it's in the bag!

riley's banner, that is. it's in the coordinating giftbag i made specially!* see?!

this week i was planning to make both riley's complete gift and also a fun & artsy guy card using the current "second chance" sketch over at sketchy thursdays, but as the days wore on and large chunks of my time unexpectedly got hijacked by snow management duties, i realized i would have to choose one or the other, and i was a bit sad...until i realized i could *combine* the two!

of course my fancy/girly version kind of ignores the fun grungy/industrial aspect of heidi's awesome sketch; but on the other hand it also shows how you can adapt pretty much ANY scheme you really like to any type or style of project you need to make! (having said that, at some point i definitely want to revisit this in a more casual & funky way!)

here's a closeup of the decorated panel:

(patterned paper: prima, scenic route, love elsie, basic grey; cardstock: bazzill, staples; border strips: heidi grace, k&co; tickets: making memories; clipart bird: anahata katkin; chipboard word: ek success; rub-on: basic grey; heart stickers: snadylion; bling frame: heidi swapp; florals: prima; pearls: kaiser; adhesives: tombow mono runner, gluedots, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

i used the scraps & leftovers from the banner project along with a bunch of bits that didn't quite make it into the main project--like those fun tickets, and the glossy clipart bird. unusually for me, i have stuck almost 100% literally to the sketch without flipping, stretching, rotating or otherwise inprovising!

the deadline for this particular sketch has been extended from midnight tonight to midnight NEXT friday...so why not have a go yourself?! details are *HERE* if you're interested!


*originally--as leah can tell you--there was going to be a box, rather than a bag. one of those cute kraft-paper hatboxes they sell at michaels for us to decorate. i planned the banner *VERY* carefully as to size and shape, in order to be sure it would fit in the box. before i really got going on the "decorating" part of the project, i dry-fit the 5 pennants, stacked together sideways, gently curled in, to MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE they fit in the box. it was a triumph of engineering, and i was VERY PROUD of having--for once--taken the time to think and plan! unfortunately, i didn't allow for the fact that the layered, smothered-in-stuff, fully decorated pennants would no longer be capable of being gently curled...and thus...would definitely NOT fit in the box. sigh. but gift BAGS are nice too, dontcha think?! :)