by Stacey Cogswell, Independent Stampin'Up Demonstrator

Thursday, September 17, 2026

2026 Card Sketch #33 

Do you have a love hate relationship with scraps like I do? It's so hard for me to throw even the smallest piece of pretty paper away, let alone pieces that are 1½" x 3¼", so that is how this sketch was born! 


I followed the sketch pretty close, except I replaced the circle in the middle with the flower cluster made from the Radiant Sunflowers Bundle (#168359) & the Sunflower Fields DSP (#168351)

I did make the first layer a little smaller at 4" x 5¼", embossed with the Rustic Check 3D folder, I then added the three panels to this layer before adhering it to the standard A2 card base.
The flower clutter & greeting were popped up and I added a little Wink-a-Stella to the flowers. 

 Has it been a week already! Time just seems to just flying by these days. 

I came up with this sketch on the fly, so let's see what we all can create with it.


Saturday, September 12, 2026

2026 Card Sketch #32

I'll confess, I'm a layers kind of gal...the more the better, so when I see a simple sketch with minimal layers I always think I'm not going to like it and that was certainly the case here, but I ended up really liking it! I created four cards using this sketch for inspiration.



This was my first idea. I love that the Sunset Coast Bundle #167781 had a die that was close to the right size circle and I just had to add paper! The Scenic Coast DSP #167773 was perfect and really adds a WOW factor to the card.


I just love the little critter from the Christmas Crew stamp set #168374. The Whisper Woods DSP #168368 and the Winter Dreams DSP #168315 helped me create the perfect snowy scene for the little bear to hold his sign! I also used a new product called Framed & Fabulous Hot Foil dies #170578 for the circle. To finish the snowy effect, I added three shiny Snowflakes embellishments #168316


This beauty was made using the Violet Dreams DSP #168186 and it turned out great! I also used new Hot Foil dies and a gold embossed greeting from the Framed & Fabulous Bundle #170579. The touch of gold on both the circle and the greeting just elevate this card to the next level. 


Lastly and probably the simplest card was made using the Christmas Crew stamp set #168374, the Creative Celebrations Mix & Match DSP #168499 and the Texture Tree 3D embossing folder. The only thing I added was a little piece of Peaceful Pine ribbon. 


Thursday, September 10, 2026


 Horizonal or Vertical?

I just love the easy fun fold design of the card, but I'm sure which direction I like it better. I really wanted to use the "Hello, Gourd-geous" greeting from the Painted Pumpkin stamp set, so I'm probably leaning towards the horizonal version.


All the measurements are the same for both cards, they only thing that changes is the direction of the DSP print. Can't have sideways pumpkins and mushrooms! 

Card base (vanilla): 4 1/4" x 11", on the 11" side, score at 2" and 7 1/2" 

Mats (Golden Glow): 1 3/4" x 4" & 3 1/4" x 4"

DSP: 1 1/2" x 3 3/4" & 3" x 3 3/4" I used Autumn Opulence DSP #168336

Center mat:(Autumn Woodland Glimmer paper #168335) 2 1/2" x 3 3/4"

Center (vanilla): 2 1/4" x 3 1/2"

Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow & Early Espresso cardstock to die cut pumpkins, stems and leaves suing the Painted Patch bundle #168445





  


Here is the sketch for this week. 

I post a new sketch every Wednesday of every week.

Come back in a couple days to see the cards I made using the sketch as inspiration.


 




Thursday, September 3, 2026

2026 Card Sketch #31

I posted the card sketch yesterday and today, I'm showing you what I made.


Here are the cards I created with card sketch #31 as inspiration. As you can see, I was kinda stuck on a Fall/Sunflower theme! I used the sketch with all the strips on the left, like the original sketch and then I flipped them to the right for the next and then I flipped the card on it's side. What do you think?

Let's talk about each of the cards. This first very simply card was made following the sketch as is. No extra layers, not embossing, just DSP and a focal point stamped image. 


I used the Radiant Sunflower Bundle (#168147) to stamp & die cut the large group of flowers. I then used the single sunflower stamp to add a subtle hint of sunflowers stamped in VersaMark on the greeting strip. I colored the flowers using Blend colors from the Sunflower Field DSP #168351 as a guide. 



The next card uses the same bundle and DSP as the first card, but this time the Sunflowers were die cut from Daffodil Delight CS. I flipped the strips to the right side of the card and added an embossed layer using the Softly Woven EF (#168466) to the front of the card and an additional mat behind the greeting. Too much? I can't make up my mind if I like it or it just adds distraction to the card. On this card I did use the sketch idea of the circle, but only used it to highlight the vase & sunflowers. 


The last card came about because I was on a roll with the sunflower theme and I had this Sunflower (made with the Pretty Poinsettia Bundle #168147) lying on my desk from a past day of creating. This time I flipped the card onto it's side and added an embossed layer using the Sunflower 3D EF (166145), only this time I made the embossing layer go all the way to the edges of the card front. I think I like it better, but I don't really like the way the "texture" from the embossing shows through the DSP. Oh well, I still like card anyway.


I hope my cards inspire you to try out the sketch!

Only Stampin'Up! products were used on these cards:
Radiant Sunflower bundle #168147
Sunflowers Fields DSP #168351
Pretty Poinsettia dies #168146
Softly Woven Embossing Folder #168466
Sunflower 3D Embossing Folder #166145

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Can you believe were on card sketch #31 already! 

This sketch looks interesting. I can see this sketch with solid card stock strips or s variety of DSP prints. I can also see this sketch being turned in different directions.
 Which way would you make it? Come back tomorrow for more inspiration and see three cards made with the sketch.