Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Freshly Made Sketches: Dreams Take Flight

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Jen Brum.


I am generally a very strict sketch follower. Probably a complete lack of creativity! But I was feeling inspired today and I changed one rectangle to a butterfly and the other to branches.  Yes - I know - not a really big stretch but I'm thrilled with the results.

FMS Dreams Take Flight

I finally tried the Press 'n Seal technique on this card and I am IN LOVE. I have complained for ages about how hard it is to get everything laid out so that I like it and then figure out how to adhere it in exactly the same way.  The technique is demonstrated by Laurie Willison (Soapbox Creations) in a couple of videos - here and I particularly like this one when she was a guest on Jennifer McGuire's blog.

I'm going to use this as a graduation card. I do so many graduation cards that are black and white, maybe some silver, or traditional school colors - but I like the meaning of the butterfly.

This is a great sketch that can go in so many different directions. I look forward to seeing what everybody does with it!

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I used a scrap of brick paper for my background. The gray cardstock that I found to match is the old Stampin' Up Going Gray.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Masculine Circles

It's our friend Tony's 25th birthday today.  Tony is part of the family that we do everything with - they might as well be our twins.  My husband and their dad/husband bond over fishing, hunting, grilling, smoking - that kind of stuff. Michele and I bond over books and crafts and complaining about the rest of the family!!  We all met through our 16-year old sons and their passion for lacrosse - and other strange things that 16-year olds bond over. Our oldest sons (the birthday boy Tony and my oldest, Andrew) are very different in terms of passions, but so much alike in terms of personality.  It's a fabulous time when we all get together. One of those no pressure families - we can just have a beer (or two or three) with football in the background and laugh the whole time.

But a birthday card for Tony turned out to be a bit tricky. He's all guy - loves his truck and working on cars, and he's found his passion in welding school. (Let me tell folks, if you have any young men struggling to find a future - welding is a darn good profession to look into).  Turns out I only have cutesy boy stuff and some very outdated-looking man stuff - so I went graphic. 

In the meantime, I had dropped some Copics behind my stamp drawers and had to dismantle the shelves to find them and lo and behold, there were six stamp sets hiding back there.  I didn't even I was missing any. Sad, huh? One set was these graphic circles - I bet they've been back there five years or more!

I sat down to do this card right after I had browsed last week's Freshly Made Sketches gallery so it was on my brain.  I had already done two cards and decided one more wouldn't hurt!

Birthday Circles\

Whew! That was a long story for a simple card, wasn't it??!

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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Freshly Made Sketches: Praying for You

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Cindy.


I started out trying to be "creative" - I thought I'd hang three bird cages to mimic that shape. But then I took a deep breath and realized that I really liked the three squares/diamonds - so why mess with a good thing!

FMS Praying for You

I started with the butterflies - then remembered some Stampin' Up paper that I had purchased specifically for the butterfly pattern!  I tried a number of sentiments and settled on a graphic look to go with the great sketch.

I hope to see you playing along - it's a fun sketch!!

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Monday, March 21, 2016

Two People...One Wonderful Life

I don't know if young newlyweds see the wonder in the simple act of sitting together over a cup of coffee, but we long-term married couples understand the joy of being able to relax in each other's company (particularly if the kids don't happen to be around!)

I love this bistro die set from a recent Taylored Expressions release and wanted to make very sure to use it (and use it regularly!)

KimMARCH2016WeddingWM

I'm also amused at myself for putting together a more urban look (this card started out with grass, flowers and trees!)  I started working in downtown Denver a month ago - I also worked there 30 years ago (no comments on my age). Denver has changed SO much. It used to be all about office buildings, the trainyard, and a lot of areas you didn't want to go to. Now there are large, thriving communities of apartment dwellers with coffee shops, bookstores, cute restaurants and parks.  It's been so much fun walking every day at lunch and exploring parts of the city. I see people walking home for lunch and sitting on their balconies high above the city. Don't get me wrong - I love my little home on the prairie with its view of the mountains - but I wish I would have had a chance to experience an urban life.  Particularly if I could sit in a little bistro sipping coffee with my husband!

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