Marty's Masterpiece - A Sketch Challenge

Here is Marty's August sketch:

I interpreted this quite literally because I wanted to give it to a friend who won a monthly lottery in one of my groups.  The theme she selected was summer, so this sketch was perfect.  I made this wall hanging:

It was done on watercolor paper attached to chipboard and is pretty sturdy.  Here are the details:

• background:  denim Adirondack color wash.  That's all!  It formed the variations all by itself.
• fence:  cut from wood sheet using Tim's on the fence die, then dabbed with picket fence paint to create a worn out look.
• palm tree:  Sideshow stamp, colored with markers, and extra leaves hand cut and added for dimension.  Coconuts cut from a specialty paper I have that looks like.....the outside of a coconut, LOL!
• parrot:  also from Sideshow, colored with markers and attached with pop dot.
• beach sign:  cardstock inked with a few shades of distress ink in the brown family, then stamped with archival ink, then covered with rock candy crackle paint.
• sand:  the real deal, from last year's trip to the Dominican Republic.
• shells:  also real, origin unknown.
• shack:  pieced together from a variety of handmade papers and fibers found in my stash.

Check out my friend Heidi's blog to see what the rest of the Gotham City Stampers did with Marty's sketch.

Marty's Masterpiece AND My Giveaway

Here is the funky sketch that I've been contemplating for the month of June:

There's a lot going on, but all I could focus on was the vase of flowers.  It's funny, but the eye goes where it wants to go, as does the muse.  Anyway, it's been ages since I've done anything with Flower Soft, so I didn't argue with either the eyes or the muse, and wound up with this birthday card:

The cardstock was embossed with one of Tim's new folders (Floral Frame), cut to size, and the raised areas were lightly dabbed with gold paint.

The vase was a bit of grungepaper, a scrap from a previous project, and I cut it freehand into the vase shape.  You can't tell from the photo, but I rounded it over the paint bottle to give it some dimension, and glued it down that way.  The flowers actually slide into the vase.

As for the flowers:  I cut lengths of florist wire, dipped the ends in very thick white glue and then kind of rolled them into the Flower Soft.  They were then stuck in a block of styrofoam and set aside to dry, at which point I added some tissue paper leaves and arranged everything inside the vase....with a bit of glue here and there to keep everything in place.

The birthday sentiment is an oldie from Stampin' Up, and one I use a lot.  I think that script is very elegant.

To see how Heidi and the rest of the Gothametttes design team interpreted the sketch, click HERE.

And now, for the giveaway portion of this program.......a couple of posts back, I announced a prize to celebrate my 500th blog post.  So many of the commenters are good friends and I could never choose a winner on my own, so I consulted with my colleague, Mr. Random Dot Org, and he did his magic and picked..........Dorothy!   I am always happy to read comments, and send some love in the mail, and Dorothy is someone I do know from a yahoo group or two.  I'll have your package in the mail this week, Dorothy, and thank you for taking the time to visit and comment. 

Not Your Usual Inspiration Sketch!

My friend Heidi has put together a monthly sketch challenge and asked me to be part of her design team.  What makes this different from your typical inspiration sketch is that it comes from her adorable musician husband (not an artist).  Here is the first Marty's Masterpiece:

When I first looked at this sketch all I really focused on was the sun, so this is what I came up with:

This is a notecard, and everything on it (except for the Prima bling in the center) came from my scrap pile.  It's all attached to the base with some simple and very wonky machine stitching, and I sent it out as a birthday card.

We only had to do one project, but this one was so fast and easy I decided to do another.  This time I interpreted the sketch much more literally and did this.  Again, all from the scrap pile, and all paper piecing.

Please visit Heidi's blog to see what she and the rest of the DT did.....all different, all from the same unconventional sketch.