February Sketch Challenge at SJ Crafts!

Hi everyone,

This is very exciting - my first blog post as a member of the SJ Crafts Design Team wooHOO!

Each month throughout 2014 there will be a new challenge to inspire you on the SJ Crafts Blog - link up your project using the linky tool at the bottom of the post and it may be chosen to feature on the blog the following month :o)

For February, we have a fun sketch, based on this layout by Jennifer Grace ...


... and here's my take on it ...


This was so quick to do, because these gorgeous papers from the "Wild & Free" collection by Glitz Designs made it really easy. Here you see "Drips" and "Arrows".
Here's how I made it ...


  • "Drips" was used as the background, mounted onto black cardstock.
  • The arrows were cut out, then adhered to black card and cut out again, then added to the page with foam dots.
  • Some strips torn from the reverse of the paper were attached to the bottom of the page, along with a cluster of little banners cut from the scraps.
  • The edges of the photos were rounded and sanded so they would blend with the background.
  • The Chalk Studio sticker from My Mind's Eye was stuck to scrap card and cut out, so that it could be moved about easily and then attached with foam dots for extra dimension.
  • The little words and spotty banner were snippets from Simple Stories "Say Cheese".
  • Finally I added a handful of buttons from my button box.
Well, I enjoyed the sketch so much that I decided to have another go! Here's my second page ...


Most of this page is made with papers from the Simple Stories "Say Cheese" collection - so much fun to use, with lots of bits you can cut out to create embellishments and focal points ...


I did some tearing and inking here, and added some My Mind's Eye Tiny Word Stickers which I doodled around with my journaling pen.


The edges of all the papers were distressed and inked before layering them up, to give them more depth and emphasis.
I made the chalkboard cloud myself with black card and white embossing powder - here's a tutorial I made about it if you fancy having a go at this - it's great fun! 
My photos were mounted onto white packaging card to give them a "polaroid" style.


I love these White Canvas Alphas by Prima because they have a great texture and you can do so much with them - these were coloured with a Sakura pen and then shaded with Distress Ink in Black Soot.

Well, I had lots of fun with this sketch - why not rise to the challenge yourself? Check out the SJ Crafts Blog for more inspiration! :o)

Comments

Lizzy Hill said…
Noooo...you should know I collect challenges like other peeps collect underwear...ewwww...that was GROSS...anyways...I'm trying desperately to resists...but that sketch! And your inspiration! EWWW......can i say my fave is the 2nd one? Could be cos I adore Simple Stories......sigh...just going to have a little peek...hopefully it'll be UK or USA....I THOUGHT you were UK, now I'm not sure....
Sarah said…
I Loved both your layouts Annie. It was so hard to choose which to feature on the blog post!! Welcome to the S J Crafts Team and well done on a fab first project for us!! xx
Annie Claxton said…
hehehe I am UK Lizzy, but the world seems to be getting smaller all the time .... btw I forgot to mention that the photos in the second page are of me nearly 32 years ago, holding my tiny boy Richard at 4 days old. aaaaaw, he still has that face ...
Jimjams said…
Great enthusiasm Annie - two wonderful pages too.

I can't believe you have a 32-year old child though :o

Val-Belle said…
Ah these are such cute layouts Annie, love the papers... so many pages so little time. I need to get my ass into gear and scrap my babies... Love that sketch too... will have to check that out.
Lou said…
both layouts are great Annie x love em
Val-Belle said…
lmao I thought I would find Lizzy here... well you have some competition because I am collecting challenges this year too... Looks like a fab challenge Annie... going to go and check it out and I love the sketch. xx
Lisa-Jane said…
I love both of your versions of the sketch! I really like what you've done with that Glitz drippy paper because I don't like the collection but that page is ace!