CAS(E) This Sketch 324 Meets Fusion

I will state right off the bat that I took some liberties with the new sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch.  I could have gone literal with all those rectangles but I decided to mimic the spirit of those shapes by piecing together some colorful inlaid die cuts.   I had envisioned the rectangles done in many colors and reasoned that those "many colors" would translate quite nicely to this flower.  I realize now that what seemed perfectly reasonable in my head, may seem a bit off to visitors here!  The colors of my card are inspired by the new Fusion challenge.  I didn't have any cute and fuzzy baby chicks in my stash, but I did have plenty of cardstock in rainbow colors!

This sketch has inspired some great designs by my fellow teammates at CAS(E) This Sketch and I can say for sure that my teammates at Fusion have also created some one of a kind designs too.  I hope you can play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Daffodil Delight (Stampin' Up!); Vintage Jadite (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Delicates die (Papertrey Ink)

Freshly Made Sketches 390

Happy Wednesday!  We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches.  Judy is our hostess this week and I love her sketch.  It was a jumping off point for a graduation card for me.

The circle in the sketch is my graduate jumping in glee!  I've spent a lot of time lately obsessing about graduation cards because I've got two nephews who are graduating this year.  I've bought many dies, SVG files, and stamp sets trying to find just the right images.  For this card I chose the colors of the school for one of my nephews (with some black too) and I really like how this turned out.  Lucky for me the challenge this week at Addicted to CAS is graduation!

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have some great cards to inspire you to play along with us so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  For the Graduate (SugarPea Designs)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Fresh Snow, Amethyst Allure (Papertrey Ink); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); black glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Washi Tape die (My Favorite Things); Graduation SVG (ZecWorkshop)

Tag You're It 88

It's time for a new challenge at Tag You're It!  This time around we are looking for spring flowers - my favorite!

I love flowers.  I grow them in abundance around my patio during the summer months.  I like nothing more than relaxing on my chaise lounge and being able to smell them while I read or take a nap!  So this challenge was a no-brainer for me.   I used a leafy sprig and some flowers from a couple of ancient Stampin' Up! sets using the colors at CAS Colours & Sketches.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow teammates at Tag You're It have made some great tags to inspire you.  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps: Best Blossoms, Great Friend (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Coastal Cabana (Stampin' Up!); Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Tag Sale #5 die (Papertrey Ink); enamel drops (Freckled Fawn); white seam binding ribbon, white crochet thread

CAS(E) This Sketch 323

We've got a retro sketch for you at CAS(E) This Sketch.  The original debuted HERE all the way back to 2015!  I love looking at the cards for these retro sketches -- it's fun to see the designs and the trends that were popular at the time!  And here's my card for the sketch redux:

A few weeks ago our fearless leader Chrissy made THIS card which heavily influenced my card today.  I loved the jagged edges of her layers and when I sat down at my desk to make my card for this challenge I couldn't help thinking that jagged layers would be perfect to mimic the lines of the chevrons in the sketch.  So I grabbed a mountain landscape die cut three mountains - the one in the middle is actually a pretty glimmer paper.  Then I added a few snowflakes and a simple sentiment and I had another Christmas card to add to my stash.

Despite the beachy theme of the colors and inspiration at The Color Throwdown I chose to make a Christmas card with them.  This is actually one of my favorite color combos for Christmas cards.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can check out the designs over at CAS(E) This Sketch.  They're pretty amazing!

Supplies
Stamps:  Hand Lettered Holiday (WPlus9)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink); glitter paper (Recollections)
Ink:  Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Mountain Landscape Layers die (Impression Obsession); In a Word Merry die (Winnie & Waltler); Funky Flakes die (CAS-ual Fridays)

Freshly Made Sketches 389

We've got a new challenge for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess and designer is Narelle.  I love how she manages to make a cards with multiple layers that still manage to be clean and simple.  For my card I tried to channel her love of flowers.

I went a bit liberal with the sketch this week 😉My circle, as per the sketch, is actually a splattery-style image that I stamped with my brand new Stampin' Up! ink pad Gray Granite, which I don't find to be gray in the least.  I would call it taupe before I called it gray!  As for the rest of the card I took my cues from the leafy design on the sketch --- and I expanded it to cascade over the front of the card.  My colors were inspired by the challenge at Just Us Girls.

Thanks for stopping by!  If you need some inspiration then look no further than our Freshly Made Sketches design team and our sketch this week!  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Ink Splats (Indigo Blu); Summer Silhouettes (Stampin' Up!); Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper: Solar White (Neenah)
Accessories:   Spring Green Jewels (Pretty Pink Posh)

CAS(E) This Sketch 322 Meets Fusion

It's that time again when I get to meld a couple of challenges together and see what kind of card I can come up with.  That's right it's CAS(E) This Sketch meets Fusion!

Hedgehogs are cute but I didn't have a single one in my stamping stash so once again Etsy to the rescue!  It just so happens that I need a birthday card for my one-year-old great nephew so I thought this image would make a cute birthday card for him.  I downloaded it and colored it and stuck it to some patterned paper - all the while wondering about those envelopes the hedgehog and his mouse friend are carrying.  Not exactly birthday material --- unless they are delivering birthday cards!  LOL!

There's a brand new challenge blog around - AAA Birthday -- so I thought I'd add this over there as well.

And there's no surprise that my teammates at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion have created some amazing cards for these challenges so be sure to check them out!  You'll have fun playing along with us I'm sure!

Supplies
Stamps:  Party Time (Pink Gem Designs); Fine Line Florals (Concord & 9th)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Sea Glass, The Everyday Collection (Avery Elle)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair); Copics
Accessories:  Skinny Mini Banners die (Papertrey Ink)

Freshly Made Sketches 388

Hello, hello!  Today I'm sharing my card for the latest Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  Our sketch this week is designed by Karren and it has three circles on it!  Three of anything is my worst fear!  But never one to back down from a challenge I decided to interpret those circles a little differently!

A bright and colorful flower and leaf combo was just the thing for this sketch.  And truthfully it has been the worst spring here in New England - nothing but rain and cold temperatures - that I needed a colorful pick me up.  If the garden doesn't produce flowers then I'm forced to do it myself with fake ones! The colors I chose for my card are from the latest challenge at The Paper Players.

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some gorgeous cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out.  I hope to see you in our gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tropical Flowers (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pool Party, Twitterpated DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink); Lime Rickey (Catherine Pooler)
Accessories:  Spring Assortment Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)

CAS(E) This Sketch 321

I have graduation on the brain because I've got two nephews who are graduating this year - one from graduate school at New York University and another from law school at Boston College.  So pretty much every card I contemplate has got me wondering if I can incorporate a graduation theme.  I haven't been very successful lately with that but today's card made for the latest challenge at CAS)E) This Sketch gave me an opportunity.

That horizontal layer on the sketch became my group of graduates throwing their caps into the air!  I love how the image captures the caps as they are airborne!

Thanks for stopping by! My CAS(E) This Sketch teammates have got some great inspiration for you this week.  We hope you will join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  For the Graduate (SugarPea Designs)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Graduate SVG (ZecWorkshop)

Freshly Made Sketches 387

We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  Our hostess is Cécile and her designs always make me swoon! 

True confession:  I was trying to be a bit artsy with my card so that I could keep it one layer and play along with the challenge at Less is More.  The problem I found was that aspect ratio of the images was all wrong!  The vertical images were too long and the floral image was too small!  So I started again with more disastrous results involving graduation images I bought on Etsy.  After a few ideas I gave up and decided to go with my original card!  And a special bonus is that I can join in the "Mother" challenge at CASology as well as the challenge at Try Stampin' On Tuesday where I did a bit of masking to make sure that my flower was nestled in with the vertical stripes.

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teamies have made some fabulous cards this week to inspire you to play along with us.  I hope we'll see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Flowers (Altenew); Mixed Media Elements (Stamplorations); Keep It Simple Mother (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White Neenah)
Ink:  Smoky Slate, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose (Stampin' Up!); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)

CAS(E) This Sketch 320 Meets Fusion

Late again!  These last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy and I am once again late sharing my card that I made for the CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion challenges.  But here I go!

Every couple of weeks I stretch my creative brain a bit as I work to design a card that melds the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch with elements of the inspiration at Fusion.  Some weeks (like this one) are harder than others.  For this card I started by putting some fancy flourish-y scrolls in the corners and then the big plaid butterfly in the center.  But it all looked wrong!  I'm not a fancy-flourish kind of gal!  So then an old-school idea came to me:  paper piercing!  The kraft background mimics the color of the door (sort of) and the colorful plaid butterfly is meant to take the place of the myriad of colors in the butterfly wreath.  Then I added my genius idea of paper pierced corners.  Luckily I still had my paper piercing template still in my stash!

Thanks for stopping by and being patient with me and my tardy posts!  My teammates at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion have totally rocked these challenges so I hope you are inspired by them to join us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Birthday Message (Mama Elephant)
Paper:  Desert Storm, Solar White (Neenah); vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Paulina Butterfly die, Devonshire Butterfly die (Simon Says Stamp)

Freshly Made Sketches 386

Apologies, apologies.  I'm so late with my post today!!  I almost didn't make it this week for my Freshly Made Sketches card.  Between late nights at work and silly mistakes on my design that set me back a day I thought for sure that having this card ready for an early morning post on Wednesday would be impossible.  And I was right!  I actually fell asleep while attempting to write this post Tuesday night! But here I am and ready to go for Jen Brum's design which really got my design wheels turning.

It might be hard to see in the picture but that topmost angled layer is actually embossing paste in a striped pattern.  Although my first thought when I saw the sketch was to use patterned paper for that layer I happened to see the challenge at Addicted to CAS where the cue word is "contrast" so I thought I'd play along by keeping my background white and adding pops of color for some....contrast!  The colors come from the latest challenge at As You See It.  It's always fun when I can combine three challenges into one card!

Thanks for stopping by!  I appreciate your visit even though I'm late to the party.  And, of course, my Freshly Made Sketches teammates have got some fantastic cards to get your creative juices flowing so I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:   Wallpaper Art (Altenew)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); X-Press It Blending Card
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Copics
Accessories:  Diagonal Stripe stencil (Simon Says Stamp); white embossing paste (Dreamweaver)