Saturday Sketch - February

Today I thought I'd share another card I made with the February Sketch :) Maybe this will be a weekly thing? Who knows? Remember the template download for the sketch is available for a limited time so grab it while you can!

Here is my second card with this sketch! I've been slowly trying to use up a lot of older supplies and this EK success paper is one I have had in my stash for many years! I should call myself a craft supply hoarder rather than a crafter as sometimes I can't bear to cut into papers or use supplies. I tend to want to save them for a special project.

Supplies: Papers: EK Success; Flower: Prima

Remember I do a card sketches and other freebies every month so check by often!

Di

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Sketch of the month - February card

I mentioned last month that I'd be doing a sketch a month and I figured I'd alternate layouts and cards so as January was a layout sketch here is this months card sketch! A digital template of the sketch is available for a limited time so grab it while you can!

I again decided to go with Boxer products and LOVE this paper by Boxer, Princess Paisley is just delicious! I really dig the pink and green color scheme. I used the sentiments words from a previous free printable blog download of mine and this card just came together so easily! All supplies except cardstock are by Boxer.

I really LOVE this paper! Check it your local scrapbook store to snag some for yourself! It's just so fun and 'springy'. Anyway February is nearly here so just posting this a few days early to give you the heads up for February's sketch!

Enjoy!

Di

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Sketch of the month - January layout

Happy New Year! I had some time off in December and used that time wisely to get ahead and get craft projects done for January :) Yes I started the New Year off already ahead! I did this because I have decided to focus on FITNESS for 2011. Last year (weird saying that huh?) was all about transition for me and finding balance between fitness and crafting. Well this year the balance is gone, I've paired down my crafting responsibilities and I craft for fun and just 2 teams now. As such I am dedicating more time to those two teams rather than spreading myself thinly. 

So onto the New Year and a sketch a month. It may be 1 a month it may be more, I haven't really decided I'm just going to go with the flow! So here is the layout sketch for this month!

Naturally I made a layout with this sketch and decided to combine it with a Boxer project. Maybe that will be my "theme' each sketch? Anyways here is Nancys cute little girl Bella in a layout I made for Boxer. All products except cardstock are by Boxer and available online or in your local scrapbook store.

Wishing you all the best for the New Year! 2011 is going to be a great one, I can feel it!

Di

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Saturday Sketch - November

So I know it's been a while, but I figured mid month is a good time to post a card sketch right? Heck anytime is a good time to post a card sketch! Anyway here is a nice simple sketch for you craft cardmakers out there! Perfect for beginners too!

The sentiment panel features a layered text effect but feel free to switch that up. I left embellishments out on the sketch as I think sometimes they distract from the design or keep our creativity from taking over. For my card I decided on some leaf paper, and a text paper, being Fall season and all!

Supplies: All supplies by DCWV. Featured in the Fall Sampler of Ready Set Create

As always hook me up in the comments if you make a card with the sketch so I can come check them out!

Enjoy!

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World Card Making Day!

 

Happy World Card Making Day! Yep it's a whole day dedicated to card making :) My kind of day for sure! Today I thought I'd share a card sketch of mine that I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE. As regular blog readers will know I have been making cards for around 5 years now and one of my favorite things to use for cards is scraps. Be it scrapbooking layout leftovers, gift wrap, reusing old cards, or some other pretty paper I see I just like to reuse, it's environmentally friendly and economical! That's why I LOVE this design:

All you need are strips of paper to make it work, place on solid background add a sentiment strip and VOILA! Super easy and great for beginner cardmakers and kids! Like I mentioned above I love saving strips from scrapbook layouts for these kinds of cards because those little 1" strips are all you need for making a card design like this.On the card below I used leftover scraps of paper from a CTMH calendar set.

The beauty of this design is it works for all card sizes and orientations. Below I used the design on a same size card but portrait rather than landscape format.

Now I know some may be thinking "how to get white text on a black background?" and I'll explain that next. As I use this design a lot for using up scraps of paper what I did was to design a sheet of sentiments with black strip and white text. I have this as a JPG and Photoshop file so I can change the color or font. All I have to do is print out onto a sheet of cardstock, trim and add to the card :) Simples!

**Would anyone be interested in a free download of this sheet? Let me know and I'll pop it into a future blog post!**

Aside from being quick and easy the black background works because it ties in nicely with the black inked edges of the papers. I do this to unite different papers and also to give the card a little depth and texture. I personally think the scraps of paper look a little 'flat' when just layered un-inked. The great thing about inking is it ties together different colors and designs of paper so you can mix and match, just like the cards below.

Another thing about this sketch is it's versatility. The background could be ANY color but works just as well nice and simple with white, which can make this a very cheap and efficient card to produce! This makes it especially suitable for kids krafts! Imagine the next crafting party with all the strips pre-cut and pre-inked, all the card bases done, and the sentiment strips cut to size! Just lay them out into piles and let the kids have it with some kid friendly adhesive!

Speaking of versatility looking a the green and red in the two cards above this would make some fun holiday cards! Reuse the gift wrap and gift bags from those holiday gifts and remake them into cards! Hmmm maybe that will be my project for today!

Enjoy the sketch! Don't forget to leave me a comment and if you make a card with the sketch leave me a link so I can come check out your creations!

Di

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Saturday Sketch

Ok here's the deal! I know many of you that read my blog love the card sketches I used to do and I REALLY want to get back on track with those (especially with Christmas coming up!) but with my crazy schedule right now I can't do them with the same frequency so how about once a month for now? That way if I get chance to create more then I can!

So here's a sketch for the month of September! Nice and easy one with bits and bobs from previous sketches. As always lots of room for artistic interpretation with my sketches, and the sentiment placement is an option.

I finally got out my creative slump and got busy on the craft table making this card inspired by the sketch. I decided to use patterned paper for my swirls as I have lots of swirly papers I need to use, this particular one is from Flair Designs. Coupled with some ribbon, DCWV cardstock and Boxer stamp the card came together pretty quickly. Pretty happy with how it turned out and love the peach/brown color combo!

Supplies: Cardsock: DCWV; Paper: Flair; Ribbon: Offray; Stamp: Boxer: Ink: CTMH;

Hook me up with a link in the comments if you make a card with the sketch, I plan on getting an automatic linky list set up soon when I have time, till then just leave me a comment! Enjoy the sketch, get creative!

Di

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Cards! Templates! Freebies! Sketch time!

Yay! I actually got crafty! It was digi but I am actually CREATING something! Set #15 in the card DiAGRAM series. This set contains 6 cards in PSD and PNG formats. Card sizes are 6"x 4" and 5.5"x 4.25" you get BOTH sizes for each card!!! Perfect for any card lover! Would also work well for brag books! There is also the option of using these for photo card as demonstrated in the preview by the small camera image where the photo could be placed. S4O/S4H OK! Available at Di Hickman Designs and my Scrapwow digital store.

I decided that the sampler I did last month worked pretty well so I thought I'd do that again this month, will a little added bonus of a card printable too! You can find the sampler in both my Di Hickman Designs and my Scrapwow digital store.

The printable in the sampler is one I made using a template from card DiAGRAM set #15 and my "oh baby girl" digital kit. All available at my Di Hickman Designs and Scrapwow digital stores.

I need to go tidy up a bit in my craft room, so I hope to have some paper projects soon! Working on an article for Scrapbooking.com and more!

Di

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Card Sketch. template set and a sampler

Good morning! Well here we are Wednesday again! I've been trying to think of ways to reduce the amount of work involved in this blogging thing, and the only thing I can come up with for now is trying to merge a few things together so I bring you Wednesday: card sketch, card template set and a sample day! It's a three-fer!

So here is the card sketch for those wanting to participate on the paper and glue level. Do with it what you can, change stuff, move stuff, resize etc. Just show me whatcha got!

For those wanting to play with digital/hybrid the above is from my new card template pack #14, and the above template is available free for a limited time sampler. Grab it quick it'll be gone in a few days!!! The template pack is below and on sale for just $1.95 throughout April (regular price $2.95), available at my Di Hickman Designs and Scrapwow stores

As I was busy with the computer this week I decided to play along digital/hybrid style. I opened the template "14d" from the DiAGRAM pack and layered this card using Glitz Designs papers. I added some digital ribbon and couldn't decide whether to add the photo corners or not. This was my first design. I separated the pieces out onto a new document and printed them.

Once printed I decided to add the panel onto a green background instead, and add the photo corners back in. I changed the design a little but I stuck with the overall card design.

Digital, hybrid or paper welcome to play. Try the sketch/template and see what you can make!

Di

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Card sketch wk 14 - flipside

Flipside card sketch this week! Last weeks card was nice and simple with an oversized alpha. Remember though that the alpha is just a suggestion, you can use whatever element you want, maybe a quote would work well too? Remember to check out my digital store for limited time template freebies.

This week I decided to go digital. Doing printable cards is great for when you are short on time, and I love the fact that you can print them over and over again! This card is a take on the original sketch just changing the card size and positioning of the elements.

Supplies: Papers: Sweet life & Citrus Punk digital kits by Gina Miller; Wordart by Corrina Neilsen; Frame and ribbon by Di Hickman;

Ok I have to blog and go cos I am teaching a Bosu class in an hour! Catch you all soon! Keep creating!

Di

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Card Sketch Week 13

New card sketch this week! This weeks card is nice and simple with an oversized alpha. Remember though that the alpha is just a suggestion, you can use whatever element you want, maybe a quote would work well too? Remember to check out my digital store for limited time template freebies.

I decided to use some products on my scraptable, these papers were scraps from a calendar from 2009. The papers were too pretty to throw away so I used what I could to make a few cards!

Supplies: Papers & Stickers: Stampin'Up; Flowers: Prima; Rhinestones: Sulyn; Alpha Sticker: American Crafts;

"Happy Birthday" card by Louise Connell

Supplies: Card blank ~ eco craft; Cardstock, ribbon, flowers ~ from stash; Embossing folder ~ Cuttlebug; Sequin flower centre – Prima; Stamp ~ Stamping Bella

"Happy Birthday" card by Lizzy Davidson

Supplies: magnolia stamp painted image, punched border, martha stewart punch lacy border. spotty paper unknown. happy birthday epoxy sticker by paper mania.

"F is for Fun" card by Pearl Liu

supplies: Scenic Route cardstock sticker, Prima flowers  & bling , Chelley Bean Designs Felt flower , American Crafts' Flair button , Prima papers , Martha Stewart Pinked Scalloped border punch , DCWV cardstock.

Di

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Card Sketch Wk 12

Week 14 and time for a flipside card sketch. That's where we take the previous weeks sketch and flip, turn, rotate and alter to make a new card design. Last weeks sketch is in the upper left of the flipside, you can see how turning, rotating and changing the card size/format can change a cards layout into a whole new design.

For this week I chose the design in the upper right, but also flipped it again horizontally. I chose to add some little stickers on the upper left of the card as I felt it needed 'something' there, now it feels balanced.

Supplies: Papers & Stickers: Stampin'Up; Stamps: Studio G; Die cut: K&Co

A new sketch coming next week!

Di

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Card Sketch Wk 11

New card sketch today! Something a little different with this one with some layers and windows. This would be great for sentiment panels or perhaps even photo's! Remember to check out my digital store for limited time template freebies.

For my card this week I chose to use scraps of papers on my scraptable. The papers for this card were originally a calendar from 2009. I simply re-purposed them for this card. I love recycling and reusing. I'm not sure you can tell from the photo that well but the die cut is glittery :)

"Best Wishes" by Di Hickman

Supplies: Papers: Stampin'Up; Cardstock: DCWV; Stamp: Michaels $1 stamps; Die Cut: K&Co;

"Mum" card by Louise Connell

Supplies: Papers ~ Bella Blvd “Camped Out”; Alphas ~ American crafts thickers

"For You" by Pearl Liu

supply list : Sassafrass Lass Cherrylicious pp , Jenni Bowlin Homespun Chic pp , CuttleBug damask embossed flourishes

"Eat Desert First" card by Lizzy Davidson

supply list pink paper by k and co, chocolate neopolitain, other paper by paper mill, cupcakes stamps by papertrey. stickles glue

"Happy Anniversary"" card by Chrys Rose

Supplies: Basic Grey paper and chipboard; Bazzill cardstock; glitter; Paperhouse rub ons;

"Happy Birthday" card by Linda Flinders

Remember to check back next week for the flipside sketch!

Di

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Card Sketch March

I hope everyone enjoyed last weeks sketch, and here it is as a reminder for those that missed it here it is again :)

As part of the new card sketches I'm doing a new sketch one week then a flipside sketch the week after, which is essentially the same sketch flipped, rotated, and/or mirrored. I think this shows the sketches in more versatility. So here is the first flipside sketch:

Even just changing one small embellishment placement, flipping the sketch or changing the size format can totally change the look of a card design which is why I wanted to do this in the first place. That and I get to relax a little every other week :) as I only have to create brand new sketches every two weeks instead of weekly. Anyways here is my flipside sketch for this week, no sketch girls for this week, giving them a week off too so I again have less work to do ;) 

Supplies: Papers: Stampin'Up & Rusty Pickle; label: colorbok; Misc button

Teaching kickboxing this morning, make your card kick butt!

Di

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Card Sketch - March 2010

Hey cardcrafters! Yep back with all new card sketches this month. Fully creatively recharged after my little hiatus, though I have decided to do things a little differently which you'll find more details of next week :) So without hesitation here is this weeks card sketch...

Remember to check out my digital store for limited time template freebies. I love simple card designs because it's always interesting to see what people do with them, by giving people the options to add their own flair it's so exciting to see the different versions. I've been using these Rusty Pickle papers for my Scrapbooking,com April article so I simply used the papers to make a card using this weeks sketch. Amazing how quickly cards come together once you have the design done!

 

"Wish" by Di Hickman

Supplies: Papers: Rusty Pickle; Die Cut: Sizzix; Stamp: Fiskars; Ink: Tsukineko; Brads: Doodlebug; Photo Corner: 3L; Button: Misc;

As always the sketch girls ROCKED this weeks sketch! I love how each of them interpreted the sketch embellishments, adding their own twists. Gorgeous cards!

  

"Let it snow" card by Chrys Rose

Supplies: GCD Studios paper; Boxer Scrapbook twill and pearl pins; Ranger stickles; Daimond dust; Basic Grey bookplate; Tattered Angels chipboard; Scenic Route rub on

  

"Happy mothers day" card by Louise Connell

Supplies: Papers ~ Jillibean soup “Minestrone”; Brads ~ K&Co; Trim ~ from local market

  

"Best Wishes for You" card by Pearl Liu

Supplies: GCD Studios' Homespun Chic pps by Melody Ross , Maya Road leaf pin , Prima burlap floral , Cuttlebug embossed flourish

  

"You make life sweeter" card by Lizzy Davidson

Supplies: Pink pearl paper and green paper from papermill, pink patterned paper from a pad called chocolate neopolitain, by k and co. cup cake stamps by papertrey. stickles glitter glue.

 

"thank you" card by Linda Flinders

More cards and more sketches soon!

Di

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