DS105: Bit of Stardust....and a farewell

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been so quiet lately. I've been a little swamped with end-of-year things at my daughter's school and we had Spring baseball all month long. It just wiped me out!

But I'm back today with another card for this week's Deconstructed Sketch Challenge #105!

I think you're going to love this sketch! It's got lots of great elements and you know it's got to be good when it was sketched by design team member Sheri Gilson!! Jen's been busy moving house, so some of the girls have stepped in to help her out with the sketches....aren't they a nice bunch?! :)

For my card, I used one of my favorite There She Goes' sets, Bit Of Stardust, because I love this expression! The papers are from MME's Sunshine paper pad, buttons from PTI (kraft) and some yummy bias binding ribbon.

Here's what this week's sketch looks like:

Now for the sad part....unfortunately, I've had to make the hard decision to step down from the Deconstructed Sketch design team AND my beloved There She Goes design team. :( I thought I had a little bit more time than I did, but we found out a few weeks ago that my daughter has to attend summer school to improve on her grammar and comprehension skills. She's only in 2nd grade, but we don't want her falling behind already, so I made a promise to myself to help her as much as I can this summer to get her where she needs to be for 3rd grade.

The other reason is that I have to eventually give up my craft room for....the little baby that we're expecting in December!! Yes, we're finally getting that second child I've been wishing for for years now! We're SO excited to be having another little one in the house that I'm not too cut up about giving up the only spare room in the house (the craft room) to them. The bit I hate is having to say goodbye to the nicest group of girls I've ever had the pleasure working with! I've been designing for TSG for almost 4 years now and I as going to miss them so much! And the Deconstructed Sketch girls are just a fantastic group of ladies....*sigh*

I also want to thank everyone who's followed my little blog and supported me with over the years. The only reason I've kept my blog going this long is because of you all and all the sweet comments you leave me. I plan on leaving my blog up, just in case things aren't as chaotic as I envision them being after the baby is born and I find some extra time somewhere to make a project or two to share with you all. Never say never, right?? :)

All my hugs, Sandra

DS103: Get Set To Get Wet!!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Good Morning sweet peeps!

Are you ready for another Deconstructed Sketch challenge?? I bet you are! ;) Sketch number 103 is up and ready to roll!

Here's my take on it:

I kept mine pretty true to the sketch since its such a busy one this week. If you hopped along with us for the There She Goes June release sneak peeks last week, you'll recognize this little guy! He's part of the new Aquaholics set that is SO CUTE!! 

Here's the actual sketch so you can see all the different elements:

I hope you can find some time to play along with us this week! 

It's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend here in New England, and, as usual, we've got a lot of things planned. The Little One has a baseball game as well as her school Circesta day. I volunteered at the face painting booth, which should be a lot of fun! I went into my bee hive this past Monday and man are they doing well! I put a second deep super box on it two weeks ago and they've already drawn out comb on 5-6 of the 10 frames!! I had to put a medium super on the hive just to give them room to expand! Hopefully they'll have it completely filled out in a few weeks and be making enough honey to survive the winter!

Have a great weekend whatever it is you're doing!


{Supplies}
{Stamps} There She Goes 'Aquaholics
{Papers} Bazzil Basics - Avalanche White, PTI Kraft Cardstock, PP - MME 'The Sweetest Thing'
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Dusty Durango and Soft Sky, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'
{Access} Spellbinders Oval Nesties, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Hemp Twine, PTI Button, Sponges, Dimensionals, Sewing

DS102: My Our Castle To Yours!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Good morning sweet peeps!

If you're looking for today's sneak peek for the June releases from There She Goes, I don't have one for you. :( Sorry! It's my fault because I should have had all the sets printed at the big box store (because our stamps hadn't arrived yet) but I gambled and thought they might have arrive in last night's mail. They didn't, so I wasn't able to make a card for today. Instead, I decided to show you another stamp from the new Aquaholics set that will be released on Saturday!

It's such a great set and the best part is that lots of the images work REALLY WELL with the Enjoy Life: By The Sea set! The castle is from the new Aquaholics set and the sentiment is from the Enjoy life: By The Sea set. It's like they were made for each other, isn't it?! :)

My layout is this week's, brand new, Deconstructed Sketch layout, DS#102.

It's an easy one this week and I followed it to a T! (No point messing with perfection , I say! lol)

I hope you all can play along this week! I've been really busy in the evenings lately (the little one has baseball, swimming and climbing classes all month long!), so I haven't gotten around to checking out all your cards, but I'm really going to try this week!

Please check out what the rest of the design team have come up with this week - I love seeing their takes on the sketches!

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill

Hugs,
Sandra


{Supplies}
{Stamps} There She Goes 'Aquaholics' and 'Enjoy Life: By The Sea'
{Papers} Bazzil Basics - Avalanche, PTI Kraft Cardstock, PP - Bo Bunny and Crate Paper
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black, Creamy Caramel
{Access} Spellbinders Nesties, Sewing, Dimensionals

Deconstructed Sketch #101...Got Diploma?

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Good Morning sweet peeps!

I don't know how it got to be Thursday already! These weeks seem to fly by lately...have they for you too?! I wish they'd slow down just a tad!

Bee update: I went into my hive last Sunday and just as I thought, those busy girls had built the burr comb back up and under the top feeder again! Lots of perfectly good comb and baby bees that I had to remove! :( I have to remove it because it would make it hard to inspect the hive after a while. So, after cleaning off the run-away comb (and unfortunately killing a few bees along the way), I added another box of deep frames to the hive so the girls have 10 more frames to build comb on. That should keep them happy for a while! They were busy little bees too - all but 3 of the frames had comb built up after only 3 weeks! Most of the brood (babies) was capped which means I'll have a new batch of honey bees on my hands! Sadly, the original batch of bees are almost at the end of their life cycle. :( I'll miss them, but I'm looking forward to seeing how fast this new batch will expand the hive!

Shall we get on with why you're really here?! lol

Today's Deconstructed Sketch is a beauty! Here's what I did with it...

I kept my card pretty close to the sketch this week....except for adding the circle detail and button. It looked a little bare without them! I used the ConGRADulations set from There She Goes, which is being highlighted today on the There She Goes blog! I wish I had made this card last week - my brother-in-law graduated from college! Doh!

Here's the sketch:

If you want to play along, here's the Deconstructed Sketch post with all the details!
And if you need more inspiration, check out what the rest of the design team did with it!

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill

I hope you can play along with us this week!

Hugs,

Sandra

Deconstructed Sketch Party...Still Going Strong!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Good Morning!

 I hope you've all had a great week so far! If you haven't played along yet, we're on the second week of the Deconstructed Sketch #100 Challenge and there's still time to play! The DS girls have whipped up more inspiration for you this week....just in case you're a little stuck for ideas! (I doubt it though!)

Since Mother's Day is just around the corner, I got to thinking about how special that day becomes for all the new mothers out there. It takes on a whole new meaning when you have kids of your own, doesn't it? Also, two There She Goes trendsetter alums are about to have babies soon! Candace Pierce is expecting her first bundle of joy any day now and Iwona Palamountain just had her second little bub last night! If you know either of them, take a minute to wish them both a wonderful Mother's Day won't you?

 As I said earlier, there's still time to play along with the Deconstructed Sketch #100 challenge. Here's some deets you need to know:

Commenting: 

• There is a prize hidden somewhere out in the 100th sketch blog hop!! One very lucky randomly selected commenter will win a $25.00 gift certificate to Tiddly Inks Stamps!
• So what do you need need to do? Visit all the blogs on the link list below and leave a comment on their Deconstructed Sketch 100th sketch post and cross your fingers!
• The commenting prize deadline is May 15, 2013 at 8 pm CST. We've got TWO things to celebrate so we are celebrating for two weeks!

Make a project:

• There is also a prize saved for one of our sketch participants! One very lucky randomly selected sketch participant will win a $25.00 gift certificate to Taylored Expressions!!
• So what do you need to do for this one? Use sketch 100 to create a project - your project can be a card, layout, Project Life creation - anything, just make sure the sketch is visible. Photograph your creation and upload it to an online gallery or blog and come back here and add a direct link to your project in InLinkz on the Deconstructed Sketch 100 post on Jen's Blog.
• The project deadline is May 15, 2013 at 8 pm CST. Enter as many times as you want with different projects!

Now it's time to hop!!

Thanks for popping in today! Have a great weekend!

{Supplies}
{Stamps} There She Goes 'Bit Of Stardust'
{Papers} Bazzil Basics - Vanilla, PTI Kraft Cardstock, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - MME 
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye'
{Access} Spellbinders Circle Nesties, Lace, PTI Button - Kraft, Hemp Twine, Sponges, Dimensionals, Sewing

Deconstructed Sketch #100....and there's a party going on!!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Good morning sweet peeps!

It's a special day today for Jen and her Deconstructed Sketch challenge!

It's her 2nd anniversary of her weekly sketch challenge AND it's the 100th milestone sketch to boot! Woohooo! Seriously, that deserves a standing ovation peeps! There are very few sketch challenge blogs that are still going strong after 50, let alone 100! Congratulations Jen - I'm so thankful to be a part of your amazing achievement!

Here's what I whipped up just for this week's challenge and celebration!

I came down with a cold this past weekend (no thanks to The Man!) so I couldn't muster up the energy to work on my card until last night. But as soon as I pulled the Poultry In Motion set out from There She Goes, I knew a punny card would get me in the mood! I was right! :)

I didn't sway too far from the original sketch. Here's what this week's sketch actually looks like:

To help us celebrate, we have some special guests joining us as well as TWO amazing sponsors and we want YOU to join us too! Now here's what you need to know:-

Commenting: 

• There is a prize hidden somewhere out in the 100th sketch blog hop!! One very lucky randomly selected commenter will win a $25.00 gift certificate to Tiddly Inks Stamps!
• So what do you need need to do? Visit all the blogs on the link list below and leave a comment on their Deconstructed Sketch 100th sketch post and cross your fingers!
• The commenting prize deadline is May 15, 2013 at 8 pm CST. We've got TWO things to celebrate so we are celebrating for two weeks!

Make a project:

• There is also a prize saved for one of our sketch participants! One very lucky randomly selected sketch participant will win a $25.00 gift certificate to Taylored Expressions!!
• So what do you need to do for this one? Use sketch 100 to create a project - your project can be a card, layout, Project Life creation - anything, just make sure the sketch is visible. Photograph your creation and upload it to an online gallery or blog and come back here and add a direct link to your project in InLinkz on the Deconstructed Sketch 100 post on Jen's Blog.
• The project deadline is May 15, 2013 at 8 pm CST. Enter as many times as you want with different projects!

Now it's time to hop!!



I hope you can join us this week!!

{Supplies}

{Stamps} There She Goes 'Poultry In Motion'

{Papers} Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - Pink Pasilee - Cupid Collection, Recollections - Lime Damask, Cosmo Cricket - Early Bird Collection

{Inks} Stazon 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Going Gray, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo'

{Access} PTI Button, Hemp Twine, Ribbon, Pattern Piercing Wheel, Spellbinders Labels 1 Nestie

TSG Larry New Release Sneak Peek with a DS Sketch!!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Happy Thursday everyone!

It's day three of the There She Goes new release blog hops! (If you've missed the last two days, you can check out day one and day two if you follow the links.) It's also time for another Deconstructed Sketch so I've combined the two today!

Our newest sock goblin from Wendy Leach…be still my heart. Larry is ready for a day at the office; can’t you tell?

Larry is a 3x4 set that includes a total of 5 stamps and will sell for $9.00.

I think everyone on the design team loves Larry...I know I do! He's so cute, you just want to squeeze him! To make this card I used a variety of patterned papers an pretty much followed the Deconstructed Sketch #99 to a tee!

Would you like to win the new Larry stamp set? Here is what you need to do:
 Visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post.

You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, April 27th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.  

Thanks so much for popping in today! I really appreciate it!

{Supplies}

{Stamps} There She Goes 'Larry'

{Papers} Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - Recollections, October Afternoon, Cosmo Cricket and Scenic Route

{Inks} SU's Going Gray, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Cranberry Crisp

{Access} Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Dimensionals, Sewing

There She Goes (Again!) With A Deconstructed Sketch

Friday, April 19, 2013

Well, this week sure didn't turn out as I had planned! 

I apologize for my lack of posts this week, but I wasn't able to sit at my craft desk until last night. You see, I ended up in the ER on Saturday afternoon with a possible torn meniscus! I was in sooooo much pain! My knee was locked in a bent position and they had to straighten it for the x-rays - OUCH! But strangely enough, the pain subsided almost immediately. So there I was, walking around like a gimp all week in this brace waiting until I could see the Orthopedic doctor. He pulled and prodded and manipulated my knee trying to find the weak point...and it was no where to be found! If I had done something to my meniscus or ACL, I would have had major swelling, but I had nothing! Nothing after all that pain and cracking! He thinks I either pinched a nerve between my muscles or I may have had a cyst that popped (TMI?!) and pinched a nerve when it did. Either way, my knee isn't in a brace anymore and I feel a heck of a lot better than I did Saturday afternoon! TGIF!

So last night I was able to get into my craft room and make a twoffer-card - a card that satisfies two challenges!

I had planned on making a couple of cards this week for the TSG (Again!) week. All week on the TSG's blog, Tobi has been sharing cards made with some of our older sets. Those sets are Blossom By Blossom, Beautiful Day and Lighten Up, I went with the Lighten Up set today!

And because I missed out on yesterday's Deconstructing Sketch challenge, I used this week's sketch DS98 for my layout! Please check out the TSG blog to see all the new and fabulous cards the Trendsetters have whipped up using these sets!

I hope this inspires you to get out some of your older There She Goes sets and make a card with them!

Don't forget: next week is the start of a whole week of sneak peeks from TSG! So mark your calendars!

Have a great weekend everyone!


{Supplies}
{Stamps} There She Goes 'Lighten Up'
{Papers} PTI Kraft Cardstock, Georgia Pacific Cardstock, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - Recollections
{Inks} StazOn' Jet Black', SU's Pretty In Pink,
{Access} Spellbinders Labels 10 Nesties, Adhesive Pearls, Bakers Twine, PTI Button, Dimensionals, Sponges, Sewing

DS97: Here For You!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Happy Thursday everyone!

I hope you're having a wonderful week so far. I managed to haul my butt to the gym yesterday morning at 5am! Sounds crazy right? The hard part is getting out of bed and getting going. Once I'm there, I'm fine. Thankfully, this morning, the weather was very mild (50deg F) so it wasn't too bitter cold. In fact, I could hear the frogs and birds chirping at that time, so it certainly felt like a Spring morning!

Well, it's finally Thursday again and you know what that means....it's time for another Deconstructed Sketch!

It's a fun sketch that requires just a small stamp or sentiment. I thought I'd use a silhouette stamp for my card. The Here For You stamp set from There She Goes has some great silhouettes in it, like this one, and some beautiful sentiments. To make this card I pulled papers from MME's Lost and Found 3 collection and some Bazzil Basics cardstock in Bitter Chocolate. I thought it would have a softer feel to the card if I used dark brown cardstock instead of black. I switched out the rectangle focal panel with the oval one and inked it up with various Distress Inks. Then I stamped the image in black StazOn ink over the top of the sponged background. The flower was cut using PTI Beautiful Blooms #1 dies and I added one of their buttons to the center of it. The sentiment was stamped onto some transparent paper so it would allow the silhouette to show through. The scalloped border was cut using a punch from EK Success. Then I just added some matching ribbon and some little pearl adhesives.

Here's the actual sketch, DS97, for this week.

And you should definitely check out what the girls did with this sketch too...I LOVE seeing their take on it each week!

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill

I hope you can play along with us this week! Can't wait to see what you do with it! 

Have a great weekend everyone!

 {Supplies}

{Stamps} There She Goes 'Here For You'

{Papers} Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, PTI Kraft Cardstock, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - MME's Lost and Found 3 collection

{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', Distress Inks 'Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain'

{Access} Spellbinders Oval Nesties, PTI Beautiful Bloom, PTI Button, Jute Twine, EK Success Edge Punch, Ribbon, Adhesive Pearls, Sponges, Sewing, Dimensionals

DS96: What's New?!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Hi sweet peeps!

How'd it get to be Thursday already?! I swear it was just Monday and I was wishing for it to be Friday...and it almost is! But before we get there, it's time for another Deconstructed Sketch, right?! I mean, what would a weekend be without a sketch to play with?! ;) 

I think you're going to love this week's sketch, DS96. It's got lots of great elements and enough room to use a nice sized stamp! I chose this stamp of Gossipy Stella from Stamping Bella because it's been lying in my drawer - unstamped - for at least a few years now. I just hate that thought! So I showed her lots of love by completely blinging out her dress! Every girl deserves something sparkly in their lives, right?! And because I'm on a purple hair bend, Stella's hair HAD to be purple too! The sentiment is from a Kraftin Kimmie Stamps sentiment set....I can't remember which one, sorry!

Please take a minute to check out what the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch girls did with the sketch:

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill

I hope you can play along with us this week!
Have a great weekend!

PS. A question was asked yesterday about the Cool Caribbean color I use on my sky backgrounds. Unfortunately, it is a retired SU In Color from a few years ago. I'm not familiar with the current SU colors, so I can not recommend a similar color - sorry!

TSG April Release Sneak Peek and a DS Sketch!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Good morning!

It's the third and final day of the There She Goes April release sneak peeks, so grab yourself a cuppa and get ready for some serious cuteness!

Our second new artist, Wendy Leach, stole my heart the minute I saw her first sock goblin drawing…so. darn. fun. This month’s set, Phyllis, is just TOO cute!!

Phyllis is a 3x4 set that includes a total of 3 stamps and will sell for $9.00.



 Isn't she ADORABLE?!?! I could just squeeze her! I love how whimsical she is! She also comes with that sweet little sentiment. To make this card I used scraps of Basic Grey and Crate Papers and the layout happens to be this week's Deconstructing Sketch #95! If you want to play along with the sketch, pop on over to Jen's blog to check out all the details and you will find links to all the design team's blogs. But before you do...

Would you like to win the new Phyllis stamp set? Here is what you need to do:- Visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post.

You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM EasternTime Saturday, March 30th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.



Thanks so much for hanging out with us all week! I hope to see you at the release party!


{Supplies}
{Stamps} There She Goes 'Phyllis'
 {Papers} PTI Kraft Cardstock, Georgia Pacific Cardstock, PP - Basic Grey and Crate Paper
{Inks} SU's Going Gray, Regal Rose, Rich Razzleberry, Ruby Red, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'
{Access} Ribbon - Joanns, Spellbinders Oval Nestie, Sewing, Sponges, Dimensionals

DS94: Make A Wish!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Good morning!

Thursday's here already and I have a fun card to share with you using this week's new Deconstructed Sketch! We're up to DS#94 already and this week's one has lots of fun elements in it!

Don't you love it?! I really love working with asymmetrical sketches. I think the negative space really draws your eye to the main image. As you can probably already tell, I rotated the sketch 90 degrees so I could use a more vertical image. I also dug deep into my paper stash and pulled out this piece of Basic Grey paper from their Nook & Pantry collection. It's hard to imagine that I still have any of this paper left! But honestly, so patterns are so hard to use and I never found the right layout or stamp for this piece....until now! (I think!)

I paired it with the Francesca stamp from Kraftin Kimmie Stamps and a sentiment from Stamping Bella. I colored her with my SU reinkers...if you look closely, you'll see that I can't always prevent my inks from bleeding into one another! Shhh! Don't tell anyone! Each panel had it's edges sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and stitched to cardstock....except the oval panel which was sponged with Tea Dye and Vintage Photo and not stitched! Just to be a little different! :)

Here's the sketch show the right way around!

And here's a list of blogs you should definitely check out for more inspiration!

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill

I hope you can join us this week! Thanks for popping in!

{Supplies}

{Stamps} Kraftin Kimmie 'Francesca' and sentiment from Stamping Bella

{Papers} Bazzil Basics, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry Collection

{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Pretty In Pink, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Wasabi Green, Regal Rose and various other colors

{Access} Spellbinders Oval Nestie, EK Success Corner Punch, Sponges, Sewing, Bakers Twine, Heart Button - Recollections (Michaels), Dimensionals

DS93: Pretty Cool

Thursday, March 14, 2013

G'day everyone!

Two cards in two days....does that make me on a roll?! I can't remember the last time I did that when it wasn't a release week! lol 

Are you ready for another Deconstructed Sketch?? I hope so! Before I share the sketch with you all, here's what I did with it...

 

Pretty cool huh?? ;) I couldn't resist asking! Haha I finally colored this image from The Greeting Farm's Oliver & Amelia 'Buddies' set that's been sitting in my 'to be colored' drawer for about three years now. I'm so bad! She's colored with SU reinkers (Pool Party for her dress, Crushed Curry, Really Rust and Soft Suede for her hair and Creamy Caramel for her skin). I actually turned the sketch on it's side, so if you tilt your head, you can what the sketch really looks like.....or you could just look at the photo below! lol

It's a beauty, isn't it? Please check out what the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch girls did with it:-

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill

Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you're good, I mayyyy be back tomorrow with another card! lol

Hugs,

Sandra

{Supplies}
{Stamps} The Greeting Farm 'OA Buddies' and 'Roll Call'

{Papers} PTI Kraft Cardstock, Black Cardstock, PP - Simple Stories, MME scrap, Recollections scrap

{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Soft Suede, Really Rust, Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Rich Razzleberry, Going Gray and Distress Inks 'Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap'

{Access} Spellbinders Reverse Wonky Rectangles, MFT Medium Scalloped Border, PTI Button, Hemp Twine, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Sewing, Sponges, Dimensionals

DS92: Today Is A Gift

Thursday, March 7, 2013

It's been a really easy week at work and yet I'm still looking forward to the weekend...why is that?! I do have a couple of projects I'm looking forward to working on. Such as finishing off my daughter's AG doll bed. I've got to sew a cover to the mattress (foam), make a pillow and matching pillowcase. I have one side of the binding left to sew and the quilt will be done too. Oh, and I need to find some cheap eyelet lace so I can make a canopy for the bed. Then I also have a couple of small cross stitch projects I want to start and a beehive to paint! Not to mention Syd's first rock climbing class and an ice skating session with her school friends. If I get just one of each of those things done, I'll be happy! lol

Being that it's Thursday, I have a Deconstructed Sketch card to share with you!

 Jen's come up with a tag sketch for DS92 this week and I really enjoyed playing with a different base shape other than the normal A2 sized card! I used my Spellbinders Labels 8 Nestie to create my tag shape. Using it, I cut two panels - one from some designer paper from Simple Stories 'Fabulous' collection and another from kraft cardstock. I sewed the two pieces together so that they made for a stronger base rather than just one piece of cardstock. The orange panel was cut using the large scalloped oval Nesties and the sentiment panel was cut using a circle Nestie. Then I sponged the edges of that panel with Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distress Ink and ran my pattern piercing wheel around the edge of the panel to create the look of stitching.

Looking at the sketch below, the obvious thing would be to put the sentiment in the banner and have an image for the circle panel. I was feeling a little edgy last night and flipped things around a bit. I used some pattern paper for my banner and put my sentiment in the circle panel instead. Nothing wrong with switching things up a bit - it keeps you thinking outside the box! Instead of the heart element, I used a flower stamp from the same set that the sentiment is from, The Beary Best set from There She Goes. Then I added some buttons, ribbon and hemp twine for the finishing touches!

I hope you can play along with us this week! If you need more inspiration, just check out what the team came up with:

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back on Saturday morning with my mini quilt, but if I don't see you then, have a fabulous weekend!

{Supplies}

{Stamps} There She Goes 'The Beary Best'

{Papers} PTI Kraft Cardstock, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - Simple Stories Fabulous collection

{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', Distress Inks 'Antique Linen and Tea Dye'

{Access} Twill Ribbon, Hemp Twine, PTI Button, Spellbinders Scalloped Oval, Labels 8 and Circle Nesties, There She Goes 'Just For You' Dies, Sponges, Dimensionals, Sewing

DS91: You Rock My World!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Hey there!

By the time this post goes live, I'll be on my way to the airport to pick up my two favorite (and probably very sun burnt) people. My family is coming home today and as much as I've enjoyed the alone time, I'm glad they'll be back, safe and sound, home with me again. :)

In honor of their homecoming, I made a card for them!

This week's Deconstructed Sketch #91 is nothing short of AWESOME! I love how, some week's, Jen's sketches really challenge me. This was one of those weeks! I'm in my comfort zone if I can include a colored image on my cards, so this sketch really tested me, but I really do like to push myself every now and then. 

I kept everything pretty simple and let the papers do all the talking. The sentiment is a Hampton Arts stamp I picked up at Michaels a few years ago. I stamped it on some translucent paper and used a mix of October Afternoon, Sassafras Lass and MME papers to really bring this sketch to life.  The hearts are stickers (from Michaels) and I used a black button and a valentine brad to balance out the hearts. Each panel was sponged with Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Think you're up for the challenge?? I hope so! I love seeing your takes on the sketches each week.

Please check out what the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch girls have come up with and leave them some love:

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill

Have a fabulous day everyone!

{Supplies}

{Stamps} Hampton Arts

{Papers} Black Cardstock, Translucent paper, PP - October Afternoon, MME and Sassafras Lass

{Inks} Versamark Ink, StazOn 'Jet Black', Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'

{Access} Recollections Heart Stickers, Recollections Brads, PTI Button - Black, Sewing, Sponging, Dimensionals

Happy Friday and A DS90 Card!

Friday, February 22, 2013

We made it to the end of the week peeps! Work had me BUSY all week, which is usually a good thing, but I couldn't catch my breath! Add that to my two favorite people (The Man and My Little Ray of Sunshine) leaving for vacation in Florida last night (with me driving them to the airport, which is 1.5hr away!), and you could say that I'm all knackered out! Instead of vacationing with my family, I chose to stay home and take care of our animals. Our dog Stella is a very nervous dog and I didn't feel comfortable leaving her in a kennel for a week. I'm sure she'd feel completely abandoned and it would set all our hard work, getting her to trust us, back a good six months! Plus, if you think about it, I really am on vacation....a staycation actually. No husband; no kid; no feeding them....I can stamp, sew and do whatever I like for the next week! So don't feel sorry for me! I'll be just fine! lol

Anyway, I did promise you a card using this week's Deconstructed Sketch #90 and here is!

Such a simple looking card right?? I have no idea how it took me 2+ hours to make! Maybe it was because there was no coloring involved and I feel so out of my element when I do! Cards feel nekked without a colored image to me! lol

The sentiment is from a set called Flowers of Happiness by There She Goes. And I paired it with some papers from MME and some yummy seam binding ribbon. The button is from a package of white Papertrey Ink buttons.

I hope you all can play along this week! Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Have an awesome weekend!


{Supplies}
{Stamps} There She Goes 'Flowers Of Happiness'
{Papers} Bazzil Basics - Vanilla, PTI Kraft Cardstock, PP - MME
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap'
{Access} Spellbinders Nesties, PTI Buttons White and Cream, Hemp Twine, Seam Binding, Sewing, Sponging, Distressing, Dimensionals

DS89: WWASD?!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Hi everyone! I think I say this every week, but this week really flew by for me! I got a call from my Little Ray of Sunshine's school Monday afternoon. My little girl had a fever and a headache. So we stayed home that afternoon and all day Tuesday too. She was back at school yesterday and feeling a lot better. The fact that she has a Valentines Day party planned for today might have had something to do with that! lol 

Since it is Thursday, this means Jen has another fabulous Deconstructed Sketch for you all!

DS89...you can check out all the sketch details on her blog -----> HERE!

And here's what I came up with!

If I was being completely honest with you, then I'd tell you that the sketch scared me a little! It's very rigid looking, and up until Tuesday night, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. But then I had a *lightbulb* moment! I simply asked myself: "WWASD? What would Amy Sheffer do?" Seriously, I did! Out loud too! lol She always puts together the best cards using any sketch - even hard ones! So I thought about it and decided that she'd definitely distress her papers, which would soften up all those straight edges in the design. Then she'd change the center panel to another shape for the same reason. She's also all about layers, as am I. Can't have too many! I don't think she sews on her papers, but I have to...it's an OCD thing now! She'd probably use banners or something for the three middle elements, which I love, but I stuck with my go-to embellishment...buttons and twine!

That cute image is from the Back In 10 set from There She Goes. It's such a sweet image and together with these not-so-girly papers, I thought they would make for a perfect Valentines Day card for my husband. He loves my cards, but I don't know that he'd love to get a really girly one! lol

Check out what the other Deconstruced Sketch girls came up with!

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill
I hope you are able to play along this week! And have a WONDERFUL Valentines Day!!
<3 br="">


{Supplies}
{Stamps} There She Goes 'Back In 10'
{Papers} PTI Kraft Cardstock, Georgia Pacific Cardstock, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - MME 'Follow Your Heart-Be Amazing' Collection
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Cool Caribbean, Curry Crush, Going Gray, Soft Suede
{Access} PTI Buttons - Kraft, Hemp Twine, Spellbinders Circle Nesties, Lace Ribbon, EK Success Corner Punch, Sponges, Dimensionals, Sewing

DS88: My Little Monster!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Whaaaat?!? Seriously?! How'd it get to be Thursday already?! Man, this week is flying by!

But it's not all bad....tomorrows Friday and the weekend is just around the corner! :) But before we get there, I've got another Deconstructing Sketch to share with you all!

Another awesome sketch, right?? If the circle base scares you, or like me, you don't have dies or cutters large enough to cut a circle base, you can use a square one - just as long as all the other elements are there!

Last Friday was family movie night, so we watched the cute Hotel Transylvania that just came out on DVD. We also watched a documentary on how the Uglydoll creators made their millions, so I had monsters on the brain when I made this card! lol

I have had this Recollections stamp set in my drawer for FOREVVVVVER! I spied it at my local Michaels store and it was one of those impulse buys (I love me some cute monsters!). But I have never inked it up until now! Me bad. :( Sad, I know. I used my SU reinkers to color Mr. Monster up, then sponged some grey sky in the background using the Rosies Roadshow Cloud Template. Each panel was sponged with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Ink, and sewed to some black cardstock. To pull it all together, I couldn't resist adding some jute twine and a button (because I've been lacking in that department this week! lol).

I hope you get a chance to play along with us this week! It really is a fun sketch to play with!

See you all tomorrow!


Supplies
{Stamps} Recollections 'Monsters'
{Papers} PTI Kraft Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - Basic Grey 'Eerie', 'Max and Whiskers' Collections and Cosmo Cricket scrap
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', Cool Caribbean, Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Going Gray, Distress Ink 'Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Frayed Burlap'
{Access} Button, Jute Twine, Sewing, Sponges, Dimensionals

DS87: Make A Wish!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Happy Thursday everyone!

Another week almost over! Personally, I can't wait for this week to end! Work has been off-the-hook CRAZY BUSY and I haven't been getting to bed early at all! The truth is I've been working on a new cross stitch that came in the mail this week and I can't put the thing down! lol You girls know what it's like when you get something new, like a book, and you can't put it down...that's my problem! When I'm in front of the TV, I can't stop stitching! Then before I know it, it's midnight and I have to get up for work in 5hrs! lol Oh well; at least I'm having fun, right?! :)

Since it's Thursday, it's time to share another Deconstructing Sketch with you all! This week's one, DS87, is fabulous for using up all those scraps before the new CHA papers start shipping!

Fabulous isn't it?! Who doesn't love banners?! Here's what I came up with using it:-

She's so stinkin' adorable!! This is one of the pixies from The Pixies Set A from Stamping Bella. Don't you love her blue hair?! I squealed out loud when I finished coloring her in! lol If you can't see the sketch, tilt your head to your left...I turned it on it's side. :) Instead of using different papers for my banners, I used some washi tape! Because washi tape is slightly transparent, it creates a subtle pattern and doesn't overpower the base patterned paper. And just to give the tape some presence, I sewed down the middle of the cream colored tape.

Here's a close up of the image:-

 I really, really love how this card turned out! I watercolored the image with my SU reinkers and sponged the edges of the image panel with Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Then I stamped the sentiment, from PTI's Mixed Messages set, off to one side. Then, because all pixies and fairies must have fairy dust, I used my Quickie glue pen to add some glitter to her wings and hair.

Not sure about the sketch? Need more inspiration?? Check out what the DT girls did with it!

Amber Hight
Arielle Gordon
Cresta Woodruff
Dawn Easton
Donna Wardle (Donna's on vacation for January)
Jen Shults
Joni Wilson
Judy Rozema
Kadie Ensley
Lori Boyd
Sandra MacLean
Sheri Gilson
Tobi Crawford
Tracey Pickersgill

Thanks for popping in this week! I'll be back next week with a surprise! ;) Mwhahahaha! 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Supplies

{Stamps} Stamping Bella 'The Pixies Set A' and Papertrey Ink's 'Mixed Messages'

{Papers} Bazzil Basics, PTI Kraft Cardstock, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - Simple Stories 'Fab{U}lous' collection

{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Cool Caribbean, Pretty In Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Going Gray, Buckaroo Blue, Distress Ink 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Broken China'

{Access} Spellbinders Deckled Oval and Oval Nestie, Washi Tape, Ribbon (Michaels), Hemp Twine, Sponges, Sewing, Dimensionals

Deconstructing Sketch Chick!!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Yep! That's me! I still can't quite believe it!

If you missed Jen's announcement on Facebook yesterday, I'm one of the new girls on the Deconstructing Sketch design team! I'm so thrilled to be on the team with Jen and all these talented ladies! I'm especially excited to be stamping along side my dear friend Kadie! This also means that I'll be posting on my blog a bit more regularly too. :)

This week's Deconstructing Sketch #86 is a great one - lots of repeating circles in it. I immediately saw snowflakes, so that's what I went with!

I used some old paper paper from MME and Scenic Route for my base. Each piece was sponged with Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Then I used snowflake dies from My Favorite Things to cut snowflakes from white glitter paper. Don't you love that snowglobe?! I adore snowglobe....stamps! lol I used the snowglobe stamp and die from There She Goes, then stamped that cute little kid from the Holiday Cheer set. As with all my cards, I colored up the image my SU reinkers and aquapainter brush. I added some glitter to the snow for just a bit more sparkle. :)

Here's a close up of that glitter. The card felt a bit lopsided, so I added some red bakers twine to pull both sides together. The sentiment is from Snowy Days set.

I hope you get a chance to play along with us this week! I can't wait to see all your creations!


Supplies
{Stamps} There She Goes 'Holiday Cheer' and 'Snow Globe'
{Papers} PTI Kraft Cardstock, Georgia Pacific Cardstock, Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - MME and Scenic Route
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Going Gray, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Morning Marigold, Soft Suede, Cool Caribbean
{Access} TSG Snow Globe Die, Bakers Twine, MFT Let It Snowflake, Sewing, Sponges, Dimensionals