Finding Art Again

Sometimes I get an idea for a project and get really carried away.  I’ve spent the past two weeks on such a project. Okay so file this one under silly office supply crafts. I’ve been spending my time making custom cards for my rolodex.  I know that making custom or altered rolodex cards is nothing new and searching the net has provided project ideas from at least 2007 and a good handful of Etsy sellers.

When I come up with an idea or concept my brain fires up a whole list of ideas and things I should try. If you want to know how this thought process goes in my head – it’s something like the following.

Let’s say that it is an average afternoon at the office and my system is busy producing report after report of data.  Bored I look over at my rolodex and think: *** It would be helpful if some of these cards were colored so I could find them easier. ***It would be more fun to look at on a daily basis if they were colors.  I could use the little colored plastic covers for each card but where is the fun in that. *** I have a card punch that adds holes to business cards sp I really could just get colored card stock and make my own. *** I suppose if I can do that I could print some scans of my artwork on cards and cut those out. ***You know – I have all this fancy scrapbooking paper around – I could make stuff out of that too.*** Hmmm – If I could use cardstock – couldn’t I use heavy watercolor paper and paint my own? *** I wonder if paint sample cards would work? *** A set of tabbed cards would be nice – I can make those with numbers or months instead of the typical a to z. ***

As a result of the latest internal dialog I’ve spent the past two weeks creating rolodex madness.  I’m not sure if I gained any creative insights from this process but if I gained anything from this experience it was a slightly mindless pursuit that helped me wind down after a day of aggravation in the office.  Silly office crafts can bring the stress from work down a notch.  It’s like thumbing your nose at the corporate machine by turning the tools of the trade into art and frivolity.

Here are just plain cards from colored paper with some watercolor paper waiting to be painted.

Basic Cards from Card Stock and Watercolor Paper

These are cards cut from scans of my art that I printed on to white card stock.

Cards from Art Scans

More Art Designs made into cards.

The first tabs I tried were from paint chips.  I found that the corner punch did not work for every angle of the tab.  Cutting these curves with a razor produced sloppy results. I tried scissors as well with just slightly better results.  Also with the paint chips the white edge looks sloppy.  I did find on other tabs that going around the edges with a marker or stamp pad polished things up a bit.

Index Tabs from Paint Chips

These are tabs I made from photos I took at a farmers market.  I also tried to “distress” a few with brown dye based ink.

Farmers Market Tab Cards

More Farmers Market Tab Cards

These are from scrapbook paper.  Not so bad but I was still having trouble with the edge rounder.  I also distressed one with ink.  Not so bad. 

Tabbed Index Cards from Decorative Paper

I didn’t want to leave the backs white so I worked on applying some color but I’m not sure I like the result at all.  This is a work in progress.

Card Backs

After looking around I decided to adjust my template a little.  These are probably my best ones so far.  The longer tabs look okay and are also not rounded so the “handy-crafty-cutty-ness” is limited.  You could use these for a set of birthday/anniversary cards.

Month Tab Cards

It’s been fun and I’m not sure I’m done yet.

 You might ask – what is the point.  Does there have to be one? Just making these was fun and relaxing.  In the very least – tucking a few of the decorated cards into your standard rolodex could bring you a smile when you have to look up a number. Perhaps the better mood will lead to better business cards? Adding a little art to your day can only improve it.