Freshly Made Sketches #670

Hi there!  I'm back today with a card for our latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  Amy is our hostess this week and she's given us a fantastic sketch!

My seasons are a little off because this sunflower is more suited to the end of summer than the dead of winter but I love this image and I thought it would be perfect for this sketch.  I scoured my stash of patterned paper for the perfect backgrounds and found these two SU! beauties.  All of it came together beautifully!

Thanks for stopping by!  

Supplies
Stamps:  Splendid Sunflower (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  Honey Nut (Papertrey Ink); Early Espresso, Old Olive, Whisper White, Spring Shower DSP, Welcome Neighbor DSP (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Hello Honey, Baked Brown Sugar, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Splendid Sunflowers die (My Favorite Things); Yana's Sentiments hot foil plates and dies (Spellbinders)

Freshly Made Sketches 642

Well it sure has been a while since I've posted here.  I won't go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that life gets in the way.....of so many things!  But it's my week to be the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches and hostess I will.  My sketch is square and it's got a wavy layer, but as you all know by now, neither is necessary in Freshly Made Sketches Land.  It's all about how YOU interpret the sketch!

I decided to use the gorgeous colors at the Just Us Girls challenge to make a square birthday card.  Blue flowers are hard to come by in my neck of the woods, but they are easy to find when you are the architect!  I love these pops of color!

Thanks for stopping by!  As usual my Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some amazing cards with this sketch!

Supplies
Stamps:  Birthday Messages (Mama Elephant)
Paper:  Midnight Muse, More Mustard, Bermuda Bay (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Papertrey Ink); Watercolor Wash (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Upsy Daisy die (My Favorite Things); Curvy Leaves die (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Freshly Made Sketches 600

We are celebrating our 600th challenge at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  That's a lot of inspiration!  It started with our debut sketch on September 7, 2011 and continues strong to this day!  To help us celebrate this milestone we've got some guest designers joining us!  Here is our sketch and my take on it.

I used this gorgeous dahlia stamp as my "circle" on the sketch and decided at the last minute that the horizontal layer should be this lovely burlap ribbon.  I hot foiled the sentiment in gold - and can I just confess that every time I attempt hot foiling I put the foil upside down and I end up foiling the plate and not the cardstock.  I've got a mental block about it apparently!

As I mentioned we are joined for this momentous 600th sketch challenge with some guest designers.  These lovely ladies have featured as our "queens of clean" frequently and we thought it fitting to invite them to play along with us for this anniversary sketch.  You'll find their cards at the top of our Freshly Made Sketches post.

And, of course, our Freshly Made Sketches design team has rocked it out of the park for this challenge.  I hope you are inspired to join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Delightful Dahlia Additions (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Layering White (Gina K); Solar White (Neenah); Wild Wasabi (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Sea Breeze, Turquoise, Starlight (Altenew)
Accessories:  Yana' Sentiments Hot Foil Plates and Dies (Spellbinders); Burlap ribbon (Stampin' Up!)

Freshly Made Sketches 574

Hi stamping friends!  We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week our hostess is Jen Brum and her tilty sketch is so fun!

I thought patterned paper would be a good idea for this sketch and the color challenge at Sunday Stamps got me doing a deep dive in my stash to find something suitable.  I was pretty sure that I had some that would fit the bill and sure enough, I did!  I added the diagonal paper in complementary colors and stamped a sentiment on the widest layer.  

Thanks for stopping by!  This is such a great sketch and our fearless Freshly Made Sketches design team has made some fabulous cards with it, so be sure to check it out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Biggest Wish (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Pool Party, Certainly Celery, Island Indigo, Everyday Enchantment DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Certainly Celery, Island Indigo (Stampin' Up!)

Freshly Made Sketches 560

I'm the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  And no surprise my sketch is a square one!  But don't worry.  If squares aren't your thing then feel free to substitute a different shape.

Autumn colors are faves of mine and I love sunflowers too!  I put a big ol' one on this card and added a simple birthday sentiment.  Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you check out our Freshly Made Sketches challenge!

Supplies
Stamps: Splendid Sunflower (My Favorite Things); Easy Expressions Birthday (The Ton)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Chocolate Chip, Afternoon (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Espresso, Mocha, Forest Glades, Honey Drizzle (Stampin' Up!); Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Easy Expressions Birthday die (The Ton)

Freshly Made Sketches 539

Hi everyone!  Welcome to a new challenge from your friends at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is Jen Timko and her sketch inspired me to go a little old-school with my card.  I don't often dip into my stash of patterned paper but I love it when I do!  The background is a simple pattern which I adorned with some flowers and leaves - the circle on the sketch.  

I inserted a slim birthday sentiment so that I could join the fun at AAA Birthday.  

Thanks for stopping by!  You won't be surprised to see that my Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fabulous cards to inspire you to play along with us.  So check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes (Stampin' Up!); Dream Big (Verve); Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Twitterpated DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!); Orange Cream (Altenew)

Fusion - Tulips

Hi all!  We've got a great new challenge for you at Fusion.  I chose to use the sketch while picking up the floral theme and some of the colors from the inspiration photo.

I don't have tulip stamps in my stash so I chose to use this lovely dahlia stamp instead.  It's a layering-style stamp and was a good choice for showing of the range of pinks that are in the inspiration photo.  It usually takes me forever to line up the layers on that stamp correctly but luck was shining on me because I figured it out on the first try!  I picked up the bright green from the inspiration for my leaves and continued the pink with the long vertical layer.  The horizontal layer is a piece of shimmery vellum.  My sister's birthday is on the 19th so this card will go to her.  She's hosting Easter dinner so I'll be able to give it to her in person!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can play along with us at Fusion!

Supplies
Stamps:  Delightful Dahlia Additions (Papertrey Ink); Simple Sentiments 02 (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Soft Stone (Papertrey Ink); Whisper White, Twitterpated (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Graphix); 
Ink:  Frosty Pink, Coral Berry, Ruby Red, Olive (Altnew); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Fusion - Cloth Bunnies

We've got a fun new challenge for you at Fusion!  I was inspired to use the colors in the photo along with the sketch to create a birthday card.

I love these little bunnies with their rustic colors and fabrics.  But alas I didn't have any suitable bunnies in my stash so I borrowed the colors from the photo and incorporated them into the sketch to make a birthday card!

I used a dotted border circle die for my half-circle layer because I thought it was much more interesting than a plain-old-boring-regular-circle.  Then I took a little dive into my stash and found something called "naturals ivory" from SU.  I used it to die cut the flowers.  It's a little more earthy version of ivory and went perfectly with the kraft colors.

Thanks for stopping by!  Our Fusion design team has got some fabulous cards to inspire you to play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments 02 (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Desert Storm (Neenah); Night of Navy, Naturals Ivory (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Daisy die (La-La Land Crafts); Circles die (Little B); matte sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)

Fusion - Colour Palette: Birds

Hi all!  It's time for a new challenge at Fusion!  And just look at these gorgeous colors!  I didn't have any bird stamps or dies so I chose to create a little fusion by using the colors from the photo and combining them with the sketch for my card.

I've recently embarked on a project to organize my craft room and in the process of moving things around (and throwing things out) I've found some supplies that I have completely forgotten about.  One of those things was some cardstock that I think may have been one of the first "in colors" that SU came out with.  I used one of them as the base of my card and it is a lovely shade with just a tinge of green to it.  I added another layer with some patterned paper to create some "texture" and in place of the circles on the sketch I layered some flowers.  A fun, bold sentiment in the corner finished this off perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by!  My Fusion teammates have some fantastic designs to inspire you so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink); Canvas (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Blue Bayou, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Starfruit, True Thyme (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Blue Bayou, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Freshly Made Sketches 523

Hi all!  It's time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess and sketch designer is Jen Brum, who pretends that she doesn't like circles  😂  but managed to put three of them on her sketch!  In sympathy I chose to make the circles into pretty daisies!

I found a piece of cardstock that I had already embossed with texture floating around my desk and used it as my starting off point for this card.  I then dug into my stash of patterned paper and pulled out this oldie from Stampin' Up! to create a few colorful layers.  Then I added three little white daisies to mimic the circles.  I could have gone in many different directions for a sentiment on this one but chose birthday because...why not!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have some great cards to inspire you this week so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments 2 (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Early Espresso, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Berry Blossoms DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Subtle Dynamic embossing folder (Stampin' Up!)

Fusion - Pumpkin Mug

We've got a lovely new challenge for you at Fusion.  I decided to combine the sketch with the colors of the inspiration photo and make a birthday card.....with no pumpkins in sight!!

I don't have any decent pumpkin images in my stash so that got me thinking about the sketch.  I thought a slimline card would look good with those long horizontal layers across the bottom.  Then I stumbled on the AAA Birthday challenge, which, you might have guessed by now is to make a slimline birthday card.  So I colored a bunch of gifts using the colors from the Fusion inspiration photo and arranged them on either end of the card.  I didn't want to cover them up with the horizontal layer so I made that out of vellum and a slim white layer so that the gifts would still be visible.  

But the pièce de résistance on this card is the sentiment.  It's from a Stampin' Up! set from 2005!  It's perfect here nestled between the gifts and also a perfect justification for hoarding certain craft supplies.  I love it when I can do a deep dive into my crafting stash and emerge with a winner!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can join us at Fusion where you can follow the sketch, follow the inspiration photo or create some fusion of your own by combining the two!

Supplies
Stamps:  It's a Wrap (The Stamp Market); Sincere Salutations (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); White (Spectrum Noir); Pumpkin Pie, vellum, Sweet Pea DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Nocturne (Versafine Clair); Copics
Accessories:   Pierced Nested die (The Ton)

Fusion - Peach Birthday

This week at Fusion our inspiration features a birthday party that I definitely want to be invited to!  Peach features predominantly in the color scheme as well as lots and lots of balloons!  I've never gone to a party with such fun decorations!  

I chose to feature some peach on my card, followed the sketch, and used a birthday sentiment.  Instead of balloons I went with a shaker accent - combining inspiration from the latest Just Us Girls challenge.  And it felt good to use up some old SU designer paper from my never-ending stash.  😊

Thanks for stopping by!  My Fusion teammates have got some great cards to inspire you to play along with us, so check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Scripty Sayings (Gina K)
Paper:  Whisper White, Peach Parfait (Stampin' Up!); Clear (Flourishes)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 487

It's been a busy week around here but at the last minute I managed to squeak in my card for our newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess this week is Jen Timko and she's given us my new favorite kind of design - a slimline!

I will say that I don't love photographing these cards!  But I do love that big blank canvas on the sketch.  I decided to keep it really clean and simple and just added some white daisies and a simple script sentiment.  I colored the leaves with a Copic marker that just happens to be a nearly exact match for the green layer.  Serendipity!  BTW, the daisy idea came from the challenge at Just Us Girls.

Thanks for stopping by!  The weather is crazy around here - 90 degrees one day and 60 the next and no rain in sight.  Today we're on tap for another 90-degree day, which I'm totally okay with!  Bring on summer, I say!

As you would expect my fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some beauties with this sketch so check them out.

Supplies
Stamps:  Scripty Sayings (Gina K Designs)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Call Me Clover (Stampin' Up!); Xpress It Blending Card
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine); Copics
Accessories:  Upsy Daisy die (My Favorite Things)

Fusion - Flowers

It's time for a new challenge from Fusion!  This week we've got a great sketch and some floral inspiration.  I opted to go with the flowers.

I don't have to state the obvious but I will just say that watercoloring is not my forte.  However, when I saw this inspiration photo I thought maybe I'd give it a go - especially since I had no other idea for those flowing flowers in the inspiration photo other than this wildflower stamp.  Since the stamp is a solid image I splashed down some colors behind it, added a raised sentiment, and I was done.  I also used the sketch from Fab Friday, turned clockwise.

Thanks for stopping by!  Join us at Fusion and be inspired by the sketch, the photo, or both!

Supplies
Stamps:  Going to Seed (Woodware); Easy Expressions Birthday (The Ton)
Paper:  Pure Ivory (Gina K); Desert Storm (Neenah); Distress Watercolor (Tim Holtz)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair); Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor
Accessories:  Easy Expressions Birthday die (The Ton)

Freshly Made Sketches 467

After a short holiday hiatus we are back at Freshly Made Sketches for our first sketch of the year!  And I'm super excited about it because I'm the hostess!  I decided to go with a slimline design for a ton-in-cheek reason.  The new year is full of resolutions and many of them have to do with "slimming down."  So I thought maybe our cards needed a slim-down as well!

I bought a bunch of new supplies recently for making slimline cards so I've been busy trying them out.  This card uses a striped background die that was a little tricky to glue down, so I queried my stamping friends who gave me some suggestions to try.  I see some experimentation in my future!

Thanks for stopping by!  We're excited to start off the new year at Freshly Made Sketches and hope you are inspired to join us.  My fellow design team members have made some fantastic cards so I hope you'll play along!

Supplies
Stamps:  It's a Wrap (The Stamp Market); Easy Expressions Birthday (The Ton)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink); X-Press It Blending Card

Ink:  Nocturne (VersaFine Clair); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Copics

Accessories:  Candy Cane Stripes die (The Ton); Easy Expressions Birthday die (The Ton)

Fusion on the Farm

For my Fusion card this week I decided to turn the sketch clockwise and incorporate a few farm animals per the theme.  Despite my extensive stamp collection I didn't have any farm animals in my stash so I did a little poking around Etsy and found some fun digital images.

I did some ink blending to create a blue sky background then added some grass for my little farm animals to tramp around in!  My happy sun is shining down on the pig and cow and wishing someone a happy birthday!  At TGIF Challenges they are looking for ink blending so I took that as a sign that I was on the right path with this card.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Fusion design team members have made some great cards for this challenge so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Birthday Bears  (My Favorite Things); Farm Animals (Pixel Paper Prints)
Paper:  Solar White  (Neenah); Bristol Smooth; X-Press It Blending Card; Cocoa Bean (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Slim Film City die, Slim Window Dressing die (Mama Elephant)

Freshly Made Sketches 445

Hello everyone!  We've got a new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches and I am the hostess!  I went with a design that, I hope, gives you some room for interpretation.

I chose to use the colors from the Just Us Girls challenge and stamped a grungy circle in gray that I accented with leaves in teal and frosty vellum along with a slim scalloped layer in a mustard color.  A slim birthday sentiment and I was done!  Incidentally the teal I used is the Stampin' Up! version of it which looks quite blue, especially when I photograph it.  Apologies to the Just Us Girls crew if it seems I was circumventing the color. :) 

Thanks for stopping by!  Our Freshly Made Sketches design team has made some amazing cards to inspire you to play along with us.  I hope you'll join us!

Supplies

Stamps:  Ink Splats (Indigo Blu); Birthday Messages (Mama Elephant)

Paper:  Whisper White, Taken With Teal, More Than Mustard, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Going Gray (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Curvy Leaves die (Elizabeth Craft Designs); Scallop Border Set (A.Muse Studio); Blueprints 21 die (My Favorite Things); enamel dots (Doodlebug Designs)

CAS(E) This Sketch 381

Hey all!  I've got a new card today for our latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  Apparently slimline cards are a "thing" so I decided to make one for this challenge. 

I flipped the sketch and used a little leaf and floral design to take the place of that small rectangle.  The idea to make a slimline came from the Just Us Girls challenge.  It's funny that what is old is new again.  I remember that years ago I made a big card like this to fit in a #10 business envelope.  I kept that card for a long time because I loved it so much (even though I can no longer remember what exactly it looked like) and didn't want to part with it.  And now these slim cards are popular again!

Thanks for stopping by!  At CAS(E) This Sketch our design team has got some fabbo cards to inspire you to play along with us!  

Supplies

Stamps:  Best Blossoms (Stampin' Up!); Sentimental Birthday (Winnie & Walter)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Sweet Pea DSP (Stampin' Up!); Pixie Pink (Avery Elle)

Ink:  Old Olive, So Saffron (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)

CAS(E) This Sketch 380 Meets Fusion

Every couple of weeks I get to stretch my creative arms, as it were, and combine a sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch with an inspiration challenge at Fusion.  This time around a curvy sketch met some flowers.

I spent a long time on that curved layer.  I really didn't have a die in my stash that could do it for me.  I tried free-hand cutting the shape - not a good idea 😳but ended up using a combination of a landscape die and some free-hand cutting.  To add a bit of interest I poked holes along the uppermost curve.  It looked too plain without some kind of embellishment.  Then I added a line of wee flowers along the gentle bottom slope.  The inspiration photo had a pale gray background for those little pink and yellow cupcake flowers so I tried to recreate some of those colors here.  The sentiment was gently curved to follow the same track as the curved layer.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow teammates at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion have made some super fantastic cards for you to see.  I hope you are inspired to join us in the gallery!

Supplies

Stamps:  Birthday Messages (Mama Elephant)

Paper:  Soft Stone, Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink); Pink Pirouette (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Basic Pearls (Stampin' Up!)

CAS(E) This Sketch 377

Hey all!  We've got a new challenge for you at CAS(E) This Sketch.  

This card was actually super easy to make.  Using the colors from Sunday Stamps and an old die from Spellbinders I created this birthday card.  Those blues were perfect for a beautiful hydrangea and a pop of color from the red sentiment finished off my card.

Thanks for stopping by!  Check out the amazing cards made by my fellow CAS(E) This Sketch teammates.  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies

Stamps:  Delightful Dahlia Additions (Papertrey Ink); Scripty Sayings (Gina K Designs)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:   Carribbean Sky, Parisian Blue, Sapphire, Ruby Red (Altenew)

Accessories:  Labels Two die (Spellbinders)