Sketches {by Tamara} #31

I have two cards to share using this week's sketch from Sketches {by Tamara}. This is the card you'll find on Tamara's blog. It's a spring-like thank you card featuring one of the definition sentiments from Define Your Life. With a definition for each letter of the alphabet, this is such a versatile set--there's something in the set for pretty much every one and every occasion. The sentiment is stamped on a paper-covered piece of chipboard. I used the Basic Grey precision file set to file down the excess paper edges once it's attached to the chipboard. The shapes of the different files make it easy to find just the right one to round corners and file in small spaces, too.

The large flowers in the corner come from a kind of unexpected source. A few weekends ago, my friend Michele and I went to the Lakeshore teacher supply store. And there, among the awesome games and resources for classroom use, we found a fantastic bulk arts and craft section. I picked up a huge bag of these flowers (and when I say huge, I mean hundreds!) for about $10. I found some fun ribbon-like trims there, too. Here, I layered two of the flowers and attached them with a clear plastic flower-shaped brad that I embellished with a small rhinestone.

Materials Used:

Define Your Life stamp set, Close to Cocoa Classic ink, Barely Banana and Pretty in Pink cardstock, So Saffron Prints Series designer paper, Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon, On Board Accents chipboard (Stampin' Up!); silk flowers (Lakeshore); plastic flower brad (Target); rhinestone (Walmart)

Here's another card using the exact same sketch--the last Valentine's Day card of the season you'll see on Inking Aloud (or maybe the first for next year . . .). I used a piece of patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket's Hey Sugar line for the cardfront and based the rest of the colors of the card on the paper's colors. I covered chipboard embellishments (heart and photo corner) with Apricot Appeal dotted paper from SU!'s Prints Series hostess pack. I added a ribbon tab to the chipboard heart. The ribbon is colored with a Copic marker to match the paper.

The sentiment is from Define Your Life. I stamped it in Close to Cocoa craft ink, then embossed it with clear embossing powder. It's not as dark as I would have liked, but I think it still works.

Materials Used:
Define Your Life stamp set, Apricot Appeal Classic ink, Close to Cocoa Craft ink, Apricot Appeal and Cameo Coral cardstock, Apricot Appeal Prints Series designer paper, Crystal Clear embossing powder, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); chipboard (Making Memories); wide grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket); marker (Copic)