Tis the Season - DS82

I'm back, friends, with my sample for this week's Deconstructed Sketch, #82. I turned it on its side because I really, really wanted to make something with this new-to-me Cat's Pajamas stamp set J*lly H*liday, and the horizontal panel worked best. (And I tilted that focal panel just for fun!) The papers are from the Echo Park This & That Christmas collection (a mixure of 6x6 and 12x12 papers). Some of the new TCP CutUps dies make an appearance as well. The notebook edge along the top is from the Toppers CutUps set, and the curvy landscape and snowflake edge are from the Holiday Toppers CutUps set (love these!). The scallop and reverse scallops are both from Queen of Hearts CutUps.

Here's the sketch again:

And here are links to the Deconstructed Girls' creations:

• Arielle Gordon
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd (Lori is out this week)
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill
• Joni Wilson, Guest Designer

Okay, so here's the thing, despite it being the season, I'm having a hard, hard time being jolly after last week's Sandy Hook tragedy. Tears flow often, and when they're not flowing, they're ever close to the surface. Like all of you, my heart is broken and aching for the victims, their families, and the community. I'm reminded of something a pastor once said at the funeral of another too-young victim of tragedy. He shared, "I'm going to have to wrestle with you on this one, Lord." But he also said, "I'd rather wrestle with God than wrestle alone." Exactly.

Peace and love to all.

DS82

Hello, Thursday. It's Deconstructed Sketch day, and this week's lovely sketch, DS82, is actually good for two weeks due to Christmas. Here it is ...

And here's some sketch inspiration from "the girls":

• Arielle Gordon
• Donna Wardle 
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd (out this week)
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill
• Joni Wilson, Guest Designer

To play along, link up at Jen's blog.

I have to confess I've come (temporarily) empty-handed as far as a sample this morning. 'Tis the season to run out of time for everything that needs doing! But I did get a start yesterday, and will be back shortly with my sample. See you in a few!

Deconstructed Sketch #78

This week's Deconstructed Sketch, #78, is up! Take a look:

I'm out of commission, stamping-wise, for the next little while -- hopefully not too long! We had some water leaks back during Sandy, including through the ceiling and light fixtures in my stamp room. The repair work is underway, which means some of my stuff has been moved out and the rest is covered with drop cloths. Hopefully, I'll be back in there soon. I'm getting twitchy - LOL!

I'll send you over to Jen Shults for this week's design team samples and to link up if you play along, which I hope you will!

Have a wonderful day and week!

Joy to the World - DS77

The new Deconstructed Sketch, #77, has been posted. Hope you can join us this week!

For my sample, I pulled out Verve's new Joy to the World Plain Jane. The papers are from the Echo Park This & That Christmas 6x6 pad. I kept everything pretty simple and straightforward. Might have to tinker, as it feels quite plain. A couple of Verve dies made an appearance as well: the Pennant Trim, in Kraft, is tucked underneath the ivory lace trim at the top, and the Classy Label peeks out from underneath the sentiment panel.

Have a look at what the Deconstructed Sketch girls have come up with this week:

• Amber Hight (Amber is on break)
• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff, Guest Designer
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill

To play along, link up at Jen Shults's blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

DS75

Join the Deconstructed Sketch Girls for this week's challenge!  Here's the sketch:

I'm sitting out this week, but there's loads of inspiration from the team this week:

Amber Hight 

Arielle Gordon

Cresta Woodruff, Guest Designer

Donna Wardle

Jen Shults

Kadie Ensley

Lori Boyd

Sheri Gilson

Tracey Pickersgill

To play along, link up to Jen's post.

I'll be back soon :)

Count Your Blessings - DS73

Since it's already been Thursday for two days this week, how can it really be Thursday again today? Ever have weeks like that? Must be the Columbus Day holiday on Monday that's got me confuzzled. The upside to having a week of Thursdays is that my Deconstructed Sketch sample was done for one of those other Thursdays, i.e. early - woohoo! 

So here's the awesome sketch this week, designed by Sheri Gilson:

I took some liberties, a few more than I would have liked, but I think you'll still see the sketch in there. The maple leaf is a Spellbinders die-cut, the blue fringe trim and the velvet maple leaf trim are from my stash (maybe Making Memories?). The grass and the striped scallop were done with CutUps dies from The Cat's Pajamas (Grass and Big Scallop). The bear image is from A Beary Good Year by TCP. And the papers, including the word banner strip and the little "count your blessings" sentiment, are from the Simple Stories Harvest Lane 6x6 pad.

Take a peek at what the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch girls have come up with:

Amber Hight

Amy Sheffer

Arielle Gordon

Cresta Woodruff, Guest Designer

Donna Wardle

Jen Shults

Kadie Ensley

Lori Boyd

Sheri Gilson

Tracey Pickersgill

My card doubles as my sample for this week's TCP Tuesday Challenge (#231).

 Jen del Muro is our hostess, and has put together this inspiration board:

I was inspired by the overall Fall theme and warm earth tones. So cozy!

To play along with DS73, click over to Jen Shults's blog.

To play along with TCPTUES231, click over to the challenge thread on SCS.

Now remind me again ... what day is it?

Never Give Up - DS72

[Updated to correct all kinds of errors ... Prima's collection is Tea Thyme, not Tea Time, the sketch is by Jen Shults, not Sheri Gilson, and Donna isn't on vacation :) And to think, I used to be an editor by profession!]

I truly think this 12x12 pattern from Prima's Tea Thyme Collection is the most beautiful piece of patterned paper I've seen in a long time. I like a lot of different styles ... trendy chevrons, bright, whimsical, anything "office-y," but when it comes to sheer beauty, Prima nailed it with this one! I didn't want to cut into it, much less cover it up with anything, but this week's Deconstructed Sketch beckoned. And I knew once I cut into it, it would be a breeze to work with. Here's our sketch this week, brought to us by Jen Shults, who's back on sketch design duty after a break last month:

I didn't really mean to switch the rectangular panel for a more oval configuration, but as I was playing, I remembered these older Tattered Angels chipboard frames that I thought would be perfect . The card stock oval frame on top of the chipboard is a Verve Classy Label die cut with a large circle punched out of the center. The sentiment, Never Give Up, is from Verve's Borderline set. Flowers are also Prima, the cameo pin is from Webster's Pages, and the pearl flourish is from Zva Creative. For the vertical strip at the right of the card, I used two layers of some lace fabric tape by Love My Tapes.

Lots more inspiration from the team ...

Amber Hight

Amy Sheffer

Arielle Gordon

Cresta Woodruff, Guest Designer

Donna Wardle

Jen Shults

Kadie Ensley

Lori Boyd

Sheri Gilson

Tracey Pickersgill

The entry from and participation details are HERE on Jen's blog. Hope you can play along!

Thanks for visiting!

Deconstructed Sketch #71

The new Deconstructed Sketch is up! Have a look at this beauty, designed by Lori Boyd:

I'll be posting my sample later this morning -- so sorry! For samples, visit the Deconstructed Sketch Girls blogs:

• Amber Hight
• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff, guest designer
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Jessica Diedrich
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill

When you're ready to play along, Jen has all the 411, as well as the InLinkz entry form. Can't wait to see what you do!

Make A Wish - DS70

This week's Deconstructed Sketch, by Donna Wardle, is up! 

One fun and probably obvious interpretation is a three-tiered cake. My cake layers are made with My Mind's Eye Tangerine patterns and hand-stitched for some added texture. The sentiment is from Verve's Doodled Occasions, the stars below the sentiment are from Borderline, and the three candles peeking out at the top are paper-pieced images from Carpe Cupcake. The doily frame around the sentiment is an MFT Die-namics die. Along the bottom is Verve's Pennant Trim die, some ruffled yellow trim, teal trim, and some black Divine twine.

Visit the Deconstructed Sketch girls for lots more sketch inspiration:

• Amber Hight
• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff, guest designer
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Jessica Diedrich
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill

You'll find the InLinks entry form and all the participation details over at  Jen's blog. Hope you'll join us this week!

Keep Calm and Smile Big - DS69

Hello my friends, are you ready for a brand-new Deconstructed Sketch? I hope so, because Amber has put together an amazing sketch this week! Check it out:

For my sample, I used a darling Technique Tuesday stamp set, Smile Big, and papers from Echo Park's Everyday Eclectic 6x6 collection, both available at i {heart} papers. For the yellow strip at the top, I did some paper pleating using my Scor-Pal and 1/4" Scor-Tape. Tucked under the yellow strip is some dainty little May Arts Mini Pom-Pom trim in white that I also picked up at i {heart} papers. I love pom-pom trims, and this one is so tiny and cute! I added some colorful smiley faces (there are four in the Smile Big stamp set) that I stamped, punched with a 3/4" punch, and popped up with Sticky Thumb Dimensional Dots. Last is a pink bow topped with a turquoise button and some Natural Twine String Thread. The new stuff continues to pour in at i {heart} papers - check it out in the What's New section. And be sure to subscribe to the IHP blog feed for inspiration and all the latest updates.

For some amazing sketch inspiration, please visit the Deconstructed Sketch girls:

• Amber Hight
• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff, our new guest designer!!
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Jessica Diedrich
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill

You'll find the InLinks entry form and all the participation details over at  Jen's blog. Hope to see you play along this week!

Hope Things Are Looking Up - DS68

One of my favorite sets from Verve's big anniversary release last month was Brighter Days - this sentiment, in particular. I think this is the fifth or sixth card I've done with it (but only the second I've shown here, so you'll be seeing it again and again). For this card, I've used today's new Deconstructed Sketch. Here it is:

A few weeks ago, Jen Shults (creator of the Deconstructed Sketch challenge blog) invited the design team to help out with designing the sketches, and I jumped at the chance. So this week's sketch is by me - fun! I kept it super simple, but designed that split focal panel for interest. Hope you'll play along!

For my sample, I ran a strip of washi tape along the side of my sentiment panel. The upward point of the chevron pattern is perfect for the "hope things are looking up" sentiment. The papers are from My Mind's Eye's Bluebell 6x6 collection.

Have a look at the fabulous creations by the team:

• Amber Hight
• Arielle Gordon
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Jessica Diedrich
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill

Here’s the scoop on what you need to do:

1. Use the sketch to above to make a project, any kind you like using any image you like.

2. Post it somewhere on the internet. Use keyword DS68 if you post to an online gallery like Splitcoaststampers.

3. Link up your creation to Jen's blog using the Inlinkz at the bottom of the post so we can stop by and see it.

4. Check back HERE next Wednesday to see if you are one of this week’s favorites and grab a badge for your blog.

Thanks so much for visiting!

So Happy For You - DS67

It's Deconstructed Sketch day, and I just had to do some more playing with Verve's amazing new release. Today's card features a sentiment from Treasured Words -- love the sentiments and font treatments in this set! I've also used the new Pennant Trim die, and "old" favorites, the Sweet Scallop  and a darling heart from From The Heart.

Here's the sketch:

And here's the crew, with some gorgeous sketch inspiration:

• Amber Hight
• Arielle Gordon
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Jessica Diedrich
• Judy Rozema, Guest Designer
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill

To play along, link up to Jen's blog. Thanks for stopping by!

DS64 - U Matter

[If you're looking for the CASE Study Anniversary Blog Hop, 

scroll down one post or click HERE.]

Happy Thursday. Are you ready for a new Deconstructed Sketch? Jen has given us a beautiful sketch with lots of possibilities this week. Here it is:

In my mind, my sketch sample is filled to the brim with all manner of elegance -- must be that big bow. Unfortunately, that sample is still in my mind - LOL! I waaaay overslept and didn't even start on my card until about an hour ago. Many of you will have heard me lament how slow a crafter I can be. A 45-minute card is unheard of for me! I'm just glad I somehow managed to create something passable, even if it's a little plain. All thanks go to my favorite Verve die-cut, the chunky letter "u" from the I Heart U Die Set. This time I mixed it up with a sentiment from Words of Wisdom. The papers are from My Mind's Eye's Bluebell 6x6 collection.

 The Deconstructed Sketch Girls have lots more inspiration:

Amber Hight

Arielle Gordon

Donna Wardle 

Jen Shults 

Jessica Diedrich 

Judy Rozema, Guest Designer

Kadie Ensley

Lori Boyd

Pam Varnell 

Sheri Gilson

To play along, upload your sketch creation to a blog or online gallery and then link it up HERE.

Cheers!