Seize the Sketch baby card

Hi again,

I found a new site that has sketch challenges...and I LOVE sketches! The seize the sketch site is brand new and I'm loving their first sketch! I can picture using it for so many occasions...and I love when that happens. I'm also submitting this card to the Word Art Wednesday site. They always have an "anything goes" challenge and I try to play along whenever I can. Below you'll see my card and the sketch:

This was a pretty quick card to make. I used Inkadinkadoo stamps and used the sentiments as the background pattern. Then, I stamped and colored the little turtle stuffed animal. I added some stickles to the little turtle's heart and the card was done. Super easy but so cute! And the baby on the way that this card is for--can't wait to meet the little one, too!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Pat

Peel better soon card

Hi all!

I wanted to share a card I made last night with a new stamp from Technique Tuesday. I'm also entering this card for the latest challenge at the Simon Says Stamp and Show. Their challenge was to use a small stamp or just a little stamping. Here's my card:

Since this is for a guy, I chose more masculine colors and a simple sketch. The pattern paper is from My Mind's Eye. I used the apothecary label from Simon Says Stamp! and put the little monkey on there with versafine ink. I then colored him in with my inktense pencils. My small stamp? The sentiment! I usually have big sentiments on my cards but this one is teeny! But it is just so cute when paired with this little monkey! Super easy and fast to make...in fact, I may just make a few and have them on hand.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Sending Caring Thoughts

Hi friends,

There are some cards that are much more fun to make than others. Today I found out a friend's dad is now in hospice care. My friend's parents have been married a long time and they're a close-knit family so I'm sure this is a very sad time for them. So, in my small way, I wanted to make them a card to let them know they were being prayed over and that I care. If you believe in prayer, please join me in praying for the Karpenko family.

Here's my card:

I used some watercolor paper and stamped the Hero Arts flower and sentiment. I then colored in the image with my inktense pencils and then sponged some distress ink (broken china) for the sky and then washed over that with my watercolor brush. I added some stickles to the center of the flower and the card was done.

I'm submitting this card for the challenge over on the Word Art Wednesday site--not so much for the prize, though. I know the ladies on that blog are Christians. If you would, ladies, please pray for this family. The dad is needing a lot of courage right now. Thank you SO much!

Have a good night!
Pat

Color Combo challenge

Hi friends!

It was a busy day for me. But, after all the hard work, I decided to go play in my craft room. :)

Today I'm sharing a card I made for the Summer Card Camp 2 class that started today. There's a few sketches and a color combination that we're supposed to brainstorm with. I plan on working with one of the sketches tomorrow but for today, here's my card.

For this card, I actually got the idea of it from a Women's Devotional book. I loved the cover of the book and always thought it would look really nice as a card idea. So, I rotated and tweaked it a bit and here it is! For the class, we had to use 4 of the 5 colors in the swatch. I had hoped my purple flower would be more magenta-ish but oh well! I started out with watercolor paper. I stamped the flower (Hero Arts) in Versafine Sepia ink because I'd be watercoloring the image. I then used my inktense watercolor pencils to color in the image. Once the image was colored, I carefully used my broken china distress ink to add the sky color behind the flowers. Once the sponging was done, I used my watercolor brush to blend out the ink a bit more. I had originally stamped the sentiment (also from Hero Arts) directly on the card with Colorbox Surf pigment ink but my hand smudged the sentiment and I was NOT going to start all over! So, I made a banner for the sentiment and covered up the mistake. I added a few gems to the card and the card was done.

It's only Day 1 of the class and so far, I'm LOVING it! Hoping to play with a lot of the ideas this week!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Tuesday Trigger Time!

Hi again!

Yes, it's my second post! Since it was the 4th of July yesterday, I finally had the chance to play in my room...and I took full advantage of the time! :) I'm sharing a card I made for the Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger challenge. Here's my card and the challenge badge.

For this card, I used watercolor paper to stamp the Stampendous Star Lilies with Versafine Ink (brown). I stamped it on the side that doesn't have quite as much texture so that the image would stamp a bit better. Then, I used my inktense pencils to color in the image. These pencils are great for coloring and I love that you can add different shades and blend in the color. For the leaves, I used 2 different shades of green. And on the petals, I used an orange color and then mixed some yellow, too, for a different shade of orange. I added a soft blue color for the sky by using my distress ink and sponging in the color. I then used my watercolor brush to smooth out the distress ink, too. I mounted both the image and the sentiment on some tangerine-colored pattern paper from My Mind's Eye and I punched a border at the bottom of it. The sentiment is from Hero Arts and I finished off the card with a simple ribbon at the bottom. It's always so much fun to color in images using my pencils--it's easy and looks great when you're done!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!
Pat

MOJO time!

Hi all!

Popping in very quickly this afternoon to share a card I made yesterday for the MOJO Monday site. Here's the sketch and my card:


How cute is this sketch?! Loved it! I started out with an old Basic Grey paper pack called "Little Black Dress". I used a frame from a chipboard stash that I just recently found. I used black soot distress ink to ink it up and then I embossed the frame with the musical flourish cuttlebug folder. I used my inktense watercolor pencils to color in the butterfly (Teresa Collins). To add some shine to the butterfly, I used a dot of liquid pearls and added a bit of water to it and then just used a paintbrush to color it on the butterfly. The sentiment is from the dollar bin from a local craft store. I added some ribbon and inked the edges with some vintage photo distress ink and the card was done.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Anything Goes!

Hi all!

Just popping in to share a card I made for a couple of challenges. If you head over to the Simon Says Stamp! blog and to the Word Art Wednesday site, you'll see they both have "anything goes" challenges. The Word Art site just asks that you also include an encouraging/uplifting message with your card. Here's my card:


I started out with some watercolor paper and stamped the image. (I don't know who made the stamp--it was a gift from a friend that wasn't stamping anymore and she gave me all her stuff and there's no company info on the stamp.) I stamped it using Versafine ink and then used some distress ink to color the sky. I then colored in the image using my inktense watercolor pencils. After mounting it on the red cardstock, I wanted to add more depth to the image so I inked the edges lightly with some distress ink and then masked the image and stamped some script writing around the image. (You can barely see it b/c of the texture of the watercolor paper but it did add some depth to the card.) The center of the flowers also has some stickles--who doesn't want a little extra shine, right? I then added some twine and a decorative edge and mounted it to the card base. The sentiment is from Skipping Stones and I like picturing the person smiling when they get this card.

Have a wonderful Thursday!
Pat

Sending Smiles

Hi all!

It's been a long time since I've been able to craft--too long! May has proven to be a VERY busy month with tons of changes and challenges. Add to that the end of the school year stuff that needs to happen and, well, crafting time was very scarce. But, tonight I had a lot of fun in my room. A while back, Jennifer McGuire shared on her blog that we should really send cards to people "just because". I liked that! So, that's what I'm sharing tonight. It's a "just because" card I'm sending to a friend. I chose to use the sketch from the sweetest thing site, too. Here's my card and the sketch:
I chose to keep the sketch pretty much "as is" with a few exceptions. I did change the center shape and I added an embellishment on the small banner--but that was it. I used paper from My Mind's Eye and then brown and cream cardstock. The brown cardstock was embossed to just add some texture to it. I added some polka dots to the cream strip that runs diagonally. The stamp is from an old Stampin' Up set and I used my inktense watercolor pencils to color it in and then added glossy accents for dimension. I also watercolored the sky using distress ink. I added a small dragonfly brad to the banner--I've had that brad for YEARS!--and liked how it added that unique embellishment to the card. The sentiment is from Skipping Stones.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! We'll be off to enjoy Seattle...Yay!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Mother's Day retro card

Hi all!

With Mother's Day right around the corner, I had some time last night to work on the card I'll be giving my mom this weekend. I chose to play along with the sketch from the wonderful retro sketches site and also the Ribbon Carousel blog that challenged us to make a card for a particular celebration. So here's my card and the sketch.

This Mother's Day will be a special one because I'll have my parents in town. That also meant I didn't have to worry about the card being too bulky to mail! I kept the sketch "as is" because it worked well for what I had in mind. I just tweaked the sentiment a bit to make it a banner and added an image. The paper is from My Mind's Eye and the die is from Simon Says Stamp!. The butterfly was colored in using inktense pencils and then I misted it with some Glitter Mist. The sentiment is from a set that I found in the dollar bin--love it when that happens! I added a few pearls and the card was done.

Hope everyone has a lovely Mother's Day,
Pat

A runway-inspired baby card

Hi friends!

I'm so excited to share a card I made late last night with you. It's for the Runway Inspired site and it challenged us to be inspired by a photo and make a baby card. Here's the photo and my card:

I had been looking for a baby stamp set for a long time! And last week I stopped by Michaels and they had just put this Inkadinkadoo stamp set on clearance...$3.99 and no sales tax! I was thrilled! I was dying to use it so when I saw the challenge for the week, I jumped at it! I wanted to use my swiss dots embossing folder to mirror the dots the little girl had on her dress. And the grey/black she's wearing is on the card base and the insert behind the main image. I added a ribbon that says "it's a girl" and used the stamps from the "welcome baby" set. I colored in the cute little dog with my inktense pencils. They didn't have a really light pink so I just kept watering down the color I had and it worked! I added a few gems and the card was done. Such a fun card!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Watercolor fun with a sketch

Hi friends!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. We've been busy here with end-of-the year activities and testing. So looking forward to a break from homeschooling. For now, I squeezed in some time for crafting on Sunday and am sharing the card I made for 2 challenges. The first is retro sketches. I LOVE their site! And the 2nd challenge is for Moxie Fab World and we were to have fun with watercolors. So, here's my card and the sketch.

There are times I tweak the sketch a bit but this time, I left it "as is". I started out with my main image which is from the dollar bin from a local craft store. I stamped it using Staz On ink on watercolor paper. Using my inktense watercolor pencils, I colored them in and also added a light blue background (hard to see in the picture). I used dimensional tape to mount it and think the presents look so cute--perfect for a child's b-day! The background paper is from My Mind's Eye and the sentiment is from Hampton Arts. I added some ribbon behind the main image, faux stitching and some gems to the centers of the bows and the card was done!

There's still time to play in both challenges so I hope you play along! Have a great rest of the week and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Fun with Watercolors and a sketch

Hi again!

I hope everyone had a good day! I was able to enjoy a day to myself today as my husband took our sons to his work place for "Take your son to work" day. Although I had tons of errands to run in the morning, I had some time to craft later in the day.

The card I worked on incorporated two challenges. The first is the Moxie Fab World challenge that asked us to use watercolors in some way. The second is from the retro sketches site that gave a great sketch this week. Here's the sketch and my card.
Isn't this sketch adorable! I had so many different ideas for it! I'll be using it again, for sure! :) I wanted to use an adorable house made out of wood that I bought today at Michaels (Recollections brand). I used scraps of paper that I've had FOREVER and added some white stitching on the seam of the green and blue cardstock. To color the wood, I used my inktense watercolor pencils. I LOVE how they worked on wood! I used the bark color on the bottom part of the house and then used apple green and mustard on the roof. It's so nice to be able to mix colors with the pencils. I adhered the house using glossy accents so that I was assured it wouldn't fall off. I wanted to ground the image a bit, though, so I took my peeled paint distress marker and added some grass around the house with my water brush. The sentiment is from the dollar bin from a local craft store. Finally, a ribbon to go across the main panel and the card was done. Love how it turned out! So happy with my inktense pencils...totally worth the investment! (Granted, I had a 50% off coupon so the investment was even better!)

Have a wonderful weekend!
Pat

Color time!

Hi friends!

It's been a busy week but I'm here to share a card that I worked on over several days and finally completed this morning. I'm entering it in two different challenges. The first is Simon Says Stamp and Show where the challenge is to use color on your cards. And lastly, Simon Says Stamp's blog that has an "anything goes" challenge. LOVE those! :) Here's the sketch and my card:




I used the Cuttlebug Embossing Plus folder called Perfect Perennials and then inked the embossed areas using Salty Ocean distress ink. Love that vibrant blue color! I also added a few gems to the centers of the flowers to give them a bit more dimension. Then, I took some strips of cardstock and inked those with the salty ocean color also. The butterfly is from Stampin' Up and I used my inktense watercolor pencils to color in the wings. I then added some glossy accents to those and love the look of it! I then realized I had forgotten to color in the butterfly's body so I used my vintage photo distress marker and used it as a watercolor to color in the body. I free handed the antennae and the swirly flight pattern. Then, I added some orange stickles next to one strip of the blue paper and added some dots of orange around the butterfly. I really like that color combination and the pop of orange was perfect! For the sentiment, I inked up some white cardstock with the same distress ink and then heat set it. After it was dry, I used versamark for the greeting and then embossed it. That way, the whole card has colors that match. The card took me several days to complete but mostly because of lack of time--not b/c it's too complicated...

Hope you all can play along and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Love you! card

Hi friends!

I hope you all enjoyed a happy Easter and remembered how much God loves you by sending His Son to die for you. What a gift we were all given!

Tonight I'm sharing a card I made to play along with two different challenges. The first is the sweetest thing site that has a great sketch! As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew how I'd use it! The second is the Color Throwdown site. If you know me, you know I'm not much of a pink person but the colors this week intrigued me. Here are the challenge badges and my card:
Isn't this a great sketch!?! I loved it! I began by layering some pattern paper from the Glitter Sweet matstack on some brown cardstock. I stamped the bear (Stampin' Up) in some Versafine ink and then colored him in using my inktense watercolor pencils. I then masked him off and stamped the sentiment (Hampton Arts) all around him and drew a couple of hearts in some empty spaces. I added some faux stitching to some of the papers, inked up the main panel on the edges, and the card was done! He's an adorable little bear and I love using him!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great week!
Pat

A playful card

Hi again,

I wanted to share a card I made late last night. I won a stamp set from The Alley Way and I've been dying to use it. I chose to play along with a sketch from retro sketches and also use some arrows on the card for the Simon Says Stamp challenge. So, here is the sketch and my card: I love this cute little card...it's just so playful! I used the horse from the stamp set I won from The Alley Way and then stamped him in Versafine brown ink and colored him in with my inktense pencils. The sentiment is also from the same set. The background paper is from My Mind's Eye and I die cut some arrows so that the eye would be led to the sentiment. I then punched out 3 hearts and the card was done. It would be a cute card for a young, married couple or maybe a very happily married older couple! ;)

Have a great weekend, everyone! And thanks for stopping by!
Pat