Hello crafty friends!
Welcome to Day 18 of the challenge! Today brings us our fourth Sketch Challenge — a beautifully flexible layout designed to give your creativity a boost right when we need it most in the busy festive season. Sketch days are always such a joy because they give you enough structure to get started, while still leaving plenty of room to interpret, twist, layer, and make something truly your own.
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Daily Challenge
Sketch challenges are brilliant for exploring composition and balance. Whether you stick closely to today’s layout or flip it on its head, the sketch is simply your starting point. Here are a few ideas to help spark your creativity:
- Go minimalistic, or pile on the embellishments for a dramatic festive feel.
- Try rotating or mirroring the sketch to discover a fresh layout.
- Use bold patterned panels to ground the design and draw the eye.
- Swap suggested shapes for florals, winter foliage, or festive die cuts.
- Add depth with layers — think vellum, stitched edges, or embossed details.
Today’s Project
For today’s make, I turned to the Christmas Bouquet Die Set from Alex Syberia Design. This set brings so much instant impact with its striking poinsettia and delicate leafy elements — perfect for a bold focal point in this sketch.
I started with a kraft-toned background and built a repeating “MERRY” pattern to echo the sketch’s strong block element. The poinsettia steals the show in deep red, with contrasting teal leaves adding a modern twist. A sparkly gold strip brings just the right amount of festive glitz, while a twine loop and scattered sequins soften the layout and add movement.
To finish, I heat-embossed the sentiment “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” onto black cardstock, keeping it crisp and clean against all the texture and colour beneath it.
This sketch was so much fun to work with — and as always, I can’t wait to see how you interpret it.
Shop the supplies
If you’d like to recreate this project, you can find all the supplies used in today’s card below. Shopping through these affiliate links helps support my content at no additional cost to you — and I truly appreciate your support!
