CAS(E) This Sketch 202!

I've had a bokeh stencil in my stash for a long time and had never used it but the latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch, designed by Leigh Penner, gave me the perfect opportunity to.

I was a little intimidated by that sketch when I first saw it, but since this is a challenge I figured I better really think about how I could blanket the front of my card with a whole bunch of something.  Then I saw this card by Deepti Malik and thought maybe I could do something similar.  So I dragged out my long neglected Distress inks.

The first background I attempted was in shades of yellow but it was horrible so I scrapped that and went with shades of pink and purple.  I added some deep blue to the edges then went over it all with my bokeh stencils in white pigment ink.

I'm pretty horrible at sponging ink onto backgrounds but this didn't come out half bad.  Usually my attempts are all streaky but I tried to be careful about how I swirled my little spongy pad around and I'm happy to say that there's only one spot where there's a little streak and I stamped the sentiment over it so you can't see it.  There are no mistakes in stamping, right?

My CAS(E) This Sketch teamies have got some very inventive cards for this challenge so be sure to check them out.  I hope we'll see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Congratulations (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  White (Gina K Pure Luxury)
Ink:  Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up!); Victorian Velvet, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire (Distress)
Accessories:  Bekeh Lights stencil (Simon Says Stamp)

Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge 201

So far May is shaping up to be a very busy month for me.  Later today I'll be going to my cousin's wedding then on Tuesday is my nephew's confirmation.  I wanted to make a card to congratulate him, so I turned to the Stamping 411 sketch challenge for a layout.

I chose Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, and So Saffron as my colors because I figured they weren't too girly.  But on second thought, I love those colors so they must be girly!

I've had these corduroy buttons hiding in my stash for quite a while and I think they're so cute.  My nephew is always teasing me about embellishments that I put on my card.  He doesn't understand that buttons are not just for shirts!  And a corduroy one is even better!

Well, it's back to the drawing board for me.  I've got a 50th wedding anniversary party to go to in a couple of weeks, so I'll need to make a card for that.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge 197 and Inkspirations 64

This week is a color challenge over at Inkspirations.  A self-described "autum-ny" color challenge!  And almost any time I see "autumn" I think of one of my all-time favorite stamp sets:  French Foliage.  If this set doesn't make it into the new catalog this year, I'll be really surprised.  I hope it does, so that anyone who didn't buy it when it was in the holiday mini, will have a chance to.  It's all kinds of awesome!

Anyway, I checked out the Stamping 411 sketch challenge and although I did finally make a card, I had a hard time with that sketch!

It looks so straight-forward, but I just couldn't get it to cooperate with what I had in mind!  I'm not sure what my issue was, but once I started I had to keep going.  My precious autumn leaves were at stake!

It seems funny to make a card like this when spring is (technically) here already, but the weather where I live is not cooperating with what the calendar says.  It actually feels quite autumn-like.  For some reason winter does not want to give up its grip on us yet (it actually snowed here yesterday)!  So, I feel somewhat vindicated making a card with wonderful leaves like this.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!