Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #151

It's Labour Day weekend and, as usually happens on a long weekend, we've had a mixed bag of weather, with cooling temperatures and some rain.  I feel sad that the beautiful warm weather we'd been having didn't hold for all those families trying to get in one last camping trip or day at the beach before the bustle of September and back to school starts. Oh well, it's the prelude to fall. 

Today I've made a Sympathy card based on a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #151.  I liked the simplicity of this sketch designed by Kim Singdalsen the Freshly Made Sketches August Guest Designer.  It was her first ever sketch, and she's done an awesome job!  Check out all Kim's other great cards on her blog Joyful Creations With Kim.  

Here's Kim's Sketch:

Here's My Card:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: 

• Four Frames
• Teeny Tiny Wishes 
• Friend to Friend (R)
• Gorgeous Grunge
• Papillion Potpourri
• Stippled Blossoms

Card stock:  

• Crumb cake for the 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" base, the 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" layer and the 1/2" x 3 1/8" banner.
• Soft Sky for 3 x 3" layer and scrap for the Decorative Label layers
• Very Vanilla 5 x 3 3/4" for first layer, 2 7/8" x 2 7/8" for stamped layer and a scrap for the Decorative layer and butterfly.

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Soft Sky

Accessories:   

• Decorative Label Punch
• Bitty Butterfly Punch
• Square Lattice Embossing Folder (R)
• Honeycomb Embossing Folder 
• Aqua Painter
• Basic Pearls
• Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Adhesive Strips

 

The Very Vanilla layer measuring 5" x 3 3/4" was embossed with the Honeycomb Embossing Folder and then randomly and lightly stamped with the speckled stamp from the Gorgeous Grunge set and Soft Sky Ink.

The banner strip was cut from Crumb Cake card stock and embossed with the now retired Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  Three medium sized basic pearls were added for some interest.

For the 3rd layer on the card I stamped the floral image from the Four Frames stamp set in Crumb Cake on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock.  Details on the flowers were touched up with Soft Sky ink and an Aqua Painter.  One small basic pearl was added to the top flower to tie it in with the flowers on the 2nd layer.  This piece was punched out with the Decorative Label punch and a border was added in Soft Sky card stock.  Some small sprinkles were added in Soft Sky with the Gorgeous Grunge stamp.
 

Decorative Label Punch coordinates with the Four Frames Stamp Set.

Four Frames Stamp set - a very stylish stamp set.

I started the design on the 2nd layer of Very Vanilla card stock by randomly stamping the sprinkle image from Gorgeous Grunge in Crumb Cake ink.  The large rose and smaller detailed petal roses from the Stippled Blossoms stamp set, were then stamped randomly in Crumb Cake  ink. I used an Aqua painter and Soft Sky ink to add shadows and hints of colour to the roses and then finished off this layer with a smattering of tiny basic pearls in the flower centers. 

I

 I wanted to keep the inside of the card simple with lots of "white space".  A 5 x 3 3/4" piece of Soft Sky was added to the inside of the card and topped with a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock measuring 3 1/2" x 4 3/4".  The sentiment "Thinking of You" from the retired Friend to Friend set was stamped in Early Espresso and the large flower image from Stippled Blossoms was stamped in the bottom corner in Soft Sky.

The beautiful little butterfly was stamped twice in Soft Sky ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and then punched out with the Bitty Butterfly punch.  The edges of the butterfly were sponged with Soft Sky and Crumb Cake inks.  The butterflies were nested with a Glue Dot and then added to the card with a dimensional.  The wings were fluffed up with the bone folder to give an appearance of flight and finally a small band of pearls was added for the body. 

Here's the finished card.  I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

Well that's it for today folks.  I hope you'll take the time to go and check out all the other entries and guest designer cards for this sketch on the Freshly Made Sketches blog site.  There is so much creativeness and awesome ideas there. 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

Can You Case It CYCI30 Challenge

Sheri and I just discovered Can You Case It  challenge blog and we were excited to try out this week's sketch challenge #CYCI30 for our second card on Tuesday.  

If you're visiting this site be sure to check out their "Challenges" link on their right sidebar.  It will provide all the details about their weekly challenges which being on Sundays and end on Saturdays.  Each week there is a different theme:  sketch, colour, pick a page, scrapbook/cards Project Life, and Holiday. This is an interesting site that I know I'll be visiting.

This week is a Sketch Challenge and here is sketch #CYCI30:

Sheri and I both liked this sketch because of it's simple style and layering. The two of us are such "layer queens". Our hardest choice was deciding on the card's theme and then what colours to use. 

For my card I wanted to combine the Stippled Blossoms stamp set and the Back to Black DSP series paper but hadn't chosen any contrast colours and theme.   

Sheri was in love with the  Just Add Ink Colour Challenge, from last week and decided to do a double challenge card using these colours, and with a little bit of thought, I decided to go along with that choice.  Sheri will be posting her fabulous card on her blog:  Paper Bag Create.  Make sure you go an check it out.   

Note:  Although we both intended to enter our cards in the Just Add Ink Colour Challenge, we'd both forgotten about the International Date Line.  Since Australia is a day ahead of us here in Canada we both missed entering this challenge by "one day".  Too funny.  I'm sure you'll enjoy the cards anyway. 


Here's My Card:

I love this card.  The mix of textures and colour are perfect, even if I do say so myself.  It's got a rich, elegant feel about it.  The Back to Black DSP is simply stunning and really adds the contrast this card needs, while the subtle stamping on the tag adds to the elegance. 

 

The ribbon was added before layers 2-5 were attached to the card base.  The bow was made by using the "Fork Bow" method of tying bows.  Works for me! 

The modern label punch worked out perfectly as a tag.  The best wishes sentiment is from Perfect Pairs stamp set. 

I kept the inside of the card fairly plain by just stamping the flower image. 

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Stippled Blossoms, Petite Pairs 
Ink:  Basic Gray, Memento Tuxedo Black
Card Stock:  Basic Gray, So Saffron, Basic Black and Whisper White *
Designer Series Paper:  Back to Black, Glimmer Paper - Silver
Accessories:  Trimmer, Big Shot Machine, Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Modern Label Punch, Corner Rounder punch 

Back to Black Designer Series Paper

How It's Made: 
1.  The Basic Black card base measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and folded at 4 14".

2.  The second layer is Basic Gray card stock and measures 5 1/8" x 4 1/8". 

3.  The third layer is a piece of Back to Black Designer Paper (DSP) measuring 

4 x 5 1/16".  The edges were distressed with a sponge dauber and Basic Gray ink.  

4.  The next layer was a piece of So Saffron card stock measuring 3 1/4 x 4 1/2.  This piece was first stamped with the Stippled Blossom detailed rose in Basic Gray ink and then embossed with the Beautifully Baroque Embossing folder.  

5.  The final layer is the tag.  I chose to cut a Whisper White piece of card stock to measure 2 14 x 5 and then punched out the tag image with the Scalloped Tag Punch.  I trimmed off the excess on the sides and used a corner rounder on the bottom of the tag.  This edges of this tag were sponged with Basic Gray ink and it was adhered to the So Saffron layer with dimensionals.

6.  Stippled Blossoms rose and rose buds were stamped in Basic Gray and Tuxedo Black on the tag.  The sentiment "Best Wishes" from the Petite Pairs stamp set was stamped in Tuxedo Black ink.

7.  I punched a Modern Label from Basic Black card stock and Silver Glimmer paper for the small tag element of the card.  I layered these pieces and added a Basic Rhinestone to the bottom.

8.  Before adhering layers 2 to 5 on the card, I added a strip of 3/8" Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon and small bow.  

9.  For the inside of the card I added a 5 x 3 3/4" Whisper White layer with a single rose stamped in the lower right hand corner.  

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this card and my details on how to assemble it. Let me know if you've ever prepared a card for a challenge and missed by seconds on the clock..........I'd love to hear your stories.  

Thanks for dropping by I thoroughly enjoyed making this card for you to see.

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens
 

Stippled Blossoms Thank You Card

Today's card is a thank you card that I'm sure you'll like.   I got my inspiration for this card from  a blog challenge site called "Just Add Ink".  There is a link button on my left side panel so you can go and check out this site anytime.   

Just Add Ink has been around since January 2010 and during that time they have hosted over 200 challenges.  They are an Australian/New Zealand Stampin’ Up! challenge blog run by Australian and New Zealand Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators.   Along with their challenge blog they also have Pinterest and Facebook pages you can follow.  It's worthwhile, because they have sketch and colour challenges that are awesome not to mention all the wonderful samples from the talented design team and fans.

 Just Add Ink #223 Sketch Challenge

This really challenging sketch was created by Tina Gillespie.  She used this sketch to create a birthday card for her daughter.  Check it out on her blog Scissors Paper Card.

Here's My First Attempt at this Card: 

Oooops!  I don't know if you're like me but if you are take heart, sometimes we just don't get it right.  I began this challenge with one card in mind and ended up with a bit different card, I'll call it my "stepped up" card.  That's the one I submitted to the challenge.  

For my first card I wanted to use my new InColour card stocks and inks but when I assembled the card it just didn't do it for me, it was too dark.  Here's the first card and I won't go into a lot of discussion about it's assembly just some basics.

Assembly:
I really liked the full circle in the card sketch but chose to mount it on a square card base.  I didn't want anything too big, so chose to do a 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" square.  The Whisper White card base for this card measures 4 1/2 x 9" and it's folded at 4 1/2".

For this first attempt I used Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Perfect Plum and Whisper White card stocks and inks.  I used a sponge dauber to edge the card and stamped the sentiment directly to the Whisper White card stock.  Basic Rhinestones were added to the flower centers. 

I embossed the flower layer with the Decorative Dots EF but the layer of Blackberry Bliss in the background is plain.  Instead of pearls I used Basic Rhinestones for the flower highlights.  

The inside of my card was plain with only the floral image stamped in the corner.

Here's my "Stepped Up" version:

I did some tweaking with the layers adding an additional one to give it more connectivity.  See my note below.

I stamped the roses from Stippled Blossom in Perfect Plum and Blackberry Bliss and added leaves in Pear Pizzazz.  The Thank You sentiment is from the Blooming With Kindness Stamp set. The sentiment was stamped on Whisper White in Blackberry Bliss and then punched out with the 1" circle punch and mounted on a 11/4" circle of Perfect Plum.  This piece was then adhered to the card front with dimensionals. 

 

For the inside I cut a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4" piece of Blackberry Bliss and then layered it with a 4 x 4 piece of Whisper White.  I don't really like verses inside my cards but I do like some kind of adornment so I chose to stamp  just the detailed stamp of the large rose from the Stippled Blossoms set. I probably should have stamped off the ink to give this image a softer look, but I'm glad I decided to go with full ink.  The image came out clear, detailed, bold and, is a striking contrast to the Whisper White card stock.

Layers, Layers, Layers:  
Remember I mentioned there were lots of layers on this card, well I cannot tell a lie.  There are a lots and lots of layers!  Why?  Because I like the way it pulls everything together and adds depth to the design. 

The first layer on this card is cut from Pear Pizzazz and measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4".  The next layer of Blackberry Bliss measures 4 x 4" and was embossed with the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (EF).  I just can't get enough of those large dots.  

After that, I added a layer of Pear Pizzazz cut out with the Floral Frames Framelits die and then embossed it with the now retired Vine Street embossing folder.  It made the floral image look like veined leaves, which was just the look I was trying to capture.

Finally I added a 3 1/4" circle of Blackberry Bliss topped by a 3" Whisper White circle cut with the Circle Framelits.  The Whisper White circle was cutout, stamped and then cut into puzzle pieces before being mounted on the Blackberry Bliss circle.  Tip:  When mounting the circle pieces I used Tombow Multipurpose Glue so I would have some flexibility in getting the pieces to line up properly along the circle rim and in between.  Once the floral layers were put together, I added dimensionals and adhered it to the Pear Pizzazz flower shape. 

I added the Basic Pearls to the flower centers after the card was assembled.  The Thank You sentiment was the last piece added and was popped up with dimensionals.  I love the script used for this stamp.  So romantic!

Here are the two cards I made together. 

 

Card No. 1

 

Card No. 2

 Supplies Used: 
Stamp Set:  Stippled Blossoms and Blooming With Kindness
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Perfect Plum, Mossey Meadow, Pear Pizzazz
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Blackberry Blizz, Mossy Meadow
and Perfect Plum
Accessories:  Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (EF), Vine Street EF, Big Shot, Trimmer, Circle Framelits, Flower Framelits, Basic Pearls, Sponge Dauber, 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches, Tom Bow Multipurpose Adhesive and Dimensionals. 

Hope you enjoyed this card.  Leave me a comment if you did.  Let me know which version is your favourite.  It will make my day.

Happy Stampin!
Penny Tokens 

PPCCS #100 Challenge and Blog Candy

I had big intentions of participating in the Paper Craft Crew's 100th card sketch challenge today, but missed the close off time by a few hours because of the time change.  

Regardless, I loved the sketch so went ahead and finished my card and want to share it with you.  

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card: 

As soon as I saw the sketch I knew I wanted to do a card using the Decorative Dots Embossing folder as a background for the layers in this sketch and the Stippled Blossom stamp set for my image. 

I think my concept worked really well.  I flipped the layout so the tag and ribbon were on the left hand side of the card and the small flower was on the lower right hand side.  This allowed me more room to work with my stamped image. 

Supplies: 

Ink:  Crumb Cake and Early Espresso Classic Inks

Card Stock:  Early Espresso, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake

Stamp Sets:  Stippled Blossoms #126747 and Blooming With Kindness #126422

Accessories:  Big Shot Machine, Trimmer, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Basic Pearls, 3/8" Crumb Cake Taffeta Ribbon (retired), Scalloped Tag Topper Punch (#133324), Large Delicate Doilies Die Cut (retired), Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (#133520), Corner Rounder, Scissors, Adhesive, Dimensionals.

Using the Stamp-a-ma-jig allowed me to line up the flower images cleanly when using a two-step stamp set like Stippled Blossoms.  Here you can see I was able to accurately layer the rose image from the tag with the image stamped on the Very Vanilla layer.

I added the smallest of the basic pearls to the centers of the two large rose images and a medium sized pearl to the smaller flower image.  Even though the taffeta ribbon is retired I'm still in love with the texture and the way you can tie the small bow so beautifully.  I also love the sentiment "I'm here for you" from the Blooming With Kindness Stamp set. Because this is such a caring sentiment this card could be used for either a friendship or a sympathy card. 

The Blooming With Kindness Stamp set a detailed flower image and five greetings that will carry you through lots of card-giving situations. 

The inside of the card has a Very Vanilla layer that measures 5 x 3 3/4" and is simply stamped with the rose image. 

Thanks for stopping by and checking out this latest post.  I'd love to hear your comments on my interpretation of the PPC Sketch.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny

Happy Birthday Mom

Today's my mom's 92nd birthday, and I wanted to share the card I made for her special celebration.  

My mom has loved flowers all her life,

so I wanted to make a card that featured some kind of floral stamping or design.  

My original idea was to stamp a Circle Thinlets card base with the Stippled Blossoms stamp set.  I was planning on working with Cranberry Crisp and Whisper White card stock and inks.  However, I changed my mind at the last minute, and I'm glad I did.

I chose instead to make the card base from Smokey Slate card stock and add  some floral designer series paper and a 3-dimensional floral image.  My inspiration for the card I'm about to show you came from my Floral Fusion class that I held last Spring. The card that influenced me sported a large free style flower on it's face.  I decided that was the perfect design to recreate for my mom's card.

Here's what I came up with:

Isn't this paper from the Watercolour Wonder Designer Series paper simply stunning?  The beautiful Cranberry Crisp and Calypso Coral rose images and Smokey Slate dots combined to create a soft and elegant background for my 3-dimensional flower and sentiment. The "happy birthday" sentiment from the Perfectly Penned stamp set, with it's bold curlicues is stamped in Basic Grey over a cluster of roses. 

I used another of the Perfectly Penned sentiments on the inside of my card and stamped the two-step rose from the Stippled Blossoms stamp set in the bottom right corner. 

Supplies:

Card stock:  Smokey Slate for the card base (5 1/2 x 8 1/2 scored at center), Cranberry Crisp for the first layer (5 1/4 x 4 sponge edges with Cranberry Crisp ink) and Whisper White for the inside of the card (5 x 3 3/4 attached with Sticky Strip at the top of card.

DSP:  Silver Glimmer Paper (scrap), Watercolor Wonder DSP (5 x 3 3/4")

Ink:  Basic Gray, Smokey Slate, Cranberry Crisp 

Stamp Sets:  Perfectly Penned, Stippled Blossoms

Accessories:

• 2 1/2", 1 3/4", 1 3/8 , 1 1/4" and 3/4" circle punches
• Bird Builder Punch for leaves 
• Dazzling Details
• Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons #127555 
• Paper Snips
• Sponge Dauber 
• Adhesive, Glue Dots, Dimensionals
• Stamp-a-ma-jig

To Make The Flower: 

1. Punch out a 2 1/2" and a 1 3/4" circle from Smokey Slate.
2. From both pieces snip out small "V's" leaving the same amount of space as you work your way around the circle. 
3. Use a sponge or sponge dauber to distress edges of the flower petals with Smokey Slate ink.  Curl up the edges with your bone folder.  Adhere the smaller petal round to the larger one with sticky strip.
4. Punch out a 1 3/8" circle from the Silver Glimmer Paper and adhere it to the center of the flower with sticky strip.
5. Punch out a 1 1/4" circle from Cranberry Crisp Cardstock and sponge the edges with corresponding ink.  Adhere to Glimmer paper with a large glue dot.
6. Punch a 3/4" circle from Smokey Slate.  Sponge the edges with Smokey Slate ink and adhere to center of Cranberry Crisp piece.  
7. Adhere a small clear faceted button to the center of the flower with a large glue dot and place a medium sized basic rhinestone in the center.  
8. Cut four wings from Pear Pizzazz card stock using the Bird Builder Punch.  Attach these with glue dots to the bottom of the flower, arranging in clusters of two.  
9. When flower is finished add some glitter to the gray flower petals with Dazzling Details.  Just enough to give a wet look around each petal.  
10. When the Dazzling Details is completely dry attach the flower to the card front with dimensionals. 

  Here is the card along with the one that inspired me.

To change the look of this card I made a few simple changes such as the addition of a card stock layer, changing the DSP, the card and flower petal colours.  I also switched the layering of the flower center to card stock instead of the bottle cap.    

Here you can see the original card along with others in the Floral Fusion set. 

And one final look at my finished card.  My mom loved it.

To bring out the gray dots on the Watercolour DSP piece I sponged around the edges with Smokey Slate before adhering to the Cranberry Crisp layer.  This really worked to bring in those soft gray tones.

Thanks for taking a look at this card.  It was a joy to make.  I'd love to hear from you, so leave me a comment if you like this card design too.