Freshly Made Sketches 335

It's been a while since I've made a Christmas card so I decided that our newest sketch at Freshly Made Sketches was a great way to get back in the Christmas groove.  Our sketch hostess this week is Jen Timko and her classic design had me reaching for some of my old dies that haven't seen the light of day in quite a while!  We also welcome a new guest designer for the month.  The fabulous Jill Hawkins is joining us so be sure to give her a big ol' FMS welcome!

I layerd oval dies using some glitter and white paper onto a white card base.  Then I added a couple of snowflakes cut from vellum and glitter paper and finally a sentiment die cut in white.  White cards are so hard to photograph and my photography skills are sorely lacking so you'll have to trust me that this looks much better in real life.

At Merry Monday they don't want any stamps so a few die cuts later and I was good to play along with them.  And at Addicted to CAS they want GOLD.  I made my card using white and gold accents not realizing until it was done that it fit the ATCAS challenge - what a happy coincidence!

Thanks for stopping by!  And I hope you have some time to check out our latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  We'd love to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Glitter cardstock (Recollections); Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Petite Scallop Ovals die, Petite Ovals die (Spellbinders); Lindemon Snowflake die (Simon Says Stamp); Snowflake Trio die (amuse Studio); Merry Christmas die (Impression Obsession); gold sequins (Avery Elle)

Love, Joy, and Peace on Earth

It has been a whole month since I made a Christmas card!  So in the spirit of staying on top of things I decided that the color challenge at Merry Monday was just the thing to jump start my 2018 Christmas card stash.  It helped that I had a mix of sequins in just the colors they are looking for.

I seem to be on a shaker card kick lately.  I confess that they are fun to make and the mixes that are available today are super easy to use.  I love how they contain sequins and beads and bugles and all kinds of fun things that I would never to think to mix up on my own.  And for some reason my Christmas shaker cards always seem to pair up with snowflakes.  I love how they look together so I won't question the why of it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fa La La (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Glitter (Recollections); Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Cherry (Avery Elle)
Accessories:  Funky Flakes die (CAS-ual Fridays); Let It Snowflake Too die (My Favorite Things); Christmas Couture sequin mix (The Ton)

Ombre Christmas

Much to my dismay every time I see a card challenge I can only think of making a Christmas card!  Today is no different having spied the colors at Merry Monday, which lead to the sketch at Match the Sketch, which lead to the ombre challeng at TGIF.  Whew!

Love this color combo!  And I love the graphic shapes on the sketch at Match this Sketch.  I thought the two would look good together and I think I was right! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Ombre Sentiments: Christmas (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Tempting Turquoise, Lemon Lime Twist (Stampin' Up!); silver glitter (Recollections)
Ink:  Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Circle STAX (My Favorite Things)

CAS(E) This Sketch 224

The calendar says June 1st but the weather doesn't!  Spring has been very slow to make an appearance around here.  It's been cold and rainy a lot lately and I really would like to see the sun and go outside without a jacket!

Luckily, being Thursday, there's a new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch that will make me forget all about the un-May-like weather!

I took a liberal interpretation of Hannelie's sketch this week.  Instead of squares I used some sprigs of greenery.  I chose these warm colors and a burlap impression plate to make this a bit rustic looking for the Merry Monday Christmas challenge.

Be sure to pop on over to CAS(E) This Sketch and check out the amazing cards from the design team.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Sketchy Christmas (Precious Remembrance)
Paper:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Early Espresso, Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler, Pear Pizzazz (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Mossy Meadow, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Holiday Greens Mini die (Tim Holtz); Rustic Burlap impression plate (Papertrey Ink)

Freshly Made Sketches 279!

Today is the 15th of March.  And you know what that means.  Beware the Ides of March!  Actually it's the day when we unveil a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  Assassination of Julius Caesar aside, the 15th of March isn't so bad!  Our sketch this week is designed by Rita.

I had another, entirely different, card made for this challenge on Sunday but I kept thinking about it when I was at work on Monday and I decided I wasn't happy with it.  I turned to the Merry Monday Challenge for some inspiration.  Their challenge was to use bronze, gold, and turquoise on a card and I knew I could do that.  What I knew I couldn't do was photograph my card properly so that you could see the difference between the bronze and the gold.  Aaaannnnd I was right!

Just so we're clear, the dots and the fa la la sentiment are embossed in gold while the layer underneath that is bronze.  I promise.

So thanks for stopping by.  And don't forget to pop on by Freshly Made Sketches to check out the inspiration from the design team.  I hope you can join us in the gallery this week!

Supplies
Stamps:  Holiday Confetti (The Ton)
Paper:  Ivory (Flourishes); Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!); Kraft Core Metallic (Tim Holtz)
Ink:  Golden Glitz Delicata (Tsukineko)
Accessories:  Lindeman Snowflake die (Memory Box); Blueprints 21 die, Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX (My Favorite Things); Winter Wonderland sequins (Neat & Tangled); gold embossing powder

Jingle All the Way

Christmas is in the air, I think!  Now that thanksgiving is behind us the focus to Christmas has begun in earnest.  I've made some good progress this year making my Christmas cards but, as I discovered Monday night when I went looking for a particular card I made a few months ago, I seem to have misplaced some of them!  I'm sure they are around here somewhere!

But today I've got a card that I made for a few challenges:  the sketch at Mojo, the masculine Christmas challenge at Merry Monday, and the anything goes theme at Christmas Card Challenges.

I did add some enamel dots to my card but I still think this is still pretty masculine.  I mean, who's more manly than Santa Claus? Ho Ho Ho!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Jingle All the Way (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  Sahara Sand, Blue Bayou, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!); Snow Village (Pink Paislee); Heidi Swapp patterned paper
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!); Jet Black (Altenew); Prismacolor Pencils
Accessories:  Jingle All the Way die (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 263!

It's Wednesday so you know that means it's time for a new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!  We had a bit of a glitch on Monday with the linky tool expiring, but we've got it all sorted now and we are good to go for our new challenge!  Thanks for your patience and thanks to those who "linked" up their cards in the comment section!  Our newest challenge is brought to you by Cécile.  The sketch has circles, but feel free to use whatever shape you'd like.

Now there's a little explanation about why the top of my card is separated from the bottom by a diagonal line when the sketch clearly shows a horizontal line.  I had seen this card from Jane Knudsen and I really liked how she used a die to cut a line of circles then added some colorful patterned paper behind those circles.  I hunted around in my stash and found a similar style die, lined it up carefully on my cardstock horizontally and ran it through my Big Shot.  But the die shifted as it passed through and came out cut on a perfect diagonal.  I'm pretty sure that if I attempted to do that on purpose it would be way off center!  In any event, I liked how it looked and figured this was some sign that I should embrace this "mistake" so I didn't re-do it.  

There's a gray, red, and white challenge going on at Merry Monday and Christmas Card Challenges is looking for glitter.  The red glitter that I used is some paper I've had in my stash for a long time.  I don't know where I got it (or why I got it for that matter) or who makes it but it is VERY thick.  It's useless for dies but I was able to cut it and used it as my layer under those small circles.  The snowflakes were cut from Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper and you can just imagine how sparkly this is in real life!

Thanks for stopping by and please don't forget to pop on over to Freshly Made Sketches and check out the inspiration from our design team.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies

Stamps:  Joy (Concord & 9th)

Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Smoky Slate, Dazzling Diamonds glimmer (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Ruby Red (Altenew)

Accessories:  Blueprints 20, Blueprints 21 (My Favorite Things); Maryanne Snowflake die (Simon Says Stamp); Make a Snowflake die (Taylored Expressions)

CAS(E) This Sketch 189!

Today I've got another Christmas card to show off with a little help from Leigh's design at CAS(E) This Sketch along with the colors at Merry Monday.

I really wanted to take the circle element on the sketch and use a snowflake.  And the idea of a gold snowflake against a black background seemed like a good choice.  The only problem I faced was that the Merry Monday challenge also wanted white and I didn't want to spoil the drama of the black and gold.  What to do.  What to do.  Vellum to the rescue!  I embossed the sentiment in gold on a vellum layer and put it right across the center of the snowflake.  It's quite pretty in real life and, of course, I had a hard time getting all that prettiness across with my meager photography skills but it doesn't look half bad here!

The gals at CAS(E) This Sketch have made some beautiful cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery this week!

Supplies
Stamps:  Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)
Paper:  Black (Simon Says Stamp); Gold Foil (SU); Vellum (Papertey Ink)
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories:  Eliza Snowflake die (Simon Says Stamp); gold embossing powder

CAS(E) This Sketch 169

I can hardly believe it's Thursday already!  My vacation is nearly over but on the bright side there's a new sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch!

I did a pretty liberal interpretation of the sketch this week.  The sentiment is doing double-duty as the horizontal line and since it didn't go all the way across the front of the card I stuck on a sequin to sort of carry the theme across.

My Christmas card stash is sorely lacking this year, surprise surprise, so I figured I better hop to it.  I really liked the challenge this week at Merry Monday to use purple, white, and silver but I can say, with no shame, that this card looked much better in my head than it does in the execution.  But I can at least knock one card off all the ones I'll need come December!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the cards from my CAS(E) This Sketch teamies this week.  I hope to see you in the gallery over there!

Supplies
Stamps:  Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Elegant Eggplant, Brushed Silver (SU)
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories:  Sketch Tree die (Memory Box); Midnight Blend sequins (Avery Elle); silver embossing powder

Freshly Made Sketches 214

Here we are at another Wednesday which means it's time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  This week we've got a classic from Jen Timko!

This is not the first card I started making for this challenge.  But my first attempt looked like an exact copy of the sketch and I wanted something a bit different.  So back to the drawing board I went.  On my second attempt I was going to use a poinsettia instead of a snowflake but I ended up not liking that either.  So I went with a big "peace" die cut along with a snowflake cut from some really sparkly paper and added some pearlescent snow to the background.  I know the photo does not give this justice but it is super sparkly in real life!  I even added some sparkly enamel dots which I think are hard to see, but trust me they are there!

The colors for my card are inspired by the latest challenge at Merry Monday to use blue, white, and texture.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to pop on over to Freshly Made Sketches to check out the amazing cards from our design team.  I hope we get to see you in the gallery this week!

Supplies:
Paper:  Sweet Tooth (My Favorite Things); Pacific Point, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper (SU)
Accessories:  Snowflake Trio die (amuse studio); Wonderful Words Holiday die (Papertrey Ink); Falling Snow stencil (Simon Says Stamp); pearlescent embossing paste (Dreamweaver); enamel dots (Doodlebug)

Freshly Made Sketches 213

It's Wednesday so that means there's a new sketch debuting at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week Amy is our hostess and she's created a classic sketch that I'm pretty sure you will love!

That wide horizontal layer towards the bottom of the sketch made me think of my long-neglected washi tape.  I have a few that are wide widths and this red, checkered one fit what I was looking for.  I was inspired by the reindeer challenge at Merry Monday and wanted to incorporate kraft, red and brown into my card.  As I was pondering exactly how I was going to put that all together, I remembered this big sunburst stamp and figured it would look good in a warm yellow behind my leaping reindeer.

Thanks so much for stopping by and hop on over to Freshly Made Sketches to check out the cards made by my teammates.  I hope we'll see you in the gallery this week!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Kinda Eclectic (SU); Signature Christmas (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Crushed Curry (SU); Sweet Tooth (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crushed Curry (SU)
Accessories:  Pierced Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things); Leaping Deer die (Memory Box); washi tape

Freshly Made Sketches 183

It was with some horror that I realized that I had not made a Christmas card since January!  I hate scrambling around at the end of the year making holiday cards so I figured I better get going making those cards.  Freshly Made Sketches to the rescue!  Linda's sketch was perfect for what I had in mind!

This is the second time this week I've flipped a sketch - I'm not usually such a rebel.  But the little pooch fit better that way!  Incidentally, the challenge this week at Merry Monday is to use a cat or a dog on your Christmas card.  Hence the impetus to make a Christmas card and the use of this little hot-dog!

The always-amazing Freshly Made Sketches design team has some fun takes on the sketch this week so be sure to check them out.  See you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Santa Paws (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Jolly Holiday DSP (SU); Neenah Solar White; X-Press It Blending Card
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler (SU); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Copics
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle die (Lawn Fawn); enamel dots (Doodlebug)

Freshly Made Sketches 166

Half way through the work week and it's time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  This week our hostess is the supremely talented Karren Johnson.  Karren is an incredible crafter who always encourages me to buy new stuff for my crafting stash, but more importantly she forgave me for taking liberties with her sketch this week!

As you can see I turned the sketch on its side and substituted the rectangular layer for a tag.  This is actually the second card I made for this challenge, the first faithfully following the sketch.  The problem with it was that the colors I chose were horrible!  So I went back to the drawing board (which really means that I turned off the light in my stamp room and watched football instead) and when I went back in there the next day decided to follow the silver, gold and ?? challenge at Merry Monday.  And since I was feeling guilty about not following the sketch properly I showed it to Karren who liked it and then reminded me that it was fancy enough to fit the Black Tie challenge at The Paper Players.  Isn't she the coolest?  She lives half a world away from me, but I can tell you that meeting her is definitely on my bucket list!

I don't have to tell you that there's a lot of inspiration from the design team at Freshly Made Sketches this week so be sure to hop on over there and see it all in one place.  I hope that you can play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Nature's Gifts (Penny Black); Bokeh Dots (Essentials by Ellen); Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Brushed Silver, Champagne Glimmer (SU); White (Spectrum Noir)

Ink:  Silver (Encore); Golden Glitz (Delicata)

Accessories:  Tag Sale #5 die (Papertrey Ink); Leaping Deer die (Memory Box); gold embossing powder

Merry Monday 128

Happy Monday!  It's that time of the week when I get to add to my ever-growing Christmas card stash courtesy of the Merry Monday Christmas challenge!  This week Katie is our hostess and she'd like us to use stripes or polka dots on our cards.

For my first set of stripes I used a striped stencil and some gold embossing paste.  I've got to tell you that when I bought the gold embossing paste recently, I was none too impressed with how it looked in the jar.  It was gold, but not very vibrant so I really thought that when I used it the look would be kind of washed out.  Well, not so!  When it dried it had this amazing color and sheen!  And bonus, you can actually see it in the photo!

I added some more stripes and even a few dots with my triangular Christmas trees.  I love this stamp set because the trees are modern, simple and graphic.  A little sentiment on a banner later and my card is ready for the layout at CAS(E) This Sketch too!

Be sure to join us at Merry Monday and add a card or two to your Christmas card stash!  The design team have got some great projects to show you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Modern Christmas (Clearly Besotted Stamps); Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)

Paper:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink); White (Spectrum Noir); Early Espresso (SU)

Ink:  Frost White (Colorbox); Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories:  Banner Trio die (WPlus9); Diagonal Stripe stencil (Simon Says Stamp); gold embossing paste (Wendy Vecchi)

Merry Monday 127

I have been a bad stamper because I've been neglecting my stamp room all week!  One thing after another prevented me from getting in there and doing anything productive but Sunday I marched myself in there, sat down and made three cards!

The first is a card for the Merry Monday challenge where Kathy has given us a little Christmas Bingo where we get to choose the elements we want.  I went diagonal and chose Sparkle, Ribbon or Twine, and Buttons or Brads.

Now, you're going to have to believe me when I say that there is sparkle on this card because I know it doesn't show up in the photo.  The "merry" was die cut from some Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper which is just chock full of sparkle but sadly you can't see it.  And to make matters worse, I stamped the sentiment in white pigment ink then embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder and all that shimmer doesn't really show up either.  

Over at As You See It there was a great sketch so I used that as my layout.  It had a nice CAS look and I thought the bottom of the sketch would be a great place to showcase the "merry" die cut.

The Merry Makers over at Merry Monday have some beautiful cards to show you so make sure you check them out.  I hope to see you in the gallery this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Playful Christmas 2 (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Wonderful Words:  Holiday (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Midnight Muse, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Ppaer (SU); Solar White (Neenah)

Ink:  Midnight Muse (SU); Frost White (Colorbox)

Accessories:  Femme Frames (Mama Elephant); Wonderful Words:  Holiday die (Papertrey Ink); Vintage Faceted button, Iridescent Ice embossing powder (SU); crochet thread