Sketch Saturday - #58

This is sketch 58 from Sketch Saturday.

This is such a great sketch and I decided to use it for the Humble Artists July Card Swap.

The requirements were to make a 5"x5" card, have it mainly pink in color, have flowers, a stamped image cut out, at least 4 to 5 layers, ribbon, buttons, have a quote stamped on it and have stitching. WHEW!!! I think I got everything in.

I changed this one around slightly from the ones for the swap. Mine is 5.5" x 5.5" and has a little more stitching which I love to do by hand with embroidery floss.

All products on this card are Close to my Heart.

The stamp set used is called "Endless Friendship". I just LOVE this set!!!

The papers are the reverse side of the Close to my Heart Bella Papers to give me the Hollyhock pink. The cardstock, leaves and embroidery floss are Garden Green.

The ribbon is Hollyhock twill and a bow with Hollyhock 1/8" stitched ribbon.

All of the flowers were stamped with Hollyhock and blush inks. Leaves with Garden Green and Olive inks. Then they ALL were cut out and layered with foam tape for a 3D affect. The only think not cut out were the tiny flowers.

Dark Pink Dew Drops used in the corners and as flower centers.

Olive buttons with Garden Green embroidery floss tied in the holes.

Sweet 'n Sassy Sketch 11

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is celebrating Christmas in July all month long.

To keep with the theme, I created this card using the Sweet 'n Sassy sketch 11 and the new Digi stamp set, "Light Up My Life". This scan doesn't do this card justice. You really can't see all of the glitz and sparkle.

I made this card 5" x 7". I've been getting into the larger cards lately. I think it's because I enjoy hand stitching my cards and the larger size gives me more room to stitch and stamp.

All papers are from Close To My Heart. Colors are Twilight and Creme Brulee.

The two snowflakes are cut out using my Cricut, then covered with adhesive and dipped in clear glitter.

All stitching is done by hand with matching embroidery floss.

The snow underneath the snowman was made using liquid applique covered with clear glitter before heating.

The lights & Holly on the hat are colored in with Spica glitter pens.
The image itself is colored with Copic Markers.
The background sky was chalked light blue.

My Little Chickadee

This card was made for the Sweet 'n Sassy Card Sketch 10.

It using one of their stamp sets called "My Little Chickadee"

The papers are from Close to my Heart.

The flower was made from punches.

The Chickadee was stamped three times, colored with Copic Markers, cut out and layered for a 3D affect.

The stitching is all done by hand with embroidery floss. This card imparticular has more stitching then normal. That's because it's sewn through three layers of paper instead of only two.

I've been told that I have too much free time on my hands to do hand stitching on all of my cards. Well, the truth is, I take care of my 2 year old granddaughter everyday for 10 hours. By the time she goes home at 5:30, I make dinner and clean up, I'm beat. So, during her naps, I create my cards and prepare the backgrounds. That way when I'm too tired for anything else, I can sit and watch a movie and sew my cards. Besides, I love needle crafts and have no time for them, so I add it to my cards.

Light of the World

Welcome to the Sweet 'n Sassy Blog Hop.

I am one of the new designers. I will be with you for the next six months.

If you had told me a month ago that I would be using anything other then CTMH stamps, I would have told you you were crazy.

This was totally an act of God. I think he looked at me one day and said, "Nancy, I gave you talent, now stop wasting it. Go forth and pay it forward to a special friend."

It started with one phone call to me, then another surprising phone call back to her.

God surely works in mysterious way.

The new stamps in the June release are phenomenal.Be sure to keep on hoppin' for the next two days to see all of the fantastic artwork with these new sets.The Blog Hop schedule is in my side column if you need it.

Be sure to check out my second sample below and then hop on over to cortney's blog.

This card is 5.5" x 5.5" and the Stamp Set used is "Light of the World".

All papers are from the New Horizon's Paper Pack from Close to my Heart.

The stitching on the card is all done by hand with embroidery floss.

The lighthouse image was stamped three times, colored with Copic Markers, parts of it cut out and layered for a 3D affect.

Dream Silhouettes

Are you enjoying your Blog Hop Yet!!!

Well, here's a card using a set called

"Dream Silhouettes".

This card is 5" x 7" .

All papers, ribbon, and inks are from Close to my Heart.

The main color here is Hollyhock.

All stitching is done by hand with embroidery floss.

The technique used for the background is called "depth of Field".

You can find out how to get the instructions for this technique HERE.

Mojo Moday Week 92

I needed to make a special Birthday card for my daughter, so this is what I came up with from the Mojo Monday sketch.

I used Close to my Heart Tickled Pink Papers and the CTMH stamp set "Gracious Greetings".

I used punches for the flowers and dew drops in the center of the small flowers. White iridescent ribbon used also.

The stitching is done by hand with embroidery floss in a color that matches twilight and also sweet leaf.

Sweet 'n Sassy Sketch 9

This card looks much better in person.

I was in such a rush to post this that I forgot to add the stickles to the butterfly. Oh Well!!!

Inside of card

Here is a fun card made with stamps from Sweet 'n Sassy called "In His Time".

The guide lines for this sketch was to use red, white, & blue.

There's a new sketch every Saturday. Stop by the Sweet Stop and play along. You could win a free set of digi stamps this week.

The paper used is called Blue Ribbon from Close to My Heart.

Sweet 'n Sassy - Sketch 8

This is my first card for the Sweet Spot Sketch Challenge.

Everything used on this card is Close to my Heart except for the ribbon and Dew Drops.

Blue Ribbon Paper Pack.

Whimsical Wings and Fringed Phrases Stamp Sets.

This card is 5.5" x 5.5".

Stitching is done by hand with embroidery floss.

It's hard to tell in the scan, but there is clear glitter on the butterfly.

Card Patterns - Sketch 19

This is the card with matching envelope

This is the inside

This card was designed for Card Patterns Sketch Challenge 19. I turned the pattern 1/4 turn to accommodate the stamps I wanted to use.

I used Animal Cookies Paper Pack from Close to my Heart and Teddy & Company Clear Stamps from Penny Black. This sketch was just perfect for this set.

The card is 5" x 7" . Stitching on the outside is done by hand with matching embroidery floss.

I used a Martha Stewart Picket Fence Punch on the inside.

All images were stamped with Memento Black ink and colored with Copic Markers.

The main images were stamped, colored, cut out three times, and layered for a 3D affect.

MMSC5 - You've Got Flair

Here is my card for the Midnight Madness Sketch #5 OK, I'm posting this card here not because I like it or am proud of it, but only because I spent two days making it and still wasn't pleased with it. The only way I could forget about it and move on was to post it. I'm hoping that it may be like trash. You know, one mans trash is another mans treasure. Well, just maybe someone would see it and like it. *Ü*

This is the July Stamp of the Month from Close to my Heart. So, I wanted to start playing with it. I'm a Technique Junkie, and last month, one of the techniques was called Bandanna. It's just white dot doodles with a white gel pen. I knew this stamp set would be perfect for it, however, trying to work it into this sketch was a challenge for me. I think I just have the card too busy!

The red top portion is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. It matches this stamp set so well!!!!
Glitter was added here and there on some of the white portions of the cutout images.

The center image is stamped three times, embossed, colored with copic markers and cut out and layered for a 3D affect.

Card Patterns - Bon Appetit

This card is based on a sketch from Card Patterns Sketch 18.

What a great sketch. I turned the sketch a quarter turn because I liked it better with this stamp set.

The set is a CTMH set called Bon Appetit.

Colors used are Buttercup, Olive, Petal & Pansy Purple.

I coated the big brads with Pansy Purple Embossing Powder and the small brads with Liquid glass and Pansy Purple re-inker.

The card was hand stitched inside and out with green embroidery floss.

The grapes were stamped three times, cut out and layered for a 3D affect. Prisma glitter was added to the highlights on the grapes.

MMSC4-Racoon Friends

Here is my card using Sketch #4 from Midnight Madness . I just love this sketch, but then I love all of the sketches from here.

I have a problem making masculine cards. So, with Father's Day just around the corner, I decided to use a CTMH stamp set that I've had for ages and seldom use. I left the card rather general so I can use it anytime I need a masculine card. However, I'm not sure about the polka dot bow. I'm thinking maybe just a knot or a brown grosgrain may be better. What do you think?

The stitching is done by hand. I love to cross stitch and have no time for it so I do my hand stitching on my cards instead.

Mojo Monday Week 89

This is the sketch this week at Mojo Monday. I am so glad I found this site. Sketch challenges have gotten me creative again.

I used the "Life's A Creation" stamp set from CTMH for this. Colors are Juniper, Tulip, Sorbet, & Cocoa.

The stitching is hand sewn using the match to Cocoa Embroidery Floss. I love stitching by hand, so, I choose to do this instead of using my sewing machine. The butterfly is from Butterfly Kisses and was stamped with black Memento Ink, embossed with clear detail EP and colored with Copic Markers. Pearl Dew Drops are in the lower corners. Cocoa Grosgrain ribbon divides the papers. The top portion of the paper is actually random stamped using the same stamps and colors.

PB Sketch Challenge Week 51

This is the inside of the card. The color is really off on this. The color should be the same as the front of the card shown above. Same CS, B&T and colors of inks were used.

This is the sketch for week 51

I turned it 1/4 turn so it would fit my image

The image on this card is from Penny Black Acrylic stamp set "Enjoy Life". This is the same image as Chickadee Blossom in the wood mounted. I may just have to buy the wood mounted also because it is bigger and I just love this image. I think it would be fun to have it in both sizes.

I just love these challenges because it helps me get creative.

The stitching on the front and inside of card is all done by hand. I love hand sewing and I find that I have more choices with matching my embroidery floss to may papers then I do with sewing machine thread. The stitching on the front is actually done in two colors, Twilight and Heavenly blue. The stitching on the inside is done with Heavenly blue.

The tag with Thinking of you is a CTMH June Stamp of the month, Tender Tags, stamped with Twilight Ink.

I hand crocheted the three flowers, then mixed some pearl paint with Blush reinker and painted the inside of each flower. When almost dry, I rubbed a little clear glitter into each for just a little sparkle. I then attached a Big Brad in the center of each flower and used a green Copic marker to color the brads to make them match the green in the leaves. I did the same with a white dew drop on the tag.

MMSC3-Endless Friendship

This is a 5.5 x 5.5 card made using CTMH Endless Love, D1354, & Butterfly Kiss, C1299, stamp sets and week 3 of the Midnight Madness card sketch.

Colors are from Jeanette's color challenge for this week, Pansy Purple, Petal, & New England Ivy.

The card is handstitched with embroidery floss. The background was random stamped with the same stamps that are cut out on the front.

Midnight Madness sketch