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I'm so excited to be joining the Design Team at the Fusion Card Challenge. Sketches & Inspiration Photos are two of my favorite ways to design, so an opportunity to combine them both is perfection for me.
And I'm super-thrilled to be designing with such a talented group of artists ... check out the new group.
Tonight I needed to make a New York themed thank you card that featured an iconic yellow cab.
I knew I had some puffies in my stash that would work perfectly, so I combined them with this week's Unscripted Sketch.
I stamped the gray card base with Darkroom Door New York images, and then added my puffies to a strip of white cardstock. I finished with an SRM Sticker Sentiment.
While I love this card, I thought the requestor might not appreciate having to use extra postage to mail those puffies, so I made a second attempt, so he could have a choice.
This time I combined Hero Arts Newspaper Skyline with some road washi tape. The Taxi Cabs from Yellow Owl Workshop were stamped in Dandelion Memento Luxe Ink (love that yellow). I finished with a Thanks sentiment and some *stars* in the sky.
I used three different Paper Smooches stamp sets for the Anything Goes Challenge ... I do love Kim's sentiment stamps.
The big sentiment is from Pretty Phrases stamped in Cornflower Blue Archival Ink. The printed sentiment is from Sentiment Sampler (I stamped it twice for a bolder look) & the star is from BeBoppin ... both stamped in Vermillion Archival Ink. I finished with a few silver sentiments for a clean & simple design using this week's CAS(E) this Sketch.
I wanted to get a few Happy New Year cards in the mail, so I used today's Sunday Stamps Sketch to create this card.
Papers are from Crate Paper's DIY Shop and stamp is Unity's Midnight Resolutions. I finished with a scattering of three different sequins.
Wishing you all the best for the new year ... if you're doing a summary of your creations in 2013, make sure you link-up here so we can all check it out.
The Barkley Everyday CD-ROM is perfect when I need cards for dog lovers. I used foam tape under my image panel and sentiment for a bit of dimension.
I trimmed the ribbon border and added a bow to finish the design for this week's Unscripted Sketch.
And remember, if you're doing a year-end summary of your favorite creations, link-up here.
More fun links from blogland:
Have a terrific Thursday.
We had a wonderfully relaxing Christmas ... and now I'm creating in my studio waiting for the Dr. Who Christmas Special to begin.
I used the Unity {be inspired} Challenge colors & sketch for a birthday card design.
I love these Brave Boots ... I inked them in chocolate, stamped off once, and then inked with red to get sort of worn leather look.
Papers are from My Mind's Eye Love Me Collection ... and sentiment is from Birthday Jubilee.
Hope your holiday was wonderful.
I always enjoy revisiting my creative projects from the year ... here are my 10 favorite non-holiday creations for 2013 (holiday favorites can be seen here):
1 - I love everything about this Camera-themed design ... stamp with a matching die cut (so much easier than all of that detailed cutting); lots of inks and sprays and sparkle (with resist); and that fun gatefold. I also love that it was a winner at Hero Arts (always fun to get to go shopping).
2 - Vintage book pages, ink, rubber stamps, recycled postage stamps, stickers ... and lots of fun. I just love how this design came together and had so much fun making that collaged book page background.
3 - Transitioning the SCS Inspiration Challenge to a new hostess was a big change for me this year, however I am so grateful to have had 5 1/2 years of that amazing experience ... and also have the time to pursue some new opportunities (hint hint ... announcement coming soon). This was one of my favorite cards from the Inspiration Challenge this year (I always love when I can celebrate our Team).
4 - I have also had a blast designing for Crafter's Companion this year ... and am excited that I will continue this year as their CD-ROM Design Specialist. I become a Certified Colorist with Spectrum Noir Markers and had the chance to do lots of tutorials, including this Salted Inky Background using Spectrum Noir refills ... I do love getting inky.
5 - I had so much fun with Washi Tape this year ... I just can't get enough. I especially love when I can use it as the focal point for the entire design ... like this Sympathy Card design.
6 - Another Camera Card makes it on the list ... this time with a clean & simple design featuring fantastic woodgrain cardstock (and a bit more washi tape). I also really loved playing with buttons and flair this year. This card was a winner at The Moxie Fab World Challenge ... so sad to say good-bye to Cath this year ... and so grateful for how her challenges & feedback pushed me to keep improving my designs.
7 - Love this card that started out as a fail ... but then was rescued, and became a favorite. Orange is my favorite color, and I love how it really shines in this design. It was also for one of the Dare to Get Dirty Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers ... being a Dirty Girl is still on my bucket list.
8 - I had a blast designing for A Blog Named Hero's Dear Santa Event this year ... and my favorite project was making these Coaster Magnets. Although this is sort-of a holiday project, I love that by using these great colors and snowflakes, these magnets can be used all year long.
9 - This collage card was just so fun to make ... I was able to incorporate so many of my favorite elements from the year ... Papaya!, postage stamps and sequins to name a few ... and I love how the end result turned out. I see something new every time I look at it.
10 - This clean & simple design was my first winner at The Muse Challenge ... I do love my die cuts, twine & bling.
If you'd like to join the fun and do a post a summary of your favorite projects of the year, please link-up below (I'll keep the linky open until January 15th), so we can all take a walk down memory lane with you ... and I'll pick one random participant to receive some goodies to start them creating for 2014.
I love the colors in the Matthew Williamson Design in this week's Runway Inspired Challenge ... so fresh and fun.
I used the December Designer Draft Sketch from Paper Smooches for my design. Instead of the flowers on the model's jacket, I topped my card with embossed snowflakes.
I dressed-up my Swanky Snowdude from Paper Smooches in a designer scarf fit for a runway model and added some gem eyes and orange sparkle nose. The vertical element of the sketch was inspired by the runway. I finished with a wrap of twine & sequin sparkle.
Since we started Jingle Belles in 2010, I've been re-capping my five favorite holiday cards of the year (2010, 2011 & 2012 here) ... it's always inspiring to me to look back on all of my creations.
Here they are in no particular order:
1 - This card was inspired by fashion at The Runway Inspired Challenge ... I love how all of the patterns and colors work together in this design ... and those happy little reindeer make me smile. It also features one of my favorite embellishments of the year ... sequins.
2 - One of the first cards I made in 2013 was for an Inspiration Challenge at Jingle Belles ... I learned that I could emboss adhesive felt. I love the soft cozy touchable design of the finished card.
3 - This card revisited a favorite technique ... faux cracked glass ... which worked so well with this fabulous Crafter's Companion image (who doesn't love the thought of Santa and his reindeer flying over the Eiffel Tower) ... and the embossed texture of the background frames it so well ... I never tire of kraft.
4 - I love when I can create a clean and simple design that has strong visual interest (my eyes move through the gradient ink colors every time I look at it) ... and the *bright* sentiment with the glow of the neon inks makes me happy.
5 - My final favorite is from the 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist ... even though glitter usually scares me (I'm a horribly messy crafter), die cutting glitter paper and recycling glittered snowflakes were the perfect alternative. I loved learning a new embossing technique ... framing the tag in white ... and these colors just make me happy.
If you'd like to do a new post to share your Five Favorite Holiday Cards ... link-up below. I'll leave the links open until the end of the year ... and then I'll pick one random participant to receive some holiday goodies to get you started on your 2014 holiday card making.
And don't forget ... if you want to take back December 2014 one holiday card at a time, join the fun at Jingle Belles starting January 1st.
