Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Girl With a Rose

Hi crafty friends! There's a new challenge starting today at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and we're so pleased to announce a new sponsor - Birdie Brown by Torico - and showcase the adorable digis that she has created. If you're not familiar with the incredible talent of Torico, then Sweet Sketch Wednesday is the place to start to get to know her and her cute images!

Let's start with the sketch for this week....another beauty drawn up by our own Sally and a terrific one at that. Great job Sally - I'm loving this sketch! You will love to create with it too.

We're so lucky to have Birdie Brown as the sponsor of the challenge this week.  The lucky Grand Prize winner of the challenge will receive 3 digi stamps of their choice from the Birdie Brown Etsy Shop. Take a minute and get to know Torico the owner:


Hello everyone!  I’m Torico, the owner of Birdie Brown.  I’m a mom to two kids who live in Japan.  I’ve loved doodling since I was a child and have a passion for card making now!  At my Etsy shop, Birdie Brown, I’m offering whimsical and cute (Japanese “Kawaii”) digital stamps created from my original illustrations.  I love “simple and cute” designs.  So, most of my digital stamps are designed to match such a style.  If you also like “simple and cute” style, you’ll find something you have been wanting on Birdie Brown!


Thank you Torico for your generous sponsorship of Sweet Sketch Wednesday!

Isn't she just the sweetest thing?  This Birdie Brown digi is called Girl With a Rose and adorable she is. What a terrific card these Birdie Brown images make!  I brought her to life with Copics and used papers from My Mind's Eye Tangerine paper pack.

Now stop on by Sweet Sketch Wednesday and see all the wonderful Birdie Brown digis we're using this week and then join us in the challenge fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Hello Chica !

Happy Wednesday! Isn't it great - the work week just got started and it's already mid-week! I like week's like this!  It's time for a new challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and we have a new sponsor this time and the whole team had fun creating with the wonderful digi images at Floppy Latte Designs.

This is another terrific sketch created by our own Sally Dube that goes together quickly with lots of room for creativity on the embellishments.  Great job Sally!

Floppy Lattes Digital Designs ::All Digital All The Time
We're thrilled to showcase the variety of wonderful images available at Floppy Latte Designs created by Jessica (Floppy) and Stef (Glitterbabe) who together are known as the Latte Ladies.  The Grand Prize winner at Sweet Sketch Wednesday's challenge this week will receive a $10 gift certificate to Floppy Latte Designs.  Thanks ladies for the generous support!

I chose this fun Floppy Latte image just perfect for paper piecing called Chica.  It was pieced with papers from Cosmo Cricket's Tea for Two paper pack that I've had in my stash for ages.  A little sponging around the image and a few poorly executed stitches with my sewing machine (in desperate need of a tune-up) adds to the country look of this darling image.  Ah it's just rustic as a result!

Now stop on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday to see more of the images from Floppy Latte Designs. You'll love the cards the design team created to inspire you this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Puppy Love

Happy Wednesday friends! Today starts a new challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday with our monthly sponsor, Digi Stamp Boutique.  But before I get to the details of that, I thought I'd share what has been keeping me busy and distracted from my hobbies of late.

My day job is a PR manager in the auto industry and our biggest event of the year is the North American International Auto Show here in Detroit, Michigan. And our biggest days of the show are the news media preview days where we unveil new models as shown here - the new Chevrolet Corvette and the new Cadillac ELR luxury electric vehicle.  More than 6,000 journalists from all around the world attend these preview days and as you can see in the photos it is wall-to-wall people! Lots of planning and orchestration is involved in the weeks and days leading up to the show for these unveilings and it's on your feet 12 hours a day for two days straight.  Needless to say I totally crashed when I finally got home last night!  But it's fun and exciting and a pure adrenaline rush!  Kind of like making cards - right?!

Now back to the card for the SSW challenge today!

Here the terrific sketch to follow this week.  It was created by our own Sally Dube who's pinch-hitting for Arlana who is still on medical restrictions from all computer work.  We miss Arlana here and hope our dear friend is on the right road to recovery. In the meantime, I think you'll find this sketch very versatile and interesting for your card making and we sure hope you'll join our challenge fun this week.

Digi Stamp Boutique is our sponsor of the challenge and we all appreciate the enduring support of Sally Ann there.  You know how much we love creating with DSB images and you will too.  The Grand Prize winner of the challenge will receive 6 digi stamps of their choice from Digi Stamp Boutique - a terrific prize package!

I used this adorable puppy for the Valentine I created.  Called Barney and Heart from DSB, I just couldn't resist his pleading look asking to be my Valentine!  The heart he's holding was digitally paper pieced and the papers I used are also digital from Shery K Designs.  I love how the sketch brings all these wonderful elements together.

Now you'll just have to stop on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday and see all the other beautiful cards the design team created for your inspiration this week.  Lot's of pretty Valentine cards this week to get you going on making your own.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Flower Dreams

Today is a special day - it's my son's 17th birthday and I just can't believe that the sweet, tiny baby I gave birth to is now a teenager! Why does time fly by like it does?  His special day started with sleeping in a bit since it's a late start at the high school today - lucky for him since he's usually out the door at 5:15 am for swim practice this time of year.  A hearty breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and sausage at his request, with the opening of a present and then he's out the door with a good start to his special day.

The birthday boy as he heads off to school!
And today is the start of a new challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday making this a fun day too!  I love this sketch and it's one of the team's favorites that Arlana did from week 89 brought back again.
Our sponsor this week is everyone's favorite - A Day For Daisies.  We all love the beautiful images that Tammy creates and inspires us to create with them.  Our Grand Prize winner of the challenge this week will receive a $12 gift certificate to spend at the A Day For Daisies store.  A terrific prize package - thanks Tammy for your generous sponsorship.

I chose this beautiful image called Flower Dreams for my card this week.  It was colored with Copics and I tried to do so with soft, light colors. The papers are KaiserCraft These Days collection and the diecut is Spellbinders floral oval which is a new addition to my crafting supplies.

Now another special announcement - we have a new design team member we're welcoming today at Sweet Sketch Wednesday.  It's Holly Gwilliams from Yorkshire, UK and you'll find her creations very inspiring.  Stop on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday and take a look at what she created today with A Day For Daisies and all the other gorgeous creations that will inspire you from the other design team Divas!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Sick as a Dog

Happy Wednesday folks! It's back to work and school now that the holidays are over. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  It's also a new challenge at Sweet Sketch Wedneday and we're welcoming back a sponsor we haven't showcased in a while - Fresh Brewed Designs by Heather Dennis.

The sketch this week was designed by our own Sally Dube who's filling in for Arlana right now as she is still on the mend with computer restrictions from her doctor.  We miss you Arlana!  This is a terrific sketch and shows how talented our Sally is!  Great sketch Sally!

Fresh Brewed Designs is our sponsor and you'll love the fun images that Heather Dennis creates.  Her motto is: Fresh Brewed Designs - where creativity is fresh brewed daily!  The Grand Prize winner will receive three digi stamps of their choice from Fresh Brewed Designs.  Thanks for the generous sponsorship Heather!

I chose this fun image called "Sick as a Dog" to create with from Fresh Brewed Designs.  I figured I needed to stock up this time of year on get well cards and this was a perfect one.  Colored with Copics, this cute dog would brighten anyone's day.

Now stop on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday and see the wonderful assortment of Fresh Brewed Designs that the design team created with to inspire you today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Time For Some Bubbly

Happy New Year everyone!  I can't think of a better way to start a new year than a new bunch of fun digis  from Doodle Pantry!

Today we're kicking off 2013 with ten new collections featuring those whimsical characters we all love Doodle Pantry for - plus a few on the more serious side that will make elegant creations for men and women alike.

I'm featuring Vintage Tub and I just couldn't resist adding one of Doodle Pantry's famous birdies to enjoy that new tub too!  This Happy Bird is a freebie and I joined him with the new tub image in my photo editing software.  I think this makes for such a fun and perky birthday card.  I added crystal lacquer to the bubbles to make them shine and stand out after coloring the image with Copics.

You can see all the new releases at the Doodle Pantry Store - one of the new sets is free with any purchase in the shop through January 24.

Plus there's a terrific new collection that you'll receive for free just for playing in our new challenge that starts today over on the Doodle Pantry Blog.  Can't beat that!

Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by!