Sketch challenge and new toys!

Happy Holidays!!! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas...and will have a Happy New Year!!
I was able to find time last night to squeeze in this weeks sketch challenge on SCS - found here:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208689
What a great sketch for all those long/tall stamps!

I got to use two of my new toys on this one!! My friend Deb gave me a set of magnetic stamps...I'll have to take a pic of the package later...the "friend" stamp is one that was in the set... and DH gave me a Crop-a-dile for Xmas!! Yeahh!!!! Wow, that thing is great - I set the 3 eyelets and no one knew!!! I was a tad nervous opening it and using it for the first time after all the posts I read about how easily it will break if you use it the wrong way. What a fun tool! I already have some wood pieces in mind for punching holes in...something to put on my list of things to do in the new year!
The specs for the card: I knew I wanted to use this stamp from the SU! Art of Life set and remembered that I had some of this two sided paper from Walmart left over from another project...the base of the card is made from one of the bulk Walmart packs...I coudn't think of any other colors to go with the patterned paper (pp) so that is what I chose. I stamped off paisley in a soft sand color on the base...mounted the darker side of the pp on black and used my slit punch to clip the corners...used my crop-a-dile for the three eyelets. I used some wide grosgain ribbon to soften the break between the papers...I stamped my image in a non-su sage on speckled paper and mounted it on the lighter side of the pp and mounted that on black. I stamped "friend" in SU! close to cocoa ink, roughed up the edge and brushed some soft sand ink along the edge as well. I wrapped some multi-colored hemp around the bottom and mounted the whole thing on leftover stamp rubber. Oops - before mounting everything I pierced the side of the main image and the top of the card with my paper piercer.

Well, it's school break here so I'm off to play with some of our new games and get ready for company tonight...todays challenge is using buttons...I have some ideas...maybe later I can sneak away to play!!
See you soon...