Special Reason for Freshly Made Sketches

I really liked the sketch for the challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches this week, so I wanted to make sure I made some time in my schedule to fit it in and I got the opportunity yesterday. I also had the opportunity to use one of my newer stamp sets that I haven't yet had time to ink up - Special Reason! This set coordinates and bundles with a set of dies called the Stylish Stems Framelits, but I didn't want to use those today and will highlight them another time.

Here's the sketch for the challenge:

The triptych element in the front is what fascinated me about the sketch and I wondered about how I could design those. I finally decided on a stamped collage divided into 3 panels and mounted on a backing panel. With all the snow (Oh, my goodness - what a dump!) we had this weekend, I worked hard to make it spring-like and chose these colours:

Mint Macaron

Pink Pirouette

Pool Party

Wisteria Wonder

Here's a closer look:

• Again, it's so hard to photograph the metallics, but the dark colour there is actually silver, as in Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder and Silver Foil Sheets. The Silver Foil Sheet creates the background for the triptych and one of the flowers and 3 leaf "skeletons" are stamped in Versamark and sprinkled with Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder and heat set with the Heat Tool.
• The solid images in Special Reason stamp set were perfect for a bit of a collage look. I stamped and embossed a single piece of Whisper White cardstock first and then cut it into 1" widths. These I arranged on the larger piece of Silver Foil Sheet, leaving even gaps between each one.
• The sentiment also comes from Special Reason stamp set and it was embossed with Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder. 
• Three Silver Metallic Enamel Shapes provide balance and added interest to the design.

You can see the silver shine a little better on this photo:

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today.

Product List

Special Reason Wood-Mount Stamp Set [142899]	Special Reason Clear-Mount Stamp Set [142902]	Silver Foil Sheets [132178]	Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138337]	Pink Pirouette 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [111351]
Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122924]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Versamark Pad [102283]	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [126982]	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad [126956]
Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326]	Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [126985]	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder [109131]	Embossing Buddy [103083]	Heat Tool [129053]
Metallic Enamel Shapes [141678]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Fast Fuse Adhesive [129026]

Sunshine Wishes for Just Add Ink

Valentine's Day is coming soon and I really haven't done many Valentine cards so I thought I should try another design. I've been dying to use the Sunshine Wishes Thinlits again, as well, and they were perfect for a challenge I saw at the Just Add Ink Challenge Blog this week:

With a delicious colour combination from the Colour Throwdown Challenge folks, I was ready to go to it!

I mean, look at that inspiration photo! Red, pink, chocolate and white! Tomorrow, I have a Mom & Me class and I needed a project for the moms to do on their own. I thought they would have fun with this one.

• I started with an Early Espresso base and layered it with a simple striped panel from the Sending Love Designer Series Paper Stack.
• I got out my Watercolour Pencils and Aqua Painter and did a little watercolour scribble on the Whisper White background. I had to use the pencil colours available. The Real Red and Early Espresso were perfect, but the only pink is Melon Mambo and it's a wee bit off Blushing Bride But with water from the Aqua Painter and the Real Red mixed in, it tones down considerably. You have to be really careful not to add too much water to this on the Whisper White, just enough to blend it and move the colour around.
• I die cut the hearts from Red and Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper. It worked better to die cut the back of the glimmer paper. It just preserved the glitter finish and it was easier to cut and to get out of the die.
• The word love is also part of the Sunshine Wishes set and it is cut from Early Espresso here with clear Wink of Stella added to only the lower part of the letters for a different look.
• The Fine Tip Glue Pen was perfect for gluing all the small areas on to the project. It was especially tricky gluing the banner, word and red heart on as they are interwoven. I glued the heart and word to the banner and then glued all to the project.

There are three new Sale-A-Bration Rewards being offered starting Feb. 21 and you can see a little sneak peek here! Check out that glimmer paper in particular! I think it's going to be a best seller! More on these later!

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today.

Product List

Sending Love Designer Series Paper Stack [142733]	Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper [140550]	Red Glimmer Paper [121790]	Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119686]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]
Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [102482]	Subtles Enamel Shapes [141679]	Watercolor Pencils [141709]	Aqua Painters [103954]	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897]
Sunshine Wishes Thinlits Dies [141489]	Big Shot [143263]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Fast Fuse Adhesive [129026]	Fine-Tip Glue Pen [138309]

Tasty Trucks with a Secret!

I'm excited today to share with you another stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure, meaning it's a stamp set you can earn free with any $60 purchase*! This set is called Tasty Trucks and it's a lot of fun to play with! Think of your favourite food truck and you can re-create it with this set: tacos, hot dogs, pancakes, cupcakes, ice-cream- you name it! And it's perfect to try out your new set of Watercolour Pencils with! What? You haven't ordered those yet? You are missing the BOAT! They are amazing! My favourite way to use them is with a Blender Pen! Gorgeous results each time!

This card has a secret, though! It's actually a Peekaboo Slider Card, which means, when you drive the food truck away, it leaves a message for you behind! The message here is actually a sentiment from the same stamp set, Tasty Trucks!

Would you like to learn how to make a card like this?

• Well, I'm providing a step-by-step photo tutorial in my newsletter this month for free! Everyone on my newsletter email list will get this tutorial. It includes photos of each step and easy to understand directions for each step as well. There is a list of supplies needed including dimensions and links to order if needed. To get this free tutorial, all you need to do is join my email newsletter list, with the understanding that you can unsubscribe at any time, without a hassle. Just type your email address in the box below and click "Go".

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Just a head up, that starting February 21st, there will be 3 new Sale-A-Bration items added. I will be preordering one or two in the next couple of days so I can preview them for you, but I know you're going to love them! All the old items will remain available until the end of March however!

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today.

Product List**

Tasty Trucks Photopolymer Stamp Set [143300]	Cool Treats Photopolymer Stamp Set [142982]	Tasty Treats Specialty Designer Series Paper [142770]	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953]	Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122924]
Watercolor Pencils [141709]	Blender Pens [102845]	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323]	1" Circle Punch [119868]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

*Before shipping and tax are added on.

**Not a complete supply list. See free tutorial on my newsletter for complete list.