Granny on a mission

Here is the second card that I completed for the Gina K release party sketch challenges. This sketch is really simple, and allows you to focus on the image.



I had a granny already stamped out and mostly coloured from a swap I did months ago, so I pulled her out and used that as my focal point on this card. I love the granny from You know you're old when... set. The whole set is hilarious and fun to play with.



I kind of feel like something is missing, so I think I will go back and add a sentiment to the bottom right of the card, but on the whole I really like this clean look.

You can check out all the other entries for this sketch here.

Bleach, bleach and more bleach

Gina K releases new stamp sets every month, and there is a party in the forum at SCS. This month I was busy when the sets were released, and I almost forgot all about the sketch challenges that coincide with the release. So, I put my butt in gear, and completed three challenge cards this morning to try and get them in under the deadline.

The first one I did was a sketch from the fabulous Erika Martin.



I actually used quite a bit of Erika's influence on this card. I created an "ink pad" with paper towels and some bleach, and stamped the flowers from tag, you're it on real red cardstock using the bleach. I waited to see what colour would appear, and used that as my card base. I also swiped my red panel across the bleach pad after distressing the edges to add some more depth and a more distressed look.



The frame, and Thanks are also from tag, you're it and are stamped in real red on barely banana cardstock. The prima flower was yellow, and I wet it, then traced around the petals with my red Stampin' Up marker and let the colours bleed together.

You can find all of the cards made using this sketch here.

Bella Birthday

My cousin moved away from home a couple of months ago for the first time to get a "real job" and her birthday was on Tuesday last week, so I sent her this card.





I paper pieced the dress, top and pants and coloured in the rest with SU markers. The charm and stamp are from Stamping Bella. I only realized now, as I am posting this on my blog, that I didn't take a close up shot of the paper piecing to show you how it looks.

I don't think I have ever used Groovy Guava paper before, but I like the way it works with the Purely Pomegranate designer paper.

I also purchased a Tim Horton's gift card and created a gift card holder using my slit punch and stuck it inside the card.

It's never too early to make Christmas cards

The FABULOUS Lauren Meader posts a sketch challenge every Saturday, and I think this is the first one I have actually done. I *love* reading Lauren's blog not only because she is an amazingly talented designer, but also because of the emotion that goes into every post, and the way she draws people into her world.

Here is the sketch from this week.



You can find Lauren's card here.

I decided it is never too early to make Christmas cards, and I had these cute snowflake brads that would work instead of buttons, so here is my blue snowflake card.



The card base is Soft Sky, the matting is Night of Navy, and the one inch strip is Brilliant Blue. I stamped the snowflakes in Versamark, and embossed with white embossing powder. Then I sponged on ink in all three colours on the card (Sky, Navy and Brilliant Blue). I used a tissue to polish the paper, and remove the ink from the embossed images.



When I was photographing my card I noticed that this sketch also looks really good turned sideways.

Thanks for stopping by! If you try this sketch make sure you post a link on Lauren's blog.

Velum! (PTI blog hop)

I have wanted to get in on the PTI blog hop since it first began, but I always forget what day it is, and I miss out. Today, I am ready with not only 1, but *2* velum projects to share. :)



This first velum project is the second card I needed to make for a board member that has decided to step down after years of service to the community association.

I stamped the leaf from Text Boxed in Thyme (SU, retired) ink. Then, I traced the image with a stylus and "popped" the image. The image is turned over, and attached to a piece of River Rock cardstock. Then I attached some Purely Pomegranate stitched ribbon, and stamped Thanks, also from Text Boxed below the image.



The card base is Thyme cardstock, and has the smaller leaf stamped off once with Thyme ink to create a subtle background.

This card is fairly simple, but I really like the cleanness of it.


My second project is a tea light candle holder for my sister's wedding. Her colours are chocolate brown and pink.



I took a sheet of velum cardstock, and cut it into 2 pieces (4.25 * 9) and stamped the circles from Shapes by Design in Chocolate on the velum. Then I scored both pieces at 2,4,6,8. I coloured the intersections, and the full circles on the opposite side of the velum using a Pixie Pink marker (SU). I did not colour anything on the small 1" section because that would be taped on the inside to close the box. There isn't actually a bottom to this, so it's easy to light the candle and place these over top.



It's hard to see, but I used stickles to put glitter on the full circles to add just a bit of *bling*.



This is what it looks like without a candle, still a nice decoration. :)

Thanks

Every Friday Amy R posts a sketch, and this week I not only had time to play along, but a need make a Thank You card. I am on the community association board in my neighbourhood, and this year we had two board members step down after very long contributions to the association.
This is the first card I made. The second one will go up in a few hours as part of the PTI blog hop.



The image is stamped using the retired Doodle This set from SU in versamark, and embossed in clear powder. Then, I sponged on Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi, and Orange ink (the same colours as the designer paper). Once it was fully sponged I wiped it off with a tissue, and the embossed flowers pop.

The sentiment is popped up with a super sticky pop dot from Jody Morrow (texasjodylynn). I *love* these pop dots. If you have trouble with your cards shifting, contact Jody. Her black boosters will not move!

I hope you like this card, and will be back for my velum card in a few hours....