Texana Designs Blog Hop - Sketch Challenge

I am so excited to be part of the Texana Design Team and participate in this blog hop.  I hope you all have fun hoppin' through the different sketch cards.  Karen Lambert designed a sketch to see what creativity would result.

The original sketches looked like this:

If you know me, I'm often a little different.  I wanted to use the Texas Cities stamp and the new TEXAS word stacker stamp.  These two designs didn't quite fit my idea so I took the portrait sketch above and made it landscape.  It looks something like this.

Now I can use the Texas Cities as the strip and the TEXAS word as the oval and my sentiment will be below, but my text box will be the shape of Texas.

My first dilemma was how to stamp the strip.  I didn't want it just in black, so I tried a Kaleidacolor ink pad.  That was okay, but I wasn't satisfied.  I thought about creating a custom stamp pad using reinkers, but didn't have enough Cut-n-Dry stamp pad felt.  I also was not sure it would work exactly like I wanted it to since the words were so small.  I decided to color each group of words a different color with my distress markers and emboss it in clear.  That way if I wanted to further distress the white background I could.  It takes some time to color the words, but if the ink dries a little just huff on it and it'll stamp great.  That being said, I did have to color the ink pad about four times before I was happy.

 I used 10 distress markers and alternated.  I decided on the following colors:

festive berries
dusty concord
faded jeans
forest moss
walnut stain

barn door
picked raspberry
salty ocean
mowed lawn
tea dye

I don't know if you can tell in the image below that it was embossed in clear, but it really does give the text texture and shine.  I love the way it turned out.

Next I stamped and embossed the Texas Outline on red cardstock, blue cardstock and Wright Designs map paper.  I stamped in black and embossed in clear.  This keeps my images from having all of the little black flecks when I try to stamp with black embossing powder and don't get all the powder dusted off.  After choosing the background paper for the card, I decided to use the red cardstock.  I'll save the blue for another project or card.

I fussy cut the red Texas Outline around the outer edge.  I fussy cut the map around the inside embossed line.  I stamped the image on white fun foam and cut inside the outlines so that I would have a solid piece to pop dot the light weight paper cutout.

I stamped & embossed the TEXAS word stacker on red and decided to color the shadow in black.  Next I colored the shadow with VersaMark pen and embossed just the shadow.  I fussy cut each letter out for random placement on the card.

Next I cut text boxes of "is a" and "State of Mind" out of the red.  I inked the edges with black.  I matted the Texas Cities element on black then on red, inking the edges with black.  In order to get all of the elements on the card front I made my card 5" x 7".  The background is a denim paper by Wright Designs.

Supplies:

 

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Texana Designs Stamps:

TEXAS word stacker, Texas Cities, Texas Outline (lg)

Sentiments:  "Texas is a State of Mind”

Pattern Paper by Wright Designs

Map of Texas and

Denim - Bandana Edge

Distress Markers, Clear Embossing Powder,

VersaFine Stamp Pad – Black Onyx and

VersaMark Embossing Pen

Fun Foam to pop Texas shape

Sketch Design by Karen Lambert

Texana Design Team

02/15/2014

Jimmye Sue Mitchell, Texana Designs Owner
Joyce Meyers, Stamp Artist
Jilda Bolton, DTM
Janet Bradshaw, DTM  ← You are here
Megan Bickers, DTM
Libby Hickson, DTM
Karen Lambert, DTM

Don't forget to leave a comment on all seven blog hop entries for a chance to win the one and only set of original card fronts.

Alternate Colors: