Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Thanks

Well, the last several days have been far busier than I anticipated and so we’re playing a little catch-up here on the ol’ blog. I recently returned to a full-time job, and I’m finding it a little challenging to balance family time and my most favorite side gigs. I’m sure there are many of you who understand, especially when your family time includes sports activities that your kiddos have chosen to play.

Although a couple of days late this week, we’re marching on with our Sketchy Fridays, where each week we’re using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #7 in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini Catalog and features a fun assortment of products, including designer series paper, dies, and holiday ephemera.

If you’ve followed along for a little while, you’ve heard me talk about how sketches are such a great way to get started with a card design. And you don’t always have to follow a sketch to a T. This week, I’ve rotated the sketch but have otherwise stuck to the layout pretty closely. So let’s take a closer look at all of the elements that are working together here.

We get started with a base of Pretty Peacock cardstock. I used a piece of Tartan Foil patterned paper as the base for our focal panel. And then a piece of the Winer Meadow designer paper serves as our focal panel. I pulled the reindeer from the Joyful Images ephemera to serve as our focal image in the bottom corner. I added a smaller tree diecut from Pretty Peacock using the Merriest Trees dies to anchor the bottom corner of our focal panel. The sentiment pieces and greenery are also from the Joyful Images ephemera and sit nicely over a faux bow of Pretty Peacock & Gold metallic trim. A foil silver circle diecut with the Everyday Details dies serves as the top corner anchor and adds that nice pop of metallic sparkle to compliment the Wink of Stella on the opposing anchor tree. A few Pretty Peacock foiled dots finish things off nicely and draw the eye to the sentiment.

I’m rounding out this week’s woodsy card designs with a peek through the trees. Hope you’ll come check it out.

Product List
Sketchy Fridays · Thankful

Sketchy Fridays: Tweet Thanks

We’ve made it to another Friday, and you know what that means? It’s time for another Sketchy Fridays!

Each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #22 in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog and features a whole assortment of products. We’re pairing our sketch with the Thoughtful Journey and Nests of Winter papers, the Timber embossing folder, and Simply Said stamps along with our thankfulness theme to create today’s card.

Today, I used our sketch more as a guide than an absolute. That’s the best part about using sketches to design cards—they get you started but don’t have to box you in!

Our card starts with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. The focal panel combines a sheet of Gray Granite embossed with the Birch Wood embossing folder with a mat of Blackberry Bliss. Our two focal panels are cut from a sheet of Thoughtful Journey patterned paper using the Nested Essentials dies. I fussy cut the bird from a sheet of Nests of Winter paper and adhered over the focal panel with dimensionals. The sentiment from Simply Said is heat embossed with gold on a Blackberry Bliss panel diecut using the Peaceful Season dies. A few gold iridescent foil gems and Blackberry Bliss transparent dots finish things off with pops of interest.

We’ll be finishing out our thankfulness theme tomorrow. I hope you’ll pop in.

Products used in today’s card:
Early Espresso, Blackberry Bliss, Gray Granite cardstock
Thoughtful Journey, Nests of Winter DSP
Nested Essentials, Peaceful Season dies
Birch Wood embossing folder
Simply Said stamps
Gold embossing powder
Transparent dots, iridescent foil gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Coming Soon · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Otterly Love

We’ve made it to another Friday, and you know what that means? It’s time for another Sketchy Fridays!

Each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #1 in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog and features the Otterly Adorable products which will release on November 5, along with a whole bunch of other new Online Exclusives.

In all honesty, I’ve had a really hard time finding a way to use this sketch. Until today. This sketch just seems to be made for this suite! While I’m not usually one to mix a lot of busy patterns, this sketch gives you the opportunity to break up busy patterns with the offset center focal panels.

Our card starts today with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. I used the pond flora sheet from the Otterly Adorable paper pack as the backdrop for our two offset focal panels. The sweet scene of the mom and baby otter sit atop the rippling water pattern. The sentiment from the Otterly Amazing stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock on a banner diecut from white cardstock using the Greetings of the Season dies. A small bow tied from the Lost Lagoon soft cording and the riverside pearls add nice touches of soft shimmer to this cute and lovable design.

Tomorrow I hope to bring you the promised fun fold that failed earlier in the week. I hope you’ll pop in and see if I was able to pull it off!

Products used in today’s card:
Lost Lagoon, Basic White cardstock
Otterly Adorable DSP (coming soon)
Otterly Amazing stamps (coming soon)
Greetings of the Season dies
Lost Lagoon soft cording (coming soon)
Riverside irregular pearls (coming soon)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Autumn · Holiday Mini Catalog · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Birthday Greenery

We’ve made it to another Friday, and you know what that means? It’s time for another Sketchy Fridays!

Each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #4 in the Holiday Mini catalog and features the Golden Greenery dies and the Splendid Autumn designer series paper in the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog.

One of my dearest girlfriends is celebrating a birthday in a few weeks, and I knew that I wanted to create something special for her. I’m always a little nervous creating things for her because she’s such a gifted artist. She draws, she paints, she watercolors….and everything is just stunning! So it seemed only fitting to use the beautiful Splendid Autumn designer series paper with its gorgeous watercolor look. And I really love how you can change the look and feel of the sheet of paper simply in the way that you selectively cut it to size.

Our design gets started with a base of Cajun Craze cardstock. The focal panel is a combination of Splendid Autumn patterned paper and gold mercury vellum as a mat. The Splendid Autumn paper in this design is trimmed so that only the trees from the scene are showcased in the panel. I think it’s such a neat look, especially considered in context with the full sheet of paper.

Our focal section consists of the sentiment panel. The sentiment from Everyday Greetings is stamped in Copper Clay on Very Vanilla and then diecut using the Autumn Leaves dies. We have two sets of fall foliage behind our sentiment panel. One is cut from Oxidized Copper, while the other is cut from Season of Elegance paper. Both are cut using the Golden Greenery dies. A twist of linen thread in between ties our fall color palette together nicely. And we finish things off with the sparkle of Earth Tones shimmer gems.

The next time you’re cutting down a sheet of patterned paper, think about how you can create a different and interesting look based on the overall feel you want to convey in your design. I think you’ll be surprised how it changes the look of the panel you trim down!

Tomorrow we’ll be finishing off our Season of Green & Gold series with another fall-inspired design. I hope you’ll drop in and check it out!

Products used in today’s card:
Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla cardstock
Splendid Autumn, gold mercury vellum, Oxidized Copper, Season of Elegance DSP
Everyday Greetings stamps
Golden Greenery, Autumn Leaves dies
Natural Tones linen thread
Earth Tones shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Christmas · Holiday Mini Catalog · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Holiday Joy

Do you ever have weeks where you aren’t sure which end is up much less what day it is? I’ve been confused about what day of the week it is all week and it’s NOT even a holiday week! Perhaps it’s a phase of the moon or something.

Today is another installment of Sketchy Fridays, where each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #13 in the Holiday Mini catalog and features the Joyful ephemera packs and the fun Take a Bow designer series paper in the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog.

I know I probably say this often enough that you’re beginning to think that I’m a broken record, but what I love about using sketches to build a card design is that it’s merely a starting point. There aren’t any rules that say your card HAS to look exactly like the sketch that inspired it. Today, you’ll notice that I’ve taken some liberties with the sketch. Rather than using actual rectangles in the design, they’re a representation of the images from the Joyful Images ephemera pack. Can you see it?

We get started on this card design with a base of white cardstock. Our background panel is a sheet of the red polka dot Take a Bow patterned paper with a strip of the green star pattern from the same pack. In each of the places represented by rectangles in the sketch, I’ve put images from the Joyful Images ephemera pack, building a cute scene of a cup of cocoa surrounded by snacks you might enjoy with it. There’s a twist of the peppermint baker’s twine tied behind the images for a little visual interest. The sentiment down below is mounted on a banner from the Images pack while the word Joy is from the Joyful Sayings ephemera. A few adhesive peppermints and some drusy embellishments help the eye move across our design and add some pops of fun color and sparkle.

Tomorrow we’ll be rounding out this week’s series with a trip to grandma’s house. I hope you’ll come along!

Products used in today’s card:
Basic White cardstock
Take a Bow DSP
Joyful ephemera packs
Real Red & White twine
Real Red & White peppermints
Drusy embellishments
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Holiday Mini Catalog · sketches

Sketches & More Sketches

I love a good sketch, and if you’ve followed along here for any length of time, you’ve heard and seen me refer to sketches I’ve used to make various cards. There are all sorts of places where you can find card sketches and you can even start your own sketch book based on card layouts you see and like. These are two things that I’ve been doing for years. But what I love is that Stampin’ Up! has begun to include a collection of sketches in catalogs.

There are quite a number of demonstrators who have turned the collection of sketches in the 2024-25 Annual Catalog into a large-scale file (letter-sized) that they’ve shared amongst their fellow demos and with their customers. I got mine from Frenchie Stamps and love the larger format because it helps me better visualize where I’m going with design and obviously because it’s much easier on the eyes. *wink wink*

Up until now, however, I have not seen any of the new sketches included in the Holiday Mini catalog in a larger format. So I’ve spent some time over the last week doing just that. About half of the sketches included in the catalog are for gift tags. But did you know they can easily be converted to card fronts? You will see each of those tags included as a card layout in this sketch collection file — to help you better visualize how each of the tags can become a card. But you’ll note that each of the tag sketches is otherwise completely unchanged outside of the outline of a card front.

You can download the full collection of 20 sketches included on page 16 of the 2024 Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog by clicking on the link below.

Christmas · Holiday Mini Catalog · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Take a Bow, Frosty

Welcome to Friday, everyone! This week, we’ve been All About Christmas and have been taking a tour through all of the fun holiday products that Stampin’ Up! offers.

Today is another installment of Sketchy Fridays, where each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found on page 22 of the current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #17 and features the snowman from the Filled With Cheer stamp set and the fun Take a Bow designer series paper in the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog.

We get started with a base of Real Red cardstock. I chose a sheet of the new Take a Bow designer series paper for the strip elements in the sketch and used both sides of one sheet of paper. I felt like the focal panel needed to be more than simple strips of patterned paper and this is where I chose to add two additional layers to bring everything together. I used some of the red Festive glimmer paper as the mat immediately behind our paper strips, and this mat is cut using the Perennial Postage die. And then to help the whole focal panel pop against our card base, I added a mat of white cardstock that has been diecut with the Deckled Rectangle die and then embossed using the Snowflake Sky embossing folder. Our focal panel is stamped with the snowman from the Filled With Cheer stamp set and then diecut with the Perennial Postage dies so that we’re just capturing the snowman and Christmas tree. The snowman is colored with Stampin’ Blends. Red and white baker’s twine is twisted around the bottom of our panel to tie everything together (no pun intended). The top-right edge of our panel is lightly sponged with Real Red ink to create a nice backdrop for our separate sentiment panel. The sentiment from Greetings of the Season is stamped in red on white cardstock and then diecut with the circle die from Changing Leaves and then adhered over our sponged focal panel corner. The focal panel is adhered to the backdrop with dimensionals. A few peppermints and rhinestones finish things off and help draw the eye across and to the more important elements on our card.

I love sketches because they give me a great place to get started. Sometimes I stick to a sketch just as it is. And other times, like today, I venture just a tiny bit outside the lines. I really love the simplicity of today’s sketch, but as I started working with it in conjunction with all of the elements in today’s card design, I felt like we needed a few extra layers to be sure everything works together but also, and more importantly, to ensure that all of the elements really pop.

Tomorrow we’re revisiting a few old favorites as we make our way through the enchanted Christmas forest. I hope you’ll pop by and check it out!

Products used in today’s card:
Real Red, Basic White cardstock
Take a Bow, Festive glimmer DSP
Filled With Cheer, Greetings of the Season stamps
Stampin’ Blends
Snowflake Sky embossing folder
Perennial Postage, Deckled Rectangles, Changing Leaves dies
Red & white twine
Peppermints
Rhinestones
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Autumn · Fall · sketches · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Accomplished So Much

This week is all about autumn, and we’re using unique combinations of Stampin’ Up! products to make some beautiful card designs.

And it’s already time again for another installment of Sketchy Fridays, where each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found on page 22 of the current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #14 and features the gorgeous Splendid Autumn designer paper from the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog.

As I was thumbing through the papers in the Splendid Autumn paper pack, I was looking for a sheet that would lend itself to an unexpected combination of products. When I saw this beautiful sheet of the groves of trees separated by a stream with its hues of greens and purples, along with the usual fall foliage colors, I knew I had found the sheet I was looking for.

The beauty of today’s Sketch #14 is it lets us use this gorgeous paper as the focal point and then support it with mats as complements. We get started with a base of Calypso Coral cardstock. I love how this base color makes the oranges in the trees pop over the golden hues. Our sheet of Splendid Autumn is matted in two different colors. We use a very thin mat of Peach Pie glimmer paper right up against the Splendid Autumn, and it’s such a nice complement to the golden hues in our paper. Then we’re using a larger secondary mat of Old Olive Season of Elegance designer paper. Just look at how this brings out the grass along either side of our creek that’s reflecting our gorgeous dusky sky. And in person, the sparkle of the gold foiling in this sheet plays along perfectly with the glimmer paper. The sentiment from Wonderful Thoughts is heat embossed in gold on a sheet of white vellum from the Graceful Greenery vellum pack and then diecut using the Greetings of the Season dies using the extension method to give us a full banner. We finish things off with a twist of ribbons, including iridescent striped sheer ribbon, gold trim, and two colors of linen thread from the new Natural Tones pack, and a few of the new Earth Tones shimmer gems in opposing corners for a little sparkle.

I hope you tune in tomorrow as we round out our All About Autumn card series. I’ll be bringing you another emboss resist project, as well as a BONUS post showing how you can make a simple easel project that packs a big punch!

Products used in today’s card:
Calypso Coral cardstock
Season of Elegance, Splendid Autumn, Graceful Greenery vellum, Gold textured DSP
Wonderful Thoughts stamps
Greetings of the Season dies
Iridescent striped ribbon
Gold trim
Natural Tones linen thread
Earth Tones shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Fun Folds · sketches · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Brighten Your Day

I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe that we’re wrapping up the month of August and marching right into September already! I mean, it’s Labor Day weekend. Whaaaaaa?! I feel like the older I get the faster the time seems to fly by.

And speaking of time flying by, it’s time again for another installment of Sketchy Fridays, where each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found on page 22 of the current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog.

This week’s card is based on Sketch #20 and features the gorgeous Splendid Autumn designer paper from the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog that launches on September 4th.

This paper pack just turns out sheet after sheet of stunning designs, and I’m loving each and every one. I’m pairing up a fun fold shared by my upline Patty Bennett with Sketch #20 from the Annual Catalog. I’ve taken the liberty of changing the orientation of the sentiment piece. And that’s the best thing about using a sketch — it gives you a place to start and then you tweak things to work for you.

So our fun fold starts with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. Rather than scoring in the center, we score and fold at 3-inches and 7.25-inches to give us our front fold with a standard-sized inside message panel. I decided to double mat the gorgeous sheet of Splendid Autumn patterned paper and used Flirty Flamingo to bring out the pinky-orange hues of the leaves. I cut and mounted the patterned paper so that the panels meet to form a complete picture when the card is closed. When open, there is a small border of Flirty Flamingo visible on the left panel and a slight overhang of the Splendid Autumn sheet on the right panel. The sentiment from Changing Leaves is stamped in black on white cardstock and then diecut using the Greetings of the Season die. I diecut a leaf from gold mercury vellum using the Autumn Leaves dies and adhered to the sentiment panel. The sentiment panel is mounted to the left panel of the card front using dimensionals. We finish off the card front with an assortment of regal foiled dots, which release next week. I felt like it was a shame to waste the remainder of the Splendid Autumn sheet, so it serves as the decorative strip next to the message panel on the inside of the card. I added a few additional gold mercury vellum leaves to tie things together.

I loved this fun fold because it offered the perfect opportunity to showcase a gorgeous sheet of paper. When I have paper that’s so pretty that I don’t want to cut it, I search for layouts like this one that let me put it on full display. Give it a try the next time you have a sheet of paper too pretty to cut up!

Tomorrow, we’re closing out our In the Woods card series with a fall sunset. I hope you’ll stop by and check it out!

Products used in today’s card:
Blackberry Bliss, Flirty Flamingo, Basic White cardstock
Splendid Autumn (coming soon!), gold mercury vellum DSP
Changing Leaves stamps
Autumn Leaves, Greetings of the Season dies
Regal foiled dots (coming soon!)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Coming Soon · sketches · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Cuppa Thanks

This week we’re exploring all of the ways that we can use our holiday products to make everyday cards. For this week’s Sketchy Fridays, we’re taking a little detour from the Annual Catalog and, instead, are taking a page from my personal sketch book. And today, we’re pairing our sketch with the new Take a Bow patterned paper and Joyful Images ephemera both of which will be available on September 6th.

We get started with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock. Our center strip of patterned paper is from the Take a Bow paper pack and provides a colorful grounding base for our focal panel. Our focal panel backdrop consists of a piece of Garden Green cardstock embossed with the Cute Crochet embossing folder that is mounted on the mercury vellum sheet. The mug of hot chocolate is from the Joyful Images ephemera pack. A few adhesive peppermints add some visual texture and interest. The sentiment from Simply Zinnia is stamped in black on white cardstock and then diecut using the Autumn Leaves die. A faux bow of gold trim behind brings another pop of gold to the design, tying our full focal panel together as one. The mug and sentiment are adhered over a Graceful Greenery vellum panel diecut with the Nested Essentials dies. Iridescent faceted gems across the design help the eye pass across and to the sentiment.

We’re closing out our design series tomorrow with a stunning sympathy card. You don’t want to miss it!

Products used in today’s card:
Balmy Blue, Garden Green, Basic White cardstock
Take a Bow (coming soon!), Graceful Greenery vellum, mercury vellum DSP
Simply Zinnia stamps
Nested Essentials, Autumn Leaves dies
Cute Crochet embossing folder
Joyful Images ephemera (coming soon!)
Real Red & White peppermints (coming soon!), iridescent faceted gems
Gold trim
Dimensionals
Adhesives