Tag: sketches

Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team

You Mean the World

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

One of my go-to design tools is a good sketch. If I run across a great card layout, whether it’s an actual card or just a sketch, it goes in my inspiration folder for reference later. Sketches are a great resource when you get in a creative rut, have zero ideas, or just want a quick way to turn out a lot of cards.

This week’s sketch from Freshly Made Sketches really resonated with me creatively and I quickly had a bunch of ideas for how I would use this sketch. Yesterday, I showed how I tweaked this sketch to work for the elements I wanted to use on the card I was making. Today, I’m sticking closer to the original sketch for this card.

We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. I used the Perennial Lavender designer paper for this design. The background panel from Perennial Lavender is diecut using the largest die in the Deckled Rectangles die set. For the square element of the sketch, I chose a mat of Pretty Peacock glimmer paper and a decorative sheet of the Perennial Lavender and diecut each with the nesting dies from Thoughtful Expressions. The circle element is diecut from Crumb Cake with Everyday Essentials and then dry embossed with Elegant Eucalyptus embossing folder. I felt this really helped make all of the patterns and color palette more cohesive. The sentiment from Botanical Layers is stamped on Lost Lagoon that has been diecut with the Everyday Essentials die. The ribbon and twine and foiled gems help draw the eye to the focal point in the center of the card and unite the color palette.

Products used in today’s design:
Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake cardstock
Perennial Lavender, Pretty Peacock glimmer DSP
Pretty Peacock foiled gems
Pretty Peacock & gold metallic ribbon, linen thread
Dimensionals
Adhesives


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Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team

Incredible

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I’ve been so inspired by our monthly Luv 2 Stamp Team challenge to use our designer series paper. When I saw this week’s sketch by Freshly Made Sketches over on Instagram, I had so many ideas for incorporating my stash of DSP. So today, I’m starting with the Flowering Zinnias because …. well, I just love zinnias. *wink*

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but one of the things that I love about using design sketches is that you aren’t “stuck” with the layout as it is. It’s just a starting point for your design. So never be afraid to make adjustments to make it work for you. For example, for my take on this sketch, I started by laying out the papers and tools I wanted to use and intended to have the sketch work for me as-is. But as I got to work on my card, I needed to turn the card orientation and then shift the elements a little bit to work with the flower I fussy cut and felt was a must-have element for the design. That’s how I “made it work” for me. *grin*

Today’s card begins with a base of Berry Burst. I really liked the contrast of Berry Burst and Melon Mambo in the sheet of Flowering Zinnias DSP that I used as the square element, and so I played it up with the card base and embossed background layer. The background layer is a section of Melon Mambo that I embossed using the Zinnia embossing folder. To help the square of pink zinnia designer paper stand out against the embossed background, I matted it with some Berry Burst glimmer paper. The circle element from the sketch is a piece of the green zinnia stems and leaves pattern that is diecut using the Everyday Details dies. The sentiment from the Happy Little Things set is stamped on white cardstock and then diecut with the Everyday Details dies using the die extension method to make it long enough to fit the entire sentiment in one line. Because I really wanted the sentiment panel to stand out against the busy background and also to draw in some additional green elements, I matted the sentiment with some Old Olive glimmer paper diecut with the Deckled Rectangles dies using the extension method. I fussy cut a zinnia from a sheet of the Flowering Zinnias paper and rested it atop the circle and sentiment to tie together the full color palette. I added some shiny sequins across the card front to draw the eye across the card and add sparkles of interest.

I really love this week’s FMS sketch and am going to make a series of cards with it to showcase how you can use sketches to make designing cards both fast and fun! Tune in tomorrow for another take on Sketch 628!

Products used in today’s design:
Berry Burst, Melon Mambo, Basic White cardstock
Flowering Zinnias, Berry Burst & Old Olive glimmer DSP
Everyday Details, Everyday Essentials, Deckled Rectangles dies
Happy Little Things stamps
Shiny sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives


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Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team

Thanks in the Air

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I’m thoroughly enjoying our Luv 2 Stamp Team Challenge this month to use all of that beautiful designer series paper we have in our stash. It’s really helped me look for unique pattern pairings and explore new layouts.

When I came across the most recent Freshly Made Sketches Insta post with this week’s layout, I wanted to give it a try with the Lighter Than Air designer paper. This card starts with a base of Balmy Blue. The sheet of balloons from the DSP pack serves as the star of the design. I chose two other coordinating designs from the paper pack for the bottom strip. I really liked having the bottom strip consist of two layers in order to tie together the colors in the balloon pattern. The sentiment from So Sincere is stamped on white cardstock and then diecut using the All That die. I used the iridescent foil gems to draw your eye across the card to the sentiment.

Sometimes your design inspiration starts with a sketch and others it starts with product. Either way, make something beautiful and share it with others! There’s just nothing like a handmade smile.

Products used:
Balmy Blue, Basic White cardstock
Lighter Than Air DSP
So Sincere stamps
Iridescent foil gems
Adhesives

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Terrific Tuesdays

Beyond Measure

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

I often find that starting the design process with a particular layout in mind helps things come together faster. For me, that often means turning to my collection of sketches. I keep sketches in a few different places based on whether I saved it digitally or it’s hand-drawn.

Today’s card design began with a sketch that I recently saved in my digital sketch file. This sketch is from the lovely folks over at Freshly Made Sketches. If you’re ever looking for a great repository of sketch inspiration, you should check them out!

So this card begins with a base of Blackberry Bliss. I really love how it pulls out the subtle purples in the sheet of Delightfully Eclectic designer series paper that is the backdrop for this card. The little images are supposed to resemble a mini picture wall. The mats for each image are diecut using the Perennial Postage dies. A strip of rose gold and white striped ribbon provides a little grounding for the small image panels amongst the busy-ness of the floral patterned background. The focal sentiment is fussy cut to accentuate the word “loved” in the sentiment. Some fine shimmer gems are scattered across the card front to draw the eye across the design.

You can see this design come together in its entirety in this week’s Terrific Tuesdays video.

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