Cheers

Happy Sunday,

I don't have a sketch to share today, but here's the anniversary card I made for my parents this year. It's their 41st anniversary today. The actual "Happy Anniversary" greeting is on the inside. I just recently got this "cheers" die cut, so I really wanted to use it. I love that it works with a multitude of happy occasions.

Since getting the ScanNCut, I hadn't used it much with solid colour images, so I decided that needed to change today. I never purchased the coordinating dies for the Rosie Posie stamp set and yet I always ended up fussy cutting out all the elements. So I stamped several flowers and leaves and cut it all out with the machine in a few minutes.

I liked the idea of bringing in a stitched frame as a way to kind of "attach" all of the floral and leaf elements. I die cut a stitched rectangle from some Simply Chartreuse paper and adhered that to a Rustic White card base. I arranged all the elements and then in order to make the "Cheers" stand out a bit more, I decided to make an offset outline from vellum to place it on. 

So all in all, a bit of a busier card than most that I've made as of late, but it was a lot of fun!

Supplies (affiliate links used):

Stamps: Rosie Posie

Ink: Summer Sunrise, Bright Buttercup, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate, Cocoa Bean, Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado, Orange Zest

Paper: Rustic White, Simply Chartreuse, Pure Poppy, Vellum, Neenah Solar White 80lb

Dies: Mondo Cheers

Celebrate!

Hey everyone!

Today I am guest designing for the latest Create a Smile Stamps challenge. The theme is Celebrate! This is such a great theme since it can mean many different things to different people. I decided to make a birthday/celebration card featuring Gull Gang.

When I saw this stamp set, I knew I had to have it. First of all- those gulls are so cute and a bit sassy. There's also some really fun sentiments in that set that I haven't ever seen from other companies.

I started with the gulls and the woodposts and coloured them with various copic markers. I had a few party hats stamped out from various Lawn Fawn sets, but I see that the Dress Me Up set has the perfect party hat in it!

Next up was making the scene. I used a stitched rectangle die to give the scene a more finished edge.
I used some post-it note tape to create the horizon. Above that line, I left the background white and stenciled clouds using Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink. For the ocean, I blended Salty Ocean all over and then used a wave stencil with Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide ink to create the look.

I wanted the wood posts to be in the water and not just floating, so I used an X-acto knife and cut openings that aligned with the waves and then tucked the posts in. Once the scene was set, I went about adding my sentiment. The "Let's Celebrate" is from the Mini Birthday set and the "you" is from the Cool Cuts You die. I stacked three to give the sentiment extra dimension.

Now for the fun part for you!

The great thing about these challenges is there is a prize! Create a Smile Stamps gives away a 25-euro gift card! Also, you can make use of their awesome freebies (I'm thinking about making a new year's card with the sentiment and kangaroo from the freebies). I definitely recommend checking out the stamps and dies though too- they are excellent quality. Even coming from Germany, they took no longer than anything I've ever ordered from the USA (if you're on the fence about ordering).

Hope to see you all play along!

A few Christmas Cards

Happy Sunday!

I am taking a few weeks off from the weekly sketches over the holidays. I'll still be posting a few cards here and there, just not the sketch cards. Feel free to still be inspired by the sketches here.

My goal is to update the "drawn" style of the sketches (people didn't seem as receptive to them) and then maybe even start some new ones!

But for now, I thought I would share a few of the one-of-a-kind cards I made for my crafty crew. There's about 10 of us that meet every month for Stamp Club (one is still a Stampin' Up demo), and even though those monthly gatherings are Stampin' Up focused, we get together for other crafty dates and getaways. Anyway, here are some of the cards!

I mostly used Lawn Fawn and My Favorite Things.

Fall to Layout #101 Take Two

Happy Weekend!

I'm taking a very small break from all things Christmas and have a birthday card to share today. I've had this set, Beep Boop Birthday for a few months. I didn't get the dies though, so haven't been using it to its potential. However, I recently got a really great deal on a ScanNCut so I finally used them since I didn't have to fussy cut them!

Here's the sketch:

Dimensions:
Card Base: 4-1/4 x 5-1/2
Main Layer (total): 3 x 4-1/4
Two pieces at 1/2 x 4-1/4, center piece 2-1/2 x 4-1/4
Main Layer Mat: 3-1/8 x 4-3/8
Star/Circle component: approximately 1-3/4

Here's my card:

I coloured the two robots and a cupcake from this set using Copics. I decided to place those on a pointed circle since it reminded me of a gear. I used the 4 mini gears in this set to create a background pattern on the light grey. Originally I wanted to use the speech bubble (in the top left of the pic), but it just didn't work for placement, so I went with a sentiment banner instead.

Supplies (some affiliate links used at no cost to you):

Stamps: Beep Boop Birthday

Inks: Smoky Slate, Tuxedo Black

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Smoky Slate, Pacific Point, Black, Raspberry Fizz, White

Dies: Limitless Layers 1-3/4 Circle die collection

If you play along, please leave a link:

Fall to Layout #100 Take Two

Happy Sunday!

I hope you're not tired of Christmas cards yet! I made so many this weekend. This was one of the simpler ones I made. Here's the sketch: 

As far as dimensions go, it's really up to you. Just make sure the upper scalloped layer is about 80% of the card. You don't even have to make it scalloped- a straight edge or some other border is good here!

Here's the card. I had this stitched snowflake background in my scrap stash, so I decided to update it to match the sketch by using this scalloped stitch border die. If you interested in how it was made- I lay several stitched snowflake dies on the white cardstock and used a rubber embossing mat to prevent the dies from cutting. This is a fun way to make your own backgrounds and really stretches the dies!

I added some organdy ribbon and adhered it to a red card base. The sentiment is a mix between a Papertrey Ink sentiment and the "merry" was cut using the ScanNCut.

If you play along, please leave a link!

Fall to Layout #99 Take Two

Hello everyone. I have a simple floral sympathy to share today.

Here's the sketch. When I originally designed this sketch, I think it was meant to be a longer style card, but today it worked well as a standard card base.

Approximate Measurements:

• Card Base: 4-1/4 x 5-1/2
• Main Image: 4-1/8 x 3-1/8
• Border: 4-1/8 x 1/2
• Sentiment (varies by selection)

I started by stamping just one of the corners of this large image from Sketched Flowers in Rich Cocoa Memento ink. I used many Stampin' Blends markers to colour it in. For my border, I didn't want it to be plain, so I stamped the single leaf image from this same set in Spring Moss on Spring Moss card stock. The rest came together pretty quickly. I wanted a bit more separation between the main layer and the base, so I framed it with a very thin Ripe Avocado frame.

Supplies:
Stamps: Sketched Flowers
Ink: Rich Cocoa, Versafine Black Onyx, Spring Moss
Paper: Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, Scarlet Jewel, White
Accessories, etc.: Stampin' Blends markers.

If you play along, please leave a link:

Fall to Layout #98 Take Two

Happy Sunday!

I've got today's sketch card ready for you. It's also a dual purpose card, I decided to take a stab at the most recent Lawn Fawnatics challenge. It's a colour challenge, so I went through my stash of paper, inks, and markers and found some good matches for the inspiration image. Although I have the paper that the inspiration piece is based on, I wanted to challenge myself by not using that specific paper.

Here's the sketch:

Dimensions I used:

• Card Base: 4-1/4 x 5-1/2
• Squares: 1-1/2 x 1-1/2
• Frame for the squares: Approx 1-3/4 x 5
• Lower paper strip: 1-3/4 x 5-1/2
• I also ended up cutting down the final scene to about 5-3/8 x 4-1/8 since I wanted a slight white frame from the card base.

Here's the card:

I had a lot of fun making this. It felt good to do a colour challenge. I started with my colour palette. For the inks and papers I went with Papertrey Ink-Amethyst Allure, Hawaiian Shores, Green Parakeet, Summer Sunrise, and Hibiscus Burst. I also used a piece of green dotted patterned paper from the Really Rainbow Christmas Petite paper pack and some Pretty in Pink cardstock for the speech bubble.

The unicorns (from Say What Christmas Critters) were coloured mostly with Stampin' Blends (Stampin' Up! alcohol markers, with a few Copics and Touch5 markers for some of the other details). I also added a bit of shimmer to the horn and the hooves. The white squares were stamped with various snowflakes and stars from the Holiday Helpers and Thanks a Latte.

If you play along, please leave a link! I love to see what you create!

Fall to Layout #97 Take Two

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Hello!

I've got this week's sketch ready! The butterfly elements can be any object you like. I decided to go with snowflakes, since I still need to build up my Christmas card stash.

Measurements are pretty straight forward. My card base is 4-1/4 x 5-1/2. The background layer is 4 x 5-1/4. The sentiment banner is approximately 3 x 1/2 (but really this is subject to whatever sentiment you choose).

Here's my card:

I decided to not use the traditional white coloured "white space". I wanted to use snowflakes and in order to make them pop, I made a blended background. I blended Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch and Faded Jeans. I spritzed it with water, let it dry and then added many ink splatters (white, chipped sapphire and silver).

Next I cut out my snowflakes (from Lawn Fawn's stitched snowflake die set), choosing three different sizes. The banner is stamped on a piece of navy cardstock and embossed with silver embossing powder. The sentiment is from the Lawn Fawn Holiday Helpers set.

If you play along, please leave a link:

Fall to Layout #96- Take Two

Hello everyone, I hope you’re ready for some rainbow cards. First up, I’ve got a card based on last week’s sketch. I managed to get something made later last week but didn’t have a chance to share it til today.

Dimensions:
Card base: 4-1/4 x 5-1/2
Layer (total size) 4-3/4 x 3-1/2
Smaller strip 1-3/4 x 3-1/2

I started by stamping a rainbow and several clouds from Best Ever onto some white cardstock. I coloured them with copics then cut them out. I also added a bit of shimmer to the clouds. To make the bottom strip I decided to make my own patterned paper by using the long happy birthday sentiment stamp and stamping in repeatedly. I added a tiny bit of bakers twine around that layer for the small ribbon element of the sketch. I deviated only a little- I didn’t use scallops and I ended up adding an extra cloud and some sequins for added shimmer and better overall balance.

Here's this week's sketch:

Dimensions:
Card base 4-1/2 x 5-1/2
Image layer 4 x 3-1/4
Image mat layer 4-1/8 x 3-3/8.


I used the same stamp set for this week’s sketch.

This time the focus were the hearts in the set. I embossed several of the lines hearts and a few of the small hearts all over some white cotton letterpress paper and then embossed them with white embossing powder. Next I decided on my palette. I used many distress inks for painting: picked raspberry, candied apple, spiced marmalade, mustard seed, twisted citron, lucky clover, peacock feathers, salty ocean, blueprint sketch and wilted violet. For the background I used tumbled glass. I love this look because it is detailed but because of the repeated images it is quite quick to colour. I decided on a simple black frame to layer it on and placed the whole thing onto some Pixie Pink paper with dimensionals. The greeting comes from Keep it Simple: Birthday.




I used some other old stampin up colours on these cards- tempting turquoise and lovely lilac, in addition to the pixie pink. The old colour family of basic brights had some really good vibrant colours. I’m glad I still have a few pieces in my stash! Finally, here are the two cards together in all their rainbow-y goodness:

If you play along this week, please leave a link. 

Fall to Layout 95

Hey all,

I meant to get a card made for the sketch this weekend, but it just didn't happen. Ever have one of those weekends where you have all sorts of intentions of making SO many cards, and then you go in the craft room and just nothing happens? Yeah, it was one of those for me this week.

I'm still just not feeling terribly creative or inspired :(

Here's the sketch though, if you feel like taking a crack at it.

I'll see if tonight brings out some creativity or not, I just didn't want to leave the few sketch followers hanging.

If you play along, leave a comment with a link

Fall to Layout #94 Take Two

Happy Sunday! Can you believe it, October is almost over. It definitely seems like these last two months have just flown by. 

Here's this week's sketch! A true classic! I feel like I originally designed this one once circle dies were more prevalent. It's a funny thing, thinking back to this hobby even 10 years ago! We take basics such as circle dies and scallop circle dies for granted,but when I first started stamping, they really weren't readily available. The dies craze was only just beginning.

Measurements:

• Card Base: 4.25 x 5.5
• Circle: Approximately 2.75 diameter
• Circle Layer: Approximately 3 diameter
• Patterned Strip: 1.75 x 5.5

Here's my card.



While on vacation, I took a few supplies with me- mainly stamped and cut out Lawn Fawn images and a set of markers. These two images are from the Stamptember release Nutty Or Nice. In case you don't know, that's a Simon Says Stamp/Lawn Fawn collaboration set. It was released in September in limited supplies and sadly isn't available to purchase anymore, but it has elements that are similar enough to other Lawn Fawn sets that you could still use any cards you see with it for inspiration.

I ended up mirroring the sketch so that it would appear more balanced. I tried it the original way, but because I have the larger image on the left, it just didn't look balanced. I took the snowmen row from Simply Celebrate Winter, and stamped that on Hawaiian Shores paper (with Hawaiian Shores ink) to add to the snowman theme. The sentiment is also from the Nutty Or Nice set.

Supplies (some affiliate links used):
Stamps: Nutty or Nice, Simply Celebrate Winter
Ink: Tuxedo Black, Dark Chocolate, Hawaiian Shores
Paper: Kraft, White, Aqua Mist, Textured Red, Hawaiian Shores
Accessories, etc.: Stitched Circle dies, scalloped circle dies, Snowy Backdrop, Stitched Hillside Borders, Copics

If you play along, please leave a link!

Fall to Layout 93 Take Two

Happy Tuesday!

I'm a bit late with my blog post this week. I got the card done on Sunday, but being in a post-vacation mode (got back on Thursday), followed by getting an annoying cold meant not doing much of anything all. Just finally got the replenishing groceries done last night, haha. Anyway...

I was inspired to use leaves from the sketch image. I decided to do more of a cascading cluster though.

Measurements:

• Card Base: 4-1/4 x 5-1/2
• Image Layer: 3-1/8 x 4-38
• Image Layer Mat: 3-1/4 x 4-1/2
• Sentiment Strip: 3/4 x 4-1/4

I started my stamping with the leaves from Spruce & Sprigs. I inked them up with Ripe Avocado and rolled Pinefeather along the edges to get a bit of a blended green. Next I stamped the little berries in the empty spaces with Pure Poppy. I framed my image layer with some Pure Poppy then placed that on some green textured cardstock I found in my scrap stash- it's a pretty close match to Simply Chartreuse.

I decided I wanted a vellum sentiment strip so that the stamped image wasn't completely covered. I used one of my favorite sentiments from the Keep It Simple Christmas set. I attached that to the card front using red brads (yes I know right, brads!?!), but this worked well for the "button" element that I have on the sketch.

Supplies:
Stamps: Spruce & Sprigs, Keep It Simple Christmas
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, Pinefeather, Black
Paper: Textured green, Pure Poppy, Vellum, White
Accessories, etc.: red brads

If you play along, please leave a link!

Fall to Layout #92 Take Two

Hello everyone! We're taking things square this week! 

Dimensions:

Card Base: 5-1/8 x 5-1/8

Main Layer: 5 x 5

Smaller Circle: Approximately 3 inch diameter

Circle Frame: Approximately 3-1/4 inch diameter

I love leaf themed stamps and this turnabout is no exception! It's so easy to use. The mix of line art and solid leaves make this one of the more forgiving turnabouts I have tried. I also love that there are a few sentiments in the set. I used a fall colour palette- Prairie Grass, Honey Nut, Olive Twist, and Terracotta Tile. I stamped it on a Vintage Cream piece of cardstock. Originally, I was only going to attach one leaf to the sentiment circle. However, there were a few stray ink dots, so I decided to just cover them with more leaves!

For the "belly band", I wanted something more than just plain card stock, so I scored a line about 1/8th of an inch from either side.

Supplies (affiliate links used when possible):
Stamps: Thankful Leaves Turnabout
Ink: Honey Nut, Prairie Grass, Saffron Spice, Terracotta Tile, Olive Twist
Paper: Honey Nut, Prairie Grass, Saffron Spice, Vintage Cream
Dies: Circle dies

If you play along, please leave a link!

Fall to Layout #91 Take Two

Happy Sunday! I hope you're ready for another sketch!

Dimensions:

Card Base: 4.25 x 5.5

Patterned Paper Layer: 3.75 x 5

Layer: 3-7/8 x 5-1/8

Scallops: 4.25 x 1.25

I had lots of fun making this card! I actually coloured the little mug character a few weeks back, and it was just sitting on my desk waiting for the perfect card. I took a look at this sketch and thought, why not use the mug as the flower element. In case you didn't know, there's a pair of little ovals in this stamp set. I had no idea what they were, since they didn't seem like the usual Lawn Fawn cutesy eyes. They are meant to be rosy cheeks (as I have used here). Just thought I'd share that in case you had no idea like me!

Just a reminder- when it comes to the sketches- they are just a starting point. Never feel obligated to use ALL the elements. Just because I use a flower on the sketch doesn't mean you have to use a flower on your card. It's just meant to designate an image- the choice is yours as to what kind!

Back to the card- the rest came together, once I was settled on using the sketch. The patterned paper comes from the Really Rainbow Christmas Petite Paper Pack.I paired that with some Pure Poppy, Basic Black, and New Leaf cardstock. I decided to add a bit of black and white baker's twine, since I wanted to bring in another black element to tie in with the sentiment, the frame layer, and the ink of the image itself.

Supplies (affiliate links used when possible):

Stamps: Thanks a Latte

Ink: Tuxedo Black, Versafine Black Onyx

Paper: Pure Poppy, Basic Black, New Leaf, Really Rainbow Christmas Petite paper pack

Dies: Medium Scallop Edge die

If you play along, please leave a link:

Fall to Layout #90 Take Two

Happy Sunday! 

So.... last weekend it was 25C with a humidex of 32C, and today it's super dreary and we had a mix of snow and rain last night... Oh September! You just never know what you're going to get!

Anyway, keeping with the theme of snow... Here's a card featuring some new to me snowflake dies.

Dimensions:
Card Base: 5.5 x 4.25
Next layer: 5.25 x 4

I got some glitter paper back during Sale-A-Bration and hadn't used it yet. I thought the snowflakes would look so pretty all glittered up! I omitted the ribbon since I had all that glitter and I decided to center the sentiment.

Supplies:
Stamps: Holiday Helpers (greeting only)
Dies: Stitched Snowflakes, Mini Snowflakes, Outside in Stitched Rectangle
Paper: Glitter paper, Smoky Slate, Smokey Shadow

If you play along, please leave a link!

Mood Board Challenge

Hello,

Here is my card for the latest Lawn Fawnatics challenge. The challenge this time was a mood board. There were luscious fall colours and themes. I decided to make a fun little fairy cafe scene. I'm just going to list all the sets I used first, since there ended up being a lot!

• Fairies: Fairy Friends
• House: Frosty Fairy Friends
• Sign: Village Shops
• Leaves: Critters from the Past
• Cups: Holiday Helpers
• Acorn: Forest Feast
• Mushroom: Critters in the Forest
• Sentiments: Sentiment Staples: Birthday
• Dies: Stitched Windy Backdrop (Lawn Fawn), Stitched Rectangle Scallop Frames (MFT)

Alright, now that that's out of the way- here's the card! This one took a bit longer than normal. I started to get it together in stages.

First up, I decided on all my images. I coloured them in with various Copics and other alcohol markers. Next, was the background. I wanted something that felt like "fall", but still had a sky vibe. Thinking back to the mood board, I remembered one image in particular that had a softer aqua background with red/orange leaves. So that inspired me.

I pulled out 5 distress oxide inks- Wild Honey, Carved Pumpkin, Candied Apples, Peacock Feathers, Vintage Photo and blended them. Once I started to put the scene together, I knew I needed something to ground it all. I used that little leaf stamp from the Critters from the Past set and stamped them almost overlapping to mimic a leaf covered ground. I cut along that to make my ground layer. Once I had everything staged on the background, I decided it felt too plain. So I pulled out the Stitched Windy Backdrop die and used that to jazz it up. I have to say, that was a great decision- the swirly wind goes great with a fall themed card.

I wanted my scene to feel like a little window into their fall fairy life, so I completed it with the scalloped frame.

I was going to use a lawn fawn sentiment, but I wanted something birthday and small, so I decided on these Papertrey Ink sentiments instead. I curved them to match the swirls in the background.

Here's another close-up. You can really see the shimmer of the fairy wings, and the fun of the blended background with the swirly stitches.