Freshly Made Sketches #674

It’s Wednesday and time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! Jen M is our fabulous hostess today and I love the curved element in her sketch!

I tend to make all occasion cards the most, so that they can be tailored to whatever I need it for. The one occasion I make the fewest of is birthdays. Isn't that crazy? You can always use birthday cards. I guess the ones I send say generic things like "For You" or something. 

Well today, I have an ADORABLE little bear with balloons to share -- and a sentiment for a birthday!

This little guy is from BIRTHDAY BEARS by Brutus Monroe. There are four bears and a cute bunny, along with birthday items and cute sentiments!

I also chose a happy rainbow patterned paper to go with my bear. It's from the Bold Rainbow Paper Pad 6x6. Super bright and fun!

I stamped my images with Raven Black ink on white cardstock, and then colored in with alcohol markers. I love his little heart cone! 

I hope you will join our challenge and check out the wonderful inspiration from my teammates on the FMS Blog. The challenge is open until Monday, February 17 at 3 PM EST. 

Silly Rabbit!

Yesterday was a fun day - my husband's birthday! We had his favorite dishes, played a fun new game, and had gelato for dessert. So, I was in a festive mood, and made this cute & fun rabbit card! He definitely is a spring favorite! 

Lots of layers, and some fun patterned paper made this fun to create! I added three clear sparkly sequins and some rose metallic thread for embellishments. You can find out more about the products I used on the Stamp Simply Blog today!

Stamp Simply Supplies:

Sizzix Tim Holtz Carrot Bunny

Easter is for Jesus (sentiment)

Echo Park My Favorite Spring 6x6

VersaFine Onyx Black Ink

Other:

Clear sequins

Rose metallic string

Textured Embossing Folder (SU!) 

Spellbinders Scallop Rectangle (sentiment)

Spring is Coming Sooner Than Later!

Wow! Now that we are through the REALLY long January "year," Spring is coming sooner than later! I have two cards to share with you today, both using products available at Stamp Simply.

The first uses one of my favorite sets - God Will Take Care of You. I love that sweet bird and branch! I started by making the clouds (from a handcut stencil I have had for almost 20 years!) and used Faded Jeans DOX. The sentiment and images were stamped with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink and the images were then embossed in Clear EP so I could color with alcohol markers. That gorgeous paper is from the Coffee or Tea 6x6 (seriously, I love this because sometimes coffee and tea want other colors besides BROWNS!). Here is a close up view:

You can read more about this card and find links for the supplies I used on the Stamp Simply Blog!

My next card features the lovely Happy Day Iris Bundle. I am obsessed with all the different colors of irises that there are. I just need someone to come plant them all in my yard! Anyone? After some cloudy days last week, I really needed this pop of cheery yellow! And it brought four days of high 50's in winter to follow! A boost of sunshine to the soul!

All of the details about this card (including links) are HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope these two Spring cards have brought you a smile!

Freshly Made Sketches #671 (and #670!)

It is my pleasure to host this week's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! I will admit, when I drew this, I had something totally different in mind. My image for the circle took up the entire card, so I had to regroup. I will save that idea for another day.

My sister sent me a wonderful package full of stamps and dies this week, and the Loopy Border (IO Stamps) was in the package! We are both sad that they have closed, but we both have a wonderful collection of their stamps and dies. This was where I started with my card. I cut three of the borders, and had a bit of a time cutting them to size and keeping them looking mostly the same. The loops are very delicate and I kept tearing the sides. But I finally got three that would work!

While I was cutting the loops, I happened to notice a stamp set from The Greetery in a bin by my die cutting machine. I had never used it, and thought it would fit nicely for the circle. Imagine my surprise when I took it out of the storage bin and it had dies! (I obviously have stuff I need to get better acquainted with). I loved the purple flowers in the Coffee or Tea 6x6 from Stamp Simply, and chose that for my background. I like how they peek through the loops. 

I hope you will join us and have fun playing! Our challenge closes Monday, February 3, at 3 PM EST. Be sure to check out the many amazing ideas my wonderful teammates have for this sketch on the blog!

My blog often gets neglected, and I didn't get a post up for last week's sketch, so I am sharing it here now. Amy had such a wonderful sketch with lots of room to play and I loved making this valentine:

The notebook tag and Love Bulb are from SSS, and the background and "love arrow" are from IO Stamps. The little foliage bits were in my Bits Box! Thanks for such a great sketch, Amy!