CAS(E) This Sketch 196 - Redux

I recently got some new stamps and dies from a new-to-me company in France called 4enscrap.  My friend Cécile uses their products quite often and I fell in love with some of them.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on some of their products!  Surprisingly shipments from France don't take as long as you would think and in short order I was raring to go using my new stuff!

I had it all planned out in my head to use my new supplies on my card for CAS)E  This Sketch so that's exactly what I did.  I used the colors from the Fusion challenge and some of my new dies from 4enscrap and was pretty darn happy with the results.  (That butterfly is so beautiful)!

And then I went to upload my card to the DT blog and I saw that this is the week that we are supporting Cards For a Cause - and that cause happens to be pets - so I knew this card wouldn't pass muster.  Back to the drawing board I went for the card I would eventually upload to the challenge (you can find that HERE) but since I had made this one I figured I would share it with you anyway!

The weekend is here so I plan to do some relaxing and football watching capped off with a new episode of The Walking Dead.  I hope you are inspired by all the design team cards at CAS(E) This Sketch and want to join us in the gallery this week.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Greetings (Altnew)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Old Olive (Stampin' Up!); Berry Sorbet, Vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Scarlet Jewel (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Papillons die, Brancheges & Feuilles die (4enscrap); Lucky Blend sequins (Avery Elle); Blueprints 21 die (My Favorite Things); Basic Pearls (Stampin; Up!)

CAS(E) This Sketch 260!

This week at CAS(E) This Sketch we've got a bit of a theme going on.  And it involves pets, something near and dear to my heart!

Karen of Feline Creative contacted Chrissy and asked if the team would be interested in participating in Cards for a Cause to benefit the Tri-County Humane Society in St. Cloud Minnesota.  They need general and thank-you cards with a pet theme and I was happy to contribute.  I've got two cats that I adopted from my local shelter so I know first hand the important work these shelters do.  Sending along a card for the society to use to thank the adopters is the least I can do!  Here's a pic of my kitties in a rare moment of them sleeping together.  They are brother and sister but don't always hang out together!

And in a totally coincidental twist the the challenge at Global Design Project this week is to use animals or pets.

You don't have to follow our pet themed challenge to join us at CAS(E) This Sketch this week, but if you do and you want to donate your card please make sure you use a pet (and not a wild animal).  The humane society is mostly looking for general and thank you cards, but birthday, sympathy, and anniversary cards are welcome too.  Please leave the inside of the card blank so that the humane society can write a personal message, and include an envelope.  Don't put them in a plastic sleeve.  You can mail your card to Karen Howard, 9088 Country Avenue, Monticello MN  55362.

Thanks for joining us and be sure to check out the cards from the CAS(E) This Sketch design team.  They are purr-fect!

Supplies
Stamps:  Cat's Meow (Technique Tuesday)
Paper:  Basic Gray, So Saffron (Stampin' Up!); Black (Simon Says Stamp)
Ink:  Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  feLINE die (Penny Black)

Freshly Made Sketches 260!

I've been away for a few days but I'm back today with a new card for the latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is Kim and she's got this great sketch with awesome shapes.  Take a look!

I just got that new leaf stamp and really wanted to ink it up.  I think I tried three times and made a mistake of one kind or another on it each time.  I ended up going with my first try because I could obscure the mistake with the die cut sentiment.  (Some of the veiny part of the leaf didn't stamp completely).  BTW, that veiny part is heat embossed in copper on top of the sponged color background.

I was inspired by the challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches and though it looks gold in the picture, the die cut sentiment and cord are actually copper in color.  And in case you miss it in the photo, there's a vellum flag under the sentiment too.  Photography is obviously not my forte!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the inspiration from the always-amazing Freshly Made Sketches design team.  We'd love to see you in the gallery this week!

Supplies
Stamps:  Lace Leaf (Concord & 9th)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Vellum (Papertrey Ink); Kraft-Core Metallic (Tim Holtz)
Ink:  Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!); Versamark
Accessories:  Grateful Leaf die (Concord & 9th); Epis de blé die (4enscrap); Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX (My Favorite Things); copper cord (Stampin' Up!); copper embossing powder (Ranger)

CAS(E) This Sketch 195!

At this time of year when the leaves start turning color I always want to make some cards with those warm colors.  Today I've got one to show for the latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.

I thought a cluster of something would be just the thing for this sketch and since it is fall, leaves are what that something is!  I sponged some cardstock with the appropriate colors then die cut the leaves.  They looked a little sparse so I added the grid background to take up some of the empty space.  I think I should have added another leaf or two!

The challenge this week at The Paper Players is a CAS challenge called "leaf."  I'm pretty sure this qualifies!

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to check out the inspiration from my teamies at CAS(E) This Sketch.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Leaf Prints (Papertrey Ink); Off the Grid (Stampin' Up!); Fall Colors (Precious Remembrance)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Natural White (Neenah)
Ink:  Dusy Durango, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Leaf Prints die (Papertrey Ink); Autumn Harvest sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Freshly Made Sketches 259!

Even though we've seen the return of spring here in New England, with temperatures nearly 80-degrees, I made a Christmas card this week for Freshly Made Sketches!  Nothing puts me more in the Christmas mood than a short-sleeved t-shirt I always say!  Our hostess this week is the devilishly clever Linda Callahan.

What to do about those horizontal stripes?  Well, I had already decided that I wanted to make a Christmas card and I was planning on using the colors from Cupcake Inspirations when I spied some sparkly glitter tape on my desk.  It was pretty wide so in the spirit of the sketch I broke it up with some green and red strips to simulate a separation between the wide and narrow layers on the sketch.  Clear as mud, right?  Incidentally, it's really hard to make things stick to that glitter tape and my totally awesome Christmas tree die cuts keep lifting up.  I will have to bring out the seriously sticky glue dots to rectify this!

Our Freshly Made Sketches design team has made some beautiful cards this week so be sure to check them out!  I can't wait to see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tis the Season (Essentials by Ellen)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Pine Feather (Papertrey Ink); Real Red (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  Sapins die (Simply Graphic); glitter tape (Heidi Swapp)

colourQ 364!

We've got some great colors for you this week at colourQ!  They put me in mind of a Halloween card (thanks in no small part to that fabulous wreath)!  I was all set to use a certain image on my card when I decided to go back and look at some old Halloween cards that I had made to see what I would find.  Well, what I found were several stamp sets that I forgot that I even owned!  So in the NBUS spirit I scrapped my original idea and used some cute monster feet from an oldy-but-goodie set!

I only stamped half of the sentiment (the other half says "smell my feet")!  And I also used some really old patterned paper that's got candy corn all over it.  What says Halloween better than candy corn??!!  The layout for my card comes from the latest challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.

I hope these colors inspire you to create a fun card with us at colourQ!  And I hope we'll see you in the gallery!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies
Stamps:  Funky Feet (The Alley Way Stamps)
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up!); Black (Simon Says Stamp); X-Press It Blending Card
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Jet Black (Altenew); Copics
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle STAX, Sentiment Strips die (My Favorite Things); Harvest Corn baker's twine (Maya Road); black button (a.muse studio)

Tag You're It 58!

TGIF!  It seemed like Friday took forever to roll around this week.  Monday was a holiday for me and I didn't have to work that day so you would think that a short, four-day work week would be a good thing.  And technically it is, but for some reason those four days seem to drag on forever!  But finally Friday has arrived and it is time for a relaxing weekend and to reveal a new challenge at Tag You're It!  This week our tag inspiration is brought to us by Leigh Penner.

I copied the basic layout, colors, and background of Leigh's tag but I inlaid the die cut pine branch.  I added a red poinsettia so that this could turn into a Christmas tag rather than a Thank You tag.  Lucky for me there's an Anything But a Card challenge at Mod Squad Challenge this week so this tag fell neatly into that category!

Incidentally, the "peace" sentiment was die cut from glimmer paper then colored with a Copic marker so that it would be green.  I wasn't sure how that would go but I am pleased with the results.

Well that's it for me today.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have some time to check out the inspiration from the Tag You're It design team!  We would love for you to play along and join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Paper:  Basic Gray, Poppy Parade, Silver Glimmer (Stampin' Up); Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Copic
Accessories:  Gift Card Holder Tag die (Reverse Confetti); Blooming Poinsettias die (Memory Box); Pine Branch die (Impression Obsession); Wet Paint Holiday die (Papertrey Ink)

CAS(E) This Sketch 194!

Another Christmas card done!  Whew!  This one I made for the latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.

I was going around and around in my craft room trying to find the right supplies to use for those horizontal layers.  I finally stamped the line and dotted image that you can see through the washi tape just so that I could put something on the front of my card.  So then I sat and stared at what I had done and wondered how I could make it better.  My endless supply of washi tape started calling me so I put some silver striped tape down over the stamped line and luckily that line still showed through.  Then I thought some shimmery paper would be just thing to jazz things up so I cut a small sliver then stuck that down.  A pink Christmas sentiment and I could join the pink challenge at Jingle Belles!

My CAS(E) This Sketch teamies have got some fabulous cards to show you using this challenge so I hope you check them out.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Handwritten Holidays (Tim Holtz); Christmas Carols (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Silver Glimmer (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Coral Berry (Altenew)
Accessories:  Love Glitter Sprinkles (Doodlebug Design); washi tape

Freshly Made Sketches 258!

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Today we've got a new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week Rita is our hostess and she's got this lovely design for us.

There's a "woodland warmth" challenge going on at Sunday Stamps so I thought I would try to make an autumn-themed card and channel some of the colors.  What I discovered is that I don't have some of those shades of brown so I made do with what I had and once my card was done I immediately went shopping!  There's no sense in having "holes" in my stash's color wheel right?

We're almost halfway through October folks - have you started your Christmas cards yet?  I almost did one for today's challenge but decided to save that for tomorrow!  There's quite an assortment of themes on the Freshly Made Sketches blog so be sure to check out the DT cards.  I hope we'll see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge, Much Appreciated (Stampin' Up!); Leave it Be (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Dove Grey (WPlus9); Smokey Shadow, Vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Classic Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Soft Stone, Smokey Shadow (Papertrey Ink); Metallic Copper (Ink It Up)
Accessories:  Pierced Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things); Leaves die (Penny Black); linen twine

colourQ 363!

I love long weekends!  They allow me to do some crafting in a relaxing way.  Before I show you my card for the latest challenge at colourQ I'd like to take a moment to thank the PR machine this is Christopher Columbus.  Hundreds of years ago he set sail from Europe for the East Indies, wound up in the Bahamas, and somehow managed to get the United States Congress to name a holiday after him.  Nice work!  Personally I don't care what the day is called.....I'm just grateful for an extra day off!  Now onto the challenge:

I'm feeling the Halloween bug so I dug out this interesting image from my stash.  At first glance it probably doesn't look very Halloween-ish but if you look closely there is a big bat in the middle, a few spiders, some spider webs, and a pair of ghoulish eyes.  It's a cool image and perfect for some Halloween fun.  In order to tone down the white against the newsprint background I took a Copic marker and colored in the inner parts of the image then traced an outline around the image.  Tough to see in the photo but it really helps the transition from white to off-white, I think.  The fun layout comes from the latest challenge at Sketch Saturday.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please pop on over to colourQ and check out our challenge there.  The design team has made some great cards for you to see.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  From the Crypt (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Black (Simon Says Stamp); Perfect Plum (Stampin' Up!); Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine); Copic E50
Accessories:  Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things); black embossing powder

CAS(E) This Sketch 193!

It's time for a new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch!  Sometimes before I sit down to actually make a card for a particular challenge an idea comes to me that I can't get out of my head.  For this card it was burlap.  When that happens I have no choice but to proceed with my idea!

I do love some good texture on a card and what's better than a little burlap?  I'll admit it is a little tricky to stick down but the extra glue is worth it.  I love how it's a bit rustic and then with a few elegant die cuts I've got a cool juxtaposition.

My colors come from the Cupcake Inspiration challenge.  They were looking for a color they call "chestnut" and, of course, I don't really have any colors in my stash that could accurately be called "chestnut."  This is a shame since it's a very nice color.  I did manage to find some card stock that seemed close but I have no idea what it is since I got it as a freebie at a local scrapbooking store.

I've been making an abundance of thank you cards lately because I always need a lot of those at the end of the year, but I think I need to go back to Christmas cards so stay tuned for that!  In the meantime don't forget to check out our challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping!'

Supplies
Stamps:  Label Love (Altenew)
Paper:  Kraft, Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Feuillages Ajourés die; Physalis die (Simply Graphic); burlap

Freshly Made Sketches 257!

It's time for a new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches and this week I am the hostess - always a nerve-wracking experience.  I think I've created a sketch that gives you some leeway with your design.  My design was inspired by all those sponged backgrounds that I see by my fellow card-makers that are so beautiful.

I've had this Halloween stamp set for ages.  I got it at TJ Maxx and I think it cost me all of three bucks.  There's a bunch of fun images in it and I chose these little robbers since I was set on sponging a background which created a spotlight on them.  There's a Halloween challenge at The Paper Players too so my little thieves will find themselves there as well!

We've got a new blog look at Freshly Made Sketches and also Cécile Ribon is staying on with us as a permanent design team member!  Lots of exciting stuff this week in addition to our new sketch so be sure to check us out!  I hope we'll see you in the gallery.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Ghouls & Goblins (Inkadinkado); Bite Me (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Black (Simon Say Stamp); Lemon Grass (Avery Elle); Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Mustard Seed, Crushed Olive, Chipped Sapphire, Dusty Concord (Distress); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Halloween Sprinkles (Doodlebug Design)

colourQ 362!

October already.  Are you sure?  Before I know it my Christmas Club will come due and I'll have to start shopping!  But before that happens I've got a new palette to show you from colourQ.  And since October is breast cancer awareness month we've got some appropriately pink colors.

I think glitter was in order for my card so I used some old glimmer paper to frame one of the layers.  The sentiment is from a freebie stamp set that I got from a.muse studio a while back and I FINALLY got a pink ribbon die.  There was a lot of white space on my card, which made me unusually squeamish, so I added some embossing paste strategically placed around the sentiment and ribbon.  My layout comes from the latest sketch at Fab Friday.

My way-cool and super talented teamies at colourQ have made some great cards this week using these colors (no surprise there).  You should really check them out!  Then join us in the gallery!  We'd love to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fight Like a Girl (a.muse studio)
Paper:  Black (Simon Says Stamp); Berry Sorbet (Papertrey Ink); Silver Glimmer, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  Hope die (Paper Smooches); Dot Fade stencil (Tim Holtz); white embossing paste (Wendy Vecchi)