Project: Christmas sketch at Sketch Saturday

Hello and Happy Saturday! This week we have an open sketch week at Sketch Saturday, where you can pick any sketch from 215 to 482. Go nuts!

I decided to go for sketch 470 as our sponsor AMB Illustrations had this wonderful set of Christmas birds and I thought they'd look great in the layout:

I colored the images with Spectrum Noir colored pencils and die cut them in ovals. I used glitter paper strips for the diagonal crosses and patterned papers for the background. I tried them on white but they both looked better on a kraft card background. I confess that I started off liking the bauble bird more to start but ended up favouring the candy cane bird. Isn't it funny when it works out like that?

Can't wait to see what you do with an open sketch brief!

Project 438: Glitter paste fab birthday card

We're having a geometric shape challenge at MAWTT this week so please join us. Without even realising how perfectly it would work out, I made this amazing card for Claire's birthday - and I can't wait for her to get it.

I used Nuvo glitter paste with a Recollections hexagon stencil, and then heat embossed a sentiment from a Creative Stamping magazine on a die cut fancy label. I decided to keep this really simple, just adding a little flower and a stitched border. It's fancy enough and this leaves it to have more impact.

She taught me how to use glitter paste on our recent weekend away and I have absolutely loved playing with it. She is a great craft teacher, a great partner in crime, a great colleague and more than anything else a great friend. I hope she enjoys the present and card as much as I've enjoyed putting it together!

Project 440: A foxy shaker card and train silhouette

My buddy Dave at work always asks me to make him funny cards for his family. He asked me to make his girlfriend a fox card and his dad a train card.

For absolutely no reason, I decided to make the fox card a shaker. I just thought, why not? I haven't made a shaker in a while, this will be fun! And then I saw that CAS-UAL Fridays was hosting a shaker challenge so that confirmed my commitment.

Plus, while it looks simple, there are about 6 uses of dies on this card (the background square with circle removed, the acetate circle, the scallop with the ring cut out, the foam ring) so I'm entering the CAS On Sunday challenge of 'Use a Die'.

I colored a Unity Co stamp directly on the card blank and then die cut a piece of paper around it. I die cut a foam ring in red to hold the sequins and then layered on top a scalloped circle with a die cut out as a frame. I added a hand drawn border and a little printed tag that Claire had given me as a sentiment. Really pleased with it as I struggle with shakers and I was patient enough to wait for all the glue to dry on the foam and the lid before shaking it so I didn't get the sequins stuck around the edges like usual!

Now for the train. I tried my hand a paper cutting one from sight and it came out a bit sloppy and un-train-like. So I cheated a bit, printed out a train image, glued it to a black card and then cut it out as a stencil and then flipped it over. Still, I had to do it by hand so I think it's ok! The paper is an ancient one from my stash (I think it's Recollections a few years ago). I cut the tag and used Distress Inks to blend over it to give it the vintage leather feel. The stamp is a really new one from Paper Source (I indulged when I went to the US recently!) and I think it may be it's inaugural use. I added some black bling and a gold glitter dot for the train's light.

Really happy with both of them and can't wait to give them to my colleague.

Project 439: A colorful bon voyage card

One of my colleagues for 4 years is leaving and I'm sad to see her go. It's been fun working with her and her spontaneous free spirit will be missed. I wanted to make her a fun card and thought the colors in Color Throwdown this week would be perfect.

I heat embossed a full set of feather stamps in white on watercolor paper and then used Distress Inks to watercolor the background. It's a bit paler than I wanted but oh well. The green dots are enamel accents. I am pretty happy with it, I hope she likes it too!

Project 438: A modern color Christmas card

It is official: I'm starting my Christmas card makes! I wanted to ease my way into the cards this year so I decided to do some sketch shopping to get inspiration for a few complicated ones while I work out what I'm going to do for the bulk-making.

The colors at Color Throwdown and the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch were perfect inspiration.

The trees are heat embossed and die cut. The stamp set is almost 2 years old - I got it in a Michaels sale after Christmas. Which makes it elligible for Retro Rubber's anything goes challenge!

The background is blended using Distress Inks and then die cut. I added gel pen white snow blowing from the left to complete the sketch. The sentiment is also at least 18 months old and is heat embossed a floral vellum paper that reminded me of snow. I added some pearl stars just for some texture. Big fan of how it came out - now to make a zillion more Christmas cards!

Project: A back to school sketch

Hello and happy Saturday! Teachers and students are back at school and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to make a little card for my sister who is returning this year after her maternity leave. I loved the Amy Loves Books image at Sasayaki Glitter, our sponsor this week, of this girl on top of a pile of books and thought she'd be perfect.

I colored the image with ProMarkers and then fussy cut her out as she was a pretty simple shape. The background is a fun paper from Lawn Fawn that I die cut with a stitched die. The squares feature a sentiment that is getting on now, a few years ago Claire gifted it to me.

Such a fan of how it turned out, I hope you are able to join in the fun at Sketch Saturday this week!

Project 437: A classy birthday sketch and color combo

I have so many friends with September birthdays that I am always making very individual cards in the first week of the month. I don't normally do challenges for special friend birthdays but this week everything came together really well, with the colors from Color Throwdown and the Freshly Made Sketches design providing layout:

I decided to use an X-Cut die set champagne glass, cut out in white and layered over a stitched red circle. The sentiment is from Creative Stamping magazine, I think maybe the June or July issue. The border is punched using a really old American Crafts punch from their Knock Outs series. The red plastic gems are from Poundland, they were a great find in the kids' section.

Really happy with how it came together, I think my friend will love it next week!

Project: A celebratory sketch challenge

Happy Saturday! This week we've got a fun sponsor, Pink Gem Designs, and a really fun sketch to pair with it:

I decided for my take on the sketch I would invert it so the bigger panel was on the left and the small boxes on the right. I used Cat with Glasses and colored her with ProMarkers. I die cut her out using a stitched rectangle and then heat embossed x3 sentiments from Endless Birthday Wishes and used a smaller die for those. The background paper is Lawn Fawn and the strip of gems is Poundland.

I hope you enjoy playing with the sketch, be sure to enter by the 8th of September!