Thoughts Your Way for Freshly Made Sketches

Here’s what I love about life – when one day is over, we can turn the page and start anew.  I tried something fun yesterday – some of you loved it, some of you disliked it, and one of you absolutely hated it.  It’s all good.  In the end, you all had a reaction to my project, and that’s wonderful.  A lot of you left comments, and I appreciate that.  Today, I have turned over a new page and am sharing a project I made for this week’s Freshly Made Sketches.  Here’s my card:

Perfect Pennants, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, FMS122

And here’s Cindy Hall’s sketch that inspired my card:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Pattern Balancing.  I always say “the essence of a card is found in the pattern balancing.”  OK, I’ve never said that before, and it doesn’t really make that much sense.  On this card, I used the piece of Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper with little squares.  Rather than saw off the squares, trying to make the card front piece a specific size, I cut the paper such that all of the square are included on the card front.  See that?
  • Lining up the Brads.  After the card was almost complete, I decided to add three Tangerine Tango Candy Dots to balance the colors on the card.  Although the dots are added to the Very Vanilla panel, I lined them up with the center lines of the three squares below them.  Quick tip on lining up three candy dots: place the left and right ones first.  The center one is much easier to line up between the two “posts.”Stampin' Up!, Brian King
  • The Shape of Things.  While Cindy’s sketch has a rectangle panel near the top, left corner of the sketch, I chose to use ovals for that element.  I tried many different shapes (banners, circles, window frames), but the ovals worked perfectly here.  The ovals mimic the rounded edges of the squares in the DSP and add a softness to the layout on my card.

Stamp sets:  Perfect Pennants  Inks:  Tangerine Tango  Papers:  Baked Brown Sugar, Very Vanilla, Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper  Accessories:  Brights Candy Dots (Tangerine Tango), Linen Thread, Ovals Collection Framelits, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

CLICK HERE to order Stampin’ Up! products 24/7.

Come join me in Atlanta!  On Friday I posted an invitation for you to join me in Atlanta on February 16 at 2:00.  I’m hosting a Tools of the Trade workshop, where I’ll give a quick crash course in some of Stampin’ Up!’s most popular tools.  Click on the flyer below to see more:Tools of the Trade Workshop

26 Comments

  1. I really like this dsp …usually I go for more florals and such but,I like this pattern and the colors . I also love ovals so I guess I could come out and say I like your card …BUT,it`s not as much fun as the famous BRAIN card . I checked back and forth yesterday to see what the end result was … 72 comments ! Holy cow ! I was thinking that I would be flattered if someone gave me this card ! You have my address ..right , Brian ?

  2. What a great tip on lining up the candy dots! I always went from one side to the other. I will put the center last from now on.

  3. I like it, but how did you attach the linen thread to get it to stay beautifully placed? Isn’t it funny how we all see different things? I can line up dots, but thread? Not so much!

  4. Hi Brian:

    This card is a real “eye grabber”. I think the creme de la creme here is the bakers twine. By breaking up such a busy DSP to showcase the oval, the twine really, really does the job. Love the candy dots too.

    So yesterday taught you that if you were a tiny bit controversial you get lots of responses. If you get a negative response a lot of your readers jump at the chance to reinforce the positive. I’d say that is a great lesson learned.

  5. OOOH, Brian , love it … I need that gold thread …. It is vary well balance Brian ,
    I love it all ,
    Hugs frenchie

  6. Great retro card with lovely color! Your card looks perfect with everything lined up in it’s place and well balanced. I, myself, have trouble with balance at times. Well done as always, Brian!

  7. Great tip about lining up candy dots…I always tell people to start with the middle one and work out. Will try your method.
    I LOVE that DSP and you used it so creatively.
    Sorry people didn’t heed our mother’s advice,” If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything.”

  8. Yes, this is a very nice card. Love it all. 🙂

  9. Sending good thoughts back atcha about this stylish card! Impeccable!

  10. love the colors and the brads add a great pop! I love following you Brian you do great work!

  11. One of the strengths of your cards is the attention to all the little details. I learn a great deal by looking a

    • OOPs! My finger hit the wrong key. Let me finish my comment above. I learn so much by looking at the details in your cards. This is another beauty! And yes….how did you line up the thread?

  12. Wow! I absolutely love this card! Thank you for sharing it as well as your tips!

  13. LOVE this!!! these are my colors, so i’m going to have to figure out if i can find $50 worth of things i “need” in order to get my own. you enabler, you.

  14. Love this card! Your layout with the break up of the DSP is a very interesting choice!

  15. Was just shown your site by a friend. Believe me I am enjoying it. You have some really cool ideas. Keep it up

    I was recently introduced to your site by a friend. You have some really cool ideas. Keep it up I am good a copying!!

  16. Sorry, thought I lost it!

  17. Great card Brian! I so love that paper! I love the look of that Baker’s Twine! Fabulous! Thanks for joining us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

  18. love this. i now want that paper. I love how the twine off sets your card. you keep cranking beauties out…thanks

  19. LOVE your use of the twine!! 🙂

  20. I do really like this design! And the way you added the twine over the Very Vanilla reminds me of pleated fabric … lovely touch!

  21. KING OF CLEAN!!! Congratulations, Brian! So well deserved …. this card made me get the stamping bug right away. Loved it!

  22. Pingback: Yay for Simple Saturday and Freshly Made Sketches | Stamp With Brian

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