Freshly Made Sketches 427

In keeping with my recent tradition of posting my cards late, I bring you my card for our newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!  😀Our hostess and sketch designer this week is Narelle.

I took a little bit of liberty with the sketch but I love this snowflake die so much that when I came across it in my stash I figured I could sort of-kind of make it work.  Don't judge me, it's been a long week!  This die also gave me the opportunity to play along with the challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  This card is super sparkly in real life and I love it!

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

Supplies
Stamps:  December Typed Words (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); glimmer paper (Recollections)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Snowflake Cluster Fancy die (Hero Arts)

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

CAS(E) This Sketch 341

We've got a great new challenge for you at CAS(E) This Sketch.  This week our host and sketch designer is Brian and my first instinct when I saw the sketch was to dip into my never-ending stash of patterned paper.

But I ended up going in a different direction.  After all what could be more fun than piecing a million tiny pieces back into an inlaid die cut?  LOL!  I was inspired by the argyle image on the sketch but I chose to do a slightly different interpretation.  I cut this honeycomb die in the middle of the white cardstock, creating the negative image, then cut it two more times in pink and gray.  Then I started the process of inserting the pink and gray pieces back into the negative space.  I added this sentiment because I think that this sort of card is something only a fellow card maker can appreciate!  The colors come from the challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow design team members at CAS(E) This Sketch have made some great cards for this challenge so be sure to check them out!  I hope you join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pink Pirouette, Smoky Slate (Simon Says Stamp)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Ring Collage die (Poppystampers)

CAS(E) This Sketch 335

Our latest sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch had me all be-fuddled this week.  Sometimes what seems simple is actually complicated.  Does anyone else think that or is it just me!  After a few iterations I finally settled on this card:

Obviously I turned the sketch on its side.  But this was a late decision based on the fact that I couldn't find any suitable images for a vertical card.  I stumbled upon this snowflake die quite by accident as I was looking through my stash and quickly cut it from some silver glimmer paper and added a slim sentiment.  Happy Little Stampers has got an "anything goes with dies" challenge going on and I think I qualify for effort alone because punching out all the little bits on this snowflake die took forever!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you join us at CAS(E) This Sketch!  My fellow design team members have created some beautiful cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Travelers Journal December Typed Words (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); silver glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Snowflake Edge Fancy die (Hero Arts)

Freshly Made Sketches 384

It's hard to believe we are half way through April but the calendar doesn't lie!  And the calendar tells me it's Wednesday so that means we welcome a new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week Linda is our hostess.

I feel like I've made variations of this card a lot lately, but I am in love with this Penny Black poinsettia die so I tend to reach for it a lot!  This time around I used a simple color palette of gold and white which allowed me to play along with the Christmas Card Throwdown challenge.  That beautiful poinsettia die fits right in with the "anything goes with dies" challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

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

Supplies
Stamps:  Pure Florals Poinsettia (Uniko)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); gold foil (Recollections)
Ink:  Golden Glitz Delicata (Tsukineko)
Accessories:  Layered Poinsettia die (Penny Black); gold cord (Stampin' Up!); gold glitter washi tape

CAS(E) This Sketch 309

I'll admit that the challenge this week at CAS(E) This Sketch had me troubled when I first saw it.  I had a few design ideas floating around in my head but none that I really liked.  Then, as I was perusing my stash, I came across this cover up die and thought that I could use all those angles to replicate the shapes of the challenge.

Although not exact, the cutouts on the background die gave me some room to add colors in the approximate shape of the banners in the upper and lower corners of the sketch.  The other die cuts replicate the small diamonds across the middle but I added the YOU die cut overlaid with a birthday sentiment to reinforce that design.

I am also playing along with the die cut challenge at Happy Little Stampers and the color challenge at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!  And please check out the amazing cards from the design team at CAS(E) This Sketch for some amazing inspiration.  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  All About You (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  Fresh Snow Linen (Papertrey Ink); Simply Chartreuse (Papertrey Ink); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Diagonal Plaid Cover Up die (Lil' Inker Designs); All About You die (My Favorite Things); Skinny Mini Banners die (Papertrey Ink)

Freshly Made Sketches 312

I would say that I'm definitely starting to feel the Christmas crunch.  I had a look at my stash of Christmas cards and cringed.  I actually cringed.  So you'll have to forgive me if you see a Christmas card every time you visit here!  This week there's a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, brought to you by Cécile, and it didn't take much for me to see that square as being perfect for a shaker.

After trying out a few pieces of patterned paper for that triangle layer in the corner I opted to emboss it instead with a striped embossing folder - reminiscent of candy cane stripes.  The square was cut using a snowflake die and behind it are some Christmas colored sequins.  I watched a video the other day (which, incidentally, is how I came to buy that square snowflake die set) and the greatest tip I got from it was, when making a shaker card, to rub the acetate with anti-static powder (this is what I use) so that the sequins move freely around.  Genius!

There's an "anything goes" Christmas challenge at Happy Little Stampers this month so you'll find me linked over there as well.

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and please check out all the amazing inspiration from the design team at Freshly Made Sketches.  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fa La La (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Garden Green, Real Red (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Real Red (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Snowflake Snippets die (Spellbinders); Class Christmas sequins (Neat & Tangled)

Freshly Made Sketches 196!

Hello!  Today is a new sketch reveal at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week Cindy Hall is our hostess and I love her sketch!  As soon as I saw it I envisioned using some embossing paste and so that's exactly what I did!

I flipped the sketch because I'm much more comfortable in the portrait world than the landscape one!  And I went with a simple black, white and pink color palette.  The bottom portion of my card was embossed with some matte black embossing paste - I just love that stuff!  I randomly stamped some fun circular images, added a bold black sentiment and I was done.  Easy peasy!  And speaking of easy peasy, the CAS challenge this month at Happy Little Stampers is stamping so I'm pretty sure this qualifies over there as well!

Now you may have noticed that this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches is number 196.  That means we've got a pretty big milestone coming up!  That's right on August 19th we will be celebrating our 200th sketch!  Can you believe it?  And we are celebrating in style.  We've got some sponsors lined up (you'll definitely recognize the names) and with that we've got prizes.  Lots and lots of prizes.  So stay tuned and get ready to join us!

Thanks for stopping by and please pop on over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog to see what my fabulous teamies have been up to!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Sunburst (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  Basic Black, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White (SU)
Ink:  Pink Pirouette (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Pierced Rectangle STAX, Equalizer stencil (My Favorite Things); black embossing paste (Wendy Vecchi); black rhinestones (Kaiser Craft)

colourQ 300!

Are you ready for an incredible milestone?  Well, this week at colourQ we are celebrating our 300th color palette!  Can you believe it?  It all started here on October 4, 2009.  And here we are now nearly six years later!

Our colors this week are inspired by these ice cream cups!  Love the fun, summertime colors of these!  And here's my card:

It took me forever to make this card.  I kept changing my mind about what kind of flowers I wanted on the front.  I actually stamped and fussy cut two different kinds of flowers before I settled on this one.  Nothing looked right and then I remembered these images from Papertrey Ink.  They are a bit whimsical and went nicely with that die cut sentiment.  The sketch from Happy Little Stampers gave me my layout.

Our amazing colourQ design team has got some beautiful cards for you to see!  Come celebrate 300 color palettes with us, won you?   Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:  Stamps:  Off the Grid (SU); Funky Florals (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Coastal Cabana, Whisper White (SU)
Ink:  Cameo Coral, Ruby Red (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  smile die (Taylored Expressions); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

colourQ 298

Whew!  After a busy week I finally made it into my craft room so that I could make a card for this week's colourQ challenge.  Our colors are inspired by this cooler bag and I love how they look together!

I decided to also play along with the Cardabilities challenge and used the sketch over there. My cards are a bit different than what you usually see from their design team but I love to play along with them when I can.  And the challenge this month at Happy Little Stampers is "stamping" which I think I can do!

Don't forget to check out the cards from the colourQ design team. They won't disappoint you!  And thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:  
Stamps:  Dream Big (Verve); Slight Alterations (Tim Holtz)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Concord Crush, Cool Caribbean, Whisper White, Velllum (SU); Grapsicle (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Summer Starfruit (SU)
Accessories:  Curvy Leaves die (Elizabeth Craft Designs); Dotted Borders die (Avery Elle); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye); Witch Hazel button (October Afternoon)

colourQ 292

Hello and welcome to my latest addition to colourQ!  This week our palette is quite bold and is inspired by this wall art.

How's that for a bold color palette?  I took the inspiration colors one step further and used some rays on my card to mimic the rays in the photo.  I did the inlaid die technique and substituted Coastal Cabana for the rays of the sun.  I also added a slim black border around the focal layers to make them pop a bit more.

The CAS challenge this month at Happy Little Stampers is to use die cuts or punches so I'm going to add this over there too!

As usual our colourQ design team has made some beautiful cards with these colors so be sure to check them out.  You won't be sorry!  And thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Hashtags (Tim Holtz)
Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Strawberry Slush, Tangerine Tango, Coastal Cabana (SU)
Ink:  Tangerine Tango (SU)
Accessories:  Sunshine die (Simon Says Stamp)

HB2U

I had some extra time last night so I sat down at my desk to get crafty and managed a rare four-fer.  That's right.  I made a card combing four challenges!  That doesn't happen very often around here!

This is a pretty simple card, but also colorful.  The challenge this week at Less Is More is one layer with splatters.  Easy peasy with a stencil by the exact same name!  And speaking of stencils, that just happens to be the challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  Next I chose my colors from the Color Throwdown and finished it up with the layout at CAS(E) This Sketch!

Whew!  That was exhausting!  Actually this was a pretty simple card to put together.  Splash down some color, add a bold sentiment and DONE!  I wish all my cards came together so easily!

Yesterday the weather was absolutely glorious!  The sun was shining, the temperatures were warm and I'm convinced that spring is here to stay!  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Big Words (Mama Elephant)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir)
Ink:  Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake (SU); Canyon Clay, Simply Chartreuse (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Splatters stencil (Tim Holtz)

Butterfly Thanks

I managed to pop into my stamp room Saturday night to make a card for a few challenges.  I combined the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch with the colors at Pals Paper Arts and the embossing challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

I had a little CATrastophy with the lights I use when I'm photographing my cards.  One of my kitties (the one I usually say is a little angel) knocked over one of my lamps and the bulb smashed to smithereens.  So I've had to improvise with lighting my cards until my new bulb arrives.  The darkness you see on the left side of this pic is the lack of light from my unlit lamp.  I've tried to compensate with my camera settings and my photo editing software but those can't correct everything!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Papillon Potpourri (SU); Ink Splats (Indigo Blu); Thanks (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Pixie (Avery Elle); Rose Red, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Basic Gray, Rose Red (SU)

Accessories:  Diagonal Stripes stencil (Simon Says Stamp); translucent embossing paste (Dreamweaver); Basic Rhinestones (SU)