A Burst of Thanks for Freshly Made Sketches

I love the simplicity of this week’s Freshly Made Sketches layout.  One shape, one sentiment, one curvy background piece.  And…GO!  Knowing I’d be sitting down to make this challenge card after work last night, I started running through stamp sets I have never used and immediately settled on the phonograph from Timeless Talk.  Oh!  And I figured this would be a good time to honor the soon-to-retire 2012-2014 In Colors.  Here’s my card:

And here’s Jen Brum’s sketch that inspired my card:   Tips, Tricks and Reminders

• Flip it!  As soon as I sat down to make this card, I knew that the phonograph would be shooting ribbons and a word onto the right hand of the card – right where the sentiment is positioned on the sketch.  Good designing, Brian!  The phonograph, however, opens up on the left, so I flipped the sketch upside down and rounded my corners on the bottom.  Easy enough fix.
• In Colors.  With the Retired List coming out on Monday, few things are known about what will and will not be in the upcoming catalog.  One thing is for sure – five colors will no longer be In Colors:  Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, and Gumball Green.  Today’s card honors these five amazing colors that feel like family.  They might not be gone forever, but my guess is we won’t be seeing them next year.
• Keep it Clean.  Yipes!  There’s a lot of white space on this card.  There’s an image, some ribbon and a sentiment.  That’s it.  The background shape adds some intrigue, but there’s really not much else going on.   It’s all good, though.  The white space allows your eyes to rest on the image, the sentiment and the explosion of ribbon.

Stamp Sets:  Timeless Talk,  Lots of Thanks  Papers:  Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals, Whisper White  Inks:  Jet Black StazOn  Accessories:  2-1/2″ Circle punch, 1-3/4″ Circle punch, 3/16″ Corner punch, 3/8″ Stitched Satin Ribbon (Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple), Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

Stampin’ Up!’s Starter Kit.  It’s a wonderful time to be a new Stampin’ Up! demonstrator.  If you have ever thought about it, now’s the time.  When you buy the Starter Kit (it’s just $99 for YOUR CHOICE of $125 of current project), you can earn a free pass to Stampin’ Up!’s Convention in July AND have early access to Project Life and select items from the new Annual Catalog.  Woo hoo!  Best yet – there’s absolutely no risk and no commitment.  Please contact me at [email protected] if you would like to be a part of my stamping community.

Monday is the Day!  Monday is the announcement of this year’s Retired Products List.  Stampin’ Up! has always sold accessories “while supplies last” and stamp sets through the end of the catalog term.  Well, this year they’ve announced that BOTH will be sold “while supplies last.”  Monday might be your last chance to get some of the great items before they are gone forever.