Graceful Garden for Freshly Made Sketches

Hi there

I have a pretty and feminine card to share today, using this weeks sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  It is absolutely ages since I have participated in a sketch challenge and I'm not sure what it is about this sketch that got the creative juices going. However, I really enjoyed colouring the images and creating this card. Here is the sketch, so you can see how I interpreted it.

I have used the images from the lovely 'Graceful Garden' stamp set for my card. The flowers were stamped in Memento Espresso Truffle ink and coloured with the new Stampin' Blends alcohol markers. The dark brown ink gives a less bold/harsh look than Tuxedo Black, especially for soft colours. I have used light and dark Pink Pirouette with shading in light Rich Razzleberry for the flowers and light and dark Old Olive for the leaves.

I love how these markers blend and the Color Lifter is awesome if you go outside the lines - more effective than the Copic equivalent in my opinion. I strongly recommend that you use Whisper White card stock for colouring with Stampin' Blends as you will get a truer colour from the markers and I always give my stamped images a blast with the heat gun to make super sure the ink is dry before I start colouring. You only need a very light touch to get lovely streak-free coverage. The lids are air tight and easy to get off and on. Don't forget Stampin' Blends are now available to purchase in my Online Store as individual markers, colour packs of light and dark or the entire collection.

To add interest to the Whisper White background, I heat embossed the lattice image in gold in the bottom right corner and then stamped the birthday greeting from 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' above and to the left in Rich Razzleberry ink. The fussy cut leaves were adhered (flat) under the large rose, which was  popped up on foam pads. The smaller rose and leaves were positioned in the opposite corner and attached in the same way to complete the elements in the sketch.

Here is a close-up of the large rose on the gold embossed lattice background. The finished art piece was layered onto Gold Foil and the panel popped up with foam pads onto the Rich Razzleberry card base. I finished with a scattering of Powder Pink sequins.

For the inside, I have heat embossed a small part of the lattice in the top corner of the writing panel and popped up the small rose image on 1mm foam pads. At the base is a strip of Rich Razzleberry washi and the narrow gold washi adds a border above. The writing panel was layered on a Pink Pirouette.

 

Finally, a view from the top.

Project Details
Stamps	Graceful Garden, Happy Birthday Gorgeous
Card stock & Papers	Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Gold Foil
Ink	Versamark, Memento Espresso Truffle, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories	Basics Pack 1 Washi, Iridescent Sequin Assortment, Year of Cheer Specialty Washi
Tools	Gold EP, Heat gun, Dimensionals, Tombow glue, Stampin' Blends Alcohol Markers (Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive)

Thanks for looking!

Freshly Made #150

Hi there

It is ages since I did a sketch challenge, so when the reminder email came into my Inbox this afternoon I looked at the bits and bobs on my craft desk from a previous project and saw the makings for this CAS card. 

I love the simplicity of the sketch this week from Freshly Made Sketches. 

I inked up the wavy lines from the 'Chalk Lines' stamp set for the first time in Crisp Cantaloupe and then inked half of it in Calypso Coral for the 2 tones to match the blooms from the 'Flower Patch' stamp set. The rest is pretty much as you see it. The little blings have been coloured with the lightest of the Calypso Coral Blendabilities. These bright flowers make me smile and think Spring!

  

Project Details
Stamps	Chalk Lines, Flower Patch, Sassy Salutations
Card stock & Papers	Pool Party, Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calyspso Coral, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Wild Wasabi
Accessories	Basic Rhinestones
Tools	Flower Fair Framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals

Thanks for looking!

Flower Patch Photopolymer Stamp Set

$44.95

Flower Fair Framelits Die

$42.95

Sassy Salutations Clear Stamp Set

$33.95

Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments

$8.95

 

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

 

Freshly Made #130

Hi there

It's been ages since I have participated in a challenge with Freshly Made Sketches, so I'm pleased to have scraped in this week.  This is the sketch:

I have taken the opportunity to make an Easter card for my MIL with the 'Blessed Easter' stamp set. I stamped the line image in a grey colour rather than the usual black, as it has quite strong lines which can be quite dominating.  It does give a different effect to the final result, but I'm still not sure which I like best though. Anyway, I have used Copics for the colouring and paired the image with Melon Mambo spotted DSP and retired Lucky Limeade which was a good match for the foliage colour. Unfortunately, I ran out of natural light to photograph the card.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Blessed Easter, Papillon Potpourri
Card stock & Papers	Bazzill White Linen, Blending Card, Lucky Limeade (retired), Brights Pattern Stack
Ink	Memento London Fog, Memento Tuxedo Black, Melon Mambo
Accessories	Basic Rhinestones, White Taffeta ribbon
Tools	Large Oval punch, Ovals Originals Die (retired), Big Shot, Copics, Dimensionals

Thanks for looking!

Freshly Made #94

Hi there

I hope you enjoyed your Saturday.  It was very grey and gloomy here in Melbourne and the rain has now set in for the rest of the weekend.

To blow away the gloom, I have a bright and cheery CAS card for you. I've used yet more of my new goodies from the Annual Catalogue and this week's Freshly Made #94 sketch from Linda S. I spent a lovely day on Friday stamping with friends (waving Kayleen & Jess) and took this sketch along with me. 

I love the simplicity of the sketch and I've taken my cues from the pretty floral print I used for the background, which is from the 'Gingham Garden' Designer Series Paper. The flower was created by wetting and scrunching up layers cut with the new Pansy punch.  This gives a nice sized flower without being too big. The centre uses layers cut with the 7/8" Scallop Circle punch.  I stamped the 'Gingham' Wheel (which I have unmounted and put onto Clear Mount Cling Foam) with Pear Pizzazz and cut out the leaves.  

On the left of the sentiment are the fabulous new self adhesive 'Candy Dots', which give you the look of brads, but without having to pierce the card stock.  I love this idea, as I always agonise over getting them in the right position. You can add them to a brad base as well, for the traditional brad usage. Such a clever idea and even better, they come in all colours of the 4 colour groups.

The sentiment comes from the 'Sassy Salutations' stamp set. I took the opportunity to snap this set up at a 25% discount to the normal price - what a bargain!  You can also choose from the 'Petite Pairs' and 'Sweet Essentials' stamp sets at a 25% discount in the same promotion. Check out the details here.

I kept the inside simple, adding a flower from the 'Flower Shop' stamp set, which is cut out with the Pansy punch. I added a bit of Dazzling Details to the centre for some sparkle.

*Click on the links in the table below to see these products in the Online Store.

Project Details
Stamps	Sassy Salutations (132070 W, 126707 C), Flower Shop (130939 W, 130942 C)
Card stock & Papers	Melon Mambo, Island Indigo, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White, Gingham Garden DSP
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Candy Dots - Brights (130931) and Regals (130932), White brad (not SU)
Tools	Pansy punch (130698), 7/8" Scallop Circle punch (129404), Finishing Touches Edgelits, Birds & Blooms Flower Pieces Sizzlit (retired), Big Shot, Dimensionals, Sponge Dauber, Dazzling Details, Glue Dots

Thanks for looking!

Freshly Made #93

Hi there

It is lovely to be able to finally post a card for you, after a few weeks where life got in the way of creativity! There were lots of 'going away' activities for the Rotary Exchange student we have been hosting, who is now safely home in Germany after a fabulous year in Australia.  I can't believe it is less than 6 weeks until we leave for our trip to Europe, which we have been planning for the last few years. Eeeek, what a scary thought, given the number of things that need to be organised before then.

Today's card is for this week's Freshly Made #93 sketch by Allisa. I have a few friends having birthdays shortly, so this was a good prompt for me to get started on them.  Here is the sketch, which provides plenty of scope to keep it simple or dress it up:

I have taken a bit of liberty by changing the shape of the panel from square to oval, as it suits my image better.  I had fun colouring this lovely Hydrangea flower from the June 'Best of Flowers' set.  Each month a new 'Best of' set will be released to celebrate Stampin's Up!'s 25th Anniversary. This set will be available until April 2014.

I wanted to add interest without adding more colour, so I have embossed vellum card stock with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder for the top section of the card and used the Simply Scored tool to create texture on the bottom section. I love the freshness of the Gingham wheel, which stamps beautifully with the new foam ink pads.

The new 2013-14 Annual Catalogue is now available for you to order from.  You can now order online, using the link at the top left on my blog to get preferred pricing (as listed in the Annual Catlaogue).  However, you can still contact me and I'm happy to place the order for you.  I'm looking forward to receiving my order of new goodies!

Project Details
Stamps	Best of Flowers (133342), Gingham Wheel (130110), It's Your Day (retired)
Card stock & Papers	Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Vellum, Blending Card
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories	Basic Pearls (coloured with Copic), White Taffeta ribbon
Tools	Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Oval Framelits, Finishing Touches Edgelits, Big Shot, Word Window punch, Simply Scored Scoring tool, Dimensionals, Copics

Thanks for looking!