Try A Sketch On Tuesday

 

My card for Try A Sketch On Tuesday #682.  Had to put my  thinking cap on for this sketch because I wanted to also include the 3-2-1 ingredients for Double Trouble with the Twisted Sister's optional to include a bird. Not too many birds in my collection, but a search found Gina K Designs Harvest Silhouettes which I paired with a Foliage Filler die cut, and circles from Master Layout 7. The rest is from my stash: old SSS patterned paper, SU! ribbon and a CTMH sentiment. (It's not hoarding folks :-) it's creative opportunities) All stamped with Distressed Oxide Hickory Smoke.

Hope you are inspired to play along with one or both of these challenges!

Three circles (if you can count the matt layers, two images, ribbon, and twist using a bird

Peace On Earth

 

       My inspiration for the new challenge at

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge

I ink blended a panel in blues, sprayed with some silver glimmer and while that dried, I cut out the Winter Scene dies from Savvy. I backed the windows with some yellow. I matted with on silver card and then all that on a Swiss Dot embossed card front.  I used a tiny snowflake punch and a sentiment from Simon Says Stamp.

Shades of Fall

 

My inspiration for the new challenge at 

    Try A Sketch On Tuesday

I used a dry embossing folder and then ink blended a bit on some edges. The hexagons were cut with a Pretty Pink Posh die set.  All the fall images are from Gina K Designs Autumn Splendor ephemera sheets and die.

I've managed to include the 3-2-1 challenge at Double Trouble as well!   

Used 3+colors, 2+ images, and dry embossing.  (See the challenge below)   Hope you will play along!! 

Autumn Birthday

 New!  Sketch #650 at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge

My DT card for you uses images and sentiment from Gina K Designs Thankful and Blessed stamp & die set. The panels and tag were cut with Gina K dies as well.  I colored the leaves with Copic markers. 

You can check out the inspiration from the rest of the team on Wednesday.

I hope you will play along!

Halloween

 

Challenge #680 at Try a Sketch On Tuesday!

Used my little Spider die cut from Simon Says Stamp that I bought last year, sentiment from Gina K 's Handmade Holidays set, and papers and enamel dots from my stash.  This came together so quickly. A very fun sketch!    Hope you will check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team and play along. 

3-2-1  :  My card has 3+ layers with background paper, matting, and center strips from scra

2  I used a die and enamel dots from my stash 

1   1 used a sentiment from my sentiment bin

And while you are creating, link up to our sister challenge as well!   Double Trouble#200

Winter Birthday

 

Happy Monday!

Sketch #648 at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge for this week had me playing with Gina K's Tall Pines stamp and some blending and sponging. 

After sponging some blue on the white panel, I stamped in black and splattered with some white paint. When it was dry I cut it into five 1" wide strips and slightly shorter heights before matting each in black.  For the background, I used a blue card stock that was just a shade deeper and sponged white pigment ink and then splattered some silver shimmer. (Hard to see in the photo.)  The two outside trees are adhered directly to the back, the next in were raised just a bit with a piece of card stock, the center popped up with foam tape.

The sentiment is Gina K All Occasion embossed with silver.

Hope you will join the challenge at AHSC!

Cone Flowers

 Happy to have some craft room time today and a chance to play with some of my kit from Gina K.  The flowers are from the Thankful and Blessed set. I colored with pencils and Gamsol and cut it with the coordinating die.  The background used the Decorative Double stencil on a panel cut with Master Layouts 4.

Doodles

 

The challenge at Try A Sketch On Tuesday is to have oodles of doodles.  It's been a crazy week here just returning from a visit with my brother... but it was fun to just doodle this morning.

Sentiment is from Gina K Designs, Tall Stems set.

Hope you will join the fun at TSOT!

Get Well

My card is inspired by the sketch #703 at Freshly Made Sketches.

I used Gina K Designs products: Autumn Delight stencil and die, inked with Sea Glass Turquoise Sea, Tranquil Teal, Jelly Bean Green, and Fresh Asparagus; All at Once -All Occasion sentiment, Elegant Script Background, and some silver mini embellishments.

Patchwork

 

Good morning!  Monday means a great new sketch at         Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

Today's reminded me of quilting - and back in the day I loved making paper quilt cards.  So I was very happy to play around with some pretty scraps for this sketch.  I hope you will try it out and join the fun at AHSC.   

Autumn is on the way!

 

While September really does still have lovely sunny days, once it's 'back to school' month, it means autumn to me. Perhaps several decades of teaching cemented that into my being :-)

The new challenge at Try A Sketch On Tuesday  shows two main elements , and our sister challenge at Double Trouble has added an optional twist to make an aperture and fill it. 

So for my Design Team inspiration I made a maple leaf aperture with a Simon Says Stamp die and filled it with some autumn colored embellishments.  The background was embossed with Gina K's Falling Leaves folder and then I rubbed it with gold gilding wax. The leaves and acorn were cut, inked and also edged with gilding wax.  Sentiment from Gina K's Doodled Autumn set was stamped and fussy cut.

Hope you will check out the DT inspiration and play along. It's such fun to visit your blogs to see your creations.

Floral Friendship

 

Happy Monday, and welcome to challenge #644 at

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge!

I saw a video  of someone embossing vellum, and wanted to try it. So I used a thin strip folder I have had unused in my stash for years and created a window front. I cut aperture and frames using Gina K Designs Master Layouts 18.  The floral, leaves, and sentiment are from her Floral Friendship set.  Card base is her Emerald Coast. Colors used are Emerald Coast, Butterscotch and Sunkissed Coral.

Fancy Fan Fold

 
A new challenge at Try A Sketch On Tuesday

I watched the video tutorials to make this pretty design, and both were very helpful. I have linked them below. Cutting triangular shapes always presents some tricky measuring, but following Patti Dolan's written directions made it very easy.  She also inspired me to look through the papers I have collected from visits in Japan. I did not use dimensional tape to adhere my fan pieces. This is an A-2 size card.

The gold embossed sentiment comes from a retired Simon Says Stamp set. 

Tutorials:

Patti Dolan's (A-2)   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGZRXuU29pk

Lisa Curcio's  (5x7)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIgezo0s-YM

Birthday Hello

 

My inspiration for this week's new sketch at                         Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

I am always on a mission to use patterned paper from the stash. I rarely buy it now, but there is so much from my early card making days...and some so pretty! 

I had a small section of the floral and gold paper, and added some pink paper from Charlotte, a CTMH set probably nearly ten years old . Oh, my. But with a foiled sentiment from Gina K Designs and a little confetti bling I have a pretty card. 

I hope you will be inspired to try this sketch and link up to AHSC.

Kintsugi

 The Japanese art of mending broken things with gold is so beautiful.  I have been trying to write a note to a friend who is feeling quite broken right now, and as I was looking at some of my origami papers from Japan, the inspiration for what to write became clear.  You can read about kintsugi below.

My card uses the sketch from #698 challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. I ink blended on a piece of card and then drew a vase shape with a black pen. Using a Zig glue pen, I drew some 'broken' lines on it, then pressed with foil. I cut a Leafy Branch die from gold and trimmed it down to go in the vase.

"The philosophy of kintsugi applies to change by encouraging us to view the rebuilding of our lives after change through a lens of compassion and acceptance, recognizing that the cracks and repairs in relationships, careers, and personal well-being are not signs of failure but evidence of our human vulnerability and our courage to mend what has been broken.

In honoring our imperfections and the journey to mend them, we celebrate the unique beauty that emerges from our efforts to heal and grow. Kintsugi teaches us that in the act of repairing, we are engaging in an act of transformation, creating something more meaningful, more resilient, and even more beautiful than before."

A Note

 New challenge # 676 at Try A Sketch On Tuesday

The sister challenge at Double Trouble has a 'spotlight technique' option which of inspired my card in a way.  I used Spellbinder's Air Mail layered stencil for the background panel. The envelope and some of the greenery is from an older Mama Elephant die set. I added a flower and another leafy bit from other dies in my stash. Before adhering the flowers and greens, I stamped some script on the inside of the envelope with Gina K Elegant Script Background. The sentiment is from a Gina K All Occasions set. I added some silver gel pen and confetti.   

I hope you will play along!

Double Trouble #197

Potted Shelves

 

Happy Monday!

Time for a new sketch at 

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge

and this is my DT inspiration for you. My card uses  the Potted Shelves Mini-delight set from Altenew.

I stenciled the background with Gina K Designs Decorative Double using Sandy Beach ink.  I ran the darker piece through my crimper. Wow!  That's an ancient tool I haven't used in a while. I did a bit of texture stamping on the back panel of Desert Storm card stock.

It was super relaxing to piece together these cute little plants.  Hope to see your take on this sketch at AHSC.

Summer Breeze

 My card today was inspired by challenge #295 at AAA Cards.  I used a Spellbinder's layering stencil for the waves, and a MFT stencil for clouds. Inks are Simon Says Stamp Sea Foam, Surf, and Ocean.  The stamped silhouette image and sentiment are from a very old Close To My Heart set.  So I used Summer + Colors from the challenge game.

 

Friendship

 My friend brought a stunning bouquet of flowers from her garden the other day.  She has an talent for growing and arranging - and sharing.  I made this card today to thank her.  

I used Gina K Designs floral stencil inked with Peach Bellini, Coral Reef, Jelly Bean and Asparagus inks. The panel was cut with her die and then I used the frame stencil to create borders and placed the layering stencils over that.  I left the frame stencil on and added a light blending of Sea Glass to each of the spaces. The sentiment was from another of her sets, Postage and More set for little stamped elements, and the card base in Peach Bellini. I really love using large floral stencils this way. 

Linking to Just Us Girls #785 Stencil Week

Coffee + Friendship

 Inspired by Freshly Made Sketches #696. I used a piece of a panel I made with  an embossing folder wax paper/ ink resist technique and a small die I've had in my stash for a long time. The sentiment and coffee beans are from Gina K Designs, Coffee Critters set.