Freshly Made Sketches #568

It's Wednesday and time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! I am excited to be hosting this week and hope you can join us! As always, the squares can be any shape or element you desire. I look forward to seeing all of your creative ideas.

I have a couple of friends who recently had babies ten days apart. I wanted to make something a little more artsy than baby, and this is what I came up with!

I used a Sizzix embossing folder filled with hearts for the background (so much love for baby!), and a group of three word dies (also Sizzix) cut out to show the beautiful Candy Ink Drops paper by Craft Constortium (available at Stamp Simply). I added a fishtail sentiment from SSS. 

I hope you will join our sketch challenge, and add your creations to our gallery! I would love to see what you make! 

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, January 16. Be sure to take a peek at the gorgeous cards my teammates have created on the FMS blog to inspire you! There are some beautiful and very creative designs there!

Freshly Made Sketches #531

It's Wednesday and time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! Linda is our amazing hostess this week, with a fun sketch that has inspired the team to make a variety of amazing things!

I chose these adorable dies from Sizzix to create my card. I bought them last year before Easter and just ran out of time to use them. But boy, are some of those pieces tiny - like the little chick's beak and the bunny's nose! But I had a blast putting this together. The sky is actually a piece of cardstock I used as a "blending brush cleaner" for another project. I stuck it in my unfinished projects box, and months later, decided it could be my sky for today! So - as far as the sketch goes, my three "boxes" are the bunny, flower, and chick, with the clouds just floating around. My sentiment is from Spellbinders, and the grass is MFT.

I hope you will join our sketch challenge, and add your creations to our gallery! This challenge will end at 3:00 EDT time on Monday, April 18. Be sure to take a peek at the gorgeous cards my teammates have made on the FMS blog to inspire you! 

Other challenges:

• Everybody-Art-Challenge - #511 - Chicken, Duck or Bunny 
• Get Creative Challenges - April #110 - Springtime
• AAA Birthday - #36 - Critters 
  
  
  

Freshly Made Sketches #483

Happy Wednesday! It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! This week's host is the amazing and talented Narelle!

I decided to use some new dies I recently got - Funky Foliage from TH/Sizzix. I cut my mushrooms and foliage out of some retired Stampin' Up colors that I love: Kraft (not Crumb Cake - but the original), Ruby Red, and Not Quite Navy (one of my all time fave colors). I used a sponge dauber to shade parts of the mushrooms.

I used a circle mask and Tumbled Glass Distress Ink for my circle, and added some splatters with a retired Stampin' Up background stamp. My sentiment is from Don't Worry (Create A Smile), stamped in VersaFine Clair Nocturne (my fave black!), and cut with a flag banner die.

I hope you will join our sketch challenge this week, and add your creations to our gallery! This challenge will end at 3:00 EDT time on Monday, May 3.  

Be sure to stop at the Freshly Made Sketches blog, and click on the names of my teammates to see the beautiful cards they have created this week! 

A 'Wheel' Friend

One of my crafting resolutions for the year is to visit more sketch blogs and participate in sketch challenges. I love doing them in my head, but for some reason don't ever use them on paper! And it makes it so easy to know where to put things. Most of my "That card took me two hours!" is thinking up the sketch! DOH.

So today's creation is based on retro sketches #44:

I used my new pinwheels2stamp from The {Stamps} of Life and stamped one of the small pinwheels several times on my designer paper with Stephanie's Licorice ink. I used some new washi tape, a crocheted flower and Sizzix's Bricked embossing folder for added texture.

I had a helper for this card. This is my sweet Fiona, who loves to be with me in my cozy little stamping area. She will be 5 next month!

Isn't she a doll? I actually had some Milk Duds on my desk, so I think she was more interested in those than in card-making :)

Challenges for this card:
For Fun Challenges - something new
WordArt Wednesdays - word art freebie OR use an encouraging uplifting sentiment - #61 Trust
Stampin' Royalty - color challenge: 

 
Stamps: pinwheels2stamp (The {Stamps} of Life with Stephanie Barnard)
Ink: Stephanie's Premium Licorice, SU! Tempting Turquoise
Paper: Poptone Berrylicious, SU! Crumb Cake, DP
Accents: crocheted flower (The Paper Studio), washi tape, Bricked embossing folder (Sizzix), Latte Pearls (Kaiser), corner rounder

"New" is the Word of the Day~!

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.  ~Ellen Goodman

Happy New Year!

I love this day. New beginnings. New ideas. New Toys!

Today I am sharing some new toys from The {Stamps} of Life and Really Reasonable Ribbon! 

RRR is having a new challenge that starts today and it's all about new toys and ribbon~! And TSOL has a brand new Club Release called pinwheels2stamp! Put them together and you have one spintastic, wheely fun creation!

I used the coordinating Kite Die set to cut out and paper piece the pinwheel design and add the little bow ties. I love that so many of Stephanie's sets and dies can be used interchangeably! Both the stamp set and die set are brand new toys for me!

Isn't pinwheels2stamp cute? Lots of fun, interchangeable designs and sizes! Become a Club Member and this 20 stamp set can be yours for only $10.95!


My ribbon from RRR uses one of my favorite styles that Bonnie carries -- Double Ruffle Ribbon. It comes in many colors and widths. This is the Aqua Satin Double Ruffle Ribbon in 3/8" width.

I used a length for my tag tie at the top, but also made a little border on the side of the tag with this shimmery, pretty ribbon.

RRR is having a Three-Year Blogaversary Giveaway -- (Congratulations, Bonnie!!) -- and TSOL is having a Flip-It Card Contest! Don't miss out on either one - as there are great prizes to be had!

 

In other fun news, I won Top Three with this card at Sentimental Sundays! :)

Challenges for this card: 
Lia Stampz Challenge - Use Something New (stamp set and ribbon)
One Crazy Stamper - Anything goes 
Ready Teddy Go - Something new (stamp set and ribbon)
Scrap It Girl - Bling, glitter, sparkles or anything SHINY 
Sunny Challenges - For the New Year 
Always Something Creative - New Year 
Cards Galore - Anything Goes


Stamps: pinwheels2stamp (The {Stamps} of Life with Stephanie Barnard 
Ink: Stephanie's Premium Inks in Strawberry and  Licorice, Gable Green marker (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: GP White, SU! Crumb Cake, MME DP
Accents and Tools: border punch (EK Success), Aqua Satin Double Ruffle Ribbon 3/8" (Really Reasonable Ribbon), rhinestones (MME), tag (stash), pennant die (SB), Kite Die set (TSOL)  

A Favorite Color Combo

I think red and black always look so classy together. Today's quick creation uses hearts2diefor, the December Club release at The {Stamps} of Life. With the new year around the corner, it's time to create some valentines~!

I stamped the heart using Stephanie's Premium Strawberry ink, and then stamped the little "LOVE" sentiment with Licorice ink. I cut it out using the Hearts #2 Framelit set, and matted it with the Hearts Scallop #2 die set.

The background is from a Sizzix embossing folder set called Love Set #2 - on clearance at Sizzix right now!

Have a wonderful weekend~!

Need a Little Love?

The first of every month marks the release of a new Club Set at The {Stamps} of Life! December's release is now available and I love it! The many sentiments are perfect for Valentine's Day, as well as other times when you want to send a little love note to family or a friend. Take a look at hearts2diefor here.

Stephanie has a great video showing how the matching Sizzix Heart Framelit Dies can be used with this set, as well as some fun examples, including mine above.

I stamped the two hearts using Stephanie's Premium inks in Cornflower and Artichoke. I then cut them out using the Hearts #2 Framelit Die Set. The sentiment was stamped in Cornflower ink (LOVE these inks!) on Authentique designer paper.

I added a doily and some fun Olive Mini Pom Poms from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

If you aren't yet a Club Member at The {Stamps} of Life, now is the time -- there are so many fun perks and great prices too!

On a final note, this card won Top 5 at Eureka Stamps for their "Let the Holiday Fun Begin" challenge! Yay!

Challenges for this card: 
The Cutie Pie Challenge - Use a Doily
365 Cards - a daily challenge - Polka Dots (on my heart) 
Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
Card Mania -  Wedding/Anniversary 
Crafty Bloggers Network - Anything Goes 
Crafty Boots - Anything Goes

A Rainbow of Thanks - in Ten Minutes!

There are lots of fun new sets just released yesterday at The {Stamps} of Life with Stephanie Barnard. I love this wish2make set - simple and classy!

I used Stephanie's Premium Inks to stamp each color, and then added a little shimmer to the ends with Crystal Stickles. Took a little extra to dry, but ten minutes to make! The embossing folder is by Sizzix.

Have a great day~!
Stamps: wish2make (The {Stamps} of Life with Stepnaie Barnard) Paper: Neenah Solar White 
Ink: Stephanie's Premium Inks (Colorbox) in Strawberry, Tangerine, Banana, Spearmint, Blueberry, Grape 
Accessories: Sizzix embossing folder, Crystal Stickles