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Thursday, December 19, 2019

CAS(E) This Sketch 352

Hello! It's time for our last sketch challenge of the year at CAS(E) This Sketch!  It's a great one that will get you thinking, I'm sure!



All those angles had me stymied until I decided to do one of them with a stencil and some embossing paste.  The left to right angle was accomplished with some ancient Stampin' Up! patterned paper highlighted with a bold birthday diecut and a simple sentiment.  So a card that had me stymied at first turned out to be not so difficult after all! 

Thanks for stopping by! This is a two week challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  We'll be back on January 2nd with a new challenge!

Supplies
Stamps:  The Big the Bold and the Happy (Winnie & Walter)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Sweet Sorbet DSP ( Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Freshly Made Sketches 416

It's our last challenge of the year at Freshly Made Sketches and I wanted my card to NOT be a Christmas card!  I've been making nothing but Christmas cards for the last few weeks and I welcomed the opportunity that Amy's sketch gave me to make something completely different!


I went with a bit of a modern theme with my card.  That wide open space on the sketch was perfect for these sketchy rings that have a mod vibe.  I used a favorite color combo of kraft, black and white and added a simple sentiment strip.  Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by!  This is our last challenge of 2019 for Freshly Made Sketches.  Our linky tool will stay open until January 6th so you've got plenty of time to play along with us over the next few weeks.  We'll be back on January 8th with a brand new sketch!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Desert Storm, Solar White (Neenah); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Crushed Curry (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Sketchy Rings die (Memory Box); Stitched Rectangle die (My Favorite Things)

Thursday, December 12, 2019

CAS(E) This Sketch 351

I thought I was done with Christmas cards this year, but it appears I've got one more up my sleeve!  This one will go into my 2020 stash...it feels good to get a head start on next year!  My card layout comes from our latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch which is actually a redux of Sketch #73.



The challenge at Color Throwdown gave me the idea to use a poinsettia and leaves on my card and for the big half circle I wanted something that was a bit subtle.  So I used some white glitter paper.  It's quite pretty in real life!


Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow teamies at CAS(E) This Sketch have made some fantastic cards with this sketch to be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Signature Christmas (Papertrey Ink_
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Jungle (Avery Elle); Poppy Parade (Stampin' Up!); printable glitter paper (Recollelctions)
Ink:  Jungle (Avery Elle); Pure Poppy (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Stitched Basic Edges die (My Favorite Things); Layered Poinsettia die (Spellbinders)

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Freshly Made Sketches 415

We are two weeks away from Christmas and I am officially done with my Christmas cards (finally)!  They are all in the mail - signed, sealed, and delivered!  So this card, made for the latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches designed by Narelle, is the first one I made for my 2020 stash!  Woo hoo!  I don't think I've ever been this far ahead!

I took those two, thin vertical layers and turned them into triangular trees using the colors at TGIF Challenges.  And speaking of trees, that's what they are looking for at Addicted to CAS.


I love to take a traditional cue like "tree" and give it a modern take with some triangles.  And if I can add a bit of sparkle I like it all the more!  One of my triangular trees is a pretty silver glimmer and the other is a light shade of blue.  For some extra interest I added some silver stickles. 

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  December Typed Words (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up!); silver glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Modern Christmas die (Clearly Besotted Stamps); Silver Pearl Stickles

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Freshly Made Sketches 414

Well, I don't know why I forgot to publish this post on Wednesday, but I figured I better do it or else!  So here we go:

One of these days I will make a card that doesn't have a Christmas theme.  Today is not one of those days!  ๐Ÿ˜‰ Today is our debut of a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and our hostess, Karren, designed a sketch that I decided would fit my Christmas card needs perfectly...... if I flipped it on its side.



I had a vague idea in my head of what I wanted my Freshly Made Sketches card to look like when I stumbled upon the color challenge at CAS Colours and  Sketches.  The colors there were just the inspiration I needed to turn my vague idea into an actual idea.  I turned the sketch counter-clockwise and used some gold washi at the bottom of the card. Then I added a big sentiment in red outlined with gold glimmer paper along with a few green enamel dots.  My green dots are not exactly the color they are looking for but they'll have to do!



Thanks for stopping by to check out my tardy Freshly Made Sketches post.  Better late than never!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fa La La (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!); gold glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Fa La La die (Simon Says Stamp); enamel dots (Doodlebug Designs); washi tape

CAS(E) This Sketch 350

Hello!  We've got a great new sketch for you this week at CAS(E) This Sketch.  That big layer inspired me to dig into my never-ending stash of patterned paper and put together a fun card with some color and sparkle.



I've had this patterned paper for ages and very rarely use it (I think I have a hoarding problem)!  It's got a retro-modern vibe to it that I like so I took this sketch and rounded some of the edges, which to my eye gives it more of a retro feel, and used the patterned paper as a focal point.  I die-cut this fantastic "joy" sentiment from silver glimmer paper and attached it at a jaunty angle!  A slim Christmas sentiment stamped on white finished the look.

It's also the last challenge of the year at Just Us Girls so I wanted to play along.  The theme is "anything goes" so my card fits!  ๐Ÿ˜‰


Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow CAS(E) This Sketch teammates have made some great cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out.  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Joy Stamp (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); silver glimmer (Recollections); Holiday Lounge DSP (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Joy die (The Stamp Market); Stitched Rounded Rectangle die (My Favorite Things)

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Fusion Christmas

First things first...happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!  It's a day to be thankful for what we have and for me it's also a day to be thankful that I'm eating out and I don't have to cook or clean!

But on to the real reason for this post:  Today we've got a new challenge with a Christmas theme at Fusion and this time around I sorta kinda combined the sketch with the inspiration photo.


I am mildly obsessed with plaid this Christmas season so I chose to do a rather simple plaid background on my card.  Then I added a layer with some embossed falling snow and some pointy trees that were arranged in a loose interpretation of the circles on the sketch.  See - I kinda sorta used the sketch!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Fusion teammates have made some fantastic cards this week so be sure to check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Peaceful Forest (Ink to Paper); December Typed Words (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Cherry Cobbler, Wrapped in Plaid DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink); Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Snowfall/Speckles embossing folder (Tim Holtz)

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Freshly Made Sketches 413

Hello everyone!  We've got a new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our challenge this week is brought to you by Cรฉcile and I absolutely love how it is fluid and abstract.


For the squiggly line I went with a stencil (also with a squiggly shape) that I went over with embossing paste (if you click on the picture you can see the detail better).  Then came the hard part - deciding what to do with the other elements of the sketch.  I thought about snowflakes first but didn't have any that were small enough for the size of the card.  So I started searching through my stash of sequins and found these gold stars.  Then came the bold "peace" sentiment that I die cut with some gold glimmer paper.  For a little dimension I popped up an ending to the sentiment so that the card reads "peace on earth."

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some cards that are sure to inspire you to play along with us!  Please join us in our gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Just Sentiments Be Merry (Ink to Paper)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); gold glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories:  Wonderful Words Holiday die (Papertrey Ink); Graphic Equalizer stencil (Sheena); Gold Star Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh); white embossing paste (Dreamweaver)

Friday, November 22, 2019

Starry Starry Night

About a week ago I decided to make a bunch of cards for my Christmas card stash.  Well, as it turns out those cards that I made fit a couple of new challenges this week.



As far as design goes, when I made these cards I just had an idea to sponge a night sky and to use this nativity silhouette die.  I tucked them away in my stash to await mailing.  Well, fast forward a week and I took a look at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is "starry starry night" and at CASology where the cue word is "faith" and I realized that my cards fit the bill for both challenges perfectly!  I don't think that's ever happened to me!



Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Paper:  Bristol Smooth; Basic Black (Stampin' Up!); gold glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Peacock Feathers, Faded Jeans, Black Soot (Distress Oxide)
Accessories:  NativityScape (Sugar Pea Designs)

Thursday, November 21, 2019

CAS(E) This Sketch 349

I'm full on Christmas nowadays!  And this week the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch gave me a reason to use this fun Santa bursting through the front of my card!



I broke out my beloved stash of Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze for this card so that I could play along with the challenge at Color Throwdown I even managed to dig up some old designer series paper in the same color.  My Santa is a nod to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge.


Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow teammates at CAS(E) This Sketch have some fantastic cards this week so be sure to check them out.  They will inspire you for sure!

Supplies
Stamps:  Be Jolly (Your Next Stamp); Kelly's Fa La La La La (Hero Arts)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Real Red, Ski Slope DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Basic Gray (Stampin' Up!); Copics

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Freshly Made Sketches 411

Hi all!  Wednesday means a new challenge from your friends at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is Jen Brum and I loved her sketch so much I managed to make two cards!



It's been a while since I've made a shaker card and that big rectangular layer on the sketch gave me the idea to make one.  I squared up the card so that the proportion of my snowflake square was just right a-la the sketch and I filled my shaker pocket with sequins in the colors of the season.

This is the second card that I made for this sketch.  I first made one a few days ago and it's a perfectly fine card - just not terribly exciting.  So back to the drawing board I went which lead me to this snowflake cutout which led me to this shaker design.  Here's card #1.


Thanks for stopping by!  Please check out the inspiration from the Freshly Made Sketches design team and be inspired to join us!

Supplies
(Shaker card)
Stamps:  Seasons Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!); acetate (Oriental Trading)
Ink:  Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Snowflakes Snippet die (Spellbinders); Classic Christmas sequins (Neat & Tangled)

(Holiday Blessings card)
Stamps:  Spruce & Sprigs (Papertrey Ink); Peace Love Joy (Right at Home)
Paper:   Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink); Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Subtle Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up!)

Thursday, November 14, 2019

CAS(E) This Sketch 348 Meets Fusion

This week we've got a super simple sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and an inspiration photo at Fusion that has got some beautiful flowers in the corners.  So I combined the two ideas and came up with this.



This is the first time I've inked up this particular floral stamp.  I think it's supposed to be a sunflower but look how just a change in color turns it into another flower entirely!  And I'm still intrigued with the "torn" challenge at Less is More so my vellum layer is a bit more interesting with it's torn edges.  And at CASology it's all about appreciation so I inked up this thank you sentiment from Stampin' Up!  It's an oldie but goodie - the copyright date on it is 2004!  That proves to me that everything old is new again!


Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow teammates at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion have made beautiful cards with these challenges so check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Harvest, Wonderful Words (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Whisper White, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  black embossing powder

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Freshly Made Sketches 411

I'm feeling like it's that time of year when I switch over to the Christmas channel!  Despite my best intentions I always seem to come up short when it comes to my Christmas card stash so it seems every card I make nowadays has a holiday theme.  Today is no different.  The occasion is our newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches, our hostess is Kim, and my theme is plaid!



I absolutely love this plaid paper from Stampin' Up!  Plaid, as it turns out, is not that easy to find.  Especially ones that are of a holiday nature.  So when I saw this particular set I knew that I needed to scoop it up or forever regret that I didn't. I tore the edges of design so that I could play along with the Less is More challenge.  Then I added my favorite poinsettia layered in white and vellum cardstock as well as a simple sentiment.


Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic card for this challenge so be sure to check them out. I hope you will join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Joy Stamp (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); gold glimmer (Recollections); Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Gold (Encore)
Accessories:  Layered Poinsettia die (Penny Black); gold embossing powder

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Tis the Season

Yesterday was Veterans Day here in the US where we pay homage to all those who currently serve or previously served in the armed forces.  My father was a Korean War veteran so that day is always a little bittersweet for me.  He was very proud of his service as a Marine and spent his post-war life as a very active member of his local Veterans of Foreign Wars post.  Because of my father and his legacy I am very conscious of my debt of gratitude to our veterans. 

So, because of the holiday I had some extra time to make a card for a couple of challenges that caught my eye.  The colors at Christmas Card Throwdown and the layout at Sketch Saturday were perfect for me to use this new snowflake die that I got recently.  (Special thanks to my friend Jen who inspired me to get this die).



I'm not sure it shows up in the photo but the snowflake die is cut with some sparkly paper.  Not for nothing, but it is super sparkly and looks fantastic in real life!  The sequins are a dark purple and I love that I was able to incorporate the colors of the challenge in such a subtle way. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tiny Word Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Dazzling Diamonds (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Snowflake Cluster die (Hero Arts); Love and Sparkles sequins (Neat and Tangled)

Friday, November 8, 2019

Tag You're It 100

Hello all!  Today I am a little combination of happy and sad.  I'm happy because it's time for a new challenge at Tag You're it.  And I'm sad because it is also our last challenge at Tag You're It.

And...I'm happy again because I'm also joining Tracey at In My Creative Opinion with her 25 Days of Christmas Tags.  It's Day 5 and the sponsor is Reverse Confetti so I am pleased as punch to add my tag with my favorite Triangle Trees.



I have an obsession with triangle Christmas trees dating back several years so when Reverse Confetti came out with this set last year I scooped it up right away.  I love that the triangle trees come in different designs - from stripes to dots to squiggly lines plus the set has some great linear sentiments.  All those design elements were perfect for my tag today.  I even re-purposed some RC valentine paper into doing double-duty as Christmas paper!

Thanks for stopping by!  And special thanks to Tracey for inviting me along with her Tag You're It challenge and her annual 25 Days of Christmas Tags.  ๐Ÿ˜

Supplies
Stamps: Triangle Trees (Reverse Confetti)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Forest Glades (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versamark)
Accessories: Falling Snow stencil (Simon Says Stamp); white embossing paste (Dreamweavers); seam binding ribbon; twine

Thursday, November 7, 2019

CAS(E) This Sketch 347

We're going retro this week at CAS(E) This Sketch all the way back to number 138 which debuted in August 2015.  I didn't play along with the sketch back then so this was like brand new to me!



I'm still working on adding to my Christmas card stash so I used a poinsettia stamp set that I've had for quite a while but never actually used until last week.  I embossed the flower and leaves in white and colored them in with pencils.  A small sentiment popped up on foam tape completed the look.  All in all I made this card faster than I thought I would and the colors aren't half bad!  I came across this card from Pia Larsen recently, which inspired me to use this color combo.  Her coloring of these images is amazing!  And at Happy Little Stampers there is a Tis the Season challenge so I'll be adding this over there as well.



Before I added the popped up sentiment to this card I snapped a picture of it because it fit with the one layer and winter flora challenge at Less Is More.  I really tried to incorporate a sentiment in keeping with the sketch and a one-layer theme but couldn't make it happen so the next best thing was to do two different versions of the same card.


Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can join us at CAS(E) This Sketch!  Our design team cards will inspire you for sure!

Stamps:  Winter Flowers (Simon Says Stamp); Joy Stamp (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Desert Storm (Neenah)
Ink:  White (WPlus9); Versamark; Faber Castell pencils
Accessories:  white embossing powder


Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Freshly Made Sketches 410

It's been a week since I've posted here!  Last week was one of those where long nights at work were just not conducive to getting crafty.  It's good that this week I am able to slow down and enjoy some time with my ink and paper!  And I'm just in time for our newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week Linda is our hostess and her sketch pointed me in the direction of some new Christmas stamps that I got recently.



In addition to the sketch I used the colors at Color Dare to create this Christmas Card.  And at The Paper Players they want me to go into the woods.  Luckily on my trip there I found all these trees!  I wanted the vertical layer at the bottom of the sketch to be kind of subtle so it is made of vellum with a gold embossed sentiment.




Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic cards with this sketch which I am sure will inspire you to play along with us.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Peace on Earth (Ink to Paper)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Vellum (Stampin' Up!); gold glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Jungle (Avery Elle); Sage Shadow (Stampin' Up!); Versamark
Accessories:  gold embossing powder