing there?? ARGH! This piece may look better when I shoot it in full sunlight- if  Brooklyn EVER sees the sun again that is!

Materials: Pebbles paper  and flag, American Crafts Zing in silver and yellow card stock, FiskarsCircle Squeeze punch Xl and Large, Crate Paper Portraits collection paper, Studio Calico exclusive stamps, Remember This Moment, Doily edge and Woodgrain background Uniball gel pen- white, Zakura gel pen- silver

This was a page the "Outside Inspiration" challenge by Waleska Nerris. I wanted to use that 

great Basic Grey Wander paper to signify the urban nature of this sunday antiquing run but

 the final result is dark, dreary and overwhelms the photos. Needless to say- not a winner.

Materials:  Making Memories Ledger print, Basic Grey Metropolitan paper, Ki Memories 

Weekdays black scribbles, Pebbles flag, K and Co wood flower- handmade collection 

I hope my latest crafty face plant gives you some ideas on what NOT to do.  I have started a notebook of scrap don'ts just for this kind of situation- without the funds to take a few graphic design classes I have to muddle through on my own by making mistakes but hey that's the fun part right?

In related news: I went to the Museum of Natural History and The Museum of American Crafts this week in search of inspiration and new ideas. I got a mighty SCREAM from Lola when she finally understood the dinosaur bones were a giant creature with great big jaws and a good talking to from a guard in the Crafts Museum worried Lola was about to pull down a quilt- did you know it's the year of the quilt? I didn't! I love quilts!
Random!!!

Toltec stone face at Museum of Natural History. Wow!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle