If I Set My Mind To It...

I can accomplish quite a bit in a short amount of time. My friend Dana emailed yesterday afternoon, saying she found a challenge on the Verve forum on Splitcoast and that we should participate. Ok...I'm game...the prize is free stamps, and I'll do just about anything for free stamps. {grin!} 

So, she emails the link, and I check it out. Cool challenge, but we're jumping in on Day 4 of a four day challenge, we have to play catch-up and the deadline is today, Friday at noon. Yikes!!! That means I had to make all four cards on Thursday night cause I'm going on a little roadtrip with Joanne to a stamping store on Friday. {even bigger grin!}.  Also...thank goodness for our PVR because it was Grey's and Private Practice night. 

Now, I have to tell you, that ever since I've been "stamping for pleasure" and not preparing for classes or workshops, I've really started taking my sweet time with my creations. I'll stamp one, maybe two cards a day, and I like to "let the ideas come to me". So this business of creating four cards in a short amount of time was like a marathon for me. AND...I did it! Yippee!!! So let me show you the fruits of my labour.

Butterfly Trio

This is the first card I made, for the Day 1 colour challenge, Ridinghood Red, Blush Blossom, and Kraft. I totally took my inspiration from the colour swatch sample and  pulled out my still uninked SU Flight of the Butterfly set. I stamped each butterfly twice, with Blush Blossom then Ridinghood red, ofsetting just a bit for a shadow effect. The circle panel was cut out with nesties then I ran the blush piece through my D'vine Swirls cuttlebug folder. The card base is Kraft, followed by a piece of blush blossom, then a piece of patterned paper from the SU Ridinghood Red designer paper pack. I added crystal stickles to the centers of the flowers on the background paper and also to the dots on the butterfly. The layout for this card is from Lauren's weekend sketch. 

Mug Trio

Next I moved onto the Day 2 sketch challenge, which you can see here. Since I was under a time crunch, I decided to use this mug image which has been sitting, all coloured, on my desk for over a month now...gasp! The image is from MFT...they're single cups but I stacked them. They're stamped with Memento black onto Gina K pure luxury and coloured with copics. The background paper is from Making Memories Paperie line. The solid colours are Chocolate and Pink Pirouette. 

I "Joanned" my tailored bow by adding a pink button and linen thread...love that detail.  The chocolate dots along the side are from Stamping Bella. 

Dear Friend

Next I tackled the Day 3 sketch challenge, which you'll find here. I felt like colouring, but I needed a small image with not too much detail, so I chose an image from the SU set A Flower For All Seasons. 

Then I decided on a pattern from the Basic Grey Mellow line (the 6x6 pack) and started colouring. I know...I used a ton of markers on this little image...don't be turned off by that, I'm just a bit of a colouring freak and I love layering the shades. {grin!} The card base is Brocade Blue, then a layer of More Mustard. 

The ribbon is SU Spring Moss and I did a mini button bow in the corner of the image. Oh, the sentiment is from the SU set Bella Blossoms. 

Upsy Daisy

FINALLY...the Day 4 sketch challenge. Let me start by saying I was getting tired at this point and pretty much lost my mojo, and it totally shows with this card. It's definitely NOT my favourite. The stamp set is SU Upsy Daisy, which I first inked with Baja Blue, then I sponged on some Not Quite Navy, then I used my Not Quite Navy marker to shade the stems. The entire card was really quick to make but I don't love it. The base is Not Quite Navy, followed by Baja Blue, then a piece of patterned paper from K & Company. The ribbon is SU celery grosgrain and the sparkly blue bonbons are from Stamping Bella. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen