Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge

Hi there! I decided to give Karen's sketch challenge another try. I really enjoyed doing it last week so I want to share with you what I did for this weeks challenge. Oh first off, it's the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #3 so if you haven't already, go check it out! Lots of fun to play along and she selects a participant each week to be featured on her blog using Mr. Linky so it's completely random picking!

Oh ya ... I just want to let you know that some of my photos have been jazzed up a bit because I'm playing around with some different actions for Photoshop! If you have any feedback it would be very much appreciated. I don't care if the feedback is negative or positive ... seriously both are very valuable!

Here is the sketch that we had to follow ...

And here is my sample ...

First off ... how do you like the 'frame'? Myself, I really like it. It really adds allot of interest to the project and makes it stand out. That's my opinion and I would love to hear what yours is!!

As Sale-A-Bration is now on it's way, I thought it would be fitting to use one of the sets offered through this promotion. It's called Botanical Blooms and I have to admit, not a set that I would normally want to have in hand! However, after making this card, I can really see the possibilities for this set.

Let me tell you a little secret before I begin explaining more about the card. How I choose my colours most of the time. I have made myself a little coaster book with all the colour combo's from any Stampin' Up! designer paper. When I'm not sure about what colours to use, I reach for my handy dandy colour book and get help right away. I will show you another time what the book looks like and perhaps a tutorial on how to make one of your own!

Okay, so with that being said ... I used colours from Hawaii Papaya DP (fall-winter 2008) which include: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss. Now, I don't have this paper myself but made some using SU!'s Chocolate Chip PDSP (patterns designer series paper) and the stamps from Botanical Blooms. Also, this stamp set is "two-step stamping" which was great for my card and making my own DP.

Here is a closer look at the flowers that I cut out from stamping the solid images in white cs. If you look to the left of the raised cut out flowers you can see the DP that I created on white cs with the outlines of the stamp images. The portion below the raised cut out flowers is some of the Choc. Chip PDSP that I directly stamped on with the solid flowers. Using this technique can really help when you need something other than solid cs to dress up your cards. Plus, obviously it will always match what your making.

Oh ... tell me, do you think this frame is better than the first? I mean this one is thicker and I think I like it better than the thin frame. It's just so much fun playing around with your photos, I think so anyways! Give it a try!

RECIPE - STAMPS: Botanical Blooms - SAB '09 (SU!) CARD STOCK: Choc. Chip, Kiwi Kiss, W. White INK: Tangerine Tango, Choc. Chip, Kiwi Kiss ACCESSORIES: White sheer/satin ribbon, Stampin' dimensionals