simon says... Dawny's sketch

Hi, friends! It's been a while! I had to take a week off due to a trip the kids and I took to surprise my mom for her birthday (hubby had to stay behind and work) . My siblings and I had been planning the get-together for months. Even though the trip was a little stressful (never driven that far without hubby before), it was great to spend time with family that I hadn't seen in the few years since moving out east.

But I'm back! And it's time once again for a new challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp challenge blog! :D

As always, there's a generous gift voucher to the store that's up for grabs...

...and here's the challenge: a sketch! Provided by the lovely Dawny. :)

This week, the team is also using stamps from Stamps Happen, which has some really adorable holiday images in stock right now! So if you have any Stamps Happen, we'd love to see them used, but it's not mandatory, of course. :) Anyway, on to my card.....

Sketches with a lot of layers are always a huge challenge for me, as I'm much more of a simple card maker. However, it's good to push yourself now and then, step out of the ol' comfort zone. :) I really wanted to stick tightly to the layout, but yet still maintain a somewhat simple feel. I hope I succeeded! :) That snowman is super cute, don't you think? I wanted to do something a little different with this type of "framed" image, so I stamped it, colored it, and fussy cut it out at the top and bottom (sides were left somewhat intact in order to stick to the sketch). Then, I also cut out the inside of the "frame" of the image (around the snowman) with my craft knife. I cut out the "snowflakes", too, and added pop dots to everything... snowman panel and "snowflakes". Here's a closer look... hope it helps makes sense:

Can you see the shadows? The top part of the frame did end up being very delicate, as it's only about 1/16th of an inch wide in some parts. But strategically-placed, cut-up pop dots helped to stabilize it pretty well. I'm pleased with how it came out... kind of a 3-D, window look.

Anyway, now it's time for you to get creating! :) Link up your project using Dawny's sketch HERE by 8am EDT next Wednesday (the 28th), and you could win that gift voucher to spend at the Simon Says Stamp superstore!

And don't forget to see what my fellow teammies made! Just click HERE!

Thanks for reading today. :) To my American friends, I hope you and your families have a Happy Thanksgiving! See you all soon. ♥