Hello all!  It’s the start of another month and the countdown is on to the holidays!

Today, I’m sharing the December sketch for our Sketchy Challenge!  Have you checked out our gallery yet?  Lots of inspiration to be found, both in sketches AND our readers’ designs!  You can view it HERE without signing up, but to upload your designs and to comment, you will need to register and log in.  It’s easy – most of the information can be found in our Before You Begin and FAQs links on the left side of the page.

Here’s the December sketch:

So,… (*looks around, furtively*)… do you want to know a little secret?? 🙂  Usually, the monthly sketch comes from a sketchbook of ideas that I’ve created at random, but sometimes, just sometimes, the sketch is inspired by a layout that I’ve created on a whim!

That was the case in this month’s sketch – I created this layout (and it immediately replaced my current favourite personal layout!), and then I thought, ‘Hmm, that would translate into a nice sketch!’ 🙂

Supplies used:  Bazzill Basics cardstock; Echo Park, My Mind’s Eye and Basic Grey patterned papers; My Mind’s Eye (‘happy’ tab), Simple Stories alphabet (‘liquid panty remover’), October Afternoon alphabet (‘aka’) and Girls’ Paperie alphabet (‘pull’) stickers; Silhouette Cameo die cutting machine; Kolette Hall Studio cut file (‘and’); Albermarle Swash font (‘G’, ‘T’); Tim Holtz tiny attacher & staples; Evalicious badge button; Maya Road banner flag and sheer doily; Americana acrylic paint; PaperMate Flair marker; Jenni Bowlin ticket; Nobility household twine.

This was created for a call about favourite drinks – mine is  currently a gin and tonic, with a slice of lime.  So refreshing, not too sweet and let’s face it, it gets the party started with a nickname like this, doesn’t it?!? 🙂

Lots of texture on this layout for me – twine and badge button adds 3D effect and paint splatters and hand stitching in brown provides contrast.  And I love how the wood paper reminds me of an old bar countertop!  Here are some detail shots:

Journaling was written on an index card (upside down, I now realize!) and attached to paper with ‘Pull’ instructions.  When tucked under the other papers, it looks like part of the background!

Hidden journaling reads:  “While in university, I worked at a bar owned by a teacher and his wife.  We were all very close and would always go out together on our nights off.  Lynn, the owner’s wife, would always fuss and mother us, since many of us were students living away from home.  I remember she would always warn us to stay away from gin, calling it “Liquid Panty Remover” because it could cause you to lose all inhibitions… I still call my preferred drink that, 25 years later!”

Hope you are inspired by this sketch and decide to play along this month!  Upload your designs in the Sketchy Gallery by December 31st, 2014 for a chance to be published in an upcoming issue! I’m also offering up some goodies to all who play along and post a link on my blog post (click here).

Cheers!   (haha, see what I did there? :))

To view this and more of Sue’s designs, visit her blog, Kewl Beans.