Project: Autumnal sketch for Sketch Saturday

This week at Sketch Saturday our sponsor is Fred She Said and I just love their images. This week I wanted something really autumnal to match the change in seasons and thought this pumpkin and dahlia image was perfect.

And because it's a 5th Saturday in the month (yay! more Saturdays!) it's a choose your own sketch week: pick any sketch from 215-532. I went for 514 as it was one I didn't get to play with originally:

I colored the image with ProMarkers and added A Wink of Stella to the flowers to make them shimmer. I love the contrast of purple, yellow and orange, I think it's a great combo for this time of year. I used some great papery flowers from Recollections that I got a while back that add joy to any card. And then a Tim Holtz sticker sentiment for the banner. I tried it on an actual banner and it really looked better plain against the textured paper. 

Loved having a browse through the sketches - I hope you find inspiration as well! 

Project: Birthday card with all the skills

The trouble with one of your best friends being a card maker is that you really have to pull out all the stops for their birthday card each year. It can't be some 'threw it together this morning as I forgot' nonsense that I get away with on other friends. Nope. For Claire, I have to make it technical and complicated!

So this year I was thinking what to do and I was reminded of a technique we did when we first started out - stamping over a few layers and splitting them out in the layout. We used to do this literally over multiple sheets but I wanted to feature dies so instead I did a layout over one sheet that I could cut out with nesting dies. 

I used a Studio Calico sentiment in the middle and then used some big graphic flower stamps from a magazine freebie arranged around the edges. I heat embossed everything in black, then blended using Distress Inks. I layered up the spotted rectangle dies because I liked the little dot details that it brought to the layout - makes it feel a bit more contemporary and tropical. I layered them up using foam tape and over a black card to make it stand out and tie back with the embossing. 

Happy birthday to my dear friend for life, Claire, who is crazy and loving and generous and brilliant. Love you man. The dog loves you most. x

Project: A fun skating girl for Sketch Saturday

I love when I see Claire's sketches in our Sketch Saturday challenges and I thought this was a really fun one to play along with:

The image is one that Claire gave me, she stamped a bunch of images for me from her stash and this is one I've been holding onto for a while. I decided to give her bubblegum pink hair when I colored her with ProMarkers. The balloons were originally part of the stamp but I decided to trim it down and have the balloons go off the card with a Stampin' Up balloon punch (and a felt tip pen to get the strings off the edge!). I decided to double down on the pink sweetness and use a pink chevron paper that I've had in my stash for a while. 

Because the image is so central, I used a tiny little sentiment just above the wrapped pink twine. I love the finished product, it brings me such joy and I know the perfect recipient. 

Can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with this week! 

Project: Ribbon card for MAWTT

This week at Moving Along with the Times we're doing a ribbon theme - and I freakin' love ribbon. I have SO MUCH of the stuff, it's tangled and balled and tied together and covering so much space...and I love it.

I decided to feature it instead of an image and cut 6 strands in dotted grosgrain ribbon, knotting them in the top third and then cutting them on the bias. I put them on a diagonal for a rainbow effect and then used Stampin' Up Endless Birthday Wishes set to split the sentiment in the top and bottom. I added a touch of mustard over the navy to give it a bit more of an accent.

I had so much fun shopping my ribbon stash for this I hope it provides you with the same entertainment as you craft!

Project: Macaroon sketch and color challenge entry

My friend Paloma and I love macaroons. One year she got me a cooking class voucher to learn to make them, another year we went to tea at Laduree for a celebratory meal; they are a constant in our friendship. 

I decided for her birthday card this year I would combine the perfect colors at Paper Players and the layout at CAS(E) This Sketch: 

I cut out the macaroons by hand - I mean, is there an easier or more forgiving shape than a slightly rounded little wedge? - and drew on the filling using ProMarkers in a slightly darker shade. The iridescent glitter glue really makes it pop on top and look more like the squidgy jelly fillings you get in real life. 

The background paper and paper in the little box are both old from my stash - I like the vintage, collage style feel but its so muted it doesn't make it too busy, it still feels CAS (at least to me! purists may disagree!) I inked up the little box using Distress Ink as the white was too bright for the piece. The hero sentiment is free from a card magazine, maybe Quick Cards? And the little 'Let us celebrate' is an old favourite from Stampin' Up. 

I really enjoyed playing alone, I love it when a challenge combination leads to something really personal! 

 

Project: Age is irr-elephant card

My dad loves a corny 'dad joke'. He cracks himself up, even when nobody else finds it funny. For his birthday this year I decided to use these silly animal pun sentiments to honour his sense of humour.

The layout at Freshly Made Sketches was perfect for this:

I started by stamping the elephant stamp directly onto a woodgrain patterned paper. I tried a few versions on plain paper and it was really lacking something. The woodgrain gives it depth and a bit more masculine I think.

The sentiment on its own was missing something so I added the black background. Smallest things make the biggest difference. I tried adding candies and other things but it was really best plain so I took off all the extras and stuck with it as it is. I had already been through a bit of detail drama as explained below...

Originally I stamped the elephant on this paper. The test I did was fine but when I finally committed it using my stamp platform it was way too busy. But because I was going for a one-layer look I couldn't get rid of the image and decided to cover it up. I used a Hero Arts sentiment and rainbow image stamped onto a circle die cut and then I found an orange paper to match the backing paper. 

So this oops got fixed pretty quickly - often these things kick around my desk for months waiting to be corrected and I decided to find something to fix it straight away. Glad I did, even if it is a bit ofw-center for my liking! 

Project: A simple anniversary card

This week it is my 8 year wedding anniversary and I wanted to make something fun but simple as a card for my husband.

I love these Gorjuss stamps, I have about 4 or 5 of them and they are so lovely but I find them a bit hard to use sometimes. Maybe I just don't try hard enough. Anyway, this one is a personal favourite, I think she was my first Gorjuss stamp and I love the little heart card she's holding. I decided it was perfect for the anniversary card.

I colored her using Spectrum Noir pencils and tried to make her hair a bit like mine (but hers is glossier and shinier as I'm too lazy to blow dry) and then I fussy cut her out as she's a simple shape. The heart is a giant punch and I stamped over it using a love stamp set that I got at a craft fair earlier this year. I added the sparkly 8 for our 8 year anniversary as it's the same color as the heart.

It's simple but sweet and I think it's perfect for the occasion!