Dec~Jan Celebration Banners Sketch

I'm back with another card based on our current December~January Celebration Banners Sketch. We hope you will join us at The Sketch File during the month of December and January. Kathy has created another clever sketch for you. You can use it to create a card, scrapbook page or whatever other project it might inspire, but please remember to post your project with us HERE.  Kathy often provides a few versions of the sketch and we encourage you to rotate it, shrink it, expand it or adjust it as needed.

What was I Thinking?

Sometimes I create cards and later when I look at them I  say to myself "What were you thinking?"  This post is all about one of those cards. It all began when I created the card with the cocoa, the "Warm Wishes" sentiment and the striped wavy lines. When I thought it was finished, I laid it aside but really wasn't happy with the way it had turned out. Like many of my projects, my initial idea turned into something totally different. My disappointment with it hung on and the next morning I just had to dismantle it! I knew that I wanted to make the card more simple so I saved the cocoa mug element and re-used it on my second card. I added a bit of holly and left off the sentiment. I ended up liking the second version much better. What do you think? Do you prefer the card with the sentiment or the card with the holly?

Celebration Banners at The Sketch File

Today I am sharing a card based on our new December -January sketch at  the  The Sketch File. Kathy's calling this sketch "Celebration Banners". We'll be keeping this sketch throughout both December and January which means you will have plenty of time to create and post your projects with us.  We plan to take a few weeks off at Christmas and at the beginning of the New Year.  As is often the case, Kathy has actually provided several versions of the same sketch....have fun!

November 1-2-3 Sketch

Today I'm sharing my inspirational card for our November 1-2-3 Sketch challenge at The Sketch File.  You still have time to play along with us. The sketch has 1 base layer, 2 panels and 3 shapes.

CASE-ing Christmas Challenge #31

Inspiration for this card comes from Donna at CASE-ing Christmas. The bright red bow on her card and that curved line through the center inspired me to create my card.  I used red patterned paper and added a curved lined down the center of my card. I used punches to create the snowflakes and added glitter glue to the largest ones. The sentiment and snowflakes were attached to one side of the front panels to allow it to open.

Purple & Green @ 52 CCT

When I first saw the Purple and Green Challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, I was skeptical. I wasn't convinced that I would be able to get these colors to work together, but I went ahead and began creating a card anyway. In the end, I like the color combination. They really do work well together.

To create the tree ornament, I gathered a few pieces of different shades of green cardstock then cut and layered them into the shape of a tree. I crocheted the silver chain-like decoration from thin silver thread and used a dark purple stamp to add a bit of texture to the purple background. I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but the purple ended up looking a bit like leather....love that!

Candy Canes

Yesterday I was looking through my pile of completed Christmas cards and realized that I had very few cards with candy cane images.... so I decided to create this one and play along with the holiday food challenge at Jingle Belles. I began by cutting candy cane shapes from red cardstock and added white gel pen stripes. I didn't like the gel pen stripes...they were too faint. So I covered the stripes with paint instead.  I cut red cardstock into three pieces and matted each with white cardstock. Next I attached the tips of the candy canes to the two lower pieces of red cardstock. I dry embossed green cardstock and layered the red and white pieces over it and added the holly, bows and the sentiment. I wasn't sure that I liked the addition of the green, but without it there was just too much white. Also, now that I look at it, I wish I would have used my sewing machine instead of the gel pen to add the stitching around the outer edges(including the green), but I guess it's too late now.

1-2-3 November Sketch

Hello and thanks for stopping by. Today I'm sharing another card I created based on our current sketch at The Sketch File.  This is Kathy's '1-2-3' Sketch.  It has 1 base layer, 2 panels, and 3 decorative squares (or any shape you prefer). We hope it will encourage you to be creative today and to share your creation with us!  We look forward to seeing you at The Sketch File.

3 Snowmen

Yesterday I had seen the current challenge at CASE-ing Christmas and knew that I wanted to play along, but I ran out of time. So, early this morning before anyone else was awake, I began creating my card.  I was inspired by Donna's card (see card at right) in several ways. Her white on blue layout with the snowfield caught my eye right away. I  also loved how she separated the lower snowfield from the skyline with the bit of space. I did something similar with my snowfield.  Next, she used three trees in the foreground. Instead of trees I used snowmen.  I knew that I wanted my snowment to look up at the dry embossed snowflakes on the upper part of my card so, I handcut three snowman, cut and adhered three tiny carrot noses and used chalk to add highlight. I added facial features and then  three handcut scarves, again using chalk to add some hightlight as well as a few gel pen snowflakes.  Like Donna, I added the sentiment to the bottom portion of my card using my computer to print the "Let it Snow" sentiment. I'm glad I found the time to create another Christmas card and appreciate the inspiration from Donna's beautiful card.

November 1-2-3 Sketch, Week 2

Here's my second card based on our current November 1-2-3 sketch at The Sketch File. This sketch has has 1 base layer, 2 panels and 3 decorative "squares" (which can be any shape). You can see I have lots of layer's on my card. I added a bit of texture by crinkling the stocking patterned paper before adhering it to the card base. I haven't used that technique in ages! It was kind of fun revisiting it.   I also dry embossed the bricks onto the cream colored layer, then handcut and decorated the stockings. Can you tell that I tried to replicate the smaller stockings that are pictured on the patterned paper?  It's a fun sketch and I hope you are feeling creative and will create a card or project to link up with us. 

1-2-3 Sketch Launch Time

Here we are at the beginning of November. It's time to launch our newest sketch at The Sketch File. This sketch was created by Kathy. She's calling it the  "1-2-3 Sketch"; it has 1 base layer, 2 panels and 3 decorative squares (can be any shape). Why are there two sketches? It's simply because Kathy usually offers two similar sketches to offer even more inspiration. So are you inspired yet?  If not, we will be back throughout the month, generally on Tuesdays, to share a few new cards to provide even further inspiration. For now, you really should go take a peak at Kathy's stunning card and link up you creation at The Sketch File.  See you there!

The Tree Stands Alone

It's ANYTHING GOES for Challenge #47 at Christmas Card Challenges. There's nothing like an open ended challenge to get the create juices flowing!  But before I could begin crafting, I needed to organize my work space. Over the past few weeks, I've created piles of leftovers from previous crafts. As I organized, I discovered the pieces used to create this very simple card. As you know, it's always much easier to use them instead of sorting and putting them away! Fortunately, I even found the folded tree in my pile. So it was just a matter of layering coordinating pieces together. Once I added the shiny brads to the corners, I attempted to add other embellishments and a sentiment. It all seemed too busy, so the tree stands alone. 

Week 4: October Sketch

Here we are in the last week in October and I have one more card to share. This card was inspired by our current sketch at The Sketch File. It's been a fun month. I have enjoyed playing and creating with the sketch and hope you will find a few moments to create something based on it. Both Kathy and I look forward to seeing what you come up with...see you at The Sketch File!

Jingle Belles Sketch Challenge

As I was browsing through blogs this morning, I came across a fabulous sketch for the current challenge at Jingle Belles! I didn't even finish browsing, instead I headed off to create a card for the challenge.  It's a great sketch, Stephanie! I love the simplicity of it and the unlimited possibilities. I had several ideas popping in and out of my head, but finally settled on a mitten themed card. Since I didn't have a mitten image that was small enough for what I had in mind,  I handcut them out of red and cream cardstock. I used up a few scrap pieces of cardstock and patterned paper, added a bit of chalk to the green background and adhered the tiny cream stars to the green.  I bet you already know that the sentiment inside reads: Warm Winter Wishes. Thanks again for the great sketch and inspiration, Steph!

The Wild Woods @ 52 CCT

I woke up this morning determined to create a card for the The Wild Woods, October Theme Challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.  We are challenged to use woodland inhabitants and/or trees in our creations.   I immediately thought of my Darice birch tree embossing folder. I began by using it to emboss white cardstock. I attempted to add a background and wasn't happy with the results so instead I cut out the individual embossed trees and added detail with a bit of chalk.  I layered the trees on the black cardstock and then created the tag with the deer to adhere over the trees.  I added the red mat to help the tag pop and included a few holly leaves and berries to make it feel festive.

October Sketch Inspiration Week 3

Here it is the end of the third week in October and I am just getting around to sharing another card based on the current sketch at The Sketch File. It's been one of those weeks where I can't keep track of the days! Anyway, I hope you will link up a card or other craft based on our current sketch. Kathy's created a simple sketch that has been fun to play with. It lends itself to so many possibilities. This week I decided to add another card to my Christmas card stash. I ended up using patterned paper that I had left over from a previous project. I used my computer to print the sentiment on the cream cardstock. For the trees I simply
cut three triangles from green cardstock then added a bit of ink to give them a bit of texture.  I created the texture on the red cardstock by scoring it on my scoring board.

Pink for the Cure @ Jingle Belles

Just a quick post to share this card for the current Jingle Belles challenge. It's all about pink this month! Steph and Lauren are generously donating $2.00 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for every card that is uploaded for the current challenge. I am so glad I found the time to create a card because the challenge closes tomorrow!

CAS(E) this Sketch #145

Yesterday I took a few minutes to sort through the pile of Christmas cards I have created for this year. Hmmm....there were several among them that I have decided I don't like very much and can't imagine what I was thinking when I created them!  Each year I go through this process and there are always a few cards that I set aside because I don't care for them. Knowing that I will need around 70 cards for this year, I decided I'd better make a few more to replace the 8 or so that I have already set aside. I decided to create a card based on the current sketch challenge at CAS(E)-this Sketch.  To create my card, I printed the sentiment in various shades of green onto white cardstock, then inked the background. I punched holly leaves and created a small wreath with them and attached it next to the sentiment. Hopefully, this card will end up in the keep pile in a few months. Who knows, I could look at it then and decide it doesn't make the cut.  Anyway, I had fun creating it and that is what is important right now.

October Sketch at the Sketch File

I hope you are in a crafting mood because we have the October sketch up and ready for you to play with at The Sketch File. It will be available throughout October and we hope you'll post a card or layout that was inspired by it. If you visit The Sketch File you'll see how Kathy has used the sketch to create another fabulous card.

I absolutely love the simplicity of the sketch. It lends itself nicely to combining pattern papers. I also love the large circle in the center, but feel free to change the shape of the center piece to make it work for you; it doesn't have to be a circle.

Let it Snow: CASE-ing Christmas # 30

I am in no way ready to start seeing snow fall but I was so inspired by Asha's  beautiful card at CASE-ing Christmas that I created a snowy Christmas card.  I was inspired by her inky background as well as her snowflakes. I began with a piece of dark blue cardstock. I used white ink to create the snow base at the bottom of the card and then used blue ink to create the night sky. I added tiny white snowflakes to the background with a white gel pen and bigger punched snowflakes to the foreground. I haven't used ink on a card in a long while and it was fun to create with it again. Thanks for the inspiration Asha!

October Sketch File

It's already October! I am so amazed at how quickly the time has flown by. I started a new job at the beginning of September and it just doesn't seem possible that I have been there an entire month!  Anyway, I've got a card and sketch to share with you. We've got the October Sketch (two versions to choose from) that we will be using all month long at The Sketch File.  I loved the simplicity of the sketch and hope you find it just as inspiring and will post your creation with us. We look forward to seeing what you do with the sketch.

2 More Projects

I'm posting two more projects based on the September Sketch that we've been using this month at The Sketch File. Based on my color choices, I must be in a "purple" mood. Truthfully, I only used the purple and yellow in the layout to represent my son's high school colors.  This is his first and last year at this high school. It has been a big change for him but he is doing well.  I hope you have enjoyed seeing the projects that Kathy and I have created based on this months sketch and will join us next month when we introduce the October sketch.