Sweet Sketch Wednesday

It's another wonderful Wednesday - midweek or hump day and I can see the weekend coming! That also means it's time for another Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge.  Our generous sponsor this week is Di's Digi Downloads and this image "Penguins Sleigh Ride" is one of my favorite digi stamps in Di's store.

The lucky grand prize winner in the SSW78 challenge will win 5 free digi stamps from Di's. All you have to do is create a card or project using the following sketch and enter it into the challenge at the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog. Here's the sketch this week:

Isn't this a great sketch? This is the kind of layout that quickly becomes your "go to" design that you use over and over again. I do love the clean lines that make the image the focal point - it's perfect when you have a fussy image and equally beautiful to use when you don't want to use DP, rather just plain or textured cardstock. Arlana Patten, the Sweet Sketch Wednesday designer, is a master at these sketches!

This image reminded me of sledding with my younger brothers and sister when we were kids. The little tiny penguin would be my youngest brother Doug (10 years younger than me) so I think I'll send this to his family for Christmas!

I colored the image using Copic markers and added stickles to the hat trim and as the snow under the sleigh. The papers I've used are from last year's American Crafts "Merrymint" collection. My snowflake punches are from MS and for the three embellishments I layered a snowflake with a circle and stamped and cut out the candycanes that are layered on top.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I love and appreciate all the comments you leave!

Trying to Look Young-Sweet Sketch 67

Gosh I'm so excited - I was in the top 3 for this card in the Sweet Sketch Wednesday Challenge 67!

Hi there!  I'm entering this card in the Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge - this is the first time I'm playing in this challenge.  I've been visiting Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge blog for months admiring their sketches, but alas in the middle of the work week it's been difficult to find the extra time until today.

Here's the sketch that grabbed my attention for a friend's birthday card.  I wanted something that would work with a mix of bright colored DP papers and patterns.  I thought this was just the ticket.

The papers I selected are from American Crafts' Blue Skies collection. Stampin Up Peach Parfait, Baja Breeze, Regal Rose and Whisper White were also used. 



The stamp is from Inky Antics by Ronnie Walter and was colored with Copic markers and cut out using Nesties scallop squares and mounted on a Nesties Lacey Square die cut. 

Overall I'm pretty pleased with how this card turned out thanks to the ladies at Sweet Sketch Challenge for the inspiration on the layout!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

 

New Directions

Greetings! I've been surfing the net and stamping all weekend long and this retirement card is a result of the inspiration I received today. It's a double pocket card and I ran across this tutorial on an incredible blog Dream, Create and Share by Tammy Beaver. What I like about her version of the double pocket card is that it has a full card front. Another version of the double pocket is here at Splitcoast by Claudia Rosa at Pretty Pressings.

While the tutorials appear long they are not complicated and I got the basic card constructed in less than a half hour.

I've had this DP by American Crafts in my stash for several months. This stood out for me as I flipped through all my double sided cardstock. There are so many retirements at work coming in the next several weeks that I'm trying to get cards made ahead of time. That's what this card is for and I thought the words on the front worked well tying the paper to retirement. I actually printed the words from my computer onto white cardstock and then used my Nestabilities Sunburst dies to cut it and the black layer out. For the red arrowhead I used my star punch and then cut off the extra points. The clear plastic curved arrow that is mounted on top is from Apple Pie Memories - I've had them forever! I punched a hole in it for the ribbon using my Crop-a-dile (that is the handiest darn thing!). The matching arrow ribbon was from a local specialty scrapbook store and coordinates perfectly. I tried to make the ribbons appear to be the stalk of the arrow.

The fun part of this is on the inside. I love how this double-sided cardstock turns out for this technique. This card design is perfect for when you want to include several messages because you have the pull-out cards for the two pockets plus the inside cover to boot! I lined the back pocket with black cardstock and also used it as the base of the inside left panel. The two insert tags were done using the DP, some large eyelets and the same ribbon (I sewed the ribbon close to the tag vs. knotting it to prevent so much bulk on the inside). On the right front pocket panel I used a corner and stamped "Happy Retirement" using my new A Muse stamp (it's hidden behind the "best is yet to be" tag).

That's it. Not difficult at all and the most time consuming was the embellishing and my own indecision on what to use or not use! Let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Recipe:
Stamps - A Muse Happy Retirement; SU Define Your Life, Best Yet; Gina K Designs Kindred Greetings
Paper - American Crafts "Travel", SU Black, White, Real Red
Ink - Palette Noir Black
Accessories - Arrow embellishments by Apple Pie Memories, large eyelets, Crop-A-Dile, ribbon, Nestabilities Sunburst dies