Freshly Made Sketches #674

It's my turn to be the sketch hostess at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  The sketch that I made was entirely inspired by a die that I came across while organizing my craft room.  It was a simple die with a gentle stitched curve and I thought it was pretty and would make a versatile design.  Ta da!

And can I just say how much I love layered stencils!  They make me look like a coloring pro when all I'm really doing is sponging on some color through a bunch of stencils.  It's so easy!!

These cosmos make me think of summer - something I wish would hurry up and get here since it's been freezing around here lately.  They are so light and airy and as I perused my stash of sentiments for the perfect complement to them I found this mother's day one and thought I'd get out ahead of that holiday!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some gorgeous cards with this sketch I know you'll be inspired to play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Keep it Simple Mother (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); The Everyday Collection (Avery Elle)
Ink:  Wisteria, Hydrangea, Ultraviolet, Andromeda (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Climbing Cosmos stencil (The Ton)

Freshly Made Sketches 582

Oh boy, am I ever late to share my card for our newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  Special thanks to my design teammates for being so patient with me this week.  The work-life balance thing is way out of whack, but I'm glad I was able to finally put my card together.  Our hostess this week is Karren and her sketch gave me license to play with "round" flowers!

I thought the bold colors at the Sunday Stamps Challenge would work really well with this sketch so I grabbed some big floral stamps and went to work.   The two flowers represent the circles on the sketch - - don't you think?!?!?

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Floral Art (Altenew); Keep It Simple Mother (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Pacific Point, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!
Ink:  Pinkalicious, Rubellite, Forest Glades (Altenew); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Enamel dots (Doodlebug Designs)

Mojo Sketch for Mother's Day

By some happy accident I just found that an old favorite sketch challenge of mine, Mojo Monday, is back!  As a new papercrafter, Mojo Monday was one of the first challenges that I played along with regularly as I stretched out my creative wings and I was sad when it retired back in 2017.  But it's back and I'm playing along with the current sketch.

One of the things I always loved about the Mojo sketches were the layers!  They allowed me to get creative with pattern and texture so for this card I dug deep into my patterned paper stash and used a lots of different SU papers.  And in a nod to Julee, the Mojo creator, I used a favorite flower from Verve.  The colors from the latest challenge at The Color Throwdown inspired the floral theme and since Mother's Day will be here before you know it I thought this was a perfect card for that.  And at Tic Tac Toe I managed to squeeze in the first row down - as long as "mother" is a good enough substitute for "mom' LOL! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Dream Big (Verve); Keep It Simple Mother (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Desert Storm (Neenah); Old Olive, So Saffron, Cameo Coral, Whisper White, Sweet Pea DSP, Patterns Stack Brights DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Cameo Coral, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Dreamy Leaves die (Verve); Dotted Borders die (Avery Elle)

Freshly Made Sketches 434

I'm on a recurring theme of being late with my DT posts.  (:  So here I am with my card for our latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess and challenge designer is Linda.  I took her sketch and made a Mother's Day card.

All those layers actually gave me some pause.   I tossed around the idea to use some patterned paper for the two background layers but I really wanted to use this beautiful flower stamp and didn't want anything else to overpower those images. So I opted to use some white cardstock for those layers to let the morning glories to be the star of the card.  

I love the morning glories in my garden - the only problem is the resident woodchuck loves them too. Boo.  At CAS on Friday they are looking for a favorite flower.  These are a favorite of mine....and the woodchuck.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies

Stamps:  Morning Glory (Altenew); Keep It Simple Mother (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Frosty Pink, Coral Berry, Ruby Red, Olive, Moss (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versafine)

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)

Freshly Made Sketches 382

We've got a great new challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches designed by the very talented Jen Timko.  I love when the design is landscape orientation because I rarely make cards that way.  There always seems to be more space when the card is done in that direction - an optical illusion (or a personal delusion)...you decide!

I've been craving some signs of spring lately.  I go for a walk every day on my lunch hour at work so I've very in tune with the weather.  And so far spring around here hasn't been all that warm and to make matters worse it's been wicked windy so that makes it feel even colder!  To be fair I've seen small signs such as crocus and the beginnings of daffodils and tulips but I felt the need to take matters into my own hands and create a card with bright yellows and a pretty flower so that I can pretend that spring - and those warm sunny days - is here for real!  I added the gingham background because bright colors in a gingham pattern scream "happy" to me!

Mother's Day in the US will be here before I know it so I took the opportunity to turn this bright and cheery card into one for my Mom.  I think she's going to like it!

Thanks for stopping by!  Our Freshly Made Sketches design team has created some fantastic cards with Jen's sketch so you will surely be inspired to play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Watercolor Art (Altenew); Keep It Simple Mother (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); X-Press It Blending Card, The Everyday Collection (Avery Elle)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Copics
Accessories:  Simple Sentiments die (Avery Elle); Weathered embossing folder (Taylored Expressions)

CAS(E) This Sketch 269 Meets Fusion

All the stars aligned for my card this week for CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion.   I loved the colors of the Fusion inspiration and the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch was perfect for a brand new stamp set that I got last week!  So combine them all I did.  Take a look:

And if those two challenges weren't enough at House of Cards they want a floral corner, CAS on Friday is looking for black, white, and pink and Where Creativity Meets C9 it's all about spring!   My new turnabout stamp fits in the corner just so and the pink colors say spring to me!  I incorporated several shades of pink plush a dash of silver to make this extra special.  It is a Mother's Day card after all!

Thanks for stopping by!  We'd love it if you joined us at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion.  My fellow design teammates have made some GORGEOUS cards to inspire you to play along with us!

Supplies

Stamps:  Wreath Turnabout (Concord & 9th); Keep it Simple:  Mother (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); White (Catherine Pooler)

Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose (Stampin' Up!); Silvery Shimmer Delicata (Tsukineko); Jet Black (Altenew)

Mother's Day for Cardabilities and Color Throwdown

I have discovered that the business of making cards goes much faster if the television is OFF.  Last night I sat down to make a card for the latest sketch at Cardabilities and for the palette at Color Throwdown and it took me forever because I was watching TV at the same time.  Other times I've consciously left the TV off and (no surprise) I'm so much more productive!

I meant to add some sequins or enamel dots to this card and completely forgot (probably another good reason to craft in relative silence).  I think I'll do that before I hand it over to my mother.  I'm not sure she's going to like this card because I don't think she's into the whole grungy card thing like I am, but we'll see!

I used some washi tape to create my own patterned "paper" for the flag here with the thought that this would be my second entry in the Gallery Idol contest.  I'm not totally in love with this card so I'm not 100% sure I will enter it.  The deadline is May 19th so I've still got some time to create something else and decide which I like better.

I don't think I will give up watching some of my favorite shows while I'm crafting.  It feels weird to craft in total silence (except for the parts where I'm telling my cats to get out of my space).  So I'll probably have to resign myself to inefficient card making!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU); Mini Mixed Media Backgrounds (Stamplorations)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink); Bermuda Bay, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Vellum (SU)

Ink:  Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink); Bermuda Bay (SU)

Accessories:  Dizzy Doily Duo die, Gerbera Daisy die, Fishtail Flags Layers STAX, Sentiment Strips die (My Favorite Things); Little Leaves die (SU); Lucky Limeade baker's twine (SU); washi tape

PPA134 and FTL189

What do you get when you take a great color challenge (as in the one at Pals Paper Arts) and a great sketch challenge (for instance, the one at Clean & Simple)?  Well, in my case, you get several cards that you reject because they don't quite pass muster.  Then you finally decide to go with one because you're exhausted from trying to figure out why you can't make a card that you're happy with.

Arrgh!  I hate when this happens.  But I've decided that I'm somewhat okay with this card, so you all get to see it anyway.  It's funny how sometimes you make a card and it all just comes together somewhat easily and then other times it's like pulling teeth.  This one was definitely of the "pulling teeth" variety.

I used a small piece of specialty carstock from Parisian Breeze DSP for the little Baja Breeze layer.  This is one of my all-time favorite DSP packs and I've got quite bit left basically because I'm too afraid to use it.  Once it's gone, it's GONE.  As in I'll never get to use it again.  I'm not sure I'm strong enough to handle that.

The layered flower is one of my new favorites from PTI, and I added a pretty Calypso Coral brad in the center.  The sentiment is from Bring on the Cake and despite the birthday theme of this stamp set I think I'm going to give this to one of my sisters for Mother's Day.  That particular sentiment is versatile enough to be used a bunch of different reasons, I think.  And I feel somewhat weird giving a "happy mother's day" card to my sister.  She's not my mother after all!  But it recognizes a special day and is a nice compromise I say to myself.

Thanks for stopping by!

Freshly Made Sketches 24

It seems like I've been seeing a lot of butterflies in blogland and I realized that it's been quite some time since I've made a card with a butterfly.  I can feel spring in the air, so the timing is perfect.  Rita's fantastic sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches is so versatile and I thought it was perfect for me to ink up and show off my favorite butterfly stamp.

I used some Rose Red dp from Thoroughly Modern which I thought looked pretty striking with the Basic Black card base.  But I ended up setting this card aside for a day because I felt like something was missing and I needed to think about it.  When I came back, I added the So Saffron ribbon which lead to the cardstock and little flower.

The gorgeous butterfly is from the retired set, Simple Friendship.  I inked it up with Rose Red then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  That makes cutting it out so much easier.  The little layered flower is from the same set and I finished it off with a black brad in the center.  And since mother's day will be here before you know it, I decided to get a jump start on a card for my mother and stamped it with this lovely sentiment from Well Scripted.

I hope you have a chance to join us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  I think you'll agree that Rita's sketch has tons of possibilities.  It's so fun to see everyone's entries each week because everyone puts their own unique "stamp" on the card (if you'll pardon my pun)!  Here's the round up from our super-talented design team.

Lesley Croghan

Linda Callahan

Cindy Hall

Tui Nathan

Jennifer Timko

Rita Wright

Kim Singdahl

Tracey Vidal 

                                       

SSSC114 and Stamping 411 Color Inspiration 155

The Color Inspiration challenge this week at the Stamping 411 blog had me stumped.

But I generally don't like to say "no" to a color challenge so I figured I better get to work on something!  Enter the Sweet Sunday sketch challenge.

Individually, I like all of these colors.  But contemplate putting them all together on one card and I may start to panic!  In the end, I think I played it a little bit safe as you shall see.

Once again I've chosen the Fabulous Florets stamp set for my main image panel.  It makes lovely flowers in any color you can imagine.  I really, really tried to use something else here, but I just couldn't find anything that I liked half as much, so I played it safe and created flowers using Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango.  Against a background of Riding Hood Red, I think this makes a lovely card for Mother's Day.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

FTL135 and a New Friday Mashup Challenge

I feel like I'm behind on my projects.  Last night I opted to go see my nephew compete in the "Mr. Easton" contest.  It was a  tongue-in-cheek spoof of "pageants."  For his formal wear he wore a kilt, and for his "talent" he did his own spoof of a Saturday Night Live skit where he pretended to play the saxophone...badly.  It was great fun, and he ended up coming in third place!  The weather here today was too fine to spend cooped up in the house, so it wasn't until evening before I set foot in my stamp room!

The Friday Mashup challenge has moved to a new site, so I thought I'd participate in their inaugural challenge to use butterflies with dimension.

A little help from the FTL sketch challenge and I was off!

The Cottage Wall designer paper I used actually has butterflies already on it, but as luck would have it the scrap I used didn't have any showing.  But that's okay because I cut two from the Sizzix Beautiful Butterflies die.  I embossed the Old Olive one with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and stamped the Rich Razzleberry one with the Fine Flourish stamp.  I finished them off with a tiny row of pearls.  Once I finished it, I thought it would make a perfect mother's day card, so I embossed that sentiment with white embossing powder.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MTSC60 Mother's Day

I'm not sure I've ever made a card in this size before.  I had these long, narrow envelopes in my stash and I decided Mercy's latest sketch challenge was perfect to use them up.  And in the meantime I figured it would be a good time to make some Mother's Day cards. 

And a big THANK YOU to Gretchen Barron for taking what I am assuming is a tremendous amount of time to figure out the optimal cardstock sizes to get a perfect square using the scallop trim border punch.  What an invaluable service.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!