Card Patterns Sketch #172--The Final Sketch

Well friends, the time has come.  Sadly, the Card Patterns Sketch Challenge is closing its doors, leaving you today with one final sketch.  I hope you'll join me this week in saying a huge thank you to Michelle and Tracy for sharing 172 fabulous sketches with us, including this beauty:

I kept my card fairly simple to keep the focus on this gorgeous flower from Waltzingmouse's Roses in Bloom.  I stamped the flower and leaf twice onto papers from My Mind's Eye and cut them out, popping up a second layer of central petals on the rose.

The background pattern was created using a stamp from The Craft's Meow's Retro Foundations.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Kraft), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Quite Contrary)

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse (Roses in Bloom), The Craft's Meow (Retro Foundations), Papertrey Ink (Iconic Images)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip, So Saffron)

Tools:  Spellbinders (circle die), We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories:  Michaels (pearls)

I am so thankful to Tracy and Michelle for inviting me to be a part of the Card Patterns challenge for the past 6 months.  Sketches are always the most difficult challenges for me, but I have thoroughly enjoyed being on this team and stretching myself creatively.  The weekly inspiration at Card Patterns will definitely be missed!

I hope you'll join us one more time and link up your creation at the Card Patterns blog!

Card Patterns sketch #171 & An Announcement

Hello!  I'm back with a card using this week's Card Patterns sketch, but first I want to share some news.  It was announced today on the Card Patterns blog that the challenge will be closing at the end of June.  The Card Patterns sketches have been a source of inspiration to many of us for a long time, and it will be sad to see them go, but you will still be able to access the archives of prior sketches and design team inspiration to help jump-start your projects in the future.

I have enjoyed being a part of this wonderful team and want to thank Tracy and Michelle for all of their hard work!  I hope you'll stop by and wish them well in their future endeavors, too.

Please play along with us on our last 2 sketches, including this week's layered beauty:

This is the last day to enter my giveaway for the Half Pint Heroes set!  I've shown you cards this week using the rocket and car images, so today it's the submarine.  I love how it turned out!

I stamped the sub onto white cardstock, colored it with Copics, and cut it out.  It's popped up on the white panel, where I added three fish and a sentiment from the set.

The starfish are from WPlus9's Guiding Light--I thought they were perfect for this design.  I also stamped "waves" on the background strip using a border stamp from The Craft's Meow's Retro Foundations.  I added shading with a Copic marker to give the waves some depth.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Smokey Shadow), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (Men of Life)

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse (Half Pint Heroes), WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light), The Craft's Meow (Retro Foundations)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), A Muse Studio (Apricot), Stampin' Up! (Pool Party), Copic markers

Tools:  Spellbinders (circle die), We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winner of the Half Pint Heroes set!

Card Patterns sketch #170

Hi friends!  I hope you had a great weekend!  Unfortunately we didn't get to go out in the canoe as planned, as the weather was cooler than expected and my daughter wasn't feeling 100%.  But today is her last day of school, so I'm sure we'll find time for some fun adventures in the coming weeks.

Have you checked out this week's Card Patterns sketch?  We hope you'll play along with us this week for a chance to win a prize from Annabelle Stamps.

Annabelle Stamps provided the DT with the cute Dotted Flowers set to use on our samples.  I decided to rotate the sketch vertically so that I could stamp the fun, curly stems for these flowers.  I cut out the blooms by hand and popped them up with foam tape.

The papers are from My Mind's Eye--I folded the strip of blue houndstooth to make a paper bow.  The sentiment was selectively inked to stamp each word on the banner.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (So Saffron), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye

Stamps:  Annabelle Stamps (Dotted Flowers)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Lucky Limeade), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories: Papertrey Ink (button), DMC floss, thread

Keeping this short and sweet, as I'm off to work!  I hope your week gets off to a great start!  Thanks for visiting.

Card Patterns sketch #169--Sponsored by Annabelle Stamps

Hi there!  How's your weekend going so far?  I'm still entertaining my parents for a few more days, plus my hubby is away at a conference in New Mexico.  As much as I love the summer, it definitely wreaks havoc on my schedule!

In my few free minutes today, I thought I'd pop in and share my card for this week's Card Patterns sketch.

We're sponsored this week by Annabelle Stamps.  Thanks to Annabelle for providing the DT with stamps for our projects this week!

I used the sweet Dotted Flowers set to paper piece a vase and fill it with flowers, then stamped a sentiment from the set.

I used papers from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy Girl collection, which inspired my color palette of aqua, coral, and espresso.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet), WPlus9 (White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Fine and Dandy Girl)

Stamps:  Annabelle Stamps (Dotted Flowers)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Early Espresso), Copic marker

Tools:  Spellbinders (circle die), Papertrey Ink (polka dot impression plate)

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon)

Stop by the Card Patterns blog to see the rest of the DT samples and to enter your creation for this week.

Thanks for your visit!  Have a great day!

Card Patterns sketch #168--Sponsored by Prickley Pear

Hi, friends!  How was your weekend?  We had a wonderful time at my daughter's recital on Saturday night, and now I'm just trying to catch my breath before hubby goes out of town for a conference.  Is it just me, or is this the busiest time of year?

I do want to share a quick card I made for this week's Card Patterns sketch, which uses a lovely sentiment stamp from Prickley Pear, this week's challenge sponsor.

I stamped the Find What you Seek sentiment onto a cream cardstock panel and rounded the corners, then added three drops of black Enamel Accents.

The papers are from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Union Square collection, stitched with black thread onto a cream card base.  I simply used a small plate to trace a circle onto the back of the black paper, then cut it out by hand.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lost & Found Union Square)

Stamp:  Prickley Pear (Find What you Seek)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tool:  We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories:  Ranger (Enamel Accents), ribbon, thread

We're having a particularly rainy and miserable day today and are expected to have more of the same all week.  At least I won't have to water my plants!

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are today.  Thanks for visiting!

Card Patterns sketch #167

Hello, friends!  I hope you're enjoying your weekend so far!  I'm just popping in to share my card for this week's Card Patterns sketch, which is another "keeper".

Our sponsor this week is a wonderful shop I recently discovered called Freckled Fawn, and they carry a fabulous assortment of washi tapes and accessories.  They've generously offered up a gift certificate to a random participant this week, so be sure to enter your creation for a chance to win!

For the Design Team, this was a "stash" week, meaning we were free to use any supplies we wanted on our design.  I decided to make a card for my little guy, who had his last day of preschool on Friday (sniff, sniff).  His favorite color is green, so I used SU's Garden Green as my card base, masking and stamping a panel of chevrons in Versamark.

The focal image is an assortment of stamps from Paper Smooches' Smarty Pants set, which I stamped and colored with Copics.  

I was stumped for a while about what to use for the banner element of the sketch, and I would have loved to use a ruler, but I settled for a strip of grid patterned paper from Fancy Pants' Off to School collection.  I punched a hole in each end and wrapped it with baker's twine.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (True Black, White), Stampin' Up! (Garden Green)

Patterned paper:  Fancy Pants Design (Off to School)

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Smarty Pants), Lawn Fawn (Chevron Backdrops)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Versamark, Copic markers

Tools:  Fiskars (hole punch)

Accessories:  The Twinery (Maraschino baker's twine)

Stop by the Card Patterns blog for more inspiration, then be sure to link up your design for a chance to win this week's prize!

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back soon to share the card sets I made for my son's teachers.

Have a good one!

Card Patterns sketch #166--Sponsored by Designed2Delight

Hi everyone!  I hope you've had a great weekend.  We had lots of fun in Boston yesterday, but I'm battling a sore throat and feeling run-down today, so I'll keep this short.

This week's Card Patterns sketch was quite the challenge for me, but I can't wait to see what you do with it!

We're sponsored again this week by Designed2Delight Digital Stamps, and they provided the DT with some of their cute digis to work with.  I chose the set Orca Love.

I stretched the image horizontally a little to better fit the Spellbinders label.  I added one of the sentiments from the set, tucking it in between the mom and baby whale.  The image was colored with Copics, then cut out with a Labels 4 Nestie.

I used papers from PTI's Men of Life pack on a Pure Poppy card base.  The blue scallops at the top are die cut circles that I cut in half.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, Spring Rain, White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (Men of Life)

Digital Stamp:  Designed2Delight (Orca Love)

Ink:  Copic markers

Tools:  Spellbinders (Labels 4, circle die), We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon, button), thread

I hope to see your creation with this week's sketch in the gallery this week!  Three randomly chosen participants will each receive a $5 gift certificate to the Designed2Delight store.

Thanks for stopping by tonight, friends!  Have a great start to your week!

Card Patterns sketch #165

Hi friends!  I meant to post this sooner, but we spent the day in Maine enjoying the gorgeous weather and taking my MIL to lunch for Mother's Day.  Tomorrow we'll be hard at work in the garden, my favorite Mother's Day activity.  :)  I hope you're having a great weekend, too!

This week's Card Patterns sketch is so pretty and versatile, it will definitely be going in a file for future use.

I've had an idea in my mind for a while to do an all-white wedding card with clear embossing, so I finally tackled it.  I love how it turned out, and the effect is even prettier in person.

I first stamped the word "love" from Waltzingmouse's Say it Loud and heat embossed it in silver.  Then I stamped the flower and leaves from PTI's Delightful Dahlia and heat embossed them with clear powder (I embossed the flower first, then masked it before stamping the leaves).

Behind the main panel I stitched two white cardstock panels, the top one debossed with music score and the bottom one debossed with a diamond pattern.

To embellish, I added a ruffled satin ribbon and bow across the top, a tiny tag stamped with the sentiment "wedding wishes", and some silver pearls.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (White)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Delightful Dahlia, Tiny Tags II), Waltzingmouse (Say it Loud)

Ink:  Versamark, Clearsnap (Antique Pewter)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (sheet music & diamonds impression plates, tag die), We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories:  A.C. Moore (ribbon), Michaels (silver pearls), Jo-Ann (silver embossing powder), Stampendous (clear embossing powder), thread

Please stop by to see what the rest of the Card Patterns designers cooked up this week!  We can't wait to see your take on the sketch.

Thanks for your visit!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Card Patterns sketch #164--Sponsored by Prickley Pear

Welcome back, friends!  It's been a busy week here, and my house is a disaster!  LOL!  My kids love to draw, color, and craft, which is great, but their art supplies are all over the house by the end of the week.  

Before tackling my chores, I thought I'd pop in and share our new sketch at Card Patterns.  

This week we're sponsored by Prickley Pear, who generously provided the DT with some fun rubber stamps to use on our projects.  I got to work with a cute background stamp called Owls ATC and the "My Cutie" sentiment.

I decided to make a little tag by stamping the owls onto white cardstock before cutting them out with a tag die.  I added some color with Copics to match this fabulous yellow V-striped twill ribbon from The Ribbon Carousel and some bitty dot patterned paper from PTI.

I stamped the sentiment onto a scalloped circle and added some accents with a Copic marker.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (2008 Bitty Dots)

Stamps:  Prickley Pear (Owls ATC, sentiment)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip), Copic markers

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (tag die), Spellbinders (scalloped circle die)

Accessories:  The Ribbon Carousel (V-striped twill ribbon), The Twinery (baker's twine), Papertrey Ink (button), DMC floss

Hop on over to Card Patterns to check out the rest of the DT samples and find out more about this week's prize from Prickley Pear!

Thanks for visiting, friends!  I hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Card Patterns sketch #163

Hello!  How's your weekend going so far?  It's a beautiful but chilly day here in the Northeast, but that's okay since I have quite a few indoor projects to work on, including some crafting!

It's time for a new challenge at Card Patterns, and this week we have a fun sketch from Nina Brackett:

You could also win an assortment of stickers from SRM if you play along with us--stop by the Card Patterns blog to see the loot and link up your design!

This week I decided to ink up a stamp that had yet to see any love, this big silhouette of the U.S. from A Muse.  I love that it fills up a lot of space on a card to make a big impact, plus I can see myself using it for travel-themed layouts.

I stamped the heart over my home state, Indiana, as I'm thinking I'll leave this card for my hubby when the kids and I travel west this summer to visit my family.  The sentiment is from the same A Muse set.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (Distressed Dots)

Stamps:  A Muse Studio (Wish You Were Here)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Baja Breeze, Real Red)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (double ended banner die)

Accessories:  Ribbon Carousel (natural jute twine), Papertrey Ink (button)

I hope you have time to get crafty this weekend!  Thanks so much for your visits and comments!

Card Patterns Sketch #162

Hey there, friends!  I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  We're headed out to do a beach clean-up this morning, so I'll make this short and sweet.

This week's sketch at Card Patterns is one of my favorites to date--you can keep it CAS or dress it up with layers.

This week we're sponsored by Sparkle Creations once again, who provided the designers with some of their high quality rubber stamps to use on our designs.  I used this cute Swimming Lucy again.  I colored her with Prismas to match a fun polka dot paper from My Mind's Eye.  The sentiment is from an A Muse set, Wish You Were Here.

I left off the two buttons in the sketch as I just couldn't make them work, and added a few gems around the sentiment instead.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores, White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Quite Contrary-Jack & Jill)

Stamps:  Sparkle Creations (Swimming Lucy), A Muse Studio (Wish You Were Here)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (twill ribbon), Queen & Co. (rhinestones)

Coloring medium:  Prismacolor Premier pencils

You'd think with all of her sunbathing Lucy would have a bit more of a tan, or at least some freckles like me.  *grin*  Every time I upload a photo of a person I've colored, it looks washed out.  I think I need to work on adding more pink tones as well.

I hope you'll play along with us this week at Card Patterns!  Thanks for visiting!

Card Patterns Sketch #161--Sponsored by Clear & Simple Stamps

Hi friends!  It's time for a new sketch at Card Patterns!  This week we're sponsored by Clear & Simple Stamps, and they were sweet enough to send the DT some stamps from their latest release to use with this sketch.

The set I was given to work with was Special Bundle, a cute set with stork and basket images plus lots of sentiments.  I used papers from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy Girl collection to paper piece one of the stork images and a sweet little basket.

The sentiment is stamped on a die cut banner wrapped with white floss.  I used pinking shears to trim one end and popped the banner up with foam tape.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (White, Aqua Mist)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Fine and Dandy Girl collection)

Stamps:  Clear & Simple Stamps (Special Bundle)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Book Print impression plate, banner die), Spellbinders (circle, scalloped circle dies)

Accessories:  embroidery floss, thread

Stop by the Card Patterns blog to see details on this week's challenge and link up your card for a chance to win a fantastic prize from Clear & Simple Stamps!

I'm off to the park with the kids today to enjoy the beautiful weather.  What are your plans for the weekend?  I hope it's a great one!

Thanks for visiting!

Card Patterns Sketch #160--Sponsored by Prickley Pear

Hello, friends!  I hope you're having a great start to your weekend.  There's a new sketch up at Card Patterns today, and we hope you'll play along!  

This week we're sponsored by Prickley Pear, and they provided the designers with a care package of cute rubber stamps.  I chose to work with this sweet little Duck in Tub image.  I colored it with my Prisma pencils and cut it out with a Spellbinders oval die.

The polka dot paper is from Echo Park's Dots & Stripes Homefront collection, and I debossed polka dots on the white cardstock behind it too.

The "Happy" part of the sentiment is from PTI's Birthday Basics, and the word "Easter" is from WPlus9's Spring Post.  I added a So Saffron bow in the top corner and a tiny scalloped border under the sentiment.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (White), Stampin' Up! (So Saffron)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (Dots & Stripes Homefront)

Stamps:  Prickley Pear (Duck in Tub), Papertrey Ink (Birthday Basics), WPlus9 (Spring Post)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip)

Tools:  Spellbinders (oval die), Papertrey Ink (banner die, polka dot impression plate), Fiskars (border punch), corner rounder

Accessories: Stampin' Up! (ribbon)

Coloring medium:  Prismacolor Premier pencils

Happy Easter and Passover to all of you who will be celebrating this weekend!  Thanks for your visit!

Card Patterns #159--Sponsored by Designed2Delight

This is my second post of the day.  To see my 12 Kits of Christmas post, click HERE!

Hello Card Patterns fans!  Are you ready for a new sketch?  I think you're going to love this one (but I think that every week!).  We have a fabulous sponsor, Designed2Delight Digital Stamps and Papers, who generously provided the designers with some of their hand-drawn images to use on our cards.  Thanks, Designed2Delight!

I've been trying to use some of the patterned papers I've been hoarding forever, and I knew I had just the right ones to go with this cute strawberry digital stamp.  I printed the berries onto white cardstock and cut them out with an oval die, then colored the image with my Prisma pencils and OMS.

The papers are from an oldie but goodie, Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety.  Don't you just love the smiling faces on those berries and bees?  I added some twill ribbon, baker's twine, and a trio of red buttons for embellishment and left off the sentiment so this can be an all-purpose greeting.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, White)

Patterned paper:  Cosmo Cricket (Garden Variety Mini Deck)

Stamp:  Designed2Delight (Strawberries)

Tools:  Spellbinders (oval die), Fiskars (border punch)

Accessories:  A.C. Moore (ribbon), The Twinery (Maraschino baker's twine), Papertrey Ink (buttons), thread

Coloring medium:  Prismacolor Premier pencils

Hop over to the Card Patterns blog to find out how you can win some digital goodies from Designed2Delight and check out the rest of the DT creations with this week's sketch.

Thanks for visiting today!  

Card Patterns sketch #158--Sponsored by My Favorite Things

Hi there, friends!  I hope you're having a great start to your weekend.  I had a wonderful time last night meeting Kim Hughes and Karolyn Loncon for a Paper Smooches card class in NH!  They were just as sweet as can be, and we made some darling cards with the PS stamps.  I'll be back later this weekend to share some photos!

Today it's time for a new Card Patterns sketch, and this week we're sponsored by My Favorite Things.

I finally ordered some new stamps from MFT last week, but you'll have to wait to see what I got!  For today's card, I used the Polka Dot Greetings stamp set and coordinating die.

I had these colors sitting out on my craft table and thought they made a fun and cheerful combo.  I stamped the polka dot frame in Real Red and Daffodil Delight onto a white panel.  I die cut one more frame and stamped it in Regal Rose with one of the sentiments from the set, then popped it up on foam dots.

I wrapped a piece of wide, striped ribbon around the Regal Rose panel.  At the bottom, I folded a paper doily in half and stitched it in place with a black eyelet border along the top.

To make the butterfly embellishment, I used a PTI die to cut it out from white cardstock, then used a border from Ribbon Tails to stamp each wing with a polka dot pattern.  I added the black outline with a coordinating stamp from Butterfly Dreams and stitched a black button to the center.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Regal Rose), Papertrey Ink (White)

Stamps:  My Favorite Things (Polka Dot Greetings), Papertrey Ink (Ribbon Tails, Butterfly Dreams)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Regal Rose), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  My Favorite Things (label die), Papertrey Ink (eyelet border die, butterfly die), corner rounder

Accessories:  Wilton (paper doily), Stampin' Up! (ribbon), button, thread

Stop by the Card Patterns blog for details on this week's challenge and prize!

Thanks for visiting today!  Have a good one!

Card Patterns sketch #157--Sponsored by Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps

Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends!  Do you have any plans to celebrate today?  Our kids already had a visit from the leprechauns and enjoyed some green pancakes for breakfast.

If you're planning to get crafty today, I hope you'll give the new sketch at Card Patterns a try!  This week we're sponsored by Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps, who sent the Design Team some of their cute stamps to use on our designs.

I also used the colors for the current CR84FN challenge.

One of the images I was sent to work with was Swimming Lucy, which I thought would work perfectly with these bright colors.  It also explains the "Happy Summer" sentiment in March!

The image is colored with Prisma pencils and adhered to a base of Raspberry Fizz bitty dot patterned paper. 

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Hibiscus Burst, White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (2008 Bitty Dot Basics)

Stamps:  Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps (Swimming Lucy), Papertrey Ink (Tag-its #4)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Stampin' Up! (Melon Mambo)

Tools:  Fiskars (scallop border punch), Papertrey Ink (polka dot impression plate, banner die), corner rounder

Accessories:  ribbon, button, DMC floss

Coloring medium:  Prismacolor Premier pencils

Stop by the Card Patterns blog today to check out the rest of the DT samples and link up your creation for a chance to win this week's prize!

I'm off to catch up on some chores around the house so that I can enjoy the nice weather we're supposed to get tomorrow.  Hope you enjoy your weekend!  Thanks for visiting today!