Freshly Made Sketches 709

It's my turn to be the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I went with my favorite kind of card design...a square one!  I don't know why I love them so much but I do!

I used this gorgeous Stampin' Up! patterned paper as my background.  I usually can't figure out how to incorporate paper with bold designs onto my cards, but I thought this one would be perfect for a background.  The horizontal flags added some nice contrast as well as the layered rectangles that I used for the sentiment.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  As always, my fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some awesome cards with my sketch.  So humbling.  A big shout to out to all of them who put up with my long absences. 💟

Supplies

Stamps:  Inside Greetings - Peace Stamp Set (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Whisper White, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Treasures DSP (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories:  Fishtail Flags STAX die, Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX die (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 700!

It's a very special day today!  At Freshly Made Sketches we are celebrating our 700th sketch challenge!  I can hardly believe it!  The challenge debuted on September 7, 2011 and here we are nearly 14 years later, and we're still at it!

To commemorate the event we are resurrecting our Sketch #14 - for 14 years - and I'm going to show you not only my redux of the card I made with that sketch, but my original one, AND the first card that I made for our debut!  So here goes!

Here's my new card.  My original one was a Christmas card so I decided to make another for this challenge...plus it doesn't hurt to add to my Christmas card stash.  Lord knows I don't create anywhere near the volume that I used to so every card helps. 😉 This is one of my favorite poinsettia dies and I love how it looks in the deep red of SU! Cherry Cobbler.

This is the card I made for the original #14 challenge which was from December 7, 2011.  I remember at the time I was enamored of making wreaths by stamping a small snowflake stamp over and over again in a circle until it resembled a wreath.  Add some small hand -drawn circles to resemble berries, some gorgeous patterned paper and a pretty bow, and I had a lovely Christmas card!

And if you'll indulge me for just a moment I want to show you the card that I made for our inaugural sketch.  I was really into patterned paper in those days and I still love how it can enliven a card.  I also used to do quite a bit of stitching on my cards too...still have my Janome mini so maybe I should try that some more!

A lot has changed these last 14 years.  I've got more wrinkles, don't craft nearly as much as I want to, but I still love the joy of creating something lovely.  I'm incredibly lucky to be a part of the Freshly Made Sketches team and I'm grateful that they put up with my long absences. 😝 I'm happy to know that our team inspires each and every one of you each week to create something that you love.  After all, that's what this crafty journey is all about!

Thanks for stopping by!  And once again, our Freshly Made Sketches design team has got some wonderful cards to, once again, inspire you to play along with us. 

Supplies
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Jolly Holiday, Silver Glimmer (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Stitched Mini Scallop Square die (My Favorite Things); Blooming Poinsettia die (Memory Box); brads (Stampin' Up!)

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 663

Hi friends!  I'm back with my odd-ball not-so-consistent posting of a card!  This is the first year in a VERY LONG time that I'm seriously behind on my Christmas cards.  Not a good thing when it's past mid-November. 😳 But I've got a few days off from work coming up so hopefully I can hunker down in my craft room and churn out a bunch of cards...maybe assembly line style!  🙏🙏🙏

Anyway, I'm the hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches and since I love square cards so much that's the design I've given you.  Of course, if square isn't your thing feel free to change it up!

Seems like I'm always on a quest to find the right lighting for taking pictures of my cards.  I see so many pictures of perfectly captured cards and I still don't know how they do it!  For this card I used a light ring and my iPhone.  I think it looks pretty horrible so I'll be going back to my light box and my digital camera.  Old school for me! 

Thanks for stopping by!  And apologies for not visiting your awesome blogs very much.  Some day I'll figure out this work-life balance thing and return to my favorite hobby more consistently.  <I'm looking at you, retirement 😉 >

As usual, my super-talented friends at Freshly Made Sketches have been designing and creating the most beautiful cards and this week is no exception.  So I hope you'll check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tiny Words Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Naturals White (Stampin' Up!); Christmas Blessings-Holly (Sheila Reid)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Alpine ribbon (Stampin' Up!); Layered Poinsettia die (Penny Black)

Freshly Made Sketches 654

It's my turn to be the sketch hostess at Freshly Made Sketches and I think I came up with a sketch that has lots of room for interpretation.  Rectangles?  Who cares.  Triangles?  Boring.  The sketch is merely a prompt for you to unleash your creativity.  I can't wait to see what you create!

I, however, did modified triangles in the form of some slim trees. 😉

When I sat down at my desk to turn the sketch into a card I had a vague idea to use some triangular shaped trees, but honestly didn't know exactly how this design was going to go.  Then I looked through my stash of stamps and found these trees already stamped and in the colors that I needed!  Once I had all of those, this card went together pretty quickly. Some pearlescent snowflakes in the background, a bit of colorful paper, and some twine for added texture and my little Christmas card was born!

I've been absent from the Freshly Made Sketches blog for quite a bit this year because my work/life balance is out of whack.  But it felt good to make this card and take back my craft room from my kitties!  They had the last laugh, though, because I used a stencil for the falling snow and when I peeled it back from the card there was a big blob of cat fur stuck to the embossing paste!  

Thanks for visiting and a special thanks to my teammates at Freshly Made Sketches who have been graciously putting up with my absence for many months. 😘 🩷

Supplies
Stamps:  Peaceful Forest (Ink to Paper); Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Merry Moments DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Falling Snow stencil (Simon Says Stamp); Pearlescent embossing paste (Dreamweaver) jute twine

Freshly Made Sketches 632

Hey there!  I find myself to be the sketch designer at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I am excited to see how you all interpret this sketch.  For me, I used some of my patterned paper stash and added a floral display in shades of purple.

This is a big card - that floral display takes up a lot of room - but I love it!  The sentiment is hot foiled and tucks in to the florals perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by!  If you haven't already be sure to check out the cards my Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made.  They're awesome!

Supplies
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Lucky Limeade, Lucky Limeade DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Soft Lilac, Lavender Fields, Deep Iris (Altenew)
Accessories:  Climbing Cosmos stencil, Coming Up Cosmos die (The Ton); Super Scripty Thank You hot foil plate +n die (The Stamp Marktet)

Freshly Made Sketches 629

We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess this week is Amy and what a great sketch she's given us!

I really wanted to use use patterned paper for the background on my card so I scoured my stash for just the right thing.  I ended up choosing one in shades of blue.  I added white daisies and some colorful green leaves for contrast.

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

Supplies
Stamps:  Scripty Sayings (Gina K Designs)
Paper:  Baha Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Upsy Daisy die (My Favorite Things); Scallop Border dies (The Stamps of Life)

Freshly Made Sketches 624

Our newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches comes to us from Kim.  Her sketch just called out to me to use up some of the patterned paper in my stash.

This particular patterned paper that I used is a favorite of mine for Christmas cards because of the earthy colors.  The rich greens and dark reds are perfect together and look great with my favorite Christmas flower:  the poinsettia.  I accented the earthy tones of this card with some leaves in brushed gold cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a chance to play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Supplies
Stamps:  Signature Christmas (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Brushed Gold, Deck the Halls DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Blooming Poinsettia die (Memory Box)

Freshly Made Sketches 619

Hi friends!  I've been a bad stamper lately, but I'm back with a card for our newest Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  Our hostess this week is Judy and her card put me in mind of butterflies!

The color challenge at The Paper Players influenced the design of this card.  I used some grungy Stampin' Up! DSP for the black and white background and then used a butterfly as my pop of color.  

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some fabulous cards with this challenge so I hope you check them out!

Supplies
Paper:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Tempting Turquoise, Night and Day DSP (Stampin' Up!);  vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Papillons die (4enscrap); Blueprints 15 Die (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 616

We've got a fun new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess and sketch designer this week is Amy.  I discovered I'm a bit low on my Christmas cards this year 😳 so I took the opportunity to use the sketch to add to my Christmas card stash.  Gotta get those cards in the mail!

In addition to the pretty patterned paper I wanted to use snowflakes on my card. And since I've got about 8-million snowflake dies I thought this would be easy to do.  Alas, the dies proved to be difficult to cut and punch out  all the little pieces.  The one on this card is the only one that I managed to do properly.  But I love how it looks!

The colors of my card were inspired by the Christmas Card Throwdown challenge.  

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

Supplies
Paper:  Concord Crush, Champagne Glimmer, Lap of Luxury DSP (Stampin' Up!); Silver Foil (Recollections)
Accessories:  Snowflake Cluster Fancy Die (Hero Arts); cold cord (Stampin' Up!)

Freshly Made Sketches 615

I'm continuing a mad dash of making enough Christmas cards to mail to friends and family and this week's Freshly Made Sketches provided a great layout.  Our hostess this week is Karren and many thanks to her because the circle on the sketch was a poinsettia no-brainer for me!  We are also joined this week by guest designer Nancy Leppek, one of our 600th sketch challenge winners.  

I used the lovely velvet paper in my stash to create the poinsettia.  It is quite decadent in real life!  I paired it with a textured background and some ancient patterned paper for a quick and easy card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Peace Love Joy (Right at Home)
Paper:  True Thyme, Early Espresso, Holiday Thyme DSP, Rose Gold (Stampin' Up!); velour paper (Hygloss)
Ink:  Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories:  Layered Poinsettia die (Spellbinders); Rustic Burlap impression plate (Papertrey Ink)

Freshly Made Sketches 614

I've been a bit under the weather and missed last week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge, but I managed to make a card for this week with our new sketch designed by Jen Brum!

Our design team had a bit of a laugh when we saw Jen's sketch -  because she is a self-proclaimed circle-hater!  And this sketch is just chock full of them!  But kudos to her for facing her fears!  I decided to use a bokeh stencil to create the circles on my card.  I added a horizontal vellum layer and a die cut sentiment cut from red foil cardstock.  It's a super simple design and pretty much all my pneumonia-fogged brain could come up with!

We are joined this week by Nancy Elrick, one of our 600th sketch winners.  So be sure to check out her design and the designs of our design team.  Amazing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Paper:  Lost Lagoon, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); Watercolor Wash (My Favorite Things); Red Foil (Recollections)
Ink:  Frost White (Colorbox)
Accessories:  Bokeh Lights stencil (Simon Says Stamp); Merry Christmas die (Dee's Distinctively)

Freshly Made Sketches 612

We've got another fun sketch challenge for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is Linda and her sketch got me thinking about layering some patterned paper and making a Christmas card.

 

This card is almost entirely made from patterned paper.  Despite my reputation as a CAS card-maker I do love layers once in a while.  😉  And patterned paper is my favorite way to create layers.  Once I settled on the layers for this card I added a die cut "JOY" sentiment plus another small sentiment to finish the thought.

Once again my Sketchbook from Trinity Stamps was a huge help when I was designing my card.  I love that I can sketch out different ideas before I actually start cutting into my precious paper stash.  (And I use a pencil when I'm sketching out my ideas so I can easily erase something that turns out to be the wrong idea).

Thanks for stopping by!  As always my fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some smashingly good cards with this sketch!

Supplies

Stamps:  Joy Stamp (The Stamp Market)

Paper:  Ruby Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Silver Glimmer, Holiday Treasures DSP (Stampin' Up!); Solar White (Neenah)

Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Large Joy die (Simon Says Stamp); Glitter Drops: Leaf (PinkFresh Studio)

Freshly Made Sketches 611

I'm the hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches...insert nail biting here.  I went with a layered design -not something I usually do.  But I like to challenge myself.  I hope you do too!

I'm at the point in the year when I start to worry that I don't have enough Christmas cards in my stash so that's my main focus when I make a new card.  This card uses a pretty plaid with gold and silver accents.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Paper:  Night of Navy, Gold Foil, Wrapped in Plaid (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Graphix); Christmas Overlay (Marisa Lerin);
Accessories:  Tag Sale #5 die (Papertrey Ink); RyLynn snowflake die (Simon Says Stamp); Let it Snowflake Too die (My Favorite Things); Metallic Gold Rhinestone (Pretty Pink Posh); Shine Gold Twine Cording (Maya Road)

Freshly Made Sketches #610

I am a day late and a dollar short with this card!  I still had Halloween on my mind when I made this card for our newest Freshly Made Sketches challenge not realizing that by the time the card was posted Halloween would be over!  But Halloween it is!  This week our hostess is Jen Timko and we are joined by our guest designer Patti Brunter, one of our FMS600 challenge winners!

I was inspired by the color challenge at Addicted To CAS.  I'm not sure that this card fits the CAS mold, but I love it all the same!  The stenciled clouds were a last minute addition and I'm glad I thought of them!

Thanks for stopping by!  I don't have to tell you that our Freshly Made Sketches design team has made some fabulous cards with this sketch, but I will!

Supplies
Stamps:  Autumn Apparitions (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  White (Pure Luxury Gina K); Basic Black, Vintage Violet (Stampin' Up!); Simply Chartreuse (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Vintage Violet (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Mini Cloud Edges stencil (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 607

I'm pretty sure that I took some liberties with our Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week!  My bats have been substituted for the circles, but at least I managed to make the focal point a square....with my favorite skull.

We're only a few weeks away from Halloween so I thought I'd better get cracking on those cards!  I don't send out a lot of Halloween cards, but I do enjoy making them.  This skull is one of my favorite images and I love to pair the images with unexpected colors.  Pink and gray?  Yes, please!

Thanks for stopping by.  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fabulous cards to inspire you to play along with us, so I hope you do!

Supplies:
Stamps:  From the Crypt (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Basic Black, Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink, Sweet Pea DSP (Stampin' Up!); Pure Luxury White (Gina K)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  black embossing powder

Freshly Made Sketches 603

We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  Our hostess is Jen Brum and her design incorporates three circles.  Well documented here - three of anything gives me the heebie-jeebies!  I have no idea why, it just does!  But her design is perfect for these ho-ho-ho die cuts.  So I cut them from some sparkly red paper and layered them on top of some really old-school holiday paper from Stampin' Up!

After I made this card I realized there are a few things I would change about it!  But it's my Mona Lisa this week and I've already moved on to the next card!  Even still it's full of sparkly goodness!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have sone amazing cards to show you, so check them out!  

Supplies
Paper:  Old Olive, Holiday Treasures DSP (Stampin' Up!); Foil Paper (Recollections)
Accessories:  Ho Ho Ho die (My Favorite Things); Festive Mix enamel dots (Studio Katia)

Freshly Made Sketches 598

When I saw our latest Freshly Made Sketch challenge I was pretty sure that I wanted to use flowers to be the design elements in the corners.  Since it's summertime I thought sunflowers would be a good choice.  Jen Timko is our challenge hostess this week and her sketch inspired some fabulous cards from our design team!

I'm not at all sure that I like the placement of the images on this card, but it's my "Mona Lisa" this week so I'm going with it.  That's the great thing about creativity - it's fluid and sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it sort-of-right, and sometimes things go horribly wrong.  This one is in the sort-of-right category!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can join us in the Freshly Made Sketches gallery this week!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Harvest (Stampin' Up!); Words of Wisdom (Verve)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!); Fallen Leaves (Versafine Clair)

Freshly Made Sketches 593

I've got Christmas on my mind again for my Freshly Made Sketches card.  Karren has given us a great sketch inspired by a "bridge" card and I'm not ashamed to say I had no idea what a bridge card was!  Luckily the sketch can be interpreted in other ways, but I was intrigued by the concept so I watched the video link on Freshly Made Sketches and loved the idea!  I can't wait to try my own variation of a bridge card!  Here's how I interpreted the sketch.

This funky Christmas paper formed the background of my card and inspired the gold snowflake swoosh.  I stamped the slim sentiment in gold and added some golden gems for a little added bling.

Thanks for stopping by!  Our Freshly Made Sketches design team have some marvelous interpretations of this sketch so definitely check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Triangle Trees (Reverse Confetti)
Paper:  Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Holiday Lounge DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Gold (Encore)
Accessories:  Snowflake Cluster Fancy Die (Hero Arts); metallic gold jewels (Pretty Pink Posh)

Freshly Made Sketches 592

A busy work schedule last week caused me to miss last week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches, so I was determined to not miss this weeks sketch.  Our hostess is Cécile and her sketch is so fun!

The sketch has got some sailboat vibes but I really wanted to make a card to add to my Christmas stash.  At first I though the triangles might work as Christmas trees, but as I was browsing my stamps I found one that had some wise men with angular shapes that sort of mimicked the sketch so I decided to go with those.  

I sponged the circle and added the star, in keeping with the Christmas theme, and stamped the "wise men" in silhouette.  (Although I think the one on the right is a female (Mary) accepting a gift from the magi).  The sentiment, tucked in perfectly.

As this is a one layer card and pretty simple in nature I'm going to add it to Less is More!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope we'll see you in the Freshly Made Sketches gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Three Kings (Penny Black); Star of Light (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Bristol Smooth
Ink:  Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey (Distress Oxide); Onyx Black (Versafine); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)