5 Challenge Cards

Hey, everyone. It's been a while since I've had a chance to post some new cards. Life's been busy, and I've been under the weather. My voice is still hoarse, but since you can't hear me, it's all good. Alas, I did not get accepted to the Twisted Sketches new design team for cards. It's only my first try at any DT call, and I'm not giving up that easily. All in good time....

First, I'll start with the three cards I made for current challenges. (The other two are late, but I'll share them anyway.)

To see how the Design Team interpreted this sketch, check out the Card Patterns blog. This sketch #CP57 is sponsored by Hero Arts.

Below is my version. The green oval tag was my jumping-off point. Then I found the royal blue & green striped paper in my scraps. So, I used royal blue cardstock for the card. I lined the inside with green to make it easier to write on. A lot of my cards have bling on them. I decided to forego the bling and keep this one flat for easier mailing. Even the ribbon is thin.

This was the first time I had tried my new Martha Stewart scoring board on inexpensive cardstock (A.C. Moore store brand, I think). I still have tons of it, which I bought before Bazzill and DCWV's textured cardstock was available locally. I was really impressed with the scoring board because it made a nice, crisp fold on cardstock that would buckle & be unusable for a card base. The cardstock is a nice, heavy weight, and now that I can fold it, I'll be able to use more of it.

Supplies: K.I. Memories (oval tag), Uptown Rubber Stamps (sentiment stamp), Ranger (black ink & clear embossing powder), glue dot, Martha Stewart (scoring board).

Next up -- a color challenge, PDCC22.  Another first for me. This one's from The Play Date Cafe. I just discovered their blog recently. I found myself wishing I had some kraft cardstock, but instead I used what I had on hand.

That little butterfly was just sitting on my desk, looking for a home. I based the card around it, using burgundy ribbon and a floral pattern to bring in the other two colors. The result is a simple, all occasion card.

Supplies: DCWV (light blue cardstock), Tim Coffey for K & Co. (butterfly).

It's not often that I make a #10 card lengthwise, but that's what this next challenge entailed. It's from Mojo Monday, MOJO131.  I doubt I'll make this type of card again, but it was fun to give it a try.

Here's my interpretation. I pulled out my trusty bag of patterned paper scraps and found an abstract print I liked. Once I saw that I had purple cardstock and aqua ribbon, I knew I could make it work. I'd just used an oval on another challenge and decided to add some flowers and bling instead. I love the color combo.

Supplies: DCWV (cardstock), Prima (flowers), Brenda Walton for K & Co. (pink rhinestones).

I made the next two cards a while ago and didn't have a chance to take photos and post them for their respective challenges. First is a sketch I really liked and will probably use again. It's CPS158. I kept the color muted because I wanted to be able to use it as a sympathy card.

Supplies: Bazzill (cream card & black cardstock), DCWV La Creme matstack (patterned c/s), American Crafts (black satin ribbon), 2Peas Blocks - Card Sayings (sentiment), corner rounder, pop dots, glue dots.

And, last but not least, in Crazy 4 Challenges #C4C28, the challenge was to make a masculine card of any type. That's something a lot of us struggle with. I know I do. In this case, patterned cardstock from The Paper Loft made it easy. Just look at all that texture! That's man-land all the way.

Supplies: The Paper Loft (cardstock), Basic Grey (embellishment), Quickutz QuickStripz (blue adhesive c/s), twine, pop dots.

Design Team submission + 2 more challenges

I've set a couple of crafting goals for myself this year. One I've already shared is that I want to design more cards that are outside my normal style. Sketches are a great way to expand my repertoire. Another more lofty goal is to be accepted as part of a Design Team. Well, I just took my first step towards that goal by submitting a card for the Twisted Sketches DT call. Twisted Sketches is branching out into cards and is looking for 6-8 design team members, each of whom will submit 2 sketches per month (week on/week off).

This is the sketch for the DT call, and the twist is *transparent* -- up to each individual's interpretation.

 

Here's the card I submitted. As soon as I saw the word *transparent*, I immediately thought of Heidi Swapp's ghost clocks. I love their versatility because it's always *time* for something! In this case, I went with *time to celebrate* and will probably use it as a birthday card. It could easily be used to congratulate someone or to mark an anniversary.

 

Supplies: American Crafts (cardstock), KI Memories (Painters Palette patterned paper), Heidi Swapp (ghost clocks), Build-a-Blossom (flower), Martha Stewart (doily lace punch), Simple Scrapbooks (*time* sticker), 7 Gypsies (metal arrow photo turn & brad), Xyron adhesive & glue dots.

Next are two challenges from last week. The first is CPS155, and I liked working with this one, too. You can see what their crafty design team came up with on the CPS blog.

Below is my version. I love the color combo. Unfortunately, the wide ribbon doesn't come across very well in the photo. It's actually a lovely plum ribbon with a sheer edge that resembles a filmstrip. We haven't had sunshine for several days now, and I just didn't want to wait any longer to post my creations. Natural light makes all the difference. Plus, it just puts me in the mood to craft!

Supplies: Keeping Memories Alive (Dirty Laundry distressed cardstock), Foof-a-La (button), Brenda Walton for K & Co. (rhinestones), ribbon & flower unknown

My final challenge for this post isn't based on a sketch. I came across 365 Cards last week while blog hopping. They were getting close to wrapping up their first year of cards. This photo was from Day 361, when they were showcasing the contemporary signature style of one of their designers, Kristie. The challenge was to find inspiration in modern styles and to scraplift some feature of Kristie's style.

 

When I saw the frame, I knew that's what I would be scraplifting from Kristie's design. In true shop-in-your-own-store fashion, I knew I had a big stash of frames from My Mind's Eye. They're called Flip-Over Frame-Ups. They're reversible and have two frames that fit inside each other. I used the smaller frames on these cards. They fit perfectly on an A4 card. Plaid was all the rage for Fall; so, that was my inspiration. These cards are ultra simple and very quick to make.

Supplies: My Mind's Eye (Flip-Over Frame-Ups), Anita's (stamped sentiment), Ranger (black ink & clear embossing powder), cardstock & ribbon unknown