Sorry No SFF Post this week!

Hello to all my blogging friends. I hope you are all well and happy!

Please visit our home page to see what everyone has come up with!

http://www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com/

Sketch Frenzy Friday 5/24/13

Hello to all my blogging friends, I hope this post finds you all well and happy!

It's Sketch Frenzy Friday time! This weeks CAS sketch was designed by Tammy Fite. It is a very simplistic sketch and oh so pretty.

Here is Tammy's  sketch;

This is my rendition of it!

I took a whole different take on the sketch and went for a more streamline look.  I used a Designer Builder Brad for the focal image. Island Indigo card stock embossed with the Fancy Fan Folder for the mat and another little piece for the little punch circle in the center of the Brad. Add a little strip of DSP and there you have it.

That's all there is to it. Have fun with the sketch and make sure you show us your beauties on our blog http://www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com/

Have a great week.

Chat soon,
Patrice

Sketch Frenzy Friday 5/17/13

Hello to all my blogging friends, I hope this post finds you all well and happy!

I really needed to get into the craft room this week. I was glad to have a great sketch to guide me. My mind has been everywhere but here for some reason???

This weeks sketch has a lot going on (Really!). I had so many ideas on what to do with it. I'll show you the sketch and you will see what I mean.

 Kim was our mastermind and boy oh boy did she have my mind doing a workout lolol! What a great sketch challenge Kim!

I think the most difficult thing for me was in the matching of the DSP for the background. Color is not my strong suit. So what I do instead is to match patterns. Stampin' Up's DSP packs really do make my life easy in this regard as all the patterns coordinate really nicely.

Here is what I came up with.

My first try at the focal image was to use a scrap piece of Tangerine Tango for my vase. It just did not have the pop I needed to offset the strong striped background pieces so I trashed it. Then, I tried a scrap of Island Indigo and that was the perfect color it did the trick. I decided at that point that the vase needed some texture as I knew that texture would move the image forward. I do this when I need to make the image come to the forefront of my card and not get lost in the background.  I really love the new Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder and thought it would make a nice texture on the vase.
I colored three pieces of the Flower Trim vintage dimensional flowers in Tangerine Tango with a SU Marker. It was really easy to color them and the flowers absorb the ink nicely and evenly. Then, I added some bling. Three pearls one for each of the centers of the flowers and two rows of the smaller pearls for a border. Next, I stamped "Thanks" from the Lovely Little Labels stamp set in Basic Black ink on a scrap of Tangerine Tango. I punched the sentiment out  with the Jewelry Tag and attached it under a flower with a small glue dot  I am still contemplating on redoing the tag in Gumball Green ? What do you think?

This weeks sketch challenge really felt like a challenge but, I like the finished card and hope you do too. Because a sketch looks like a tough challenge shouldn't keep you or me from giving it a try. We would love to see your creation. Have fun and challenge yourself. http://www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com/

Chat soon,
Patrice

Hello to all my blogging friends, I hope this post finds you all well and happy!

It has been raining all week. I was so glad to be able to stamp and couldn't wait to see this weeks sketch. This weeks sketch was created by Jennifer Weide. Wow! Is all I can say. Boy are these  creative ladies coming up with some great sketches every week. This one is no exception. Great job Jennifer!

I really had to take my time thinking about this one. I was wondering what I was going to do with all the blank space in the center? I think I sorted it out? I totally went off the reservation and went in a different direction than the original sketch concept of a solid center space. The basic sketch is there but  I just had to fill it in the central space.
This is what I came up with, what do you think?

I just couldn't leave the blank space alone (I really tried!). A pretty floral pattern just popped into my head and I went with it. I could not believe that this card came together in under 20 minutes. My honey Jeff was even surprised.
I love this technique I think it is called Black Magic? If you know the name of it let me know and I will write it in later. Carey, Deb, Sharon any ideas??? I stamped a floral image from the Elements of Style stamp set (I am so bummed this set is going to retire) in Craft White ink. I heat set the white craft ink so I could use watercolor pencils (I used a variety of mixed colors) to color over it.  The white ink allows the pencil colors to pop against the black background. I matted the panel to a scrap of Daffodil Delight and that contrast (Black and Yellow) also helped the image pop even more!
I used 4 -3/16 Neutral (Black) Brads.

Here is a look at the inside;

Thats all there is to this card, I hope you are inspired as much as I was and find some time to create something fun this weekend If you do we would love to see it. http://www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com/

We are continuing to work on the garden and it feels good to once again get my fingers in the dirt. I will have some new pictures to show you real soon. The vegetables and flowers are growing so fast.
Spring is ok, but this ex-Californian is not quite used to all the rain the East Coast has to offer. I guess that's why it is so green around here. Note to self-  Rain = Green - Green is good! The "Woods" I call it a "Forrest" my neighbor laughs at me, surrounding our back yard is beginning to look more like a Jungle than the woods, lol. I can no longer see the hills or the woodland floor because of all the leaves on the trees the vines and berry bushes. Mind you this is not a complaint, it's just an observation! We really do live on a beautiful piece of property.

Have a great weekend my friends. I think we are in for more rain!

Chat soon,
Patrice

Sketch Frenzy Friday 5/3/13

Hello to all my blogging friends. I hope this post finds you all well and happy!

I have to post early this week as, I am going to have my computer worked on tonight.

I am so excited about this weeks sketch it is another fun one. This weeks super sketch was designed by Deb Currier. I tell you this design team keeps hitting these sketches out of the park!!! How cool is this sketch!

This is what I came up with.

This sketch was kind of tricky in that the two extra tabs on the lower right really made me have to readjust my original thought process of centering the first and second panels. I had to move those pieces way over to the left to accommodate the little tabs. I wanted something extra fun to go around the center of the flower so I scrunched up some Daffodil Delight ribbon to make a little ruffle effect. To do this, I used a needle and thread and made a loose in and out seam on one of the edges of the ribbon about 2 -3 inches long. Then, I gently pulled the sewn thread to make a nice ruffle edge. I attached the ruffle with a couple large glue dots to the back of the black flower piece. I think it gave the flower a little extra depth so as to not have it appear one dimensional. I ran the leaves, the black strip of cardstock and the two black oval tabs through the Big Shot using the Polka Dot Embossing Folder.

As usual, I always only use Stampin' Up products to create my cards.
Here is the list of products I used to create this card.
Cardstock- Whisper White, Daffodil Delight and Basic Black.
DSP- First Edition Specialty and Print Poetry DSP Stack.
Embellishments- Designer Builder Brads, Basic Rhinestones, 1/2" Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Blossom Punch, Itty Bitty Shape (Circle) Pack, Large Oval, Bitty Butterfly and the 7/8 Scallop Punch's. Polka Dot and the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folders, Little Leaves Sizzlet and finally Large Glue Dots.
Stamp Set- Pursuit of Happiness.

This is a look at the inside.

I sure hope you have as much fun and inspiration as I did in creating your card from this weeks sketch. We would love to see it so please download it on to our homepage here. http://www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com/

Have a great weekend and creat something fun!
Chat soon,
Patrice

Sketch Frenzy Friday 4/26/13

Hello to all my blogging friends, I hope this post finds you well and happy!

Spring is in the air and the temperature is climbing. But, it's still a bit cold when that north wind kicks up. This is my third season in West Virginia. I can't believe all the bulb flowers that grow here. Nothing like CA. It is fun to see the trees finally get some leaves on them.

I was thinking about how I would incorporate a touch of spring in my card this week and boy was I inspired! This week's sketch was designed by our very talented Kim Innis isn't it a fantastic sketch!

Oh what fun I am going to have with this sketch! I have yet to make a banner on a card so I will be my first  attempt at one. Here is what I came up with.

Boy oh boy, did I have a good time today! What do you think?
First, I turned the card on it's side so I would have a larger canvas to create with. Then, I made three rosettes two smaller one larger for the center piece. Next I backed them with the required banner piece which I also embossed with the Polka Dot Folder. I pulled out one of our beautiful Edgelets Dies I have not used in a while and created the floral edge. I chose to use an embossed scrap piece of Tangerine Tango for the the lower piece that matches the DSP on the rosettes called Vine Street. The sentiment embellishment piece was made using three punches Modern  Label, Word Window and the 7/8 Scallop Circle Punch. The sentiment itself is from the Just Believe stamp set (It's retiring! Boo!) I added a touch of bling to the center of the rosettes and mounted the banner pieces on Calypso Coral Bakers Twine.

Here is a peek at the inside.

I try to carry the theme throughout the card as you can see here.

That's all there is to this card. I hope you were as inspired as I was from this sketch, and find some time to create something fun for yourself.

Please show us your creation and download it onto our home page here: http://www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com/

Chat soon,
Patrice

Sketch Frenzy Friday 4/19/13

Hello to all my blogging friends, I hope this post finds you well and happy!

This weeks sketch was designed by our very talented Tammy Fite. Wow! This is such a fun sketch to work with. The possibilities are endless.

I needed a birthday card this month so I used the sketch to guide me.

This is such a great sketch that I chose to keep true to the original lines. I pulled out my Nature Walk stamp set  that I have not used in a while and water colored away. The sentiment is from the Wacky Wishes Hostess set. It has fun wacky lettering which I think adds a bit of levity to the sentiment. The little strip of DSP in the lower right hand corner is from the Print Poetry Paper Pack.

The base of this card is Island Indigo. The layers are Cajun Craze and Crumb Cake card stocks.  I used StazOn Ink to stamp the images as it helps the ink when watercoloring not to run. I often use Bakers Twine to weave through the Dotted Scallop Border Punch as I think it gives the trim a lot of extra texture. I used Calypso Coral and Chocolate Chip twine on this border. For the watercoloring I used our Aqua Painter with Marina Mist, Cajun Craze, Old Olive and Certainly Celery classic inks. I also used Crumb Cake to distress all the edges of the cardstock images and base pieces.

Here is a look at the inside;

That's all there is to it for this week. I hope you found some inspiration from Tammy's sketch, I sure did. If you create a card from it please download it on to our homepage here http://www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com/   We would love to see it!

Hope you have a great weekend. I am going to finish planting and working out in the garden.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you too find some time to create something fun.

Chat soon, 

Patrice