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 528

Hi folks!  It's that time of the week when we debut a brand new sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week our hostess is Jacquie and her sketch has a lot of fantastic white space that you can fill - or not - to your hearts content!

Originally, inspired by the colors at Sunday Stamps, I was going to do floral images of some sort.  But then I got thinking about some of my old grungy stamps that were languishing in my stash and decided to use a few of them to create a little splash of color in the corner and highlight it with a colorful dragonfly.  I have no idea if dragonflies come in this color in real life but I think it looks pretty so who cares!  For the three vertical layers on the sketch I stamped a trio of sentiments.  Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow teammates at Freshly Made Sketches have got some great cards to inspire you to play along with us!  I hope you do!

Supplies
Stamps:  Distressed Patterns (My Favorite Things); Fonds Grunge (4enScrap); Simple Sentiments 02 (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Whisper White, Rose Red, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Maple Yellow, Forest Glades, Evergreen (Altenew); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Libellules die (4enScrap)

Fusion - Bee Kind

Our new challenge at Fusion is a celebration of bees!  After an exhaustive search of my stamping stash I determined that I didn't have a single bee in it 😞 But I did have a few honeycomb accents so I thought I'd use one of those and keep at least one part of the theme!

So using the colors from Fab Friday and our Fusion sketch I put a die cut honeycomb along the bottom of the card and added a totally different winged creature:  a dragonfly.  

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can join us at Fusion.  You can choose the sketch, the inspiration or both!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tons of Type (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Misty Moonlight, Pear Pizzazz, Smoky Slate (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Honeycomb Remnant die (Memory Box); Libellules die (4enscrap); Wink of Stella

Freshly Made Sketches 425

Hello!  We've got a brand new challenge for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  Cécile is our hostess this week and she has given us a superb sketch.

Normally when I see three of anything I run for the hills, but those three banners on the sketch got me thinking.  I have a grungy little stamp in my stash that was the approximate shape of those banners so I inked it up then added a pretty dragonfly - all in colors inspired by the challenge at Fab Friday.  A fun card I say to myself!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic cards this week so be sure to check them out.  I hope we'll see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Brushed Off (Papertrey Ink); Pocket Silhouettes (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Whisper White, Regal Rose, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Tropical Teal, Mint Julep (Papertrey Ink); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Libellules die (4enscrap); Pink Party sequins (The Ton)

CAS(E) This Sketch 357

It's time for a new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch and I had a lot of fun with this one.  Our sketch this week is designed by Brian.

I used varying shades of yellow cardstock to create my ombre style background.  Then instead of using a circle I die cut a fun splatter out of the center.   I added another splatter back in to the negative space cut in a pale gray.  A simple dragonfly in a darker gray with some vellum makes a focal point.  I came across a new-to-me challenge called Allsorts and their challenge this week is "take flight."  Hello dragonfly!

Thanks for stopping by!  We've got a great new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch and our design team has some great cards to inspire you to play along!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Lemon Tart, Harvest Gold, Soft Stone (Papertrey Ink); Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Grafix)
Ink:  Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  Libellules die (4enscrap); Scribbles & Splat die (Tim Holtz)

CAS(E) This Sketch 342 Meets Fusion

Every other Thursday I have the distinct pleasure of melding two challenges:  the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and the inspiration photo at Fusion.  It's fun to stretch my creative processes - but not always easy.  This week those two vertical layers gave me pause.  Until I decided to loosely interpret them as a particular letter!

Ironically my CAS(E) This Sketch teammate Michele had the same idea and used the letter U as well!  Great minds think alike!

The rest of my card involves some pretty watercolor patterned paper and this fantastic dragonfly die.  I love how this turned out!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Supplies
Stamps:  You Matter (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Tempting Turquoise, Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); Watercolor Wash Brights (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Libellules die (4enscrap)

Love the Life You Live

It's been a long time since I've played along with the Color Throwdown and Match the Sketch challenges.  But as soon as I saw their new ones this week light bulbs went off in my head and I carved out some time to play along with them.

I do love a color combo that is black, white, and something.  In this case the something is pink and pink makes a delightful dragonfly as it turns out!  I love all that white space.  I was tempted, for a moment, to add a few dew drops but resisted - wisely, I might add - because I think the crisp, plain background is perfect the way it is.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies 
Stamps:  Posted Note Sentiments (Reverse Confetti)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Blushing Bride, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Fishtail Flags Layer STAX (My Favorite Things); Libellules die (4enscrap)

CAS(E) This Sketch 231

I was helpless to resist using a beautiful dragonfly die cut on my card for our latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  When you see the sketch you'll know why!

I will admit that this card too way too long to put together.  I kept fussing over the size of the dragonfly and my decision to use a background stamp for the square image rather than a paper layer messed with the horizontal banner layer.  According to the sketch it's supposed to be under the square layer, but I couldn't do that.  After trying a few things I settled on a strip of some favorite washi.

I was inspired, too, by the CASE the designer challenge at Global Design Project which also featured a dragonfly!  I used soft, muted colors in shades of gray and blue in keeping with Tanja's inspiration.

All my fussing paid off because I like the end result of this card!  And my teamies at CAS(E) This Sketch have created some fabulous cards with this sketch so I know you will be wowed with their inspiration!  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Mesh (Darkroom Door); Mini 72 (PaperArtsy)
Paper:  Soft Stonen (Papertrey Ink); Basic Gray, Soft Sky, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Basic Gray, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Libellules die (4enscrap); washi tape

Freshly Made Sketches 286

I think the sun is supposed to come out today!  It's been rather dreary around here lately and everyone I know is anxious to see the sun.  A harbinger of great things to come, I'm sure!  We'll start with today's great thing:  a brand new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess is Narelle and she surprised us with a sketch that only has three layers!  But I suppose you could sneak one or two more on there if you wanted!

I took a little liberty with that circle and used a dragonfly instead.  I hope you can see it on there!  I used a few grungy stamps to make the background so I could play along with Addicted to CAS, used yellow, a die cut, and sequins so I could play along with The Paper Players and coincidentally there's a sequin challenge at CAS on Sunday.  Whew!  That's my challenge limit!

My Freshly Made Sketches teamies have cooked up some amazing cards this week so be sure to check them out and play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Mixed Media Elements (Stamplorations); Family is Everything (My Creative Time)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Basic Black, Vellum, Beyond the Garden DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Daffodil Delight (Stampin' Up!); Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  Libellules die (4enscrap); Winter Blend sequins (Avery Elle)

Live the Life You've Imagined

I needed a sentiment that ran subway-style for the card I'm sharing today.  "Live the Life You've Imagined" fit the bill and I will add the disclaimer that I do not, most days, fancy that I want to be a dragonfly.  With that being said here is the card:

I actually think that dragonflies are very interesting creatures.  They look vaguely like a helicopter and despite their size seem to fly around in a very elegant manner.  When I was a kid my sisters and I somehow thought that long body was some kind of sewing needle and if one of these fellows landed on you nothing good would come of it - you'd be sewn up like Frankenstein, I guess.

The colors for my card are inspired by the current challenge at Muse - pinks, green, and white are predominant in the inspiration so that's what I chose for my card.  The layout comes from the Mojo challenge and the dragonfly is a nod to the "winged creatures" challenge at Global Design Project.

I had an enjoyable long weekend, but it's back to work today.  The weather here the last few days has been decidedly spring-like but I try not to get too excited about that.  It's only February and warm days are an aberration here at this time of year.  But I'll enjoy it while I can.  The week ahead is looking good too so I'm hoping to get back to my lunch-hour walk!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Life's Possibilities (Tim Holtz)
Paper:  Pixie, Lemongrass, Raspberry, The Sorbet Collection (Avery Elle); Whisper White, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  Blueprints 21 die, Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX (My Favorite Things); Libellules die (4enscrap)