sketch adventures

Last year at this time, I didn't have a blog.  I had to start one so I could play along with the challenges I was just discovering.  When challenged with a sketch, I struggled; they seemed sort of restraining.  Now, I love sketches; they're always a wonderful starting point.  The sketch for this card came from Freshly Made Sketches:

stamp sets - Mixed Bunch, On Your Birthday, Netting, Borderlines; ink - Peach Parfait, Pool Party, Versamark; card stock - Very Vanilla, Pool Party, Peach Parfait; designer series paper - Everyday Enchantment; punches - Blossom, Modern Label; stamping sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals

Jingle Belles was the first challenge I ever played with, and at first I just loaded photos of my cards in Flickr, so I didn't need a blog.  They're still my favorite, so yes, you'll be seeing Christmas cards here all year.  If you play along, you'll have a great start on a handmade holiday (or maybe you'll have all you need) without using a major chunk of December.  This week they have a sketch by Kirsty Vittetoe.  The butterfly in Kirsty's sketch said "snowball" to me, so I immediately knew which stamp set to pull out:

stamp set - Snow Much Fun; ink - Baja Breeze; card stock - Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Silver Glimmer; designer series paper - Twitterpated; punches - 1-3/8" circle, scallop border, 3/16" corner rounder; Baja Breeze 3/8" pleated satin ribbon, stamping sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals

I had that little strip of Silver Glimmer paper, the perfect size for a scallop border, and combined with the shiny pleated ribbon, more than enough Glitter - Sparkle - Shine to qualify at Shopping Our Stash.

I finally ventured into blogging after I found my second challenge site, Less is More.  The challenge there this week is a one-layer card with a Bird theme.  I'm not going to be late this week!  Once again, I started with a sketch - this one is Clean & Simple fall-to-layout #173:

stamp sets - Petite Pairs, Nature Walk; ink - Baja Breeze, Soft Suede; Stampin' Write marker - Baja Breeze; card stock - Naturals White, textured Baja Breeze; Adorning Accents edgelit die, Adorning Accents textured impressions embossing folder, sponge daubers, blender pen

There are many more sketches on my current challenge grid - three due Wednesday and three due Friday - I'm hoping to get some more stamping and blogging done in the next couple of days!