On a Sketch and a Plan

I have been trying to come up with a plan that will help me make more cards with less angst and agonizing. I realized that it is easier for me to pick a sketch and build the card around that, rather than pick a stamped image to use and then find a sketch that will work with it. I will be using a random number generator every Friday to help me pick one of the (as of today) 196+ sketches available on the Operation Write Home website.

Last weekend I got sketch #67. In some cases I modified the sketch a bit, but having that layout in mind really made the cards come together for me a lot faster and more easily. The first card is for my father's birthday and uses very old patterned paper from a Hot Off the Press booklet, some ribbon, and a stamp by Fiskars. The card directly above will be going in a packet of cards for Cards For Hospitalized Kids. I used some fun metallic corrugated cardstock and a dimensional sticker I found at my local arts and crafts store, and a ribbon that probably came on a gift. The sentiment is by Close to My Heart.

And this card is going to a friend. Here I used some very old Keeping Memories Alive patterned paper and stamps by Close to My Heart. I actually made a couple of other cards this past week, including the Any Hero card shown in my last post, which also used sketch #67. Now it is the weekend again, and I have a new sketch to follow and am nearly done with my first card of the week! I think this system may just be what I needed to spark my creativity and get me busy making cards...