to be exact, Cania, the icy eighth of the nine hells of Baator..and back! To be really exact, I've just finished playing Hordes of the Underdark, a computer role-playing game. Here's a Wikipedia definition for CRPG that'd put you through at least two levels of the nine should you choose to read the whole entry. After a near total immersion in the game as an epic2 monk, travelling through tortuous freezing climes (fairly approximated by sitting at my computer during these cold days and nights), helping the wretched and battling evil with my bare fists3, on completion of those adventures, I am now suffering decompression.
I am sure many of you would have gone through this condition - it comes upon you lightly when you have watched a wonderfully absorbing movie or hits you like a freight train (or, for RPGers, a Heavy Flail + 10 wielded by a weapons master wearing a Belt of Storm Giant Strength) when you've finished reading the final instalment of a much loved fantasy series. It is particularly heart-wrenching if you've fallen in love with one of the characters. Twilight readers - you know what I'm talking about! Real life suddenly seems like just an opportunity to seek out ways to prolong the experience ... Google the characters, discuss the story to the nth degree with other passionate fans, relive moments in the adventure and, quite possibly, dream about the one that you are most attached too. In other words, do anything to defer the sadness that comes from the end of something that strangely felt special even though it existed only in our imaginations.
I guess it will take a little time for me to mentally pack away by my magical bags of holding and say farewell to my preferred One True Love after I ended up with two from alternate scenarios. Luckily, I had Hubby asking me to leave the computer to keep him company last night - an important reminder of the reality that was worth surfacing for.
Speaking of Hell, I designed the following card for a INKlings Card in a Box training session. A few of the team found making this card rather hellish since a standard wheel can be tough to control at times4. The card is deceptively difficult since there are no OFFERs (Opportunities-For-Further-Embellishment Recovery) - there are no layers or embellishments with which to hide a mistake! As the card featured my Marker Over technique, I made copies of it for Convention swaps *wave to Megan*
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Chocolate Chip
Stamp sets:
Funky Forest wheel
Occasional Greetings
Cardstock:
Whisper White
Accessories:
Earth Elements Markers
Mat Pack
1. Hordes of the UnderdarkTM is an expansion pack for Neverwinter Nights.
2. Epic - a character that has reached the 21st level for those of you with some RPG interest.
3. Supplemented by the odd pair of magical gloves ... who am I kidding? Make it supplemented continually as soon as I got hold of the first pair...
4. Just like Valen suppressing his demonic taint while in Cania - I couldn't help slipping that in for anyone who has played Hordes of the Underdark.
11 comments:
Pretty card Lin Mei, very clean and crisp.
Congrats on being published, your cards were awesome. I loved how you had used the CB dies.
:) Marcia P
Hi Lin Mei, Please give us more hints on how you made your deceptively simple card. I was hoping to make one when I order my trendy trees wheel and was wondering do you mask the central square to get the neat beginning and edges?
Nerida
Hi Lin Mei, Welcome back to reality. Wills plays Neverwinters Nights, I think I got him the Diamond pack a few years ago. Whatever. All I know is that when he plays his games, it leaves me to do my card and stamping stuff in peace and quiet.
Welcome back from Cania Lin Mei! Was wondering where you'd got to. Helping the wretched and battling evil hadn't made it onto my guess list though :-) Think I know that 'end of something special' feeling from finishing a totally absorbing series of novels. Takes a while to reenter the regular world! Good luck with your decompressing.
LOVE the card. Think it'd take me 27 goes to get an 'oops' free version but I think I might give it a go - looks gorgeous.
Cheers, Sue
Hello Marcia
Congratulations on your magnificent cards, Covergirl!
Hello Nerida
I created a mask to help me keep it neat - it was a rectangle with a window ... imagine the window being about 5mm inside the pierced holes. I highly recommend using Post-It notes if you are only doing one or two cards since the notes are thin enough to not interfere with the wheel touching the cardstock but can take the ink from a couple of runs before soaking through and spoiling your work. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your Funky Forest creations!
Hello Belle
I got the Diamond Pack too - I'm sure Will would have been thrilled to receive it when it was new (especially Hordes of the Underdark) and I imagine you would have got quite a bit of time to craft with that many hours of gameplay on offer! I always wait a loooong time for PC games so that they go on sale (with expansions included) and my machine has caught up with the minimum requirements for the game (after a truck load of hand me downs from the Hubster).
Hello Sue
I LOL'ed at your comment about your guess list. I'm sure you'll have an bigger 'n better version than mine after your first go :)
Thanks for sharing your cool card Lin Mei .It was worth waiting to see! Waving maddly back!
Thanks muchly, Megan!
Thanks muchly, Betty! A warm welcome to my blog.
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