Sweet Stop Sketch #199 - Birthday Card

Once again, I have decided to try something new! For years, my dear friend Nancy Brown, has participated in sketch challenges. For those of you who don't know about these challenges, there are tons of people and companies who publish sketches of card designs for people to attempt to recreate using their own paper, stamps, etc. The challenges are usually posted weekly, and participants then post their cards on the hosting blog. Often, there are prizes awarded. I have decided to try to start completing some challenges of my own! Ideally, I would love to do one a week, but we'll just have to wait to see how that goes.

The design of this card was inspired by sketch #199 for the Sweet n' Sassy Stamps Sketch Challenge Blog. I have always enjoyed looking at these sketches, and it helps that Korin used to be a sideline of mine with CTMH. I love her work, and I'm excited to participate in this challenge.

I used several different products on this card, which was for my best friend's surprise 40th birthday tonight. The paper is all from the CTMH Paper Pack, Clementine. I've really enjoyed using this paper pack over the past few months, and it is still available if any of you are interested in getting some of your own. The image is a pre-colored digital stamp called Emma and the Cake from Fred She Said Designs. I cut out the cake and popped it up so it looks like it is coming off the card. I added a bit of bling using mocha opaques, clear sparkle swirls, and a button stack that matches the Clementine paper. There is hand-stitching around the edge of the card using matching embroidery floss.

This card also qualifies for the following challenges:

Broken Box Stock Challenge #20 - Happy Birthday
Card Makin Mamas - It's Birthday Time

Gift Card Box

Today, I wanted to share with you the gift card box we made at our February club meeting this month. I'm always looking for new ways go give a gift card, since it can be boring to just put it one a card. I think this cute little project definitely fits the bill!

The box itself is made from two rectangular pieces that are scored and overlap in the middle. The card holder is also a rectangular piece that is scored and glued to the base of the box. I used the CTMH paper pack called "Clementine," along with some matching embellishments. (I just love those adorable flowers!) If you look closely at the top of the box, you may notice that I used some of our new brown glitter paper to give the box a bit of bling. This is a quick and easy project that is sure to be a big hit with the lucky recipient!

 

Music Card

I made this card a while back, but it's still one of my all-time favorites. As soon as I saw the music stamps, I knew I had to make a card with them. You see, I have been a trumpet player since I was in fifth grade (which means I've been doing it for almost 30 years...yikes!) and I fell in love with that stamp! I just love the combination of the silhouette image, with the music notes and swirls in the bottom of the image.

I can't remember the exact measurements, but I started with a large square. (I think it was around 8 or 9 inches.) Then I scored triangles in each of the four corners to make the flaps.

This card features the Avonlea paper pack and two stamp sets with slate ink. The corners were stamped with the August Stamp of the Month, Baroque Borders. The trumpet player and the inside were both stamped with the Sweet Music Stamp Set. I embellished the card with sparkles (clear, black, and black flourishes), a slate button, and baker's twine. Enjoy!

 

Winter Thanks

Since last week was my birthday, I found myself in need of a few thank you cards for some of my kiddos from school. I received a few gifts that were unexpected and greatly appreciated. I decided to take another attempt at using some Fred She Said (FSS) Digital stamps since I was short on time. I'm quickly falling in love with these images!

I managed to whip up this card pretty quickly, and made a few of them in a matter of about an hour. I used a piece of background paper from retired CTMH paper pack called Jingle, along with some Juniper and Tulip colored cardstock. The FSS image is called "Emma the Hugger." Isn't she just precious?!? Anyway, I used my scalloped square Nestabilities to cut out the image. I added a bit of light blue ink to extend the pre-colored image to the edges, using the die as a mask to leave the white edge. I also added prisma glitter to the snowman and the snow on the bottom of the image to add some extra sparkle. The "Thanks" was stamped using the CTMH Charm Lowercase Alphabet acrylic stamps. Click on the picture if you want to get a closer look! Hope you like Emma as much as I do :o)