I actually completed a sketch!

I'm not sure why I'm sketch challenged, but I am. They always look so fun! Somehow though, whenever I try one, it ends up in a pile of scrap paper and sheer frustration. Oy!
I happened upon a blog post about Sarah's birthday and blogoversary sketch challenge and thought that it looked like so much fun that I had to try it. (see? I keep getting caught up in the excitement!) I must have been totally out of my mind because it wasn't enough to just do the card - I made a bookmark too! :)
This is the set that I finally came up with. I fell in love with this paper from Little Yellow Bicycle and bought two sheets (the leaves and the one with the birds) of 12x12. Like I said, I'm sketch challenged so this used almost *all* of the bird paper and half of the leaf paper. Jeez!
Here's a better look at the card by itself. I used soft green card stock for the base - I believe I cut it to 6 1/2 by 8 because I couldn't see a way to fit everything on an A4 card. The three background panels and both bird panels are matted on light blue card stock. The main sentiment/image panel is matted on the soft green again.
The stamped bird (a clear stamp by Fiskars) was stamped on a small panel taken from the bird sheet - there was very little design in that area so it wouldn't compete. I inked up the bird with VersaMark first, then with a mix of Distress inks (Chipped Sapphire, Peeled Paint & Broken China) and finally gave it a little spritz of Perfect Pearls mist (in Pearl). Finally I stamped the sentiment over the top with Walnut Stain DI. Once that part was dry I went over the word "Fly" with a gold Spica pen. Actually, there is quite a bit of Spica pen on this card. All three bottom panels have Spica on the leaf outlines and the base green layer has doodles on the top and bottom. Some light blue dew drops and the ribbon completed it. (which sounds easy, but I assure you that it was *not*)
As for the bookmark.... Well, nothing was as easy as it should have been! ;D
I started with a small panel of the bird paper - I really didn't want to waste any so I just measured around the bird instead of going with an accepted size. I used some acetate that had been run through an embossing folder to position my flourishes and then poked them with a tool. I used two strands of each color floss on the different flourishes. I did try to match that dark blue bit on the bird - but it was so dark that I had to pick it out and try again. *sigh* Once I was done sewing I used Glossy Accents on the bird for dimension and shine, along with more Spica pen against the stitching.
I used the reverse side of the paper for the green mat. It has a subtle wood grain print that is gorgeous - too bad it doesn't match the soft green from the card! :) On the back of that is a layer of the leaf paper to cover all the stitches. The butterfly was an afterthought - I'm still not sure it was a good one. It is glued down, but the wings pop up - how long till they get torn off? :)
Anyway, there you have it. Several days of work! I am so very jealous of all the crafty people that can whip up a card in an hour. Even *more* jealous of people who can easily follow sketches!
Thanks for dropping by!