Freshly Made Sketches 466

I finally finished my card for our last Freshly Made Sketches challenge of 2020.  The last couple of weeks have been really busy and I had a bunch of setbacks every time I ventured into my stamp room to make a card for this challenge.  But I was determined to finish out the year with my design team friends so here is my card.

A dear friend and co-worker is undergoing treatment for breast cancer for the second time and I very much wanted to send her a few words of encouragement.  So I took the opportunity to use the sketch to make a card for her.  She's a tough cookie so I'm sure she'll make it through this OK.

Thanks for stopping by!  Our sketch at Freshly Made Sketches is our last one for the year but the linky  tool is open until January 4th so you've got lots of time to play along!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fight Like a Girl (a.muse studio); Fancy Word Coordinates (Reverse Confetti)
Paper: Solar White (Neenah); Regal Rose, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); silver glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Support Ribbon Framelits (Stampin' Up!); Pierced Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things)

colourQ 362!

October already.  Are you sure?  Before I know it my Christmas Club will come due and I'll have to start shopping!  But before that happens I've got a new palette to show you from colourQ.  And since October is breast cancer awareness month we've got some appropriately pink colors.

I think glitter was in order for my card so I used some old glimmer paper to frame one of the layers.  The sentiment is from a freebie stamp set that I got from a.muse studio a while back and I FINALLY got a pink ribbon die.  There was a lot of white space on my card, which made me unusually squeamish, so I added some embossing paste strategically placed around the sentiment and ribbon.  My layout comes from the latest sketch at Fab Friday.

My way-cool and super talented teamies at colourQ have made some great cards this week using these colors (no surprise there).  You should really check them out!  Then join us in the gallery!  We'd love to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fight Like a Girl (a.muse studio)
Paper:  Black (Simon Says Stamp); Berry Sorbet (Papertrey Ink); Silver Glimmer, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  Hope die (Paper Smooches); Dot Fade stencil (Tim Holtz); white embossing paste (Wendy Vecchi)

colourQ 313!

Hello, hello!  It's time for a new challenge at colourQ!  Since October is breast cancer awareness month it is only fitting that we sneak in some pink this month.  Our inspiration this week comes from this t-shirt.

I have a few stamp sets that are good to use for cards like this and once I saw the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch I knew exactly which one to use.  The script is stamped in Going Gray, the bold HOPE is stamped in Melon Mambo and it was simple to add the pink ribbon (although not that simple to fussy cut it out)!  Surely there is a ribbon die out there somewhere I should buy, right?

The ladies at colourQ have made some truly beautiful cards this week with these colors so be sure to check them out.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Fight Like a Girl (a.muse studio); Wings of Hope (The Alley Way Stamps)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir)
Ink:  Going Gray, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette (SU)

colourQ 283 Redux

Top o' the morning to ya!  It's St. Patrick's day - the day where everyone is Irish even if you're not!  And around these parts it's also Evacuation Day.  A totally made up holiday that just happens to fall on March 17th every year so that anyone who works for the government in Suffolk County can have a day off!  Sadly I work in Bristol County so I'm plugging along at work today. 

But it's also Tuesday, which is also colourQ day.  Due to some technical difficulties the challenge from last week is being extended, so you've still got time to play along.  And the colors just might inspire you to make a card celebrating this green holiday!   I know it did me - at first.

Now don't call me crazy because there is no pot of gold or shamrocks on this card.  And I'm not going to try to convince you that I exercised a little poetic license because I think those flowers look a bit like wilted shamrocks.  Nope, I started out making this card with visions of leprechauns in my head.  I even bought a digital image on Etsy.  But I just wasn't feeling the love from the little bugger so I made this instead.

I made a crafty resolution to myself this year that I was going to try new things.  And one thing that I do horribly is water color and I am determined to do it better.  So I treated myself to some good quality watercolors and used them to color my flowers.  I was trying to be very careful and not create a big muddy mess and I'm pretty happy with the result.  At least I'm encouraged to keep plugging along at it.

The layout for my card comes from the latest Deconstructed Sketch.

Thanks for stopping by.  And don't forget you've got another week to join in the fun at colourQ!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Charming Gardners (a.muse studio); Bright Days (Avery Elle)

Paper:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Smoky Slate (SU); Distress Watercolor Paper (Ranger)

Ink:  Jet Black Archival (Ranger); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Dotted Borders die (Avery Elle); Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX (My Favorite Things); Gansai Tambi watercolors (Kuretake); baker's twine

colourQ 262

October is breast cancer awareness month, so it only seemed appropriate that there be color challenges to mark the event.  At colourQ we have such a challenge and the palette is inspired by this T-Shirt.

Some years ago I got this freebie stamp set from a.muse studio and it's perfect for when I need a card to send someone a positive vibe.  Like many of you, unfortunately I know one too many people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, my own sister included.  A card is a small thing in the face of all these brave ladies go through, but I also know the power of a hand written card and the joy someone can feel just by knowing that someone is "thinking of you."

The fun layout of my card comes from retro sketches, where they are hosting a "you pick the sketch" challenge.  We get to choose from any of their past sketches and I chose #133 because I loved it when I saw it and never got a chance to play along with them at the time.

The always amazing colourQ design team have got some beauties for you to see this week so be sure to pop on over there to check them out.  I hope you have time to join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Fight Like a Girl (a.muse studio)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Basic Black, Welcome Neighbor DSP (SU); White (Spectrum Noir)

Ink:  Pretty in Pink (SU); True Black (PTI)

Accessories:  Silver Basics button (SU); Midtown button (October Afternoon); black button (a.muse studio); Necessities enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

Hello Tag

I love to make tags.  I love them by themselves and I love to stick them on cards too.  Once upon a time I mused that it was too bad that there wasn't a challenge out there in this crafty blogland that was all about tags.  Well the stamping godmother has waived her magic fairy dust because there's a brand new challenge on the block called Tag You're It and, you guessed it, it's all about tags!  They're having a bit of a mini challenge to start things off so I thought I'd play along.

The colors on my tag come from the pretty challenge at Color Throwdown.  I did some sponging after I embossed the leafy image with clear embossing powder.  I stamped a few other images to create some texture then added the sentiment, which fits the Hello challenge at Friday Mashup.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Beautiful Botanicals (a.muse studio); Hand Lettered Hello (WPlus9); Feather Finery (Papetrey Ink)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Whispher White (SU)

Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Pink Pirouette (SU)

Accessories:  Traditional Tags STAX, Pierced Traditional Tags STAX (My Favorite Things); Pewter Jumbo Eyelets, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, linen thread (SU)

Bravo!

I've been busy making some graduation cards for a friend and needed to squeeze one in for my niece too.  I was actually kind of tired of looking at sentiments that proclaimed that the graduate would soon conquer adventures the likes Christopher Columbus had hardly seen.  So I went in a bit of a different direction.

"Bravo" could mean a lot of different things, but in this case it's a celebration of all that my niece has accomplished.  She deserves a hearty congratulatory sentiment and this one sure sums it up!  The colors at The Card Concept merged with the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch for this one.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Beautiful Botanicals (a.muse stamps); Oh Happy Day (Avery Elle); Textures 2 (Florileges Design); Sketchy Chevron Border (Impression Obsession)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Solar White (Neenah); Basic Black (SU)

Ink:  Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight (SU); Pitch Black (Adirondack); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Notable "Cute" enamel dots (My Mind's Eye); washi tape

Happy Birthday Ga

My niece's birthday is Tuesday and instead of searching through my stash of ready-made cards for a birthday card for her I decided to make one from scratch.  Somehow all the stars aligned in this card because I included four different challenges to make this.  I'm not sure if I've ever done that before but here it is.  This combines the colors at Color Throwdown with the sketch from Sketchbook Saturday along with the texture challenge at Addicted to CAS and the flower cue card at CASology.  Whew!

I got some new October Afternoon sprinklers and I wanted to try them out so after I stamped the flower and masked it off, I gave the card base a shot of color.  The spray zone is a little bigger than what I intended but it's actually growing on me.  I intended to watercolor this flower and got it all ready to go on water color paper then my brained zoned out and I grabbed some Copics and before I knew it I was coloring with those instead.  I tried to keep the colors light and went over it with the colorless blender to remove some color and make it look a little more water color-y and I don't think it looks too bad.

The title of this post is "Happy Birthday Ga" which is niece's nickname.  Her name is actually Stephanie but for some reason her younger sister started calling her Ga and nobody knows why.  As  is the way with that sort of thing, the name stuck and now we all call her Ga!  Go figure!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Charming Gardners (a.muse studio); Wet Paint (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Soft Sky (SU); water color paper

Ink:  Jet Black Stazon; Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  All Aboard Sprinklers (October Afternoon); translucent embossing paste (Dreamweaver); Burlap stencil (Tim Holtz)

Fight Like a Girl

My sister recently was underwent surgery for breast cancer.  Luckily, her mammogram caught the cancer in its very early stages and her doctors are quite confident that surgery caught it all.  In a few weeks she'll begin her radiation treatment and I wanted to make her a card to help keep her spirits up and to let her know that I'm thinking of her.

I'd been kicking around an idea for this card in my head for a few days and after I saw the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch this week, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  A few years ago I got this freebie stamp set called Fight Like a Girl from a.muse studio and I put it to work here.  I picked it up, sadly, because I figured some day I might need it.  I already have cousins and co-workers who are breast cancer survivors but I never imagined I might need it for one of my sisters.

I hope this post doesn't sound too sad!  My sister is doing quite well and is in very good spirits.  She won't need chemo, just radiation, and we are all (including her doctors) positive that she'll beat this handily!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Fight Like a Girl (a.muse studio)

Paper:  White Linen (Ellen Hutson); Basic Black, Strawberry Slush, Vellum (SU)

Ink:  Strawberry Slush (SU)

Accessories:  Sweet Scallop Tag Die (Verve); Pretty Pink Color Mist (Mister Huey's); Chevron stencil (Heidi Swapp); embossing paste (Dreamweaver); crochet thread

colourQ 175

Well, Tuesday means some awesome new colors from colourQ.  I've got to admit that these colors looked so fantastic when I first saw them, but I couldn't quite translate all that fantastic-ness onto my card!

I think it was the Tangerine Tango that was throwing me for a loop.  After several starts and stops, I managed to finally incorporate it in the small vertical strips.  I had it in mind to make a card that used some cool graphic images because I was planning on giving it to my niece who had her tonsils out the other day, and I knew she'd appreciate the fun, modern design.  I understand that the recovery from the procedure is extremely painful and I wanted to give her a little boost so I grabbed this sentiment, which will put a smile on her face!  The classic layout is courtesy of the latest retro sketch.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to stop on by colourQ and check out the cards from the DT!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Grunge Me (PTI), Fight Like a Girl (a.muse studio)

Unscripted Sketches Redux

I just love the sketch this week at Unscripted Sketches.  I posted a card yesterday that I made for that challenge and I've got another one today.  I came across a color challenge at Cards Blog Challenge that I really liked and every time I thought about how I wanted to use those colors I kept coming back to the Unscripted Sketch.

For my colors, I chose a bit of Going Gray, Soft Sky, and some limey-green washi tape.  The flower was cut with a pretty flower die, layered together and highlighted with a Basic Rhinestone.  The sentiment is particularly appropriate because I'm sending this card to my sister who is having surgery this week.  Understandably, she's a bit nervous and as the surgery is focused on her neck and chin I thought this sentiment was appropriate.  And unless you think I'm completely heartless for sending this to her, she has quite a quirky sense of humor and she'll appreciate this, I'm sure!

Thanks for stopping by!

Freshly Made Sketches 65

I can hardly believe that Christmas is less than two weeks away!  Are you ready?  I got my Christmas cards in the mail the other day, the shopping is done, and I've been busy making tags and some gift boxes for my sister.  It all sounds very organized, but I keep feeling that I've forgotten something and I'll be making a mad dash to do whatever it is in the days just before Christmas.  I sure hope not!

Today, of course, is Freshly Made Sketches day and after a short break to make a card featuring flowers, I'm back today with some proper snowflakes.  Linda Callahan is our hostess this week and she's created a sketch that shows off her signature style.  It's a classic and a keeper!

After giving this a second look I really wish I had created a smaller layer in Crumb Cake popped up on dimensionals rather than relying on a frame drawn with my Crumb Cake marker.  Live and learn, I say.  But how about that cool washi tape?  I think it's called math class notebook or something like that and it's got The Big Bang Theory written all over it!  Literally!  It has a graph paper grid that is a perfect match for Pool Party and written all over it are math equations the likes of which I haven't seen since my calculus days in college!  It's totally awesome and I love that the color matches Pool Party because I made this with the color challenge at The Paper Players in mind.

Now, you must realize that today is 12-12-12 and that is some sort of sign that you should play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.  First pop on over there to be wowed and astonished by the great cards that the design team made, then join us by trying to use 12 stamps, 12 colors, 12 ribbons, 12 buttons and 12 of whatever else you can think of!  Just kidding!  But that would be quite a challenge wouldn't it!

Christmas Tags!

I think it's a sign of the season that the challenges this week at CAS-ual Fridays and Stampin' Royalty were to create a gift tag or to use a tag on a project.  I've been trying to stay on top of my Christmas projects this year and I was already in tag-making mode so it was kind of fun to be able to share one of my tags on a challenge site.  To keep things interesting I used the colors from Color Throwdown and the sketch at iSpy.

The Tempting Turquoise with the obvious Christmas colors of Lucky Limeade and Cherry Cobbler threw me for a bit of a loop and I considered a couple of different images on my tag before I thought it might be fun to combine the red and green with some blue snowflakes.  There are actually two snowflakes here layered together and the top one has been covered in Dazzling Diamonds to add some glitz.  At the last minute I added an Ice Circles Rhinestone Brad, which looks way better in person that it appears here.

The holiday season is truly upon us because later today I'm off to Borderland State Park to help out at a holiday concert.  Time to Jingle Those Bells!