retro sketches 46

This week at retro sketches there's a great sketch inspired by this card by Laurie.  I couldn't decide whether I wanted to use some pretty patterned paper for the squares or go for something simpler and after some thought went with something simpler.

I lightly drew the rectangles with a pencil and ruler then went over it with a Copic Multi Liner pen without the benefit of the ruler to get a hand-drawn look.  I had a moment of panic when one of my cats jumped up on my table and jostled things a bit, but I was able to finish the lines with only a slight hiccup.

A long time ago I had seen a card where the focal point was a film strip and in each "negative" were images of a leprechaun that seemed to be jumping into each shot so that only part of him was showing.  (Sort of the modern-day equivalent of a photobomb).  I've always loved that look and every once in a while I'll incorporate it into my card. For this card I've substituted a flower and some leaves for a leprechaun!

My color inspiration comes from Nacho Average Challenge to use Marina Mist, Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Don't forget to hop on over to retro sketches and check out the DT cards for some inspiration.  I hope you can us!

Freshly Made Sketches 68

This week it's my turn to be the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches and I actually ended up with two slightly (and I do mean slightly) different versions of my card!

I used a bit of texture on one of the Very Vanilla layers then created a stamped layer using the background stamp Canvas and Summer Silhouettes.  I added a bit of Natural ribbon and a strip of Lucky Limeade cardstock.  I found some Earth's Elements eyelets in my stash and although I'm sure these are supposed to be Old Olive they are an EXACT match to the Lucky Limeade cardstock.  I wound some baker's twine through they eyelets and thought I was done. 

Then I photographed the card and realized that something didn't look right.  I don't know about you but sometimes it's not until I see the card through the filter of my lens that I see the "true" card and am able to critique it in a whole new way.  For this card I wasn't happy with the transition from the stamped layer and the natural ribbon so I went back and added a thin strip of cardstock between the two.

Although I like it better I think I should have added some color behind the larger embossed layer.  I think the adhesive is stuck fast though, so it's not going anywhere and this card is staying as is!

Don't forget to stop by Freshly Made Sketches and check out the DT cards.  They are amazing, as usual, and sure to give you loads of inspiration!

colourQ 171

This week at colourQ, Arielle has got some great colors that are perfect for the oh-so-difficult man card.  I'm pretty much the worst man-card maker out there, so even though I started out making a card with those intentions, I failed miserably.  I did, however, use the sketch from clean&simple and even managed to throw in the Thank You challenge at CAS-ual Fridays so on some level I redeemed myself!

I used Seeing Stars to stamp some random stars on the Night of Navy layer then stamped a big one in Daffodil Delight.  I added the flourish behind it, which I think always looks nice paired with a star - kind of like fireworks!  The "thank you" sentiment is from Happy Moments.

There's lots of inspiration over at colourQ, so be sure to head on over there and check out the DT cards.  Then come along and join us!

Unscripted Sketches Redux

I just love the sketch this week at Unscripted Sketches.  I posted a card yesterday that I made for that challenge and I've got another one today.  I came across a color challenge at Cards Blog Challenge that I really liked and every time I thought about how I wanted to use those colors I kept coming back to the Unscripted Sketch.

For my colors, I chose a bit of Going Gray, Soft Sky, and some limey-green washi tape.  The flower was cut with a pretty flower die, layered together and highlighted with a Basic Rhinestone.  The sentiment is particularly appropriate because I'm sending this card to my sister who is having surgery this week.  Understandably, she's a bit nervous and as the surgery is focused on her neck and chin I thought this sentiment was appropriate.  And unless you think I'm completely heartless for sending this to her, she has quite a quirky sense of humor and she'll appreciate this, I'm sure!

Thanks for stopping by!

Less is More 101, Unscripted Sketches 192 and CAS-ual Fridays 84

The challenge this week at Less is More is BLACK and WHITE, with a splash of COLOR.  So I used the wonderful sketch at Unscripted Sketches, which was calling washi tape to me, and put this together surprisingly quickly.

I splashed a couple of strips of washi tape against the polka dotted background then added my favorite butterfly from Papillon Potpourri inked in Crushed Curry.  (I really like that color and wish it had not retired).    Usually I like to add some pearls or rhinestones down the center of the butterfly but neither of those are white, so I got a brainstorm to wrap some white baker's twine around a few times.  I've got to say that I really like the look.  

The challenge this week at CAS-ual Fridays is Thank You (so appropriate at this time of year), so I'm going to enter this there as well.

I've still got lots for sale on my For Sale page.  Take a peek if you're looking for some oldie-but-goodie stamp sets!  Thanks for stopping by!

retro sketches 45 - YAY!

Today is a very special day for me.  Arielle, from retro sketches, has asked me to be a guest designer over there for the month of January!  Woo Hoo!  I am seriously in awe of the retro sketches DT and I'm not sure I'm worthy, but I'll give it my best shot!

This weeks sketch is based on Kasia's card here.  And since it seems that now Christmas is over and everyone has dug out their Valentine stamps I figured I better jump on the band-wagon rather than being the odd-man out.  The color challenge at Pals Paper Arts is high up there as one of my faves and I wanted to try and make a Valentine with it.

I used some washi tape to create a graphic background then layered on some hearts from I {Heart} Hearts and P.S. I Love You.  A simple sentiment finishes it all off!

So now I'll just send a big thank you cyber-hug to the amazing ladies of retro sketches for letting me join them this month.  Then I'll invite everyone else to join us this week to create some super-fantastic-ness with this great sketch!

Oh, and I've still got lots for sale here.  I added some alphabet stamp sets and a few Copic Original markers.  Check it out, if you're interested.

Something New for CASology 25 and Inkspirational 1

It's a new year so CASology is celebrating with a NEW cue card this week.  I spent some time thinking about what I could do for the challenge when I stumbled upon a NEW challenge site called Inkspirational.  Since their inaugural challenge was some very cool colors I decided that it qualified as NEW for CASology, but decided to make my card out of NEW-to-me stamps that I got for Christmas.

I chose Basic Black, which I heat embossed, Melon Mambo and Lucky Limeade for my card.  The black splatter is from Extreme Elements which, although retired, I managed to pick up on eBay as a little Christmas present to myself!  I think the butterfly is too big, but it's growing on me.

Well that's it for me.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  And if you're so inclined stop by my For Sale page to see what I'm cleaning out of my stamp room.  It's long past time to clean house and make room for future goodies!

Freshly Made Sketches 67

Happy new year and welcome to a whole new crafting year at Freshly Made Sketches!

As much as I like the Christmas season, it's nice to hang up those holiday stamps create something without a santa, snowman, or snowflake on it!  It is winter after all, so I'm sure I'm not done with snowmen or snowflakes, but I did take out a pretty flower for my card this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

The incredibly talented Jennifer Timko created this beautiful sketch for us.  It's got lots of great things that I love like layers, fun shapes, room for ribbon and lots of interpretation.  In keeping with my non-holiday theme, I layered some flowers and leaves for a thank you card.  The sentiment is from Made For You and after I put the flower together, I thought it needed a little pizzazz so I added an Antique Brad to the center.

I dug into my precious stash of Kiwi Kiss for this card and used a small strip across the bottom of the card and accented it with some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine.

The Freshly Made Sketches design team have made some beautiful cards this week, so be sure to stop by and check them out.  I hope you have time to join us this week!