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Weekend Sketch Set: 25Days!

You know it's been over two years since I did a weekend sketch set.  They were one of my favorite stamping challenges...4 sketches and one stamp set.  I loved the feeling of actually using my stamps and creating four cards with any set is an accomplishment!  I would guess that 1/4 of the stamp sets I own have never seen ink, and half have only been used once.  I keep thinking I shouldn't buy any more stamps until I have done a sketch set with all of them, but I doubt I could go 3 or 4 years without any new stamps!! 

I needed a few more Christmas cards so I scouted out the sketches and decided to pull my colours from the Colour Throwdown Challenge.  They are a perfect match to Memory Works "25 Days" designer papers which are so fun to work with...you don't even need stamps!  But, alas, Unity designed a coordinating stamp set to go with them, so I had to pull the two together and here's what I came up with! 

First up is Splitcoast Stampers Sketch #362.  I can hardly believe it's #362!  I used the sentiment from the Unity set and the little Christmas Wish List is one of the little squares in the Memory Works papers.  So fun and easy to put cards together with their papers!

 

Next up was the Waltzing Mouse Sketch #77.  I knew it would be posted on Friday, so it was perfect for my sketch set.  It was nice and easy to work with and my card ended up something like this!  No stamps on this one!  I used the little images from the paper and coated them with Rock Candy Crackle Paint and tied some twine off with a button to finish!

My next sketch was another Friday sketch and a favorite of mine to "Fall to" when I am looking for a sketch, and that is the Clean and Simple Fall to Layout #170.  My card doesn't seem as Clean and Simple as it should be, but I like it just fine!  I picked up these flowers by Prima last year, and I thought they looked like Poinsettas, although they weren't from their Christmas line.  The seemed to fit perfectly with the sketch and the papers!

And to finish, I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch #147.  I loved this sketch and it was so easy to work with...probably the fasted card of the four!  The bingo card is another from the Memory Works papers and I added some snowflake buttons and Bravo Burgundy ribbon!

Here's a look of the four of them together...such a nice little set don't ya think?

How fun is that!  I hope that I can find time to do these sketch sets in the New Year.  I know I won't have much time from here on it, but I have a few projects that I never found time to blog, so I hope to have a few more posts before Christmas.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!  See you soon!

 

Cookies and a CAS Card!

Hi there!  I'm back today with a non-Christmas card.  I think I've got all the cards I'll need, although, I love making them so much, I'll probably get a few more in...just in case. 

Today, I wanted to work with some papers and toys I picked up at Scrapbookers Paradise recently, and I love the result.  I love working within one line of paper and embellishments!  It really makes things come together quickly since everything coordinates perfectly!  This time I chose Making Memories Reverie Noir collection.  I think it's a wedding line, but the colours and design appealed to me enough to make me want to play!

 
Stamps:  Fine Herbs (Flourishes)
Paper:  Grey & Black cardstock, Paper Reverie DP (Making Memories)
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories:  Black pearl flourish (Kaiser), Reverie Noir butterflies (Making Memories), Lace trim (Kaiser), black & white polka dot ribbon (American Crafts), W3 Copic Marker

The card is pretty simple, in fact I worked with Clean & Simple sketch #120, and it came together really quick!  The patterned paper is Making Memories Reverie Noir and features both sides of the same sheet.  I  wrapped some Kaiser Lace trim around the seam.  I cut apart a Kaiser black pearl flourish for the butterfly trail, and the butterflies themselves are Making Memories Noir Black, layered 3 high. I love these  butterflies!  There are 60 butterflies in the package; 4 each of 15 designs (front and back), and in 3 different sizes (20 of each size)! 

 

Finally I tied it off with some black and white polkadot ribbon, and I tried to tone down the white dots by running my W3 Copic marker over them, and it turned out pretty good. Clean and simple, quick and easy! 

You can still get in on Free Shipping at Scrapbooker's Paradise all through the month of December!  Canadian orders over $50 will have their shipping charge removed at processing!  How sweet is that?

Well I told you dd & I made cookies yesterday, well today (well Sunday...really), we decorated them.  I thought I would share a few pic's of the activities. 

We made 80 cookies, and at the time of photos, there were only 65.  Hmmm, I wonder where the other 15 cookies went?   We had great intentions of decorating the cookies fancy, but it wasn't as easy as they make it look, so I don't think you'll be seeing us on Cake Boss anytime soon!  And those sprinkles...I'd like to ban them from cookies and donuts for all time.  Eeek...what a mess, but, I prevailed all in the name of motherhood.  DD told me is was her best day ever!!  Am I feeling good now?  I am bursting at the seams (in more ways than one...those were good cookies!).

Hey...have a wonderful day and a fabulous week!  Thanks for stopping by an letting me share...it really means the world to me!

Sweet Sunday Weekend Sketch Set!

 
Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm at my Mom and Dad's today, and I had so much fun and got so much done!  I went shopping this afternoon with my sister and dd's and got my youngest a new winter coat, my oldest yet another hoodie, and me nothing.  But that's fine because when we got back to Mom's I got to stamp!  All evening.  So for the first time in months, I had a chance to do a Weekend Sketch Set!  I used my new SU! set "For All You Do" and my new Pink Flamingo designer papers.  Ooh, I love this paper!

I'll start with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch.   I really liked this sketch and it actually came together fairly quickly.

I kept fairly true to the sketch although I used ribbon for the bottom panel and ended up moving it up so it was underneath the focal panel.  

I'm so curious to see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers did with Karen's sketch, so hop along with me to pay a quick visit to each of their blogs.  Then it's your turn!

Jennifer Tapler

Karen Motz

Lynn Put

Nancy Riley

Sarah-Jane Kale'

Vicki Burdick

and of course Karen!

 

Play along with the Sweet Sunday Sketch, and when you're done, link your fabulous creation to Mr. Linky on Karen's blog!  I always love seeing whay you do!

 

  OK, next up is Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 86.  This was a fun one, and I just love the way the Pink Flamingo paper works on this!  I added a slip of Tempting Turquoise ribbon on the focal image to balance it but other than that stayed right on with the sketch.  This is also SUO!  I can't believe it myself, but it is!

For Jen's Sketch for You to Try I went with a monochromatic look.  The colours in the Pink Flamingo papers call for Cameo Coral, but I used Regal Rose and I think it looks just fine!

I didn't add the lower embelllishments as they didn't work with the popped up flowers.  I could have added the sentiment there, but I ended up deciding against it, because I like it the way it is.  The ribbon on the top is tied through a clear button with designer paper adhered to it!

Finishing the set is Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge 101.  I really like how this card turned out using the solid floral stamp instead of the stem with flowers.  I coloured a Pretties flower with the Summer Sun marker and a pearl with a Copic Marker.  I fixed the flower after I took the picture, but you get it right?

I couldn't get a group shot, but I'll try to remember to add it when I get home.  The pictures are a little darker than usual because I don't have the same set up at Mom's as I do at home.  I am just so happy to have had so much Mojo!  I guess a change of scenery really gave me a boost! 

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend, and my fellow Canadians are getting their fill of turkey this Thanksgiving weekend!  Whatever you are up to, do it with a thankful heart.  I am thankful for so much, especially for you spending a few minutes of your day at my place on the web! 

Weekend Sketch Set; Best Wishes and More

This is my second post today, so scroll down to see my Featured Stamper Challenge card!

What a fabulous stamping weekend I had! I got my Weekend Sketch Set done, the Featured Stamper challenge, and I even eeked out a few other cards that I'll save for those days when I don't get time to stamp something for the blog.  I always try to use a current Stampin' Up! set that I haven't used in a Weekend Sketch Set before.  I still have a few sets that qualify under these stringent guidelines I go by, but I'm thinking a shopping spree would also be in order, just so I don't have to stress!  Oh and by the way, these are almost all SU!  I did use nestabilities and gems on one, but otherwise it's SUO!

Best Wishes and More is a perfect reason why I love doing the sketch sets.  I didn't buy this set because it didn't really appeal to me; I rec'd it at the Edmonton regionals.  However, now that I've used it and got a little creative with it, I really like it!  The sentiments are fun with their wavy-ness and the images are really cute!  Here they are individually.

This set actually got it's start with the SCS Sketch Challenge 241.  I really liked this sketch, and did another one I'll share another day.  I pulled out the retired Georgia Peaches designer paper which I loved so much, and this set almost fell together on it's own.  I'll spare you the verbage on the details, but you know if you have any questions you can pop me an email.

Here's my take on Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge.  I am not sure if the sentiment is for a wedding or engagement, but I figured hearts were in order!  Actually, being all pink and pretty it would probably work for a baby too! 

Taylor's Sketch Challenge was perfect for snowflakes, and some of you may know my particular fancy for pink and green as Christmas colours!  I think the polka dots and random floating starburst images in the background work well with snow flakes.  I found some pink fluffy fiber for the tag,  and we all know that snowflakes sparkle and shine, so I'm well justified in adding a little bling to each centre!

And last but not least is my take on Amy's Friday Sketch.  I decided to lose some of the pink and work with the So Saffron and Old Olive.  I tied Old Olive grosgrain ribbon around the lower panel, and buttons were my embellishment choice.  I added the sentiment up in the right corner as per the sketch, but now that I see the position of the bird, I think I should have put it lower so it might be interpreted that he was singing it!

And there you have it.  I am really pleased with this set and also that I finally inked up Best Wishes and More with success! 

This is my second post today, so don't forget to scroll down to see my Featured Stamper Challenge card!  Happy Sunday everyone!  Have a wonderful day, and I'll see you soon!

Baroque Raspberries Weekend Sketch Set

 

I had Baroque Motif's sitting on my desk from my Dare to Get Dirty challenge and it occured to me that I had never done a Weekend Sketch set with it, so I decided to blow off the dust and breathe some life into this set.  I still love the gorgeous flourish in it, although I don't care for the sentiments that come with it.  So I grabbed some of my favorite sentiment sets and went to town.

I used my Raspberry Tart designer paper.  Only the second time, and both after it retired LOL!  So much paper, so little time.  I pulled my sentiments from Think Happy Thoughts, and the retired "Small Sayings".  I also used a quote from a Cloud 9 stamp set that I picked up recently, just because it had fabulous quotes.

The Weekend Sketch Challenges are back, this week hosted by Laurie Schmidlin so that's where I started.  I stamped the flourish in Rose Red and cut it out with long oval Nestabilities.  I pieced together the sketch using the Raspberry Tart DP adding a photo corner and some scalloped ribbon.  The sentiment was done flag style with the floral motif cut, layered and adhered with a tiny button brad.

This is my favorite of the set!

This is my take on Amy's Friday Sketch.  The flourish is stamped in Rose Red and I dug out my Felt Fusion flowers for the lower embellishments.  I added gems to the flourish and since it seemed a little bare on top, I added a scalloped edge in Rose Red.  This came together pretty quick and it always makes me happy to pull out my long forgotten toys like my felt flowers.

I had the most trouble with Taylors Cupcake Challenge Sketch, and looking at it now, I think I was so focused on the designer paper, that I never thought of plain old cardstock as the better option for the focal panel.  Oh well, such is life.  Not everything will be a masterpiece.  I added some gold pearls for accents and the sentiment is cut with the ribbon label Nestabitiies.  The ribbon is American Crafts and that's about all there is to tell.

Jen's Sketch for You to Try is up next.  I love this sentiment, althought there are days when I'd argue against it.  I let the sentiment be the focus, adding some Kiwi Kiss flourishes peek in from the bottom and side.  Martha Stewart's butterfly trio make up the corner embellishments and of course more gems on the flourish. I didn't have gems small enough for the butterflies so I used some Crystal Stickles.  There are two layers to the butterflies, since I put them on in Cameo Coral first, then decided that Rose Red worked better, so instead of pulling them off, I added the Rose Red butterflies on top.

I have to say, I'm not fond of the Raspberry Tart paper after all this. It's the Cameo Coral.  I think it goes great with Kiwi Kiss, but in my opinion it has no place with Rose Red.  I don't think it works and well, I struggled with the Raspberry Tart paper.  Well at least I used it, and it's not the worst I've ever put together.

I am off to join my family camping.  I worked Thurs, Fri and Saturday, so I'm going out today to return tomorrow.  I think I can tough it out for a day LOL!  You all know how much I love camping.

I hope your day is fabulous whatever you may be doing.  Thanks for dropping in and I'll see you soon!

Circle Circus Weekend Set

OK...just so you know the title is a Weekend Set...notice the missing word?  I was just playing around with SU!'s new Circle Circus, and I had so many ideas floating around that I wanted to try that I just couldn't wait for the weekend for all the sketches.  I can hardly believe I worked without them, I so love my sketches, but I like the way they turned out so!  Oh, and just so you know, these are all SUO!!

I started with Wednesday's Sketch Challenge #235 on SCS. It was a fun one that screamed Circle Circus!  I particularly love this flower stamp, so I stamped it nine times in Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Dusty Durango.  I punched it out with the 1 3/8" punch and popped them up on dimensionals.  I added two little ribbon tabs in Dusty Durango and Rich Razzleberry and I had to borrow the sentiment from Taylored Expression's Beary Special Accessories because I couldn't find an SU! one that small!  I layered the Whisper White on Crushed Curry and popped that up on dimensionals.  I love it!

Recipe:  Stamps:  Circle Circus (SU!), Beary Special Accessories (Taylored Expressions)  Paper:  Whisper White, Crushed Curry  Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry  Accessories;  1 3/8" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, dimensionals, Rich Razzleberry & Dusty Durango polkadot grosgrain ribbon

This next card was inspired by Michelle Yungbauer's card here.  She has a fabulous blog and is so gifted with design, I encourage you to drop in for a visit...you'll enjoy every minute you're there!

I started with a base of Rich Razzleberry textured cardstock and cut the top note in both Crushed Curry and the Razzleberry designer paper and pieced them together, tying them with Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon.  I stamped the circles in several of the new In Colours (I love them!!), and positioned them on the topnote piece.  I made a brad from the smaller image using the Build a Brad kit. The sentiment is from the "Define your Life" set, and it's stamped in Rich Razzleberry.  The top note is adhered to the card base with dimensionals and that's it!

Recipe:  Stamps: Circle Circus (SU!)  Paper:  Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Razzleberry DP  Ink:  Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Rich Razzleberry  Accessories: Rich Razzleberry polkadot grosgrain ribbon, top note die, dimensionals, Build a Brad

I just can't get enough of the top note, and I used it again for my next card!  I "saw" the circle images as being perfect for flower centres, and that's how this card began, although it took the longest for me to finish.  I originally had 3 flowers, but it took me forever to realize there was no way they were all going to fit on one card, so I finally cut it down to two.

I thought the one image seemed a perfect match for the fancy Filigree Brads so I created a Melon Mambo flower using the scallop circle punch, and the smaller flower uses the 5 Petal punch and a Build a Brad flower centre.  The stems were cut freehand from Old Olive cardstock and the leaves are from the Felt Fusion flowers...a little idea I got from Susan Roberts (Rainy on SCS)!  I used the bottom half of the Crushed Curry top note die left over from the card above, and added a scalloped border in Melon Mambo.  The sentiment is from "Kind and Caring Thoughts", and the top not panel is adhered to the DP with dimensionals.

Recipe: Stamps:  Circle Circus, Kind and Caring Thoughts (SU!)  Paper:  Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Razzled berry DP  Ink: Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories: Top Note die, Scallop border punch, Build a Brad, circle punches, Felt Fusion flowers, dimensionals

My last card is my personal favorite.  The inspiration for this came from this card by Bethany Paull, and particularly the Text Box stamp by PTI.  I kept to a monochromatic colour scheme and popped a few of the circle images up for interest.  The sentiment is from the retired "Small Sayings" and what can I say...that's all she wrote!

Recipe:  Stamps:  Circle Circus (SU!)  Paper:  Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry textured cardstock, Razzleberry DP  Ink:  Rich Razzleberry Accessories:  dimensionals, Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain ribbon

Oh, I just love this set!  So many possibilities, I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of it!

I hope all my American friends are enjoying a wonderful Fourth of July weekend.  We had our holiday on the first and I worked a full day today; I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!  That's a treat I haven't experienced since school let out earlier this week.  I hope to be back tomorrow with some pictures from DD's birthday party.  It turned out really fun, and I want to thank everyone who offered up some games to play!  We didn't have time to play them all, but those we did were a blast!

Happy Saturday!  Thanks so much for spending a bit of it with me!  I truly appreciate it when you do!

Laura 

Weekend Sketch Set; Kind and Caring Thoughts

Can you believe it?  A weekend sketch set, and it's still the weekend!  What a great weekend by my standards anyway!  I have to warn you though.  The contents of this post are bold and bright (and beautiful if I might say so!).  Some scenes may be hazardous to your health.  Take proper precautions, sit down, open the shades and wear sunglasses, as your journey is about to begin!

I just got my order from Stampin' Up! and I had to play with all my new toys!  Look at those bright colours!  You know I love these colours, and while I personally don't think they're much of a stretch from some of the current colours, at least it's a license to go bold!  I didn't order any of the designer paper that would have matched the new colours, but a quick run through my hefty stash of designer paper told me that Basic Grey's "Urban Prairie" would work just fine.  And I was right, and I used part of my stash without adding anything new, and that makes me (and my wallet) happy!

Taylor's Cupcake Challenge Sketch is the first sketch posted so let's start there.

I chose Crushed Curry as my background and pieced the designer paper on the card as the sketch shows.  The flower was stamped in Crushed Curry, followed by a number of generational impressions to fill up the image panel.  Kind of an Upsy Daisy inpired look!  I added the sentiment like a flag, using my square punch to creat the "V", and securing it with an Urban Prairie glazed brad.  The ribbon is the new Bermuda Bay polka dot ribbon....beautiful stuff!

Recipe:  Stamps:  Kind and Caring Thoughts (SU!)  Paper: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" designer paper  Ink:  Crushed Curry, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  Bermuda Bay polka dot grosgrain, Urban Prairie Glazed brads, pop dots, photo corner punch, square punch, dimensionals

Here's my take on Jen's Sketch for You to Try.  This time I used the larger floral image and coloured it with the markers, just because I could!  Woohoo...markers in "In Colours", I love it!

I spiced up the blossoms with Stardust Stickles, and used my Labels three Nestability for the square.  The sentiment was notched with a square punch and set on dimensionals such that it curves upwards.  I've seen this technique a lot lately and I really like it!  I couldn't miss the opportunity to use the Melon Mambo ribbon...it's just beautiful, and I finished with a black fancy Cuttlebug corner.  I have to tell you I spent more time on that corner than the rest of the card.  I went back and forth from Melon Mambo to Black.  I finally decided on black and added some brigh pink gems, but now that I see it in the photograph, I wonder again, if I should have went with Melon Mambo LOL!

Recipe:  Stamps:  Kind and Caring Thoughts (SU!)  Paper:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Basic Black, Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" designer paper  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black & markers  Accessories:  square punch, Circle & Labels 3 Nestabilities(Spellbinders), Melon Mambo polka dot grosgrain ribbon, gems (Michaels), pop dots

Next on our tour is Amy's Friday Sketch.  I really liked this one, and it was actually the one I started with.  I love Melon Mambo, although it's so close to Pink Passion (IMHO), but at least Melon Mambo has ribbon!

Everything is pretty straight forward here.  I added buttons for the corner embellishements tying them off with black embroidery floss.  The sentiment is punched with the Word Window and popped up over the focal image.  Isn't it cool that the textured cardstock is now available in 8 1/2" x 11"??  I love it!

Recipe:  Stamps:  Kind and Caring Thoughts (SU!)  Paper:  Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Basic Black, Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" designer paper  Ink:  Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  Melon Mambo polka dot grosgrain ribbon, CircleNestabilities (Spellbinders), Word Window punch, buttons, embroidery floss, dimensionals

Last up is the card I did with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch.  Karen used a long and low card and I really like how this turned out.

I embossed the longer floral in white, on each of the three colours, and punched out random blossoms.  I embossed the sentiment on the right and added three white brads on the left.  I added Crushed Curry ribbon...of course, and it was done.

Recipe:  Stamps:  Kind and Caring Thoughts (SU!)  Paper:  Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay  Ink:  Versamark  Accessories:  White Brads, 1 1/4" square punch, white embossing powder, Crushed Curry polka dot grosgrain ribbon

Bold, Bright and Beautiful...was I right?  I love this set, and I love these colours.  I hope to have a lot of opportunity to use them again.

Happy Sunday folks and Happy Father's Day to all the men in our lives.  I hope your day is your idea of fun...make it a good one!

Laura

Wonderful You Weekend Sketch Set...on Wednesday?

It has been forever since I found time to do a weekend sketch set, and it feels so good to get one done!  I almost made it SUO too!  I hadn't planned it, but with a few exceptions, most of which could easily be substituted for SU products, these are SU cards, and here they are!

Aren't they all so pink and pretty?  I love pink, it's my favorite colour hands down.  Whenever I have to make a colour choice in something it's always pink, so in addition to finally getting a sketch set done, I love it even more 'cus it's so pink!

Let's start with Taylor's Cupcake Challenge Sketch.  I used the Tea Party designer papers for the set.  I wasn't all that thrilled with the papers when I first got them, but I love them here.  The flowers were watercoloured and I added the filigree brads for the three embellishments on the side.  The circle is lower in the sketch, but I decided I liked it better higher up and framing the flowers, so I made the executive decision to tweek the sketch to my liking.

Recipe:  Stamps: Wonderful You (SU!)  Paper:  So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Tea Party designer papers, Watercolour paper  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  Ink & aquapainters, word window punch, So Saffron grosgrain ribbon, filigree brads, SS brads, EK border punch, scallop circle nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Jen's Sketch for You to Try is up next.  Now this is 100% SUO, although the ribbon on the right is long retired.  I added a rhinestone brad to the flower centre, scalloped and pierced the edge of frame, and added the scrunchy ribbon on the right.  Pretty simple, but still pretty.

Recipe:  Stamps:  Wonderful You (SU!)  Paper:  Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, Tea Party SP  Ink: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  Scallop border punch, 1" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, pink ribbon from Flirty ribbon originals, dimensionals, rhinestone brad, paper piercer

Now we're on to Amy's Friday Sketch.  This one gave me the most trouble.  I just had a hard time, but I really like the way it turned out.  The card is cut 4 1/4" x 11", but horizontally oriented so I could add the ribbon without another layer.  That was the solution that finally made this card come together.  The flower is watercoloured with ink and an aquapainter, I added the So Saffron striped grosgrain ribbon, a layered prima with a button centre, and three brads in the upper left.  I also ran two rows of piercing on the sides just to frame it a bit better, and I left off the sentiment.  What do you think?

Recipe:  Stamps:  Wonderful You (SU!)  Paper:  watercolour paper, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Tea Party DP  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  SS brads, button, So Saffron striped grosgrain ribbon, paper piercer & template, dimensionals, scallop border punch (all SU!), circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), flowers (Prima)

Now I have always worked with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge, and lately it's been hosted by her sampler team, but I just couldn't find it this weekend.  So, I knew my design Taylored Expressions Baker's Dozen team mate Karen Giron hosts a Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, so I went with that.  It was a fabulous sketch to work with and this time I decided to focus on the leaves in the set instead of the flowers.

I stamped the leaf outline in Old Olive and the solid portion in Certainly Celery.  With the leaves having such a skinny stem, I didn't want to try cutting them out, but I couldn't stand how "flat" they were.  I was wishing I had rock 'n rolled them in Old Olive, when it occured to me, I could add a few highlights with a marker.  I love the effect and I really think they just pop!  I also used my Coluzzle to cut the image out, allowing me to cut the leaves "out of the box".  The "smile" sentiment is from Verve's Circular Sayings, and the lower sentiment is from "Hope Happens" (SU!).  I added a pink gem to the "i" in Smile, and three green gems to the circle's edge .  The tag is a Cuttlebug die and the border punch is by Martha Stewart.  I guess I sort of blew the whole SU thing with this one LOL!  That's OK..I love it just the way it is!

Recipe:  Stamps:  Wonderful You, Hope Happens (SU!), Circular Sayings (Verve)  Paper:  Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Tea Party DP  Ink:  Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon, 1" circle punch, Coluzzle (SU!), Lace Doily Border punch (MS), Cuttlebug tag die, pink & green gems

Whew.  Long post. 

Have a fabulous Wednesday everyone, and thanks so much for dropping in today!  It's always a pleasure when you do.

Laura

Weekend Sketch Set; Darling Dots

 

I always feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I finish a sketch set!  I always feel good using my stamps, especially those that haven't seen ink yet, and this time I used a new stamp set and new papers!  Well new to me.  I chose Darling Dots, a level one hostess set, and Sweet Always papers.  I have to thank my Mom for the papers.  We usually buy then split, but this time she was the only one who bought new papers (remember I swore off more paper LOL!!), and she still split it with me!  I think she really just gave me back the papers I had drooled on anyway!

 

I happen to think Darling Dots is a happy set, and Sweet Always are happy papers, so I couldn't resist making a set of Happy Birthday cards! 

I started with Taylor's Cupcake Challenge, and if you know how much I struggle making a change to a sketch, you will know it stressed me out to bring the vertical panel forward.  But, it seems my creative brain was on break and I couldn't figure how to work these small images in while covering up a portion of the panel. 

The images were punched with a 1" circle punch and popped up on dimensionals and the flowers were finished with buttons.  I placed the Pumpkin Pie panel behind and tied the ribbon over the panel...my comprimise!  A couple of butterflies punched from the designer paper and adorned with Taylor's Tiny Twinkles finishes it off!

Recipe:  Stamps:  Darling Dots (SU!)  Paper:  Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose. Sweet Always Designer Paper  Ink:  Pumkin Pie, Regal Rose  Accessories:  1" circle punch, Regal Rose Grosgrain ribbon, scallop border punch (SU!), Martha Stewart butterfly trio punch, Taylor's Tiny Twinkles, dimensionals, Crystal Effects

Next up is Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge, which was hosted by Sharon Harnist this week. 

I stamped the images, punching out the presents with the 3/4" square punch, and cutting out the cupcake.  They were adhered the image panel cut out with the Labels Four Nestability, then layered on Regal Rose.  The sketch called for a circle embellishment, so I added a layered flower with a rhinestone brad.  I pulled the sentiment from last year's SAB set, Birthday Whimsy, and secured it with another rhinestone brad. Pretty cute don't you think?

Recipe:  Stamps:  Darling Dots, Birthday Whimsy (SU!)  Paper:  Whisper White, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Always DP  Ink:  Regal Rose, Markers  Accessories:  Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon, rhinestone brads, corner rounder (SU!), Labels Four Nestability, Flowers (Prima), pop dots (Dollarama)

Amy's Friday Sketch kind of through me off with the long and wide image panel.  Just a little tough when you're working with small images, but I think I pulled it off.

I stamped the little presents on the Whisper White,then punched out squares of designer paper, and tied ribbon around them for fun!  They were popped up for fun, and layered on Pumpkin Pie, the a wide border of Regal Rose, and a thin border of Chocolate Chip.

The card base is Pumpkin Pie and I used two different prints of the designer paper for the card front.  Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon was tied twice around as per the sketch, and this time I pulled the sentiment from "A Little Birdie Told Me", and attached a tag with linen thread.  The flower is an exact case of Amy's on this card here!  I was checking to see if she had a sample done, and found what I was looking for in another of her amazing cards!

Recipe:  Stamps: Darling Dots, A Little Birdie Told Me (SU!)   Paper:  Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Always DP (SU!),  Ink:  Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  tag, Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon, Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon, linen thread (SU!), felt flower (MM), petal flower (Prima), button (?), pop dots(Dollarama)

Finally, here's my take on Jen's Sketch for you to Try.  I knew I had to have at least one blingy card...you know, for the princess in your life!

It started with the little red gems on the cherries on the cupcakes.   They seemed so perfect, that as I was putting the card together it seemed to be lacking something.  Actually, I think most cards without a little bling seem to be lacking something LOL!  I had purchased these amazing little Zva gem flourishes from Taylored Expressions after seeing Taylor work her magic with them, so I decided I had hoarded them long enough, and I love the result!  And so did my princess dd's!

The sentiment is a ribbon charm and is carefully positioned on the ribbon  under the cupcakes.  This was a really fun card to work on and I love how it turned out!

Recipe:  Stamps:  DArling Dots (SU!)  Paper:  Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Always DP  Ink:  Markers  Accessories:  Regal Rose Grosgrain ribbon (SU!), ribbon charm & pop dots(Dollarama), rectangle Nestabilities, Zva gem Flourish

It's been really cold here, so a perfect excuse to stay in and stamp this weekend.  I hope you had a chance to stamp regardless of the weather.  Have a fabulous week, and I'll see you soon!

Laura

Trendy Trees Weekend Sketch Set

 

WOW, it seems like forever since I had a chance to do a Weekend Sketch Set, but I made sure I did at least that stamping with my Mom this weekend.  I chose Trendy Trees, a set that I've had for months now, and used it for the first time.  I might have picked another set had I been at  home, but it was the only one I took with me, because I wanted to get inky!  It was a bit of a challenge, since the images in the set are small given the way the sketch sets turned out this weekend, but that pushed me a bit creatively, and I think in the end they turned out pretty nice.

I took a few of my new goodies down to show my Mom, and one of them was the Mother's Day Key Ingredients kit, from Taylored Expressions, so I decided to work with it for my designer paper choices.  I had to show her my new EK punch, and a few other little toys I picked up along the way!  It was really fun making them all work together.

Here is my take on Taylor's Cupcake Challenge.  I stamped three trees to fill up the space better, and then I took a section of the designer paper from the Mother's Day Key Ingredients kit, and used it to ground the image.  I love the way it looks like the trees are lined up along a river bank!  The images get slightly larger if you click on them.

I used my EK wavy border punch and added some satin ribbon from the kit and one of the tree tops from the stamp set is circle punched to back the sentiment.  I pierced around the outer edge and that was that!

Recipe: Stamps:  Trendy Trees (SU!)  Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Designer paper from Mother's Day Key Ingredients kit  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss  Accessories:  circle punches, word window punches, paper piercer & template (SU!), wavy border punch (EK), satin ribbon from Mother's Day Key Ingredients kit,  pop dots

For Amy's Friday Sketch I chose the long narrow trees, stamping them twice, once on a scrap then popping up the cut out image to add a little interest. 

The left side panel was punched with the curly label punch and I added three brads instead of the sentiment which I used to fill up the longer image panel.  The sentiment is from Always in my Thoughts, a set my Mom has, that has some fabulous small sentiments, which are all I ever leave space for LOL!

I finished it off with ribbon from the Key Ingredients kit, and some gems on each of the scallops.

Recipe:  Stamps:  Trendy Trees, Always on my Mind (SU!)  Paper:  Choice Buttercream, Kiwi Kiss, Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, designer paper from Mother's Day Key Ingredients Kit  Ink:  Kiwi Kiss, Close to Cocoa, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  scallop border punch, curly label punch (SU!), gems (Michaels), brads (Making Memories), pop dots(Dollarama), ribbon from Mother's Day Key Ingredients kit

  Lori Craig hosted the Weekend Sketch Challenge this week, and to fill up the large image panel, I stamped all four trees.  I didn't get them very even, so I took a scrap of designer paper and cut it to be my "hilly" ground!  From awful to perfect don't you think?

I tied wide satin ribbon from the Mother's Day Key Ingredients kit along the top, and secured the sentiment with a fancy brad. 

This card was so quick and simple, I sat for a while wondering what else I could add, then decided it was perfect as is!

Stamps:  Trendy Trees (SU!)  Paper:  Kiwi Kiss, Ruby Red, Choice Buttercream, designer paper from Mother's Day Key Ingredients kit  Ink:  Close to Cocoa, Kiwi Kiss, Markers  Accessories:  fancy brad(Making Memories), satin ribbon from Mother's Day Key Ingredients kit, pop dots (Dollarama)

And finally, here is my take on Jen's Sketch for You to try.  My colours were Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss and Ruby Red.  I pieced the card together as per the sketch.  The image was stamped in Kiwi Kiss then thumped with my Ruby Red marker to add some interest.  I decided the knot in the Kiwi Kiss ribbon would work for the left hand embellishment, and since it seemed to need something to the right to balance, I added some Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon with a square spiral clip.

Stamps:  Trendy Trees, Always in my thoughts (SU!)  Paper:  Baja Breeze, Ruby Red, Kiwi Kiss, designer paper from Mother's Day Key Ingredients (TE) Ink:  Close to Cocoa, Kiwi Kiss, markers, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  Scallop border punch, Kiwi Kiss grosgrain, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, HPH (SU!), pop dots (dollarama), oval Nestabilities(Spellbinders)

I'm a happy girl getting another set done, and inking up a stamp set for the first time.  I love these colours, and I think the darker ones would work great for masculine cards...a fun spin on the Mother's Day Key Ingredients kit!

I hope you had a fabulous weekend.  We have some amazing weather forecasted for the next few days, so I can see yard work on the horizon.  I'm glad you took a minute to drop in today...I appreciate it so much when you do!  Here's wishing you an amazing week!!

Laura