It’s Thursday, and time to play at Pals Paper Arts! This week, sweet Maggie Mata has a fun sketch for us!
Now you may be thinking to yourself, “Ann’s card doesn’t look like Maggie’s sketch at all.” But look what happens when the sketch is flipped:
There we have it! Now I must admit that I did not come up with the idea of flipping this sketch myself, although I have flipped sketches on occasion. But with this sketch I was bound and determined to follow the sketch as Maggie designed it. I was struggling a bit putting all my elements together in the vertical orientation, when my son, Brady, walked in. Since he is always interested in the cards I make, he strolled over to take a look.
“Watcha stampin’, Mom?”
“It’s my PPA card for Thursday. I have stamped and cut everything, but I just can’t seem to get things positioned so it looks right.”
He looked at my handiwork for a brief moment. “Here,” he said, flipping the card on its side. “It’s perfect now.”
And right he was. All it took to make everything come together was to simply flip the sketch. I added a bow for balance, and adhered everything in place. Sometimes the best advice comes from unexpected sources. I hope you enjoy today’s card.
The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips
This card measures 5-1/2″ wide x 4-1/4″ high when folded.
I went back to my roots with today’s card. It’s a mixture of vintage and distressed, starting with the background.
I always loved using the retired Stippled Blossoms set to create interest on plain card stock, so I was thrilled when the Touches of Texture set provided me with a flower which can be used to create a similar look. I inked it in Sweet Sugarplum, stamped off, and randomly stamped onto Whisper White card stock. A few Sahara Sand Speckles were added to tone down the white background. Notice the edges of the circle and the flower were distressed using a Sponge Dauber and Sahara Sand ink.
I selectively inked the sentiment (from the You’ve Got This stamp set) using Rich Razzleberry and Basic Black Stampin’ Write Markers. I stamped the flowers on the circle so they aligned with the flowers on my background. Coloring in the flowers was easy. I did a “sloppy” technique where I simply used the small Stipple stamp from Touches of Texture, inked in Crushed Curry.
Sweet Sugarplum Ruched Ribbon and Very Vanilla Lace Trim were used to make the bow. Although a bow was not called for in the sketch, I felt it was need to balance the card.
It’s a sweetly feminine touch, which looks cute with the Island Indigo “lace” strip stamped at the bottom of the card.
For the circular elements in the sketch, I used the Flower image, which I colored with Rich Razzleberry and Sweet Sugarplum inks. I used a combination of faux water coloring with Blender Pens, and added a few stipples with the small Stipple stamp.
Pearls make the perfect centers for these flowers. For a slightly whimsical touch, I added the Bee. In this close up, you can just barely see I added Clear Wink of Stella to his wings for a slight shimmer.
I am so pleased with the overall result. It has been a long time since I have distressed a card. I needed a special card to send to a special person, and I think this one will fill the bill!
Jackie Update
Jackie had a wonderful day in Belvidere, IL at the Kishwaukee Kennel Club show. I only entered him one day, but he was Winners Dog, Best of Winners, Best Bred By Exhibitor Boxer, and Working Group 1 in the Bred By Challenge on Sunday. I don’t have his win picture from Sunday, but here is his win picture from West Bend, WI. As always, he is shown by “Amy the Handler”.
For those of you who are wondering, he is just an ordinary dog except for when he is in the ring. Here he is Sunday, just chilling before going into Best in Show Bred By:
Nothin’ says lovin’ like an 81 pound lap dog!
He never misses a photo op when his dad takes him out for a walk before ring time. What a goofball! But we wouldn’t want him any other way!
I hope you have enjoyed today’s card and post. Remember, if you ever have a question about the cards I create or the techniques I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…
