Card Mania GDT - Sketch Challenge

Hello Everyone!

Welcome back to another fun challenge over at Card Mania Challenges! This is my third appearance as Guest Designer, this time it is CHALLENGE #55 - SKETCH CHALLENGE and you should see the gorgeous creations the DT came up with! I will show you the sketch in a minute. First, a bit about my card.

I really wanted to give the Tim Holtz style another go. I was trying to concentrate on Tim's style of collage backgrounds by layering stamps and stencils to get a 'messy' look. I am a newbie at Tim's techniques, but I have really been inspired by some truly wonderful artists. I would like to send my heartfelt thanks out to these ladies for showing me that 'messy' can be beautiful.

Thank you Ingrid, Donna, Nikki and Bonnie for inspiring me to do more than I thought I could. If you haven't had the chance to visit these ladies, I really recommend you do, I think you will be just as inspired as I am!

Here is the sketch that they provided. This challenge is sponsored by Crafts & Me. I sure hope you will pop on over and enter your cards, I would love to see what you come up with!!

  

- for my paper leaves, I took burgundy, orange, yellow and green paints and smeared them all over my kraft mat. Then I took my paper and smooshed it down into the paint until I got the look that I wanted. I stamped the leaves using Inkadinkado Decomposed Foliage stamp set with Ranger Perfect Medium then embossed them with Ranger Platinum embossing powder. They were fussy cut.

- the twig die is Nellie Snellen Bare Branch.

- I made the key hole embellishment using polymer clay and a silicone mold. I painted it white, then stained it with Tim Holtz distress ink Aged Mahogany and inked up the edges with Gathered Twigs. Then I coated it with Ranger Crackle Accents and let it dry. I used Forest Moss distress stain and rubbed it into the cracks, then dabbed on some Picket Fence paint to take the shine off and highlight the raised portions.

- I also used the Platinum embossing powder to change the colour of the two brads, the leaf charm, key charm and the filigree metal embellishments (they were all bronze before). I also sprinkled on some pewter German Glass Glitter while they were still hot, to give them a little texture and sparkle.

- the fern leaf is made from polymer clay and a Martha Stewart mold. I painted it with Gesso for texture, then stained it with Tim Holtz Peeled Paint distress stain. Then I flicked some orange, burgundy and yellow paint on it and embossed the edges with the Ranger Platinum embossing powder. It's hard to see the beautiful shimmer of the metallic embossing.

- the ribbon was coloured with Tim Holtz distress inks Aged Mahogany, Peeled Paint, Squeezed Lemonade and Spiced Marmalade.

This marks the start of another month and another new challenge over at The Mixed Media Card Challenge. This month it's - The Mixed Media Card Challenge - Autumn Colors with the option to add metal or leaves...I added both in spades. This was my inspiration for choosing an autumn theme. My first autumn card ever, by the way!

- this was probably the most fun I've ever had making background panels! First, all my paints in swooshes and smudges and splatters. Then some highlights with distress stains and inks. Then I did some stamping and some stencilling, then I flicked and splattered and swooshed some more! What a hoot!!

- I used some home-made texture paste and and the Harlequin stencil to add another layer of design and texture, then while the paste was still wet, I added some pewter German Glass Glitter for some sparkle. I edged all the panels with Gathered Twigs distress stain, then applied some Platinum embossing powder here and there for some metallic highlights.

I am really excited to get another opportunity to enter a card into the fabulous Vintage Journey challenge blog. This time, their challenge is - A Vintage Journey - Challenge #14 - With A Flourish.

I don't have any flourish dies, so instead, I used every flourish stencil and stamp that I have. I used Picket Fence distress paint for the stencils and Gathered Twigs Distress ink for the stamps. I also added some filigree metal flourish embellishments.

Lots of folded sections coming up, so lots of pictures.

- the sentiments were done by hand using an alphabet stamp set from StudioG.

I tried to continue the same feel, theme and colours throughout the card, but also tried to make every panel different and unique. I sure hope you enjoyed the 'messy' side of me!

I am also entering my card into the following wonderful challenges:

- Fussy and Fancy - Challenge #122 - More Than One Fold

- The Artistic Stamper - September Challenge Autumn Colours

- Really Reasonable Ribbon - Challenge #102 - Autumn Colors with Ribbon or Trim

- Rubber Dance Art Stamps - September Colour Challenge

(classic autumn – warm golds, oranges and reds; the rich hues of trees in the fall)

That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. I read and appreciate every single one! If you have any questions, please let me know.