Freshly Made Sketches 622

It's my turn to be the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches and the sketch I made was pretty straight forward I thought.  And then as I thought about what my own card might look like I got the idea to do a slimline.  The proportions are a little off, but I think you can see the sketch there.

I used stencils to create these gorgeous floral images.  I love using layering stencils because they provide an super simple way to create dimension.  For the horizontal layer I used a piece of vellum and added a gold-foiled sentiment.  The sentiment is hard to see so I included a close-up so you can see it better.

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

Supplies
Stamps: Miss Your Smile (Pink Fresh Studio)
Paper:  Pure Luxury (Gina K); Certainly Celery, Basic Black (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Sea Glass, Dusk, Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades (Stampin' Up)! Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Superscript Thank you hot foil plate + die (The Stamp Market); Scallop Border dies (The Stamps of Life)

Freshly Made Sketches 604

We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Our designer is Cécile, and as always when she's given us a sketch I try to channel my inner CAS soul.

When I first saw the sketch I was pretty sure what stamp set I wanted to use for the two splashy background images, but I wasn't sure what the final image on top was going to be.  Then my sister asked me if had any cards with dragonflies on them, as she needed a thank you card for someone who was crazy about dragonflies.  Well I didn't have one, but I knew I could make one.  That was the perfect image I was looking for so this card was born!

Thanks for stopping by!  As always my Freshly Made Sketches design teammates have got some amazing cards to inspire you to play along with us!  

Supplies
Stamps: Abstract Art (My Favorite Things); Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  White (Gina K); Island Indigo (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Sea Glass, Ocean Waves (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Libellules die (4enscrap)

Freshly Made Sketches 602

So, the Monday holiday here in the US got me all messed up.  I woke up this morning thinking that it was Tuesday.  I was going to do this blog post when I got home from work - plenty of time before the Freshly Made Sketches post went live on Wednesday.  But after puttering around the kitchen getting ready for work I realized it was actually Wednesday!  So I'm a bit late with this post!

Kim is our hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches and she's given us a fun sketch.  I didn't immediately think of a tag for that layer on the top half of the card, but once I saw the AAA Cards Challenge I realized a tag would work really well.  I used some bright washi tape on the tag and completed the decoration with a colorful sunflower.

Thanks for stopping by!  We've got some great inspiration for you at Freshly Made Sketches so I hope you check us out and join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tons of Type (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Daffodil Delight, Garden Green, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Tag Sale #5 die (Papertrey Ink); Sunflower die (My Favorite Things); Stitched Leaves die (My Creative Time); washi tape (Stampin' Up!); crochet thread

Freshly Made Sketches 599

Hi everyone!  It's my turn to be the sketch hostess at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  I tried my hand at a design with a few layers - I can't be clean-and-simple all the time!  Sometimes I just get a hankering to make a card with some weight to it!

I love this color combo of kraft, black, white, and yellow and for no particular reason picked it to use on my card.  The yellow then inspired sunflowers so I die-cut a couple of those from a daisy die (ssshhh don't tell) and layered them over this fun gingham paper.  I wanted a bold sentiment and chose this one from the now-closed Reverse Confetti.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Of course, my fellow Freshly Made Sketches design teammates have made some amazing cards with my sketch!  I hope you'll check them out.

And next week we'll be celebrating 600 sketches at Freshly Made Sketches.  We've got some fun surprises so I hope you will join us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Posted Notes Sentiments (Reverse Confetti)
Paper:  Desert Storm (Neenah); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Crushed Curry, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); True Black Gingham (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Upsy Daisy die, Vertical Greetings II die (My Favorite Things); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

Freshly Made Sketches 597

We've got a great new challenge for you at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  Our hostess is Jacquie and she gave us this great landscape-oriented sketch that I accidentally turned to portrait!  Oops!

I'm pretty sure at one point I knew this card was supposed to be landscape, but somehow I turned it around in my head.  I didn't even realize my mistake until I went to add this card to our design team blog.  By then it was too late to fix, but I think it works anyway!  My flowers represent the two vertical layers and for the horizontal layer I used washi tape and a thin sentiment strip.  These fun colors are inspired by the Cupcake Inspiration challenge.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  As always our Freshly Made Sketches design team has cooked up some amazing cards to inspire you to play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle); Truth Is (CAS-ual Friday Stamps)
Paper:  Lemon Grass, The Everyday Collection (Avery Elle); Taken With Teal, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  washi tape

Freshly Made Sketches 587

We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  Our hostess is Jen Timko and if you like circles, or big and bold shapes, you'll love this design!

I loved the bold colors at the Sunday Stamps Challenge and wanted to incorporate them into this design.  My favorite funky flower stamp was just the thing to make this card come to life!  I stamped the sentiment in a subtle shade of gray so that it wouldn't detract from these fun colors.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some great cards so be sure to hop on by and check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Funky Florals (Papertrey Ink); Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Whisper White, Smoky Slate (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Azurite, Razzleberry, Fresh Lemon, Gray Denim (Altenew)
Accessories:  enamel dots (Studio Calico; My Mind's Eye)

Stencil Thanks

So, I think I am in love with layering stencils.  I've only got a couple but I made a card today using the colors from CAS Colours & Sketches and a stencil from The Ton and I love how it came out!

Layering the stencils was so easy to do and the end result is so pretty!  💕

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Thank You Builder (Altenew)
Paper:  Whisper White, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Stormy Sea (Papertrey Ink); Early Espresso, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Climbing Cosmos Layering Stencil (The Ton); Blueprints 15 die (My Favorite Things)

Thank You So Much

I loved the color challenge at The Color Throwdown as soon as I saw it.  And I thought a turnabout stamp would be perfect for showing off those beautiful colors.  I do love me my turnabout stamps!

I'm on a bit of a turnabout stamp kick lately.  I love how they give opportunities to use different colors in a fun and easy way.  No heavy lifting here - just a pretty card that went together very easily!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Wreath Turnabout (Concorn & 9th); Tons of Type (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Blue Bayou, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Blue Bayou, Night of Navy, More Mustard (Stampin' Up!); Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)

Fusion - Autumn Leaves

My calendar says "autumn" but the weather says "I don't want summer to end!"  It's been lovely here and although I don't want to admit that summer is over, I know that the leaves will be changing soon.  As luck would have it, our challenge at Fusion embraces those autumn-colored leaves  so I jumped on the bandwagon1

I combined these gorgeous Fusion colors with the sketch at The Paper Players.  I stamped a bunch of leaves in these beautiful colors and arranged then haphazardly horizontally to mimic the sketch.  Then I added a simple sentiment at the bottom.

Thanks for stopping by!  Remember at Fusion you can use the sketch, the inspiration, or both! It's up to you!

Supplies
Stamps:  Leaf Prints (Papertrey Ink); Always There (Altenew)
Paper:  Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up!); Honey Drizzle, Burnt Red (Altenew); Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  enamel dots (Freckled Fawn)

Freshly Made Sketches 553

Hi all!  We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is our clean and simple queen Cecile.  She's given us a great sketch, so let's check it out!

I chose to use some of the colors at The Paper Players for my card (with the addition of a pale grey which I hope is an allowed neutral).  I pretty much followed the sketch and added a little thread behind the flowers for some texture. 

Thanks for stopping by!  As usual my Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fabulous cards using this sketch so be sure to check them out!  I hope we'll see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  White Linen (Essentials by Ellen); Powder Pink, Blackberry Bliss (Stampin' Up!); Soft Stone, Mint Julep (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Leafy die (Reverse Confetti); Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 551

Happy Wednesday!  We've got a fabulous new sketch challenge for you at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess this week is Kim and I love her design.  It's got layers and wide open space - a perfect combination for the imagination!

I chose to keep my card CAS and following the "pink" challenge at Addicted to CAS I used varying shades of pink for the horizontal layers on the sketch.  Then I got the bright idea to incorporate the vellum challenge at Less Is More and added a simple leafy die cut.

Thanks for stopping by!  You don't need me to tell you that my fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have some creative takes on this sketch.  So be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pink Pirouette, Powder Pink, Rococco Rose, Vellum (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Feuillages Ajourés die (Simply Graphic)

Freshly Made Sketches 550

Happy Wednesday!  We've got a new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches and this week I am the hostess!  I chose a square design with some fun panels that can be used a bunch of different ways.

I loved the colors at Just Us Girls so incorporated those into my card.  Not surprisingly I had some patterned paper in my stash that were the right colors and I put a big fluffy flower front and center.  I love how this came out!  

My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fun and clever cards with the sketch so hop on over to check them out.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Basic Black, Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Taken With Teal, Sweet Pea DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Plentiful Petals die (My Favorite Things)

Fusion - Color Palette

We've got a beautiful color palette for you at Fusion!  The sketch scared me too much so I chose to use another layout for my card!  I went old-school and filled the background of my card with some colorful patterned paper, accented with fun shapes in solid colors.

I dug through my stash and found this great "thank you" stamp that features the sentiment in various languages.  I knew it would be perfect for this layout.  To add some interest I stamped the center "thanks" in a different color, cut it out, and popped it up over the original stamped image.  The challenge at Sketch Saturday provided my layout.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Fusion teammates have made some amazing cards with both the sketch and the inspiration so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  So Many Thanks (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Whisper White, True Thyme, Pretty in Pink, Pool Party, Welcome Neighbor DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  True Thyme, Pool Party (Stampin' Up!)

Freshly Made Sketches 538

I know the calendar says June, but the weather says April.  😕 After some spectacular weather lately a cold front has moved in and the temperatures are now back into the sixties and it's raining today.  Blah.  But luckily it's Wednesday so there's a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches which cheers me up immensely!  Our hostess this week is Jacquie and in between cooking up fabulous meals she manages to cook up some fabulous cards too!

I decided immediately that washi tape would be perfect for the vertical layers.  My washi collection has been sitting idle for a while now so it was good to dig through it and find something to use here.  The inspiration photo at Just Us Girls gave me some color cues so the baskets became the washi and the different shades of pink flowers became my arrangement of funky flowers.

Thanks for stopping by!  Of course my Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some gorgeous cards for you to see.  

Supplies
Funky Flowers (Papetrey Ink); Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Sea Glass (Avery Elle); Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Frosty Pink, Coral Berry, Ruby Red, Pink Diamond, Pinkalicious, Rubelite (Altenew); Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  washi tape

Fusion - At the Movies

Hi all!  I'm a bit late to share my Fusion card with you but here we go!  The theme is at the movies, but it was the sketch and the colors from the photo that caught my eye.  The red couch prompted me to incorporate red in my card and the movie theme got me digging around in my stash for this film strip stamp.

I stamped the flowers on this card first then stamped the film strip over them.  I was not happy with how it looked so I stamped the flowers again on some vellum, added some clear embossing powder over those images (a trick I learned because ink and vellum = wet) and then fussy cut the flowers.  I placed them over the original stamped images and I liked this so much better! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Our Fusion challenge is going on now.  You can play with the sketch, the inspiration photo, or combine the two.  It's your choice!

Supplies
Stamps:  Film Strip I (Creative Embellishments); Zig Zag Floral (Altenew); Celebration of Thanks (Verve)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Vellum (Graphix)
Ink:  Crimson (Altenew); Nocturne (Versafine Clair); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  clear embossing powder

Fusion - Turquoise Rose Bouquet

Sorry I'm late with my Fusion card post.  Apparently I forgot to hit Publish 😕  

The challenge inspiration has these beautiful roses in a lovely turquoise color with little bits of gold thrown in for good measure.  Using that as my first clue, I opted to use a die-cut flower (definitely not a rose) in the shades of blue as I saw them along with a bit of gold.  I incorporated that into the sketch and used some lovely corrugated kraft paper for the panel on the left side of the sketch.  I stuck some clear droplets in the center of the flowers then sprinkled a few sequins around to take up some of the blank space and add a little interest.  The script sentiment sits perfectly in the right bottom corner.

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget at Fusion you can use the sketch, use the inspiration photo, or create a little fusion of your own by combining the two!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Sayings (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Naturals Ivory, Gold Foil (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Daisy die (La-La Land Crafts); Winter Wonderland sequins (Neat & Tangled); Clear Droplets (Pretty Pink Posh)

Freshly Made Sketches 525

Hi all!  It's time for a new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is Karren and her design had me thinking and re-thinking my card.  Sometimes big blank spaces provide so much inspiration I don't know where I want to go!  I finally settled on a design featuring some eclectic colors and a leafy design.

The colors at Color Throwdown were interesting to me and I decided to use them to stamp leaves in a random pattern.  I added a script sentiment in black and I was done!  What started out as complicated ended up being super simple!

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some great cards to inspire you to play along with us so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Leaf Clusters (Altenew); Just Saying (Wow!)
Paper:  Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Rocky Shores, Bamboo, Orange Cream (Altenew); Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!)

Freshly Made Sketches 520

Hi stamping friends!  It's time for a new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches and yours truly is the hostess this week.  I chose - surprise, surprise - a square card for my sketch.  But, as I always say, you can use another shape if squares aren't your thing.  Here's what I did with the sketch.

I happened to spy this colorful and cheerful patterned paper in my stash the other day and thought it would look super cute for this sketch.  I was right!  The gingham looks so cute with the florals!  I actually attached an entirely different sentiment to this card at first but after looking at it for a bit I thought it was too dark and too big.  So I made this rounded square and stamped a prettier sentiment on it and layered it over the old sentiment.  I hope whoever gets this card doesn't start investigating my crafting techniques and discover the sentiment underneath!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have, once again, knocked it out of the park with this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Posted Note Sentiments (Reverse Confetti)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pixie (Avery Elle); Vellum (Stampin' Up!); patterned paper (American Crafts)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Classic Scallop dies, Standard Circles dies (Spellbinders)

Freshly Made Sketches 518

Well hey there!  I'm popping in a bit late with my card for our latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches, but better late than never.  This week our super sketch is brought to you by our hostess Judy and it's the kind of sketch I love - open to lots of interpretation.

I didn't want to make a card that had a whole lot of white in the background so I did a deep dive into my stash of patterned paper and found this gray checkered paper to use as my background.  I layered it on top of another gray piece of card stock then layered both onto some blue card stock.  There's a method to my madness here as I was incorporating the colors from The Color Throwdown!  To finish off the challenge colors I added a daisy in yellow and some green leaves.  A simple slim sentiment finished the look.

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some awesome cards to inspire you to play along with us, so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tons of Type (The Stamp Market)
Paper: Enchanted Evening, Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink); Smoky Slate, Wild Wasabi (Stampin' Up!); Gingham-Linen Rainbow Petite Prints (Doodlebug Designs)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Upsy Daisy die (My Favorite Things)