Sketch Versatility

I just wanted to share a little bit today about how versatile sketches can be, and how they can be modified easily. I really liked this week's 2 Sketches 4 You sketch, because of the clean lines and simple design. I've already used it twice, and I'm going to use it a third time before Monday!

Here's the sketch:




Then, here are the two cards I made with this sketch. The first photo is just to show you great the sketches work regardless of the size card you're making. And I really only made them different sizes to work best with the stamps I wanted to use!

You'll notice that I changed the scalloped circle to an award ribbon on both cards. This is a Cricut cut from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. I just love that I can make the same thing in so many sizes; it makes that expensive tool well worth the price!


The card on the left is for my nephew, a Junior High Grad. His school colors are dark red, gray, black, & white. (I really had no idea what they were, so I Googled his school, Southern Boone County in Missouri!) Lucky for me, I had some discontinued Close To My Heart papers that were just the right colors. That is the stripe and parchment. I also used a black DCWV card base, and CTMH Cranberry, Black, Grey Wool, and White Daisy CS. Stamps are from Stampendous (mortarboard) and Studio G (diploma and sentiment).

I cut the ribbon and both circles using the Cricut, then stamped my images on the white circle. For the best color, I then stamped the mortarboard again on Cranberry CS and cut it out (leaving off the tassel), and adhered it over the original image. I colored the diploma with a Bamboo marker.

Before adding my Grey Wool piece, I pierced the holes and added black brads so they wont show on the inside of the card. I always have trouble getting adhesive over the brad backs, so I use Glue Dots over each to help the piece stick better. I layered my other pieces, and I popped up the black matted white circled and the sentiment on adhesive squares for a little dimension.

The right hand card is one of three identical cards I made for my son's Preschool teachers. He has one more year of Preschool, but they are some great ladies and deal with my son with SO much patience. (He has a speech disorder, and even though they can't understand him all the time, they try very hard to let him be heard.) Thanks to them, he was able to sign his name inside all three cards with minimal direction!

This 5 x 7 card uses CTMH CS in Sunflower, Clover Meadown, Outdoor Denim, Cranberry, and Colonial White. The yellow plaid is from the discontinued School Zone paper pack. All of the stamps are from the Teacher Topper set of perfectly clear stamps from Stampendous! They were designed to be a can topper kind of thing, but I thought they would look great on this ribbon. I cut the ribbon with the Cricut, resizing it in DS in order to make it as large as my 6 x 12 mat would allow. I stamped the round image in Clover Meadow on Colonial White CS. I then colored just the apple outline with a Cranberry marker and stamped it on the same color CS and cut it out. I adhered it to the circle and filled in the entire apple with Liquid Glass to give it shine. I stamped the ruler in black ink on CW CS, and the crayons in black ink on the Sunflower, Cranberry, and Outdoor Denim CS. I cut out each crayon and adhered them to the Clover Meadow CS. I layered the "ruler" over the top, then added the ribbon. Again, the center is popped up on foam squares.

My next project with this sketch is a thank you for my daughter's kindergarten teacher. I'll be using a sun instead of the ribbon, and a rainbow instead of the straight strip on the sketch. I'd like to get it done today, but we need to clean house for my older daughter's birthday party this weekend! Once it's done, you can bet it will wind up posted here!

A Wish Come True... At a Special Price

To celebrate the release of Close To My Heart's newest How-To book, I am offering a one-time special price reduction on all of our beautiful books! Whether you're a scrapbooker, a cardmaker, or both, you're sure to find the inspiration you need for any occasion. All of our books feature patterns with exact measurements suitable for beginners or experts, or simply use the sketch as a starting point for your own creation.

Announcing Wishes Card Confidence Program. Bulk cardmaking, trendy circle cards, and all new patterns make Jeanette Lynton's latest hardbound, how-to cardmaking book a must-have for your creative library. Included are three bulk card "workshops" that help you make 8, 12, or 16 cards in a jiffy while getting the most out of your papers and your time. The beautiful full-color artwork and creative stamping tips and techniques offer hours of inspiration and fresh ideas. See a sample pattern for a 4.5" x 4.5" card here.

Other CTMH Publications

Originals Card Confidence Program
Create beautiful handmade cards with confidence using the 99 patterns in our exquisite hardbound Originals program. With exact dimensions, fold placement guides, blueprints, and step-by-step instructions, every aspiring cardmaker or crafting pro will love Originals. Feast on the gorgeous full-color artwork then make cards of your own, simply and easily, using the expert guidance on these pages. See a sample pattern for a standard card here.

Reflections Scrapbook Program
One hundred patterns for 12" x 12" scrapbook pages, complete with blueprints, cutting guides, assembly instructions, tips and techniques, artwork ideas, and more! Bring your memories to life with easer using Reflections. (Contains 100 single page patterns, plus suggestions for matching patterns for two-page layouts, as well as multiple photo placement suggestions.) See a sample pattern here.

Imagine
A beautiful addition to your how-to book collection, Imagine offers 50 two-page 12" x 12"scrapbook patterns, cutting guides, and assembly instructions. You'll also be guided step-by-step through some unique and beautiful techniques. Take your scrapbooking up a notch with Imagine. (Thumbnail sketches listing # of suggested photos for each layout are included in the front of the book.) See a sample pattern here.

Cherish
Your precious memories deserve to be beautifully preserved, and Cherish makes that much easier. Choose from 50 two-page 12" x 12" scrapbook patterns that can be rotated for unique possibilities. It's simple with the included cutting diagrams, assembly instructions, and artwork tips. See a sample pattern here.

Offer Details
For a limited time, I am offering all of these books at a special discounted rate of 20% off. Prices include shipping, and are as follows: Wishes or Originals for $28.25 each, and Reflections, Imagine, or Cherish for $20.25 each. In order to get these special prices, you must email your order to me at thebrowns@earthlink.net before May 31st. Let me know at that time if you would like to pay via PayPal or credit/debit card, and I will send you the appropriate automated invoice. Due to the special discount, payment must be made prior to order being placed.

Note: the sample links above do not include artwork examples that are in the books for every pattern. If I can get this loaner laptop to cooperate, I will get some examples uploaded of things I have made using the sample patterns. If you have any questions, just drop me a line!

Sorry for the delay in posting my challenge winner; I came home to a crashed computer & am having to put up with sporadic use of a laptop (which I'm not used to at all). Anyway, I do have a winner. Drumroll please..... Chris from CraftsbyChris is my winner! Check out her blog, she has some really cute stuff. Chris, please send me your mailing address and I'll get a package in the mail to you. (My email is thebrowns@earthlink.net)

Now, since I don't have easy access to post pictures right now, this week's saving will be money related! I'm a member of a consumer panel called Shopper's Hotline, and anyone can request to join if you have a referral. I thought this would be a good time to share the benefits of this group and offer my referral number.

Here's what it entails: Any time you buy something with a UPC code, you scan in your purchases. It takes me a few extra minutes as I'm putting things away. Then, each week, you hook your scanner up to your computer and upload the data to SH. In return for your information, you earn points for each week you scan, each survey you complete, etc. Now, the best part: unlike other groups where you buy "prizes" with your points, SH earns you cash that you receive in the form of a debit card. You choose when to redeem your points; you can either request your card as soon as you have the lowest needed # of points, or you can save up for something bigger.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in trying, it's simple to request membership. You'll need my 9-digit member number: 015296046 then you just call 1-877-999-2949 and ask for Operator 10.

Mother's Day blog challenge

Well, I've finally had some free time to play this week, so I yet again checked out 2 of my newest favorite blog challenges. I combined the two challenges into an awesome Mother's Day card for my mom (shh, don't tell her!).

So, my challenge to you is to make something for Mother's Day or just for a mom in general (if you don't have time before Mother's Day). Post a comment with your blog entry here, or email me your entry. Next Friday (May 15th), I'll randomly choose from all I receive and someone will receive a random assortment of ribbon, fibers, and/or embellishments from my stash!

Without further ado, here's my card for Mom.I used Laura's Sketch 25 from 2 Sketches 4 You and Color Chef Challenge #5 from KJ's Stamp Pad (Creme Brulee, Goldrush, Juniper, and Vanilla Cream). I really enjoyed combining these two challenges again, and I especially loved this week's color combo. All supplies are from Close To My Heart this week, except the button (unknown), the mini brads (Oriental Trading Co.), and the embroidery floss (DMC #739).

I used cardstock in Goldrush, Creme Brulee, and Vanilla Cream. The Creme Brulee CS was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder. It's hard to see in the photo, but I lightly sanded the dots to remove the color, then I ran the Vanilla Cream stamp pad over the dots so they wouldn't be the plain white of the CS core.

The patterned paper is from the Perfect Day paper pack. I cut the arc with the Coluzzle large circle template and inked the curved edge with Juniper. "Happy Mother's Day" is from the Say It In Style stamp set and Mom is from the Believe Caps and Believe Lowercase alphabets. The image stamped on the tag is from the Post Marked stamp set. The cute little tab is a new item: part of the Foundry Tabs set. (You get 8 different tabs - 2 each of 4 colors - for $3.95) I lightly sanded the raised design to make it more visible.
The ribbon and all of the flowers were hand colored. I used a finger dauber to hold my ribbon into the Juniper ink pad as I dragged it across. The largest flower and third flower are white paper flowers from the Big Pinks collection. The largest was sponged with Vanilla Cream ink using a finger dauber. The smaller was inked DTP with Vanilla Cream, then sponged with Juniper using a finger dauber. The second and fourth flowers are die cuts from White Daisy textured CS. I colored the larger one with a sponge applicator and Creme Bruleee Ink. The smallest one was colored using Goldrush ink DTP. I then stacked them using glue dots and adhesive foam squares.OK, that's it for today! Don't forget to show me your creations by May 15th to be entered in my drawing!

I'm Tickled Pink About National Scrapbook Month

I simply love that Close To My Heart has turned National Scrapbook Day into an entire month! To celebrate, there are all kinds of fun things going on, including the sale of our exclusive "Tickled Pink" scrapbook kit. Jeanette has designed two new double-page layouts included with this kit to help give you a jump start if you need it. I followed one of her designs for this pretty layout of my daughter Holly's first day of Kindergarten.
This awesome kit includes our first ever glittered pattern paper, textured cardstock, a complete White Daisy embellishment kit, and a beautiful D-size stamp set. There are so many possibilities with this one; in fact, I'm pretty sure that my mom's Mother's Day card is being made from these papers!

For more details on National Scrapbook Month, including some awesome contests you can win, hop on over to Jeanette's blog. For details on how you can purchase or earn the Tickled Pink kit, just visit my website. Happy scrapping!