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Friday, February 17, 2017

An Experiment: Day Nine, plus a Grammatical Digression

Today, we're going to look at two different cards using Kaleidacolor pads and Papertrey's Life stamp set. Before we get to the cards, however, here is the link to an older post about Kaleidacolor pads

What I Know about Kaleidacolor Pads

That post details tips on getting good images with Kaleidacolor pads, which really are a lot of fun once you figure them out!

Now, The first card today is a simple one-layer card that uses Stickles for added umph.


The simple blossom stamp from Life is inked with the Melon Melody pad and stamped repeatedly across the bottom of the card. This looked fine, but the lighter colors needed a little something extra, so I pulled out my yellow Stickles and went to work.



The results are lovely...so cheerful and sunny. The sentiment nestles nicely down into the blossoms. The only bad thing about this card is that I used all my yellow Stickles on it! Darn. Must place an order. What else do I need to buy to get free shipping on a $2.95 bottle of Stickles? What a situation!



The second Kaleidacolor card goes in a completely different direction color-wise...from sunshine to rich gemstone shades.




Here, there's bling to create some shine amidst the dark, lush shades.

Now, let's digress on the word alright. There's debate about using alright instead of all right, and today's sentiment calls for me to weigh in on this controversy.

I've always emphasized rhetorical situation in composition...in other words, who's your audience, why are you writing to them, and for what purpose are you writing? In broad terms, there are two main categories of rhetorical situations: formal and informal. In formal writing, it's best to be absolutely correct and, well, formal. Don't use slang, don't abbreviate or contract, always punctuate properly, and always use the most correct word choice.

Informal writing, however, allows some latitude. This blog, for instance, is definitely informal. I'd like you to feel as if you're sitting down for coffee and conversation with your best friend...or at least sitting down with someone who totally understands the need to order enough stamping product to get free shipping. Some of you read Simplicity more for the writing than the stamping, and that's alright (or all right) by me. I'm so happy you're here and hope you're having fun!

If I wrote Simplicity in the same style I wrote my master's thesis, none of you would hang around long. My thesis was awesome. I won an award for it, but it's not exactly fun reading. The title is As Gold Is Proved in the Furnace: Chaucer's Wife of Bath and Medieval Disputatio. I would never, ever have included a word like alright in something so academic. My thesis advisor's head would have exploded.

What a mess that would have been.

So if reading the sentiment on the second card makes you itchy and twitchy and generally on the verge of head-popping, then don't use it. I happen to like the sentiment a lot, and I'm fairly certain that Bob Marley wasn't writing a New Historical analysis of medieval debate as played out in the Wife's discourse in Canterbury Tales. Nope. He was writing a friendly little song of encouragement, probably while high on weed, which will certainly render a person just a tad informal.

It's a sweet song, and that's all I have to say about that.

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,
Susan


16 comments:

  1. The instant I saw the second card, I knew you'd be speaking to that sentiment! "Alright" definitely makes me twitchy, and you know I'm all about informality and rhetorical awareness. �� Good for you, though! Oh, and both cards are great. Duh. Of course!

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  2. Both cards are lovely. You really know how to use those ink pads and Stickles.

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  3. I usually skim though the cards on blogs and that is about it. I am such a slow reader. But today I LOVED your simple elegant cards and had to start reading. My daughter, in college, wants to write and we have the "grammar" discussion all the time. I love this! Can't wait to share your grammar thoughts with her! I know I will be reading more of your blog posts!

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  5. Bothcardsare so lovely and different! 'Already' is a very British way of writing 'All ready' and is used often unless you are writing a formal letter. I like seeing it that way! Love the way you have used the Kaleidacolour pads so different in both examples, and glitter? Love it!!!! Hope you are feeling better soon!

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  6. Beautiful cards and a great discussion! Jo x

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  8. Bwahaha! I TOTALLY understand the need to buy more to get free shipping. I mean, really - it makes no sense to pay $5-$6-$7 for a bottle of Stickles. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I can always find more to buy.

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  9. Always love your grammar discussions as I've been called the "grammar police" over the years! Like who is teaching our kids that it's ok to begin a sentence with "me", as in "Me and my friends went....??? Absolutely is my number one pet peeve. I digress. Thank you for reviving Kaleidacolor pads. I've used them for years and it's amazing how long they last! Absolute favorite Creole Spice...

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  10. All right! I just laughed OUT LOUD sitting here by myself reading your awesome blog. Thank you so much for the good laugh and for all the great inspiration. I am confident you will be able to purchase enough supplies to get that free shipping, which is so important to us crafters.

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  11. Loved your discussion of all right. When ever I use that term I question the spelling. Also liked the cards!

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  12. Who makes the Happy Day sentiment stamp your first card? TIA

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    1. Hero Arts. It's a very old clear sentiment set, at least ten-twelve years.

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  13. 2 beautiful and very different cards. I also like the phrase from the movie 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'. ' It will be alright/all right in the end, if it's not all right, it's not the end'.

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  14. "alright" makes me shudder. Among other responses (head-desking, face-palming, groaning). Also the misuse of "everyday" when the situation requires "every day."

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment!