Control Freaks Blog Hop – Sketch Challenge

Welcome to the Control Freaks Blog Hop for September! This month, we have a fun sketch challenge. I love sketch challenges, because I can use them for any occasion, and they’re easy since the bulk of the designing is already finished.

Whether you’re just starting the blog hop here or hopped over from Cindy Elam’s blog, be sure to continue on through the entire blog hop by using the navigation buttons below for lots of inspiration!

My family has LOTS of birthdays this month, so I decided to use the sketch to create a birthday card for my husband. Poor guy, he has the last September birthday and it seems like everyone gets tired of birthdays by the time his comes around. But this year, the great thing is that my son will be coming home to celebrate so it makes it super special!

For this card, I used a combination of products to create a Fall tree. This is meaningful to both of us, because some of our best vacations in the Sierra have been in the Fall when the Aspen trees are brilliant yellow/gold. We love hiking and biking, and there are times when the brilliant gold of the forest just brightens my soul.

I started by painting Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper with Bumblebee, Daffodil Delight, and Pumpkin Pie ink. Once it was dry, I used the Beautiful Trees Die to cut out the leaves and then layered it over the same die-cut from Bumblebee Cardstock.

I cut the tree trunk and branches from Beauty of the Earth Designer Series Paper (DSP) and then added texture by dry embossing it with the Bark 3D Embossing Folder. Then, I used different sheets of the same DSP for several of the background layers.

My favorite layer is the banner cut from Cork Specialty Paper. I used a Bone Folder to curl the top and then folded it under to form a rolled top. On the bottom, I used the Tailor Tag Punch to notch the end.

The very bottom layer is dry embossed with the Timber 3D Embossing Folder.

I borrowed a sentiment from the You’re A Peach stamp set and then cut it out with the Message Die. Finally, I unraveled some Essentials Baker’s Twine (craft color) to form the bow and added a few Brushed Metallic Adhesive Dots.

For the inside, I used the coordinating Beauty of Friendship stamp set to stamp the tree and greeting and layered that over more of the gorgeous Beauty of the Earth DSP.

Hope my project inspired you. I think the Beauty of Friendship Bundle is great for masculine cards!

Next up for the Control Freaks Blog Hop is the fabulous Debbie Henderson! Be sure to click the button below and check out her amazing work!

Have a wonderful and creative day!

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