Freshly Made Sketches 533

Hello!  It's Wednesday so that means we've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is my hiking hero Jen Brum, who created this wonderful sketch that got me thinking outside the box!

I first made a card using washi tape for the vertical stripes but hated it when all was said and done.  Then when I was at work on Monday I remembered this birch tree die that I had.  (I'm supposed to be working but while I'm at work but I can't help obsessing about my card designs when I'm there.  Don't tell the boss)!  I thought I could use the birch trees to replicate the vertical stripes.  I think they do very well!

The background of the card is the shimmery white cardstock from Stampin' Up!  It doesn't look like much in the picture but it sure is pretty in real life!  The white birch trees really show up nicely against it because they are different shades of white.  I added a few little birds in red because this little scene I created reminded me of winter.  And cardinals are one of those few birds are a bright (red) spot in a white winter scene.

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

Stamps:  Joy (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Real Red, Shimmery White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Forest Majesty die (Whimsy Stamps)

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)

CAS(E) This Sketch 393

We've got a great new sketch for you at CAS(E) This Sketch and it's a retro one.  The sketch first debuted over five years ago - find it HERE - and I will admit I was a little intimidated by it.  I think I was the first time too!

It's that time of year when I start thinking about Halloween cards.  I think they are the most fun cards that I make all year!  This card uses the colors from TGIF Challenges and I just layered circles to mimic the layout of the sketch.  I took a little liberty with the placement of the sentiment and just for fun added a die-cut bat that I cut from black glimmer paper.

Thank for stopping by!  My fellow CAS(E) This Sketch design teammates have made some amazing  cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Bite Me  (Stampin' Up!);  Circles Circles Circles   (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Solar White  (Neenah);  Basic Black,  Rich Razzleberry, Sweet Pea DSP (Stampin' Up!);  black glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:   Circles die  (Little B)

CAS(E) This Sketch 385

We've got a fun new sketch for you at CAS(E) This Sketch.  Originally I thought I would make a shaker card - big circles always make think of shakers, but I happened to have a stamp set on my desk that was chock full of spirals and circles and I realized those images would be perfect for my card!

So I inked up a few circular images in the colors of the Sunday Stamps challenge and my card was done.  I had a little trouble with ink pads that were just a bit too juicy for that striped layer behind the "hi" and that frustrates me to no end!  I tried a couple of different inks and kept getting blotchy results - meaning you couldn't tell that the image was supposed to be stripes.  I ended up choosing the best ink I could find (which isn't saying much and turned out being more purple than plum (sorry about that Sunday Stamps DT)) and reminisced about the red rubber days when stamping details was not a problem.  

And in other news the new blogger is inserting a double space each time I hit enter.  *SIGH* Every day it's something different with this new blogger interface - most of it bad!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow CAS(E) This Sketch teammates have made some absolutely gorgeous cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out.  

Supplies

Stamps:  Sphere's & Spirals (Altenew); Circles Circles Circles (Whimsy Stamps)

Ink:  Desert Night, Hydrangea (Altenew); Baja Breeze (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories:  Happy Hellos die (My Favorite Things)

CAS(E) This Sketch 366 Meets Fusion

It's that time again when I get to combine the challenges from CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion into one card.  This time around I had some layers and a fun Easter gnome to play with.

Those gnomes are so cute with their bunny ears, but I didn't find anything in my stash that I could use to approximate those ears so I had to satisfy myself by making a "regular" gnome in soft pastel colors with some polka dots thrown in for good measure.  The soft colors at Cupcake Inspirations inspired my color choices.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please play along with us at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion!

Supplies
Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes (Stampin' Up!); Circles Circles Circlesl (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Solar. White (Neenah); Blushing Bride, Sweet Pea DSP (Stampin' Up!); Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Gnome die (Simon Says Stamp)

Freshly Made Sketches 394

Hello!  It's Wednesday so that means it's time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  This week our sketch is designed by Jen Timko - and what classic lines it has!

That horizontal layer became a one-layer line of spots on my card a-la the Less is More challenge and the colors were inspired by the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge.

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

Supplies
Stamps:  Circles Circles Circles (Whimsy Stamps); Keep It Simple Birthdays (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir)
Ink:  Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Pacific Point (Stampin' Up!)

Freshly Made Sketches 393

Hello!  Today we've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches to play along with!  Our hostess this week is Lee Ann and I love her sketch!  It's got classic lines that are perfect for many different designs.

After I made this card I realized that I put the sentiment in the wrong place!  The worst part about this is that I print out the graphic for the sketch so that I can follow it when I'm actually making the card.  I think I was so focused on the horizontal layers that I assumed the sentiment was to go on one of them.  It wasn't until I had this done that I realized I made a major miscalculation!  Forgive me Lee Ann!

I chose blues to color these blooms so that I could join the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge then I picked light, medium, dark tones to play along with Just Us Girls.  Whew!

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic cards with this sketch so I hope you check them out and are inspired to join us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fine Line Florals (Concord & 9th); Painted Sayings (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Marina Mist, Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Soft Sky, Bashful Blue, Marina Mist (Stampin' Up!); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)

Freshly Made Sketches 330

It's officially spring so I thought I would make a big ol' flower card for the new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess this week is Jen Brum and she's given us a classic sketch with lots of room for interpretation.

How about a gerbera daisy for the focal point?  I love to use these daisy dies when I need a big focal image.  The flower is so pretty - those layers are to-do-die-for!  The colors for this card come from the latest challenge at Sunday Stamps.

Thanks for stopping by.  The inspiration from our Freshly Made Sketches design team will make you want to play along with us!  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Everyday Mini Sentiments (Whimy Stamps)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Marina Mist, Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up!); Daisy (Avery Elle)
Ink:  White (WPlus9)
Accessories:  Gerbera Daisy die (My Favorite Things); white embossing powder

CAS(E) This Sketch 255 and Fusion

My card today is a perfect blend of sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch and theme from Fusion.  I'm excited to say that I'm joining the design team at Fusion and today is my first official post!

The theme at Fusion is coffee and a book so I took up the coffee theme. I had this great stamp with coffee splatters that was perfect for the horizontal layer a-la the sketch.  I added the coffee cup and a simple sentiment and I was done.  Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by.  There is amazing inspiration at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion so I hope you can play along with us at either (or both)!

Supplies

Stamps:  Ink Splats (IndigoBlu); Latte Love (Stamplorations); Everyday Mini Sentiments (Whimsy Stamps)

Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes)

Ink:  Cocoa Bean (Papertrey Ink); Jet Black (Altenew); Prismacolor Pencils

CAS(E) This Sketch 238

It's been a while since I've made a card with a more masculine theme but that's the direction that I took with this week's challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch - despite the floral imagery on the sketch!

I'll admit I was helped along with my theme by the "for him" challenge going on at Global Design Project and the latest color challenge at Less is More.  I started this card by heat embossing a circle backgkround stamp in white then filling in some of the circles with lime and blue inks.  I actually had a wee circle stamp that fit perfectly inside those little embossed circles!  The sentiment is a mix of a die cut and a stamp.

Thanks for stopping by.  And don't forget to pop on over to CAS(E) This Sketch and take a look at what my fellow teamies have made for your inspiration.  I know you're gonna love them all!

Supplies
Stamps:  Amazing, Simply Circles Background (My Favorite Things); Circles Circles Circles (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pacific Point (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Pacific Point (Stampin' Up!); Lime Rickey (Catherine Pooler); Versamark
Accessories:  Awesome die (Neat & Tangled); white embossing powder

CAS(E) This Sketch 210!

Thursday in my house means it's time for a new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch!  This week Leigh Penner has given us a fabulous design.

I hope it's visible in the photo but I used some embossing paste and a stencil to take the place of the oval shape on the sketch.  I wanted something subtle so that I could layer a big sentiment on there - and play along with the latest challenge at The Paper Players.  I surrounded the edges of the card stock with different color dots in a bokeh-like design.  The sentiment was die cut in both yellow and black - with the black just barely showing.  I love how this came out!

The challenge this week at Less is More is "alphabet."  I think this qualifies because I've got letters on my card.  Not sure if they mean sequential letters, so we'll see!

Thanks for stopping by.  And check out the inspiration from the design team at CAS(E) This Sketch.  I'm sure you will be inspired to play along with us!

Supplies

Stamps:  Hand Lettered Hello (WPlus9); Circles Circles Circles (Whimsy Stamps)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Daffodil Delight, Basic Black (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Hello Honey, Daffodil Delight, Marigold Morning (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Happy Hello die (My Favorite Things); Urban Insiders Square stencil (Stencil Girls Products)

CAS(E) This Sketch 192!

Hello, hello!  It's Thursday which means it's time for an new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch!  The sketch, designed by Sam Simpson, is classic and simple and wide open to your interpretation!

For my card I got to use some super fun wide washi tape that I've had tucked away in my stash forever which I used as my horizontal layer.  Since it looked lonely all by itself I added a sunflower, a favorite fall design.  Below the washi I added some brads.  Brads!  Who even remembers those!  Nowadays it's all about enamel dots and who remembers brads?  Me, that's who!

The challenge at Just Us Girls this week is all about fall inspiration so my sunflower is perfect.  A stitched background and some stitched leaves and I can add my card to the Addicted to CAS challenge as well!

Thanks for stopping by.  Our CAS(E) This Sketch design team has got some amazing cards for you to see so be sure to check them out.  We love to see you in the gallery!

Stamps:  Everyday Mini Sentimens (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Ivory (Flourishes); Crushed Curry, Garden Green, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Blueprints 13 die, Sunflower die (My Favorite Things); Stitched Leaves die (My Creative Time); washi tape, brads

CAS(E) This Sketch 182

Hello, hello!  And welcome to Thursday where I get to share my latest project for CAS(E) This Sketch.  This week our sketch is brought to you by N@ Ali and is deliciously CAS!

I spent a lot of time thinking about this sketch.  I thought of sponging with some stencils or doing something cool with embossing paste.  A friend made some suggestions ranging from doilies to umbrellas to strawberries to upside down leaves.  I thought of feathers and, in desperation, even briefly considered an upside down Christmas tree!  So with all these ideas swirling around in my head I sat down at my stamp table and as often happens to me when I think too much, a simple idea occurred to me.  How about a leaf, some flowers, and a wee sentiment.  Lucky for me I had a leaf whose shape echoed the flourish on the sketch - a little wider on one end as it tapered down to the other.

I was helped along with my design by using the colors from the latest challenge at Global Design Project.  I love using gray for leaves (something I learned from my friend Narelle who is not afraid to think outside the box when it comes to color) and I would just like to say that I used an old black stamp pad for the sentiment and it looks gray in the picture but it really is black!

Be sure to check out the latest sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch as well as the inspiration from the design team.  We'd love to see you in the gallery this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes (SU); Everyday Mini Sentiments (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Smoky Slate (SU)
Ink:  Melon Mambo (SU); Noir Black (Palette)
Accessories:  Leafy Greenery die (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 242!

This week at Freshly Made Sketches we not only have a cool new sketch brought to you by our friend down under, Narelle, but we also welcome two new designers who will be with us through September!  Shannon Jaramillo and Cecile Ribon have graciously agreed to join our little cult group.  We are so excited that they were coerced ecstatic to join us and I hope you have a chance to pop over to their blogs and see what they've been up to!  Now on to my card and the sketch.

One of my circles is a grungy stamp, but you already knew that right?  The colors for this come from the latest challenge at Sunday Stamps and I was lucky enough to have some washi in the brown-ish color that also sort-of matched the Soft Suede I used on those speckles.  I love how washi always steps up to the plate when I need it.  This little horizontal layer was a bit of a stumper for me until I remembered that I've got oodles of washi hanging around for just this purpose!

Incidentally, I wanted to use a white button on the center of the flower, but guess what.  I don't own any white buttons!  How can this be?  It's shocking to be sure and I can assure you that white buttons have been added to my wish list!  In the meantime I used a little textured circle from another flower die set to create an interesting center to my little blossom.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you in the Freshly Made Sketches gallery this week!

Supplies

Stamps:  Dream Big (Verve); Gorgeous Grunge (SU); Distressed Backgrounds and Ink Splats (Whimsy Stamps)

Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Pear Pizzazz, Kiwi Kiss (SU)

Ink:  Soft Suede, Wisteria Wonder (SU)

Accessories:  Scalloped Flowers die (Verve); Curvy Leaves die (Elizabeth Craft Designs); Gerbera Daisy die (My Favorite Things); washi tape

colourQ 339!

Here we are at Tuesday again and, of course, that means it's time for a new palette at colourQ.  This week's color combination always makes me think of a more masculine card and so that's what I did.  I'm pretty sure that I've made variations of this card before with similar colors, but I just love how these bold colors lend themselves so well to a bit of a color-block design.

I used the April sketch from Viva la Verve as my layout and gave the two background layers some texture with this awesome new embossing folder that I got recently.  The die cut sentiment was cut three times and glued together for a bit of additional dimension.

Be sure to pop on over to colourQ and check out these gorgeous colors and the inspiration from the design team.  It's our last week that design team member Amy will be with us so be sure to pop on over to her blog and give her a little colourQ farewell!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Sayings (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Sweet Tooth (My Favorite Things); Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Tangerine Tango (SU)
Ink:  Night of Navy (SU)
Accessories:   Weathered embossing folder (Taylored Expressions); Wonderful Words Birthday die (Papertrey Ink)

CAS(E) This Sketch 164!

This week at CAS(E) This Sketch we've got another great sketch for you!  I think I changed my mind a million times about how I wanted to tackle this sketch and I ended up using some images that I had forgotten that I had but stumbled upon when I was hunting for the stamps I thought I wanted to use.  That makes sense, right?

I went back and forth about what images I wanted to use for those horizontal lines on the sketch and finally decided to use some chevron shapes that I had.  Then I remembered I had some fun, kinda grungy edge images that I hadn't used in ages so I forgot about the chevrons altogether! I stamped the edge stamps in a couple of different gray inks.  Then I added the flowers in shades of blue and a few dots in lime green.  The colors for this, by the way, come from the latest colors at The Challenge.  They are kind of masculine but I used them for flowers instead!  And the challenge at CASology this week is "doodle" so I used these flowers which have a doodle-y look to them!

My fellow teamies at CAS(E) This Sketch had some whopping good ideas for this sketch so be sure to head on over there to check them out.  I hope I'll get to see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Rugged Edge (Indigo Blu); Blossom (Precious Remembrance); Many Thanks (Simon Says Stamp); Circles Circles Circles (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Sweet Tooth (My Favorite Things); Fog (Simon Says Stamp)
Ink:  Fog (Simon Says Stamp); Smoky Shadow, Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, Lucky Limeade (SU)