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Hello there stampers. It's the second Wednesday of January and that means that it's time for another blog hop with the talented Around the World on Wednesday crew. If you are new to my blog, I'm Chris Smith. And, if you are following the listed order you are probably stopping by from Sharon Hashimoto Burkert's blog.
This month we have a sketch theme with this intriguing sketch. It has a few features that are a little outside my comfort zone, like being square, having a diagonal plus a few more layers than I typically use. But, no worries. Angie, our fearless leader, always says "most of all, have fun" and I knew I could take a little artistic license with the sketch if I needed it.
I got started by going through a stash of newly colored images I've been collecting. Do you have a preference for outline or solid images? It turns out most of the preordering that I did for the fall mini catalog involved solid images and I really missed the coloring so I think I did a 180 degree turn with the latest catalog and ordered MANY images to color. So as we watched the classic holiday movies I colored! I used a few of them on my first layout to get a feel for the sketch:
I played around with a few greetings that came with these images in the Lovely & Sweet Bundle:
...and decided to go with the "bit of love" greeting as I felt it worked better for the square card.
I was a little concerned that I had competing focal points but didn't want to give up either image. I had done some research into the images. The larger, lower right image represents a cocoa plant. Pinterest indicated that the pod could be rust to reddish to purple hues. The smaller one on the upper right is a vanilla and would be more realistic with yellow blooms but this is one I colored after seeing how well the cocoa image looked in the Berry Burst, Soft Sea Foam and Mossy Meadow combo. It reminded me of print I once had of an orchid with a hummingbird, so I'm just sticking with these... Anyway, I thought maybe I could use both images if I went just a bit more in the collage direction. More stamping, more texture, more embellishments.
And here we are:
Thank you so much for stopping by! Now it's time to head on to see what the talented Tricia Butts has in store for us.
I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.
If you would like to receive my newsletter please click on the Stay in Touch link at the top of my blog. You can also check out the Stampin' Up! catalogs link in the same location. If you don't have regular Stampin' Up Demonstrator and would like hard copies of any of our current catalogs please feel free to email me at [email protected]
I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.
If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the January host code, XHY4D4BW, I will send you a gift with a make and take project. You will also get to choose at least one Sale-a-bration item. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my thank you card.
If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.
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