Saturday 22 August 2009

Touch of Nature Sketch cards

Hello!

I had the luxury of sitting down yesterday and making whatever I wanted (rather than something I had to do for one reason or another!) - it was lovely!! I've been wanting to try a sketch set along the lines of the ones that Laura Fredrickson does on her blog. This involves using four different sketches to make cards using the same ingredients (stamp sets, DSP, colours etc). For my set I chose to use the lovely Touch of Nature set from SU. This was my first ever set from Stampin Up and I still love it! I used the Tea Party designer papers along with the coordinating cardstock (Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron and Basic Grey).


For the sketches I used three from this week's Mojo Monday challenge blog - Mojo Monday turns 100 this week so they are celebrating with a new sketch every day.

This card was made using day 4's sketch. I stamped the butterfly with Basic Grey ink and sponged So Saffron and Pretty in Pink ink on to it. I used white taffeta ribbon and pearls from the Pretties Kit to accessorise. The greeting was embossed with white EP on Almost Amethyst card and punched with the SU oval punch. I added dots to different parts of the card with a white Signo gel pen. I adjusted the sketch a little to make it wok for my image and papers...






The next card was the Mojo100 sketch. I wasn't sure whether I could make this sketch work for me in my usual style but I was pleased with the finished result! The flower was stamped once on the white piece then again on a seperate piece and cut out so it could be popped over the main image panel with dimensionals.

I added 1/4" Certainly Celery ribbon to create 'leaves' on the flower stem.
The greeting is from SU's Wow Flowers set. I stamped it once in Almost Amethyst and punched it with the 1 1/4" circle punch. I stamped it again in Pretty in Pink and cut out the flower to stick over the top of the Amethyst greeting.




The next card is for day 2's sketch. I stamped the bird on whisper white cardstock and coloured with an aquapainter and inkpads. I sponged around the edge of the image with So Saffron ink. The greeting was stamped in Certainly Celery ink.
For my final card, I used Mercy Kerin's Tuesday sketch. I love Mercy's blog and her great style of card making so I have been wanting to participate in her sketch challenge for a while. I stamped the images in Basic Grey ink and coloured with an aquapainter and my inkpads. (A little tip when colouring - if you need a stronger colour, try adding a drop or two of the corresponding reinker into the lid of the inkpad). The So Saffron flower was stamped again and popped up with dimensionals. The ribbon is the So Saffron striped ribbon from the mini catalogue.

Phew... That was a long post (and my photos kept playing up so it's taken me ages to put together!!) Hope you enjoyed my sketch project - I loved making them and hope I'll get a chance to make more!
Have a great weekend!
x Amy x







Wednesday 19 August 2009

A Christmas Sketch...

Hello!


I made this card for the sketch challenge over at SCS this week. I really love this sketch as it has lots of layers... and if you know me you know I love layers! lol!


The main image is from SU's Season of Joy set. I stamped the tree using Old Olive on Whisper White card then applied Versamark over the whole image using the pad straight to the card. I then applied heat and stick powder and glitter to get the really sparkly effect. I then cut out the tree and popped over a piece of WW with dimensionals. I pierced around the edges of this panel and added the greeting from the same stamp set under the tree.


The rest of the card is just layers of Holiday Treasures DSP with a white mat under each one. I added one of those 'ribbon-button-thread thingies' that I love to make so much! One of the many reasons I love Stampin Up is that I can pick out the colours of the designer paper and accessorise using these exact colours (like the Pretty in Pink button).


That's all from me today! My kitchen is being installed next week and then my conservatory should be tiled the week after that... not long till I can have my craft desk all set up and ready to go... yay!

x Amy x

Friday 14 August 2009

Colour challenge...!


Hiya!
I made this card for our SU team's challenge blog - this week was to make a card using the following colours: Taken with Teal, Regal Rose, Orchid Opulance and Kraft! Now when I saw those colours I thought the first three would be lovely together... but Kraft?? Not sure how that would work... But hey - I quite like how this has turned out!
I used the cluster of flowers from the True Friend stamp around the main panel. I inked up the stamp with a combination of Taken with Teal, Regal Rose and Orchid Opulence markers. Then spritzed the stamp lightly with water and stamped on Whisper White card. I repeated this process several times. I sponged around the panel with Regal Rose ink to create the hazy look.
The greeting was stamped with Regal Rose on Whisper White card and punched out with the SU oval punch. I then created layers behind it with the 1 3/8" circle punch and the scallop circle punch. I added dots with my white Signo gel pen around the scallop circle (a fave technique of mine!).
The layers in the background are Kraft DSP from the hostess paper pack. If you want this pack you've gotta host a party pr place a qualifying order before the end of September! I added some faux stitching with my SU tool kit (paper piercing part) and a Taken with Teal marker.
Here's the recipe:
Stamps: True Friend, Soft Summer
Ink: Regal Rose
Paper: Kraft DSP (hostess pack), Orchid Opulence, Taken with Teal, Whisper White
Accessories: SU markers, paper piercing tool & template, Oval punches, white Signo gel pen.
Thanks for stopping by!
x Amy x

Sunday 9 August 2009

Bittersweet Butterfly Mojo...


Hello!
I made this card for the Mojo Monday sketch contest this week. I used my FAVE butterfly stamp - from Verve's Beautiful Kindness set. I also used the Bittersweet papers from Basic Grey for the layers on this card. I started this card from this GORGEOUS ribbon I picked up recently - it's chocolate satin - and I got 22 metres on the roll - hee hee! Lots of fun to be had with this... especially seeing as I love Choc Chip so much lol!
The butterfly was stamped on patterned paper and cut out. I stamped another butterfly on the circle layer underneath. The frame was made with a combination of nestablities. I cut out a light pink scalloped square, then a dark red square with a circle cut from the middle (to create the frame). A slightly smaller white circle was cut out to pop up in the middle.
Here's the recipe:
Ink: Choc Chip (what a surprise...!)
Paper: Bittersweet from Basic Grey, Choc Chip (SU)
Accessories: Nestabilities, satin choc chip ribbon
Thanks for stopping by!
x Amy x

Thursday 6 August 2009

Spring Solitude...

Hello!

Just a quick post today as I am in the middle of conservatory/kitchen project as well as trying to sort the STUPENDOUS amount of STUFF lying in piles around our house... nightmare!

I made this card for the sketch challenge over at SCS yesterday. It uses the Spring Solitude hostess bundle which you can only get by hosting a party - and time is running out cos there's less than two months left of the current catalogue! So if you like this set and you'd like to host a party - get in touch on richard_amyATyahoo.co.uk.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Spring Solitude hostess bundle, Circle of Friendship
Ink: Choc Chip, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Haiku DSP, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, WW
Accessories: SU circle punches, paper piercing tool & mat, scallop edge punch, nestabilities

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x