Creative Sketches Week 26 Anything Goes

 Well my card sort of matches the sketch flipped, LOL! It is Anything Goes week. There is a special story behind this week's creation. I have been a member of the Oriental Stamp Art list for about 10 years. You get to know some of the ladies online really well and become friends. And once in a great while you get to meet one of your online friends in person. Such was the case about a week ago on March 22nd. My friend Nancy put a call out to our list earlier this month that she was coming to Dallas and would anyone like to meet up? Nancy is one of my favorite OSA ladies so of course I made arrangements to drive down and spend the day.

She lives in Nova Scotia so this was indeed a once in a lifetime opportunity.  The bonus - it was her birthday! I took her a present of a couple of oriental style stamps from a local stamp artist and made this card for her. Sorry, hardly any SU! supplies this week. The card base is Concord Crush cardstock. The humming bird is embossed, I used a border ribbon punch to create the lattice effect and added beautiful Washi paper. Not too shabby, Eh? LOL!

We had a wonderful day shopping the local art stores and had lunch together. We totally forgot about pictures all day so we nabbed a cabbie back at her hotel to snap a couple of pics of us together. I'm on the left, Nancy's on the right.

We sure had fun and who knows? Maybe one day I'll make it to Nova Scotia for a visit.


Don't forget to see what the other ladies have been designing on the Creative Sketches site.

Creative Sketches Week 25 Holidays and Celebrations

 Welcome to another installment of our Creative Sketches challenges. The 4th week is traditionally holiday or any day you celebrate and we have a sketch to up the ante on the challenge.

This weeks card is perfect for a birthday, promotion, retirement or any other celebration you wish to acknowledge. I chose bright happy colors. Daffodil Yellow, Tempting Turquoise and Melon Mambo cardstocks and inks, Brights Stack designer paper in Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo pom-pom trim, Basic Rhinestones, Scallop Circles #2 Big Shot Die, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, small scallop is a non-SU punch, En Francais background stamp, swirl is from Elements of Style, sentiments from On Your Birthday and Fabulous Phrases.


Don't forget to check out the other designers great cards
on the Creative Sketches site.

Creative Sketches Week 24 Fancy Folds, Cuts, Punches and Another Sneak Preview

 Back for another week of creative goodness. I was under the weather for a few days after the wild fires triggered my asthma so I grabbed one of my cards from club on Monday. I knew the minute my upline Connie shared this video that we had to learn how to do this. You can find the video tutorial from Cristena Bagne by clicking here  rosette tutorial      What I really like about this tutorial is you don't have to own a fancy die, just use the scallop punches you already own, fabulous! Or order them and you have even more creative versatility then a specialized die.
For this card I showcased a stamp from the new Strength and Hope set coming soon in the new Summer Mini. Now before you get all excited, you still have to wait until May 1st before you can order it. I am a huge, huge supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness. When you purchase this stamp set, Stampin' Up! will donate $2 of each purchase to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I don't know of many of us who haven't had a loved one or friend affected by breast cancer. So I am hoping to design a lot of cards with this set.

 The supplies for this card were: Pretty in Pink and Whisper White cardstock, Sweet Stitches Designer Paper and Pretty in Pink patterned paper from the Brights DSP Stack, retired Bashful Blue 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Strength and Hope and Word Play stamp sets, Decorative Label and 1 3/8" Circle and 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punches, Melon Mambo ink and Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

The ladies really enjoyed making this card and I know for sure one is winging it's way to a special friend to brighten her survivor journey.

Don't forget to pop over to the Creative Sketches site and see more inspiration for this week's challenge.

Stay tuned for the other cards from club.

Creative Sketches Week 23 Color and a Sneak Peek

Back for another week of Creative Sketches. Wish blogger wasn't being crabby as this is my 4th attempt at this post and as you can see the pictures did their own thing, but at least they are present. This week's challenge was the colors of Baja Breeze, Bashful Blue, Old Olive and Basic Gray. I would have been happy with just 3 of those colors but hey, it's a challenge :0)  I decided to use the soon to be released Paisley Petals DSP and Four Frames Stamp set along with the hostess set Fast and Fabulous and Teeny Tiny Wishes and the Decorative Label punch. Simple layering makes up the base of the card in Baja Breeze, Basic Gray and Bashful Blue. I stamped the flower with Basic Gray ink onto the Bashful Blue background and used the same ink to stamp the label and sentiment. A bit of Old Olive frames the punched image. I chose a flower image from the designer paper and detail cut it, then popped it over the card with dimensionals.

Don't forget to check out the Creative Sketches site for more creative ideas.

Creative Sketches Week 22 Sketch Design

 Back for another week of creative design. Our challenge this week was this sketch. Fairly basic and easy to work with but the possibilities are endless. And of course I had to flip it. I just grabbed the papers that caught my eye and were easy to reach and played with the design for my card. If you are looking for a challenge, just reach for what you might already have out or the first thing that you come across in your supplies. This sketch is perfect for using up a variety of scraps from previous projects. Start playing and you might just surprise yourself.

This card worked up fast. I grabbed the Melon Mambo card base from a stack I had cut for a class that never got used. Some Basic Black and Pretty in Pink scraps and a leftover piece of pink designer paper from the Ice Cream Parlor set in the Sale-a-bration catalog. A retired piece of Melon Mambo ribbon, Basic Pearls, Butterfly and Scallop Trim punches and the Cottage Garden stamp set. Easy peasy.

Hope to be back soon with some new inspiration. Still finishing up the samples for the Stamp a Stack this weekend. Busy, busy week.