Circling Around

Over the long weekend, I had some time to try out some different sketch challenges. These are completely different looking cards, but both of them feature a circle-shaped image panel.

This one is for Weekend Sketch Challenge 96. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to approach this sketch and in the end, I’m happy with how it turned out. I used images from Unity’s June Kit of the Month here. Since the designer papers I used have a cream base, the cherry image is stamped on a cream circle along with the coordinating sentiment. I stamped the cherries a second time on a scrap of cardstock, colored them, cut them out, and attached them to the image panel with dimensionals. For a glossy look, I coated them with a red Glaze pen.

I used coordinating papers from Cosmo Cricket’s Early Bird Mini Deck for the panels on the cardfront. The scale of the patterns on these papers is perfect for cards! I zig zag stitched around the cherry patterned paper with my sewing machine, then added a red ribbon strip to divide the panels. I fit a small piece of dotted paper above the stamped image, drawing in just a bit of green to coordinate with the cherry stem and leaves. A button-embellished ribbon completed the design.

Materials Used:
June Kit of the Month (Unity Stamp Co.); cream cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Riding Hood Red Classic ink, Riding Hood Red and Barely Banana cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Early Bird designer papers (Cosmo Cricket); circle die (Nestabilities); button, twine (Papertrey Ink); red ribbon (Michaels); sewing machine

This card uses this week’s sketch from StampTV. I used one of the fun animal images from Melanie’s Just so Hippy set from Gina K Designs as my focal image. The monkey’s colored with Copic markers. I added a Stickles covered balloon in the monkey’s hand, too. It extends just a bit beyond the image panel—I really like how that looks here.

I paired two coordinating patterned papers from DCWV’s Safari Kids Matstack to cover the cardfront. I debated for a while about where to place the sentiment before deciding to stamp “I’m just ape over you!” directly on the orange ribbon across the cardfront. I used Palette ink—I’ve found this works best for me when stamping directly on ribbon. I added a scalloped border beneath the ribbon, accented with some white gel pen dots. It’s hard to see (because it’s clear), but I added a ghost heart, embellished with a wooden button, to the ribbon strip as a fun accent.

Materials Used:Just So Hippy stamp set, white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Close to Cocoa and Pumpkin Pie cardstock, scallop edge punch, white gel pen, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (DCWV’s Safari Kids Matstack); circle dies (Nestabilities); Dark Chocolate Palette ink, button, twine