Freshly Made Sketches #695

 Hello everyone! 

We have a fabulous new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! This one is from the very talented Jen Timko. Be sure to check out her gorgeous scene! 

I used products from Pinkfresh Studio that I received for a "Cards for Him" retreat. The center design is layered stencils. All inks are also from Pinkfresh. This is a perfect card for my husband for our anniversary next week! We have camped a LOT in our marriage, and I think he will love this. 

Our challenge is open until July 20 at 3 PM EDT and I hope that you will join us. Be sure to check out the FMS Blog and the many amazing cards my wonderful teammates have created!

Freshly Made Sketches #690

Hello everyone! We have a new sketch today at Freshly Made Sketches and our faraway dear friend, Karren, is the hostess! We are just getting into summer temperatures and I wanted something light and airy. So I went with lighter, non-traditional colors for my card today.

I love this beautiful Christmas Bird Poinsettia Etched Die Set from Spellbinders. What a festive and fun set. The bird also has a Santa hat and there is a candy cane as well, but for today's color scheme, I left those things for another time. The sentiment is from the Make It Merry Sentiments. A little striped paper in the background gives interest to the die cuts and follows the sketch. 

I hope you will join our sketch challenge this week, and add your creations to our gallery. I look forward to seeing your ideas! This week's challenge will end at 3:00 EDT time on Monday, June 16. Be sure to take a peek at the gorgeous designs my talented teamies have made on th FMS blog to inspire you!

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!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I am so excited for 2025 to really enjoy my crafting time! And what better way to start the year off than with a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! This one is from the very talented Cecile and here is mine!

I had a ton of fun making this. But it sure went in a different direction than I had planned. I ordered a new ink from the VersaFine Clair line (LOVE it!) called Arctic. Well. I was thinking it would be white. Like an arctic fox! Imagine my surprise when I opened it to stamp my snowflake (Winter Snowflake - Colorado Craft Company) and it was blue. I even stared at the ink for a couple of seconds thinking "that's a weird white." HA. But I went with it anyway and love how this mixed media card turned out (which it wouldn't have been in white!). I stamped the blue, and then added some white embossing powder, black and white paint splatters and a trio of icy blue gems. Sentiment by Picket Fence Studios.

My husband and I are enjoying (right) our first bouts of Covid to start the New Year, so it can only go up from here! Our challenge is open until Monday, January 6, at 3 PM EST. We hope that you will join us! Check out my amazing teamies' cards on the FMS Blog!

Freshly Made Sketches #661

Hello everyone! 

It's Wednesday and time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! This one is from the very talented Jacquie and here is mine!

I had a ton of fun making this. Dies are my favorite to work with! I used several different companies' projects on my card today:

Impression Obsession - Primitive Snowman die
Memory Box - evergreen trees
Paper Smooches - sentiment
Simon Says Stamp - snowflake cover palte
Papertrey Ink - snowflake die

Our challenge is open until Monday, November 10, at 3 PM EST. We hope that you will join us! Check out my amazing teamies' cards on the FMS Blog!

Freshly Made Sketches #660

Hello everyone! Today it is my pleasure to host this week’s sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! 

I decided on a classic oval with some “grounding” fruh frah on the bottom. My original idea was to use a new mushroom set with greenery. But as you know, things can take a sharp turn, and I suddenly remembered that tomorrow was Halloween. I have this adorable set from Papertrey Ink that. I hadn’t yet inked up so this little ghostie got her day today over the mushrooms.  Maybe next week!

I wanted to keep it sweet and simple for my grandkids. I love anything stitched and was so happy I snagged this set on the second restock (In Stitches: Halloween). My papers are non-traditional Halloween colors from Honey Bee’s Hugs & Kisses 6x6. 

Our challenge is open until November 4 at 3 PM EST. I hope you will play along! My phone is giving me fits about adding the sketch, so until I can get to my laptop at work, please check it out on our Freshly Made Sketches blog! 

Happy Crafting! 

Freshly Made Sketches #654

Welcome to a new Freshly Made Sketches week! Today our sketch hostess is Jen M, and she has a FUN sketch for you to try! Please check out her card on her blog, because it's a beauty!

My card is made with the HAPPY CAMPER Stamp & Die Bundle from Pajama Crafter Stamps. We grew up tent camping, and I love it in the fall - just like this happy little bear. We even spent our honeymoon tent camping for two weeks! 

I colored my images with alcohol markers and made a simple DOX ink blended background for a CAS card. My little guy is so happy to be toasting marshmallows! 

Our challenge is open until Monday, September 23, at 3 PM EDT, and we hope you will join us!

Take a look at what my friends have made on the FMS Blog - a lot of beautiful cards to inspire you! Thanks for stopping by! 

Freshly Made Sketches #653

Welcome to a new Freshly Made Sketches week! Today our sketch hostess is Kim, and she has a FUN sketch for you to try. I wonder if you can tell what the main focus is by looking at my card:

It’s the sentiment (Hero Arts)! And of course there is room for other things- like some pretty papers from Echo Park and a Postal Cover Plate from Reverse Confetti. I love huge sentiments and this was a lot of fun to make. 

Our challenge is open until Monday, September 16, at 3 PM EDT, so jump into the gallery before then so we can see your sentiment focus!

Take a look at what my friends have made on the FMS Blog today - a lot of amazing ideas to inspire you! Thanks for stopping by! 

Freshly Made Sketches #651

This seagull cracks me up. And he's saying something I have actually said many times :) Only to people I know, of course, and usually only to relatives! 

Today at Freshly Made Sketches we have a fun classic sketch from Jen T that I took to the beach! My seagull and sentiment are from Waffle Flower Crafts. Such a cute expression for "no expression." Just like they really are when they're begging!

This challenge will end on Monday, September 2, at 3:00 PM EDT. Don't miss all of the fabulous creations my sweet friends made on the FMS Blog. They are all wonderful and unique~! Hope to see you in the gallery this week! Thank you so much for stopping by - and if you left a comment, a double thank you! I appreciate you!

Freshly Made Sketches #650

It's my pleasure to host the new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! I chose three rectangles for the starting point and decided to go with a winter theme.

I made the background with Distress Oxides and blended in some snowflakes, making stencils out of the die cuts (Picket Fence Studios). The large lavender and white snowflakes are also from PFS. The fun scripty sentiment is from Taylored Expressions. To finish the look I added pink (yes, they are...but my lighting makes them purple!) rhinestones. 

This challenge will end on Monday, August 26, at 3:00 PM EDT. Don't miss all of the fabulous creations my sweet friends made on the FMS Blog. They are all wonderful and unique~! Hope to see you in the gallery this week! Thank you so much for stopping by - and if you left a comment, a double thank you! I appreciate you!

 

 

   

Freshly Made Sketches #649

It's my favorite card making day of the week -- Wednesday -- and time for a fun new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! The very talented Amy is our hostess today. I love all of her sketches and cards - always beautiful!

I haven't written a blog post for FMS in awhile. I love creating, and using the sketch, but I struggle with writing words that people will find interesting. Blogs aren't what they used to be, right? Everyone is busy and card making seems to be taking a backseat - in my life too! My browser is out of date, so pictures have to uploaded via phone. A two step process! But I dearly love the women on the FMS team. They are a driving force of friendship and keep me going!

My card today was made with one of my shaving cream backgrounds that I made years ago and didn't know what to do with. Not many make them anymore, but I kept these from a retreat. I decided to use one of the backgrounds to cut my SSS eucalyptus leaves. I had intended to make a white card, but the black made the color pop more, so white became pink and black. The plaid and background pink is from an Echo Park 6x6 paper pad, as is the little bird. The "hello" sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.  A Mona Lisa, teamies! :)

This challenge will end on Monday, August 19, at 3:00 PM EDT. Don't miss all of the fabulous creations my sweet friends made on the FMS Blog. Hope to see you in the gallery this week! Thank you so much for stopping by - and if you left a comment, a double thank you! I appreciate you!

 

 

   

Freshly Made Sketches #641

It's my favorite card making day of the week -- Wednesday -- and time for a fun new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! The fabulous Jen T is our hostess today, and she has a super fun sketch. Plus, her cards are stunning!

It's a beautiful rainy morning here, so it's time for a little coffee stop to watch and enjoy the rain! My card today uses products from Altenew and Picket Fence Studios. I love the shape of the coffee cup. A little sparkle with washi tape (it's mauve - do you say that moh-ve or mah-ve?) and some sequins.

This challenge will end on Monday, June 24, at 3:00 PM EDT. Don't miss all of the fabulous creations my sweet friends made on the FMS Blog. Hope to see you in the gallery this week!

 

 

   

Freshly Made Sketches #640

My favorite card making day of the week is Wednesday -- because it's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! I have the honor of hosting today and I hope you will want to join in.

I have always loved Paper Smooches images - and Kim's amazing fonts. Today I am using some of those for a simple CAS thank you. We just celebrated my daughter's wedding a week and a half ago, and I have a few thank yous for friends who helped with the festivities!

I used a Distress Oxide ink background using Twisted Citron, Squeezed Lemonade and Worn Lipstick, and cut three circle outlines using a Hemstitch Circle die (SB). The sweet flowers and sentiment are from Paper Smooches. I added clear rhinestones for bling, and left a border of the background showing on the right and lower sides.

This challenge will end on Monday, June 17, at 3:00 PM EDT. Don't miss all of the fabulous creations my sweet friends made on the FMS Blog. Hope to see you in the gallery this week! All the details on how to play are on the blog.

 

And just a little peek at my family from June 1:

 

My two grandsons (3 & 5) escorted me down the aisle. My daughter-in-law and granddaughter (8) were part of the bridesmaid group, and my son officiated! It was a really lovely day!

  

Freshly Made Sketches #635

Well goodness, it's been a minute since I have posted here. Busy and happy times the last month! I'm in the throes of finishing one production and into another that closes this next week, AND the happiest news of all -- my daughter graduates from the University here with a dual major in English and Theatre on the 17th, and gets married two weeks later! So --- my craft time has been a little sporadic! BUT~

My favorite card making day of the week is Wednesday -- because it's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! The fabulous mountain climber Jen B is our hostess today, and you're going to LOVE her card and sketch!

I love this Elegant Snowflake Stencil from A Colorful Life Designs, and decided it could be a lovely spring flower - along with a little pop of rainbow (Honey Bee Stamps)! The sentiment is from GKD and the sequins are Pretty Pink Posh. A simple card that has a happy vibe!

This challenge will end on Monday, May 13, at 3:00 PM EDT. Don't miss all of the fabulous creations my sweet friends made on the FMS Blog. Hope to see you in the gallery this week! All the details on how to play are on the FMS Blog.

   

Freshly Made Sketches #631

My favorite card making day of the week is Wednesday -- because it's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! The fabulous Jen T is our hostess today, and you're going to LOVE her card and sketch!

While I love flowers, I wanted to try something that wasn't flowers (although I have a bitty flower!)! I went back and forth between birds and nests, and bees and honeycombs, and finally settled on this big fun sentiment that I had left over from another project. In fact, my entire card today (except the white base) is from the Bits & Pieces box you hear me talk about sometimes.

The paper was saved - because it's rainbow and dots and I could never throw that away. Ha. I  also made a banner at the bottom of the inside of the card with matching leftovers. The sentiment and speech bubble are from Simon Says Stamps and that cute little flower is Creative Worship Stamps/SNSS. The hearts? Your guess is as good as mine! I think it's a super happy card!

I didn't get a square card out of it, but that's ok!

This challenge will end on Monday, April 15, at 3:00 PM EDT. Get your taxes done! Don't miss all of the fabulous creations my friends made on the FMS Blog. Hope to see you in the gallery this week! All the details on how to play are on the FMS Blog.
  

Freshly Made Sketches #630

It is my pleasure to host this week at Freshly Made Sketches. I have created a sketch that focuses on layering or intertwining. My teammates have made some really wonderful cards with a lot of different ideas to inspire you. You will see that, as always, you can change the shapes to fit your interpretation.

One of my favorite techniques is making monoprints using acrylic paints and my GelPress. I make about 50 at a time, and then pull them out when I need a background. I love the color in this one, and thought it would be the perfect background for the DON'T JUDGE set from Visible Image Stamps.

Because the paint is a slicker surface than regular inks, I emboss my images once they are stamped. I love the crispness of the VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink, and it's my go to black! But - it doesn't dry on paint so has to be embossed. I used Clear powder on this card. It measures approximately 5x5". 

The words I chose from the set are courage, i am strong, and compassion. (They are blurry on purpose - that's how the stamp set is!) I used a heart stencil on the background as I was making the print. You can see a faint heart on the person - which was a happy accident!

This challenge will end on Monday, April 8, at 3:00 PM EDT. Don't miss all of the fabulous creations my friends made on the FMS Blog. Hope to see you in the gallery this week! All the details on how to play are on the FMS Blog.

  

Freshly Made Sketches #628

Welcome to a new sketch for the week from Freshly Made Sketches! Our hostess this week is the very talented Narelle! She makes the loveliest things, so be sure to check out her blog (link on the FMS blog above her photo!).

I had so many ideas for layers and texture when I first saw the sketch. But in the end I decided to go with this sweet little guy from the April 2022 kit from Impression Obsession. I used Peeled Paint and Speckled Egg DOX to sponge in my earthy background, and then just stamped in VersaFine Clair Nocturne for my image. I think he's so sweet, and love how some of the images are out of the "box" on all four sides. Sweet and simple and perfect for spring.

This challenge will end at 3:00 EDT time on Monday, March 25, 2024. Don't miss all of the amazing creations from my teammates on the FMS blog to inspire you! 

 

Freshly Made Sketches #621

Welcome to a new sketch for the week from Freshly Made Sketches! Our hostess this week is the lovely Jen T with a trio of shapes down the side.

I grabbed one of my many gel prints that are in a pile of "Will I ever use these?" and die cut three hearts from the Love You Die Set from Queen & Co. (new Kim Mraz/Paper Smooches set!). I used the remaining print as an artsy backdrop on the card base. A heart embossing folder adds texture. 

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, February 5, 2024. Don't miss all of the amazing creations from my teammates on the FMS blog to inspire you! 

 

Freshly Made Sketches #620

Welcome to a new sketch for the week from Freshly Made Sketches! Jacquie is our creative and talented hostess today!

My winter project today uses products from Simon Says Stamp (Cover Plate), Papertrey Ink (snowflakes) and Spellbinders (sentiment). I added silver metallic thread and a few rhinestones from my stash for embellishments.

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, January 29, 2024. Don't miss all of the amazing creations from my teammates on the FMS blog to inspire you! 

 

Freshly Made Sketches #619

Welcome to a new sketch for the week from Freshly Made Sketches! It is my pleasure to host the classic sketch for you to try!

This week I decided to make a shaker card, using a monochrome look and with a color choice other than pink, purple, or red. I love how it turned out. I used products from My Favorite Things:

    ~Never-Ending Love Background

    ~Love Icons Die-namics

    ~Stitched Rounded Square Frames

After stamping with VersaFine Clair Warm Breeze, I embossed the background with Clear EP. The fun and shiny foiled cardstock was a gift from my sister WAY back (which don't I use that more often??). Shaker bits are from Trinity Stamps and HoneyBee Stamps.

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, January 22, 2024. Don't miss all of the amazing creations on the FMS blog to inspire you!