Jen's Sketch Challenge March 2012

It's already March, can you believe it? I feel like this year is already flying by. The good thing about that is we are almost out of winter and Spring is almost upon us! We've had a very mild winter this year here in Colorado and this California girl has been loving it! I've been able to do some hiking and outdoor jogs/walks and it's been so wonderful! I can't wait to see buds on the trees and flowers blooming and green grass again. Now that we are back to Daylight Savings time, I was able to workout outside today after work. In March! My body and soul get very happy with outdoor activity. I am obviously getting very excited for warm weather :).

Now...onto the card! Here is the sketch for Jen's SFYTT for March. This month's sponsor is the Craft's Meow. I don't own any stamps from the Craft's Meow but I still wanted to play along with the monthly sketch and have a chance to win the prize at the end of the year.

I used papers from my March Studio Calico Kit. I also had a little fun with paint on this project. On the white panel, I did a bit of water color style stamping. I took some Butterscotch and Lemonade sponge daubers from Ranger and sponged some paint onto my craft mat and then mixed the two with a paint brush. I found that it was drying way too fast, so I sprayed a spritz of Perfect Pearls and ended up with a beautiful color and just the right amount of moisture. I then took a flower stamp from Hero Arts and dipped it into the paint and then stamped it onto the paper. Once dry I spritzed it with some Starburst Spray from Lindy's Stamp Gang. I am really happy with the way it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies

Paper - Crate Paper, Studio Calico

Border Sticker - Crate Paper

Pearls - Michael's

Stamps - Image - Hero Arts, Sentiment - My Mind's Eye

Paint - Ranger Industries

Perfect Pearls - Ranger Industries

Starburst Spray - Lindy's Stamp Gang

Ink - Clearsnap

Flower - Prima Marketing

For My Valentine

I have the most wonderful Valentine in the world! We don't go overboard for Valentine's Day. We try to keep romance alive every day and treat each other special all the time, rather than waiting for our anniversary or Valentine's Day.

This year we went out for dinner last Friday night and then went to a movie. Restaurants inflate their prices and have too many pe

ople on Valentine's Day so we celebrated a little early. Tonight the plan was to stay home and I had planned a nice dinner but I've had a terrible headache all day so instead we went and got a quick, casual dinner at Schlotzsky's Deli and then came home and exchanged gifts. I got a bottle of Fierce cologne from Abercrombie for my sweetie and he surprised me with a couple's massage on Saturday. I can't wait!!!

This is the card that I made for him. I used this sketch from the Stamping Bella Blog.

Supplies

Cardstock - Stampin' Up!

Patterned Paper - Stampin' Up!

Stamps - Hero Arts

Chipboard - Maya Road

Stickles

Bling - Michael's

Jen's Sketch Challenge February 2012

Sketch challenge time! The fantastic Jen del Muro has created another fabulous sketch for us. This month's sponsor is Your Next Stamp. I don't own any stamps from Your Next Stamp, but I played along anyway. Remember, Jen has a huge prize package at the end of the year and if you participate in the sketch challenge all twelve months of the year, you will be eligible to have a chance to win. Details can be found at Jen's blog.

Unfortunately, I had to make a sympathy card....my dear, dear friend lost her mother rather suddenly and she's in California and I'm in Colorado so I really wanted to make a handmade card to send her, rather than just buying a store bought card.

I used my new February kit from Studio Calico to make this card. I am new to the kit (just signed up in January) and I love it already! Last month I made a layout with the kit and this month I've made this one card so far. The kit is very versatile and I'm forced to use some products I might not have purchased otherwise. It's been great to stretch myself creatively by having someone else put together a kit for me.

All products used in this card are from the kit unless otherwise specified.

Supplies

Stamp - Hero Harts

Ink - Stampin' Up!

Buttons - Basic Grey, Unknown

Scrappers Floss - Karen Foster

Glimmer Mist - Tattered Angels

Jen's Sketch Challenge January 2012

Happy know what 2012 has in store for us, we know that God is in control and we can rest assured He has great plans for us! The beginning of each new year is always encouraging for me. In reality, every day is an opportunity for a new start, but there is something about starting a new year and the possibilities before you. THIS will be the year I get off that extra weight. THIS will be the year I read the entire Bible in a year and stay on track. THIS will be the year I get my finances in order. THIS will be the year I go back to school and finish that degree....what will THIS year be for you?

I don't know what the year will bring for me, but I do know that the fabulous Jen del Muro has brought back the SFYTT challenge for 2012 and I am playing along all year long once again! This month's sponsor is The Cat's Pajamas. I don't have any TCP stamps, but I played along anyway using the sketch.

Play along every month for a chance to win a great prize package at the end of the year!

For this month's sketch, I made a card for my friend's mother's 70th birthday. Her mom insisted on no party, so instead she is throwing a "card shower" for her. Everyone is sending the cards to her house and she will surprise her mom with all of them. Isn't that a great idea?

Supplies

Cardstock - The Paper Co, Stampin' Up!

Patterned Paper - Stampin' Up!

Stamps - Stampin' Up!

Ink - Stampin' Up!
Cricut Cartridge - From the Nest

Jen's Sketch Challenge December 2011

Time for another one of Jen Del Muro's monthly sketch challenges. This is the final sketch challenge for the year, but she has already announced on her blog that she will be doing monthly sketch challenges again in 2012. Yay! When she initially announced she was going from a weekly challenge to a monthly challenge I will admit I was disappointed but it's actually been really nice to only have one challenge each month. I love participating in challenges, but I don't have time to do one every week and if I need to make projects in between there are plenty of other sketches out there, or I can dig into my archives, or just get creative with my own layout :).

If you haven't played along this year, please join us next year. She's had wonderful prizes from some terrific sponsors and it's always fun to see what others do with the sketch.

Here's my contribution....I made this card for Kendall's 17th birthday. Since she's not a girly-girl I decided to go with this little punker and I cut out some skulls with my Cricut and added some bling to their eyes. It's a very fun little card. Enjoy!

Supplies

Patterned Paper - Papertrey Ink, Stampin' Up!

Cardstock - Stampin' Up!

Stamps - Digi Punk Girl - The Greeting Farm, Sentiment - Hero Arts

Copic Markers

Cricut Cartridge - Potpourri Basket

Bling - K & Co

Punches - Stampin' Up!

Dies - Spellbinders

Jen's Sketch Challenge November 2011

It's sketch time! The always fabulous Jen del Muro has provided us with another fantastic sketch and another wonderful sponsorship! This month, the sponsor is Verve Stamps. I absolutely adore Verve! They have such elegant designs and some of the most beautiful sentiments with classy and gorgeous fonts. Their stamps are of the highest quality and give an excellent image every time! They also have a fantastic DT with some of the most talented designers you will find.

I decided to make a card for my mother's upcoming birthday. Although the sentiment doesn't scream "birthday" I loved it for her, because she does make me smile and really, who says just because a card is for a birthday that it MUST say, "Happy birthday?"

I used a new paper pad from Authentique that I recently purchased from Archiver's and I have to say that this is probably one of my favorite paper collections I have ever come across. I adore the designs and the color combination.....absolutely stunning! I used an image stamp from Verve to create my own design on a sheet of paper from the collection that had a little bit of distressing on it. On the flowers, I just dabbed a little bit of color, purposely making them uneven to give them a little more natural look.

Enjoy!

Supplies

Patterned Paper - Authentique

Stamps - Verve Stamps (image), Hero Arts (Sentiment, Heart)

Ink - Stampin' Up!

Gems - Michael's

Flowers - Prima Marketing

Paint - Lindy Stamp Gang

Stickles - Ranger Industries

Outside the Box

I visit countless blogs, watch crafting You Tube videos, participate in sketch challenges and still find myself making cards with very similar styles - patterned paper, lots of layers, an image stamp, and a sentiment. I wanted to do something outside the box (at least outside of MY box) and really loved the way this card turned out!

First off, I adore the bright yellow/turquoise combination and any card that includes butterflies on it is a winner in my book! This card took me literally just a few minutes to make, but it is so vibrant and interesting. It's not quite a single layer card, but it does NOT include any patterned paper, so that counts, right?

Supplies

Cardstock - Stampin' Up!, Bazzil Basics

Stamps - Hero Arts (image), Jillibean Soup (sentiment)

Ink - Stampin' Up!

Spray Ink - Lindy Stamp Gang

Ribbon - American Crafts