Thursday, December 14, 2017

Intro to December Sketch

Yikes! We are half way through December already! I've already sent out all my Christmas cards for friends and family but I couldn't resist creating another Christmas card based on the new sketch at The Sketch File. Kathy describes this sketch as "corner crossing" and I think you can see why. I've used a few boughs to meet and cross in the bottom right corner and then included two different sized snowmen to layer on top. As always Kathy has created a couple of versions of the sketch and we are looking forward to seeing what you create with your preferred version. Remember you can shrink, enlarge, rotate and make changes that work for you. Please post your creation with us HERE.




Saturday, December 9, 2017

Santa Card

I created this card with a die that was given to me last Christmas.  I love the resulting Santa image. I started by die cutting with red cardstock, then ran the die through the die cut machine with black cardstock so that I could get the boots and mittens.  It's a fairly simple card, but I wanted to limit the details so the focal point would be Santa.  

Sunday, November 26, 2017

I'm Late!


  
I am so far behind on my posts that I won't ever catch up. I had every intention of posting this card early last week, but here it is Sunday already and we are heading into another week. As a result this will be a quick post.  If you haven't already seen the November sketch at The Sketch File you can take a peek at it below. My card was inspired by the sketch and Kathy and I hope you will find time to create a craft based on the sketch and share it with us at The Sketch File. Remember you can rotate, flip, shrink, enlarge and have fun with the sketch.  

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Snow Globe


I have been wanting to create a card with a snow globe as the focal point and I have finally done it!  My snow globe started with a punched dark blue circle and then I added pine trees, torn paper snow and a deer image.  For the falling snow I added tiny punched white circles. I added a few at the bottom next to the deer so that it would like the globe had been shaken and there was snow accumulating on the ground.  I layered a thin piece of clear acetate over the top of the entire scene. It is supposed to represent the glass. I ran a piece of white cardstock through a crimper and then cut it into the shape of a lid. I think I was trying to create more of a DIY snow globe image, (sort of like the kind  of handmade snow globe many of us created from a jar when we were kids), but now that I am looking at it, I wish I would have used a more elegant, wood like base. Oh well, maybe next time.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Another Snowman Card

I had such fun creating this snowman card. I hand-cut the scarf and hat out of cardstock and added detail with chalk and marker. The snowman head started out as a white punched circle. I added a paper carrot nose and used a marker to draw the eyes and mouth.  I only included the head of the snowman and I think the end result works well with the snowy background. 

Snowman

I have been working on a few Christmas cards during the past few weeks. This snowman card is one more to add to my collection. I made the snowman with two different size circle punches, added a bit of detail including eyes and mouth drawn with a marker, a paper carrot nose, paper buttons and cut the arms from brown cardstock.  The hat and scarf are also hand made. I added detail to them with chalk and a marker. I chalked in the rosy cheeks and used chalk to add highlight to the hat and scarf.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

November Sketch Inspiration

I'm back with another card that was inspired by the November Sketch at The Sketch File. This card ended up being more detailed than I had originally intended. I had dry embossed the background with snowflakes and started adding the white snowflakes.  I used liquid glue to adhere the snowflakes and a bit of the glue got away from me. It made a bit of a mess, so I added glitter glue between the embossed snowflakes to cover the mess. To be honest, I dislike the card. It just feels overly decorated.

Please take a look at he sketches below. If you feel inspired, I hope you will hop on over to The Sketch File to post your creation. 


Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Introducing the November Sketch

Since we are starting a new month, we are introducing the November sketch at The Sketch File.  Please take a few minutes to create a project based on the sketch and post it with us. Also, if you hop on over to The Sketch File you will see where Kathy found inspiration for her sketch.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Clean & Simple

Happy Halloween! I know I should be posting a Halloween card but I rarely send them out. Since I send a lot of Christmas cards, I decided to use our current sketch at The Sketch File and create this card to add to my growing Christmas card stash. I limited the color scheme to red and white and slipped in a few snowflakes. It's a clean and simple card and lately that seems to work for me.

Below are two versions of the sketch. I hope you will find a few minutes to use one of the sketches and post your creation with us at The Sketch File:





Tuesday, October 24, 2017

All about the Sentifment



I wanted to take a couple of moments to share a card I created that was inspired by our October sketch at The Sketch File. The sketch emphasizes the sentiment, so that's where I started. I used my Cricut machine to cut the sentiment from white cardstock then punched a few holly leaves and handcut a gingerbread man and candy cane from brown cardstock. I added dimensional paint along the edges of all of these and then layered everything on a snowflake patterned paper.  I hope this card will inspire you to visit the The Sketch File where you can take a peek at Kathy's beautifully crafted, elegant card.  I also hope you will be inspired by our cards and will post your own creation with us (HERE).

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Tuesday, October 10, 2017

The Sketch File Week 2

It's the second week in October and I'm sharing another card based on the October sketch at The Sketch File. Kathy has created a sketch with a focus on the sentiment, so this card is totally about the sentiment. I kept the images small so that the words would stand out and used repetition of color to pull the card together.  Kathy and I hope you will join us this month and share a project that focuses on the sentiment. 


Tuesday, October 3, 2017

October Sketch


I know that it is just the beginning of October, but before we know it, October will have vanished and we'll be sitting down to a Thanksgiving feast. So I created this Thanksgiving card to try to get a head of all the festivities.  The inspiration for the card comes from the latest sketch at The Sketch File. Kathy and I are just introducing the sketch today.  It will be available all month long for you to use to create your crafts. This particular sketch inspired both Kathy and I to focus on the sentiment a bit more than we have done with previous sketches. We hope you feel inspired as well.  You can focus more on the sentiment or make adjustments to the sketch to make it work for your project. Please post your creation with us HERE.

Which version of the sketch will inspire you?

  

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Sketch File: A Set of Three


As we head into the last week in September, I have one more card to share with you based on our September sketch at The Sketch File.  The sketch is based on a set of three so I included a set of three deer. I love the deer background paper with the deer going every which way and I love all the colors and patterns on it as well.  But as I look at the card tonight, I wish that I would have used something other than the white circles. They just seem too stark. Since I glued them down I think my options are limited at this point. Oh well.

Here is the sketch that inspired my card. I hope you have some time to create something with the sketch over the next few days. Please share your project with Kathy and I at The Sketch File.







Friday, September 22, 2017

Set of 3 Sketch



If you are looking for a card sketch to offer inspiration, I think I have just the one for you.  This month at the The Sketch File we are playing with a really fun sketch and we hope you will join us. The basis for the sketch is a set of three.  I decided to go with a fall leaf theme, since the leaves on the trees are beginning to change color here. I've tweaked the sketch a bit and we encourage you to do so as well. Please hop on over to The Sketch File to see Kathy's beautiful and clever card and then post your card with us.



Tuesday, September 12, 2017

September Sketch


I can't believe it is already September 12th! We have a new sketch up at The Sketch File but this is my first post about it. I had planned on posting the sketch earlier this month but time has gotten away from me once again. 

Today both Kathy and I have shared a card based on the sketch. For my card, I focused on using THREE images just as Kathy did in the sketch. Instead of stars, I used flowers and shifted them a bit. I think you can still see parts of the sketch in my card. 

Do you feel inspired? You can post your project and take a peak at Kathy's card by visiting The Sketch File. Kathy has also provided another version of the sketch and encourages us to shrink, stretch, enlarge, rotate, twist, flip or adjust parts of the sketch so that it works for your project. 

See you at The Sketch File!

Saturday, August 12, 2017

August Sketch at the Sketch File: A Wee Bit Late!

Good Morning!  This has been the longest week ever! Work has been super crazy and the long days are getting old!  I couldn't wait for the weekend! Now that the weekend is finally here, I realize that I totally forgot to post this card. It is based on the latest, greatest sketch at the The Sketch File. The new sketch will be up all month and we welcome your creativity. Kathy and I would love to see what you create with the sketch.  My spin on the sketch was to use different colored inks to create a background. These ink blotches represent the circular flowers & circles in Kathy's sketches. I used the sentiment instead of the the horizontal rectangles.  I know it is a challenge to see the sketch in the card, but if you concentrate, I think you will still see the sketch in my card.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Potted Plant

Can you see where I got my inspiration for this card?  The sketches below are all versions of the July sketch at the  The Sketch File.  I hope you find some creative time and will consider using a version of the sketch in your creation. It's a fun sketch to play with and as always you can tweak the sketch to work for you.                     

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Stars & Polka Dot Birthday Card

I hope you are not as crazy busy as I have been lately. Somehow July is flying by and I haven't accomplished half the things I set out to do at the beginning of the month.  I even had a few days off from work, but that didn't help make a dent in my to do list.  Since I was in need of a birthday card for a co-worker, I did find a bit of time to put this card together.  My favorite part of the card is the tiny punched stars that I adhered inside the larger star.  I'm off to see if I can get a few more things accomplished this weekend. 

Green, Polka Dots and Plaid....it works!

The July Sketch at the The Sketch File is the inspiration for this card.The sketch is fun to play with and I hope you will consider playing along with us this month. As with all our sketches, you can shrink, enlarge, rotate, flip and make the sketch work for you.  I decided to use various shades of green cardstock and patterned papers. I wasn't sure about the plaid with the polka dot, but in the end I think it works. The heart is actually gray and I added green embroidery thread to keep the color theme going.
Which version of the sketch will you use?

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

July @ The Sketch File

Here we are in July already! We have a new sketch to play with at The Sketch File. I have used the sketch to create this floral card. I have kept the design simple and like the way this one turned out.

Kathy and I hope you can find a few minutes to get crafty and use the sketch to create a card or layout. We'd love to see what you do with it. You can post it at The Sketch File.