Sketch #6

We made these cards for the new sketch on the Operation Write Home blog. The sketch had four equal sized rectangles covering the card with a small square in the middle. We were very intrigued by this sketch. Although it seemed relatively simple, Robin and I had a lot of trouble coming up with an idea for this sketch. We talked quite a bit about what would look best for the sketch, but we couldn't decide on one design. Therefore, we both made two cards and thought we would see which looked best. To our surprise, all four looked great! Therefore, we decided to do something new and post two cards in one post. We will post the other two tomorrow. 

Robin made this first card, and it is one of my favorites. The card is made with four rectangles from the Martha Stewart Valentines paper pack. We really like this paper, as it is double sided and each sheet seems to match perfectly with the rest. These two patterned papers are the pink and red polka dot papers from the set. Last week, after a very difficult exam in school, we received an awesome package in the mail from Papertray Ink. After reading the Operation Write Home blog entry about buttons, we learned about a stamp set from Papertray Ink that is meant to incorporate buttons into the design. Anyone who has been reading this blog knows that we love buttons, so this stamp set was perfect for us. The set is known as 'Everyday button bits' and comes with everything from hot air balloons to flowers. For this card, robin used the cherry stamp. The stamp just has the stems and leaves, and the cherries are left blank. We found a few nice red buttons around the house and used those for the cherries. Finally, we stamped the 'you're so sweet' sentiment that came with the set. The cherries and the sentiment were punched out using a scalloped square Clever Lever punch. 

Next, I made this card with a floral pattern and a matching solid paper. I was really interested in doing something 'springy' so I thought the paper would be perfect. The floral paper came from the grab bag that we won around Thanksgiving of last year from a local scrapbooking store. I am not sure who made the floral paper, but the solid blue comes from Bazzil. The paper has a really nice sheen to it. I then stamped the sentiment which came from the Hero Arts Thinking of You' stamp set. I punched it out using an oval Clever Lever Punch and then punched out a darker pink scalloped oval to go behind it. Finally, I punched out a butterfly using the Martha Stewart 3 in 1 Butterfly stamp/punch. I tried to pick up the darker blue color in the floral paper.