The value of sketches

I feel bad that I've been neglecting my blog - I have just had NO time to stamp these past few weeks! Ugh. In another week things should calm down...

Any minute now I'm leaving to go to a weekend scrapbooking retreat with some friends. I cannot wait!! I recently bought the Page Maps sketch book because I am trying to make pages with a more modern look. (I've noticed that bunching your photos is the current trend, rather than our careful, balanced arrangements of the past. And embellishments and lots of patterned paper are key.) To prepare for the crop, I chose my photos and papers and made a sketch of every layout. My sketches are rough - just a square with a diagram of where the photos will go. It gives me leeway to play around with the paper and embellishments but, by having the "bones" of the pages preplanned, I can get a lot more pages finished. Since scrapping time is harder to come by than stamping time, this is really helpful.

I just love sketches for cards, too. Be sure to check back on Wednesday for my Sweet Sketch Wednesday card and a link to the new sketch challenge. They are always fun!

And now, off to scrap!! :)

Sweet Sketch Wednesday - #16

It's that time - here's this week's sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday:

I have two cards based on this sketch. For my first card, I used this cute Bella from my image swap stash:

Here's my second card, using a digital stamp from our sponsor, Dustin Pike.

Be sure to visit the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog to see all the other DT members' great cards!

Eek!

No, that's not the cute little mice on Ali's birthday card saying "Eek!" - it's me!

(Sorry for the fuzzy picture - not sure why my photos came out fuzzy last night.)

Keeping up with Jessica's volleyball and social schedule this year has kept me on my toes. Then it was time for Ali's birthday last Friday, so I added cleaning, shopping and cake ordering to my "to do" list. Eek!

Here's the birthday girl and her cake:

That's her friend Devin next to her. They are funny together - they have a sort of brother/sister relationship. He was the only boy at the party but he seemed to revel in all the girls' attention, despite his occasional "protest". ;-)

A Quick Little Gift

It's craft show season, so I've started working on projects that I can sell. This cute little gift card holder was something I found on Cambria Turnbow's blog a while back.

These things are totally addicting! Quick to put together and then oh so fun to decorate! And a great way to use up small scraps.

For my image, I used Becky from DigiStamp Boutique. That's one of the benefits of digital stamps - you can resize your image to fit your project. For this project, I used a much smaller Becky than I would use on a card.

Doing a Double Take...

This week we have not one, but TWO sketches over at Sweet Sketch Wednesday. Here's sketch #1:

I like sketches like this because they're perfect for all those cute little images, like these retired TAC pumpkins:

Despite the fact that you will almost NEVER see me wearing orange or green or rust, I love fall colored patterned paper! (In fact, I have a 12X12 paper keeper of nothing but Halloween and fall papers!) The strip across the top of my card is actually a sticker from a scrapbook page kit. It gives the look of ribbon, but is flatter and much easier to adhere.

Now, for our second sketch of the week:


This card features "Halloween This and That" from our sponsor, The Cutting Cafe.

Doesn't it put you right in the mood for fall?

Give Thanks

The arrival of September and the slightly cooler temps has put me in the mood for Fall!

The pumpkin is from TAC's "Give Thanks" set. The patterned paper (not sure who makes it) is one of my favorite papers ever. I use on a lot of my Fall cards!

In memory of those we lost today...

Good reading: 9 Ways to Commemorate 911