Sketch Challenges

Happy Tuesday.  I have a couple of sketch challenges that I wanted to let you know about.  I'm not sure about you, but I love sketches.  Even if you don't plan to participate in the challenge (but we sure hope you do!), it's awesome to have some sketches to reference when the mojo just doesn't seem to be working.........and we ALL have those days.  

The first one is the September Sketch at Blue Fern Studios.  Here is a link to the sketch challenge on their blog, and here's the sketch we're using in September.  I think it's one of my favorites.  I just love this design!

And here is my example.  We are having a swap with 7 Dots Studio this month and I'm so excited to be using their paper (from The Queen's Heart Collection).

Sometimes I like my title to stand out on my layout, but there are times when I want it to blend in with the background.  For this one, I wanted it to fade into the background, but still be visible.  Here I covered the Blue Fern Studios chipboard title with gesso, and added some pink and orange ink to it.  Then I adhered the title to the page and began some misting.  I love how it ended up being very close to the background colors.  

When I want to add a little texture to the painted chipboard, I put some paint on my craft sheet, then apply it to the chipboard using a baby wipe.  If you don't smooth it out, it dries like this and gives a little more texture.

On this piece of chipboard, I used a brush and a little bit of mist to get a different look. 

Blue Fern Studios chipboard pieces used:

Ornate Medallions

Damask Flourish

Spiritually Speaking

I also want to tell you about the C'est Magnifique Kits September sketch, using another awesome sketch by Michele Singh.  I didn't get around to using this sketch yet, but HERE is the link to it on their blog.  

Both sketch challenges will run the entire month of September.  Be sure to take a peek at both of them because there are some awesome examples on both blogs!

~~~Valerie