Hello stampers! I have learned from some very savvy demonstrators that using a sketch challenge can really spark your creativity. So that is exactly what I turned to today when I realized that I had committed to participating in a Canadian Greek Cruise trip achievers swap. The cards have to be in Winnipeg by Friday and I hadn’t even started. What did I do? I headed straight to Freshly Made Sketches and their sketch challenge closes at 3pm EST so I am down to the wire!

I think I will publish this post with my sketch challenge contribution and then edit it later so that I will make the deadline. For the swap I am required to use products that we received as pillow gifts on the cruise as well as other new products from the Holiday catalog. Of course I want my card to be beautiful but I also don’t want to waste precious limited resources on a possible dud! My solution? Make a trial card using retired paper just so I get a good idea of whether this sketch will work for me. Here is the card I came up with. I used the new set called Christmas Gleaming as well as the old retired set from saleabration called Painted Seasons. I am really happy with how it turned out and I look forward to hearing what you think about it.

Thanks so much for joining me today. My thumb is still killing me, so this is going to be a short post. Tomorrow I will share the swap card that I am making using this sketch. Don’t forget about the amazing deal on the starter kit!! Click here to get $205 worth of your choice of Stampin’Up! products including products from the new catalog. This will only cost you $135 with no shipping or tax!

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