Yesterday I introduced Sketching Thursdays with Joy #1, and apparently one card just wasn’t enough for me! 😂🦄
Today I’m taking the exact same card sketch and giving it a completely different look for the Global Design Project #GDP561 Color Challenge.
And THIS is exactly why I love card sketches so much.
Same Sketch. Completely Different Card.
For the Global Design Project challenge, I needed to create with three Stampin’ Up! colors:
I pulled out Cutest Crew again, but instead of yesterday’s beautiful floral Designer Series Paper, I let these three colors—and my stamps and ink—guide the entire card.
What a difference!
The basic layout is still Sketching Thursdays with Joy #1. I still have those four circles running down the side, the large greeting area and the partial circle peeking out from the bottom.
But the finished card has a completely different personality.
Same sketch. Same Cutest Crew. Completely different card.
You Don’t Always Need Designer Series Paper!
Now, you KNOW how much I love my Designer Series Paper. 😂❤️
But I also want you to remember that we don’t always need DSP to create an interesting background.
Sometimes all you need is cardstock, stamps and ink.
For this card, I created my own background using stamped images and the challenge colors. By adding the little stamped details across the background, plain cardstock suddenly has movement, texture and personality.
And the best part?
You can do this with the stamps you already own!
Look through your stamp sets for small images that could become a background—flowers, leaves, dots, stars, hearts, little critters, abstract images or even tiny sentiments.
Stamp them randomly. Change the direction of the images. Let some go off the edge of the cardstock. Try stamping tone-on-tone for a softer look or bring in another coordinating ink color when you want more contrast.
Suddenly you’ve created your own patterned paper!
That’s another reason I love sketches. The sketch doesn’t say, “Put Designer Series Paper here.”
It simply gives you an area to fill.
You get to decide how.
DSP one day.
Stamped background the next.
Embossing another time.
Use the supplies you have and let your creativity take it from there.
That’s Why Sketches Feed My Creativity
This is exactly what I was talking about yesterday when I said:
A sketch is a starting point, not a set of rules.
The sketch gave me somewhere to begin.
Then the Global Design Project colors pushed me somewhere I probably wouldn’t have gone on my own.
And deciding to create my own stamped background instead of reaching for DSP gave the card yet another creative twist.
That’s where the fun happens!
If you missed yesterday’s introduction to Sketching Thursdays with Joy #1, you can find the sketch and see my first floral interpretation here:
👉 YESTERDAY’S SKETCHING THURSDAYS BLOG POST
Yesterday I let the Designer Series Paper do the work.
Today I let stamps and ink do the work.
Take a look at both cards and you’ll see just how much you can do with one simple sketch.
Don’t Forget the Inside!
You know me—I couldn’t just stop with the front. ❤️
I brought some of the design into the inside of the card too.
You don’t have to recreate the entire front of your card on the inside. A little stamping, a small image, a coordinating color or a scrap of paper is sometimes all it takes to make the inside feel special too.
It’s one of those little finishing touches that I think makes a handmade card feel complete.
I’m Playing Along with Global Design Project!
I’m excited to be joining the Global Design Project #GDP561 Color Challenge on facebook with this card.
Challenges are another fun way to feed your creativity.
A sketch gives you one kind of starting point.
A color challenge gives you another.
And your stamps, inks, papers and embellishments give you all kinds of ways to make the idea your own.
Put them together and you never quite know where you’re going to end up!
Now I want to know…
Which Sketching Thursdays with Joy #1 card are you drawn to more—the floral DSP version or today’s stamped-background color challenge version?
And don’t forget to save Sketch #1 and try it yourself.
Remember…
A sketch is a starting point, not a set of rules.
Sketch it. Create it. Make it yours. 🦄❤️
