Freshly Made Sketches: Etched Butterflies

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Michele and here’s what I did with it!

For the last FMS sketch, I used the Stampin' Up color Cloud Cover on kraft and loved how it looked (see it here). As I was imagining ideas for this sketch and butterflies flitted through my mind, I settled on them right away because I saw an opportunity to use Cloud Cover on kraft! Instead of colorful balloons as with my last card, I added white flowers and Soft Seafoam leaves to keep the entire palette calm and peaceful. 

I picked my dies simply by finding those that I had that could cut multiples at once. I do love the details on the butterflies by Paper Rose so they would have come out regardless of how many there were (in this case, six different butterflies). The flowers and leaves are from Spellbinders and included five of each on a die. I had them all laid out and it looked good when I decided the background needed something more. So I used my favorite craft room tool, Press 'n Seal(!), to pick them up all at once, emboss and add a frame to the background, then applied adhesive to all the diecuts at once and I was able to adhere them all at once right back where they were!

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments and dies
Dies: Paper Rose Studio Little Etched Butterflies, Spellbinders Four Seasons, Simon Says Stamps A2 Thin Frames
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Cloud Cover, Soft Seafoam, kraft
Other: Stampin' Up Distressed Tile 3D embossing folder, Stampin' Up Antique Pearls

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Rejoice

I am thrilled to be the guest designer at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for their teal and silver color challenge!

Teal and silver said sky and snowflakes or stars to me and how perfect are those for a Christmas card! The next decision was whether to go cute like a snowman or elegant with a Christian message. I started with the background plate and built it with glittery teal and silver. I actually built it to be used vertically and I was going to place a tall snowman along the bottom. Then I was looking for sentiments and stumbled on this "rejoice" that was still in my not-yet-used stash and it just clicked that that's what I wanted to use with the elegant colors and joyful sparkle. So I rotated the background and tucked in the sentiment. When inspiration strikes, you just have to go with it!

If you are running behind on Christmas cards and you haven't played along with this challenge, be sure to check it out. There are sketches, colors, themes and techniques so you have a wide variety of inspiration to pick from.

Thank you to the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown team for letting me join in!

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: PhotoPlay Rejoice Word
Dies: PhotoPlay Rejoice Word die, Altenew Layered Snowflake A
Paper: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock CS, Soft Shimmer in Pretty Peacock, Silver Glimmer
Ink: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock

Freshly Made Sketches: Love & Laughter

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Karren and here’s what I did with it!

 

I love the arch in the middle of this sketch and luckily I actually have a set of arch frames. Then came the fun of figuring out what to put in the middle of it. I'm definitely feeling the desire to do fall cards, but on the other hand, what a perfect sketch for Christmas with the potential look of a church window. On the third hand, my sister-in-law's birthday is coming up and there's nothing in my stash that is quite right for her. Nothing was coming together, but  while I was washing dishes this balloon die popped into my head. I haven't used it in years so I have no idea why I suddenly envisioned it but it seemed just perfect since it highlights the sentiment. And how fun that my mind is crafting while I'm doing housework!!

On a whim, I cut the arch out of Stampin' Up's Cloud Cover cardstock and I ended up loving it on kraft. I wanted colorful, cheerful balloons but the use of Cloud Cover made me head toward a more subdued, yet still colorful palette. I like the look and I think it will be just perfect for my sister-in-law!

I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Waffle Flower Sweet Birthday Sentiments and dies
Dies: Simon Says Stamp Balloon Bouquet, Essentials by Ellen Essential Arches, Honey Bee Stamps Scallop A2 Card Frames
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Cloud Cover, Soft Sea Foam, Peach Pie, Fresh Freesia
Other: Stampin' Up Muted Palette Dots

Freshly Made Sketches: May God Bless Your Day

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by the fabulously creative Cécile and here’s what I did with it!

My brother and sister-in-law were married at the end of September in an old stone church in the mountains of Colorado fully decorated with fall so my card to them will always have a fall theme. You just don't see any fall-themed anniversary cards at the store so I love that I can make it.

I had the idea for the open heart right away and planned to tuck an appropriate anniversay sentiment into it but I don't have a lot of anniversary stamps. I knew they would appreciate a blessing and this one fit perfectly. I'll add the "anniversary" on the inside. I added some splatter which I want to try to do more than I do because it adds a nice texture. Plus in this case, it added a little more white so the white sentiment doesn't look lonely (and I like a little cool and wintery look on my fall cards because I am a huge fan of the crisp weather). Splatters are hard for me because I have to give up control. Even with the bitty splatters I added, some of them ended up in or near my sentiment so it doesn't look as crisp as it should - I hate that but I'll keep trying.

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Tiny Words Faith

Dies: Ellen Hutson Essential Hearts, Sizzix/Tim Holtz Funky Foliage, Stampin' Up Textured Notes

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Timid Tiger, Crushed Curry, Pecan Pie

Freshly Made Sketches: Fa La La

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Jen Brum and here’s what I did with it!

I hesitated using these guys for the sketch. On the one hand, how could I not? Three rectangular shapes at the base on the sketch...so using three of the cutest singing snowmen that I've ever seen made sense! On the other hand, I have an FMS teammate who has done the most wonderfully creative things with these guys vs. my use of them which pretty much follows the sample on the packaging that came with the dies.  Check out my teammate, Michele's, creative samples here and here. But I still love my basic card and I think that it shows these are fabulous dies that you can use in a basic way or in very creative ways!

I was also inspired by the sketch to put a sentiment on the third snowman. What I came up with is probably a stretch but I looked through my stash for a Christmas carol sentiment (because they are singing) that was split between a large sentiment for above them and a small sentiment for the third snowman. I did not find it all in one company. The die is from Hello Bluebird. The tiny sentiment is from Concord & 9th. 

I know I wandered fairly far from the sketch although I was inspired. You definitely have to go look at the FMS blog to see the amazing cards were created while actually sticking close to the sketch! I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Concord & 9th Big On Christmas ("...la la, la la la la.")

Dies: Spellbinders The Snow Notes, Hello Bluebird Christmas Words ("falala")

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Blueberry Bushel, Azure Afternoon, Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry, Granny Apple Green and Crumb Cake

Other: Spellbinders Sparkling Snow embossing folder

Freshly Made Sketches: 14 Years and 700 Sketches

Freshly Made Sketches is celebrating because we are on our 700th sketch!  That's 14 years of challenges!  A big thank you to everybody who plays along and keeps this challenge exciting and inspirational! To celebrate, we are using out 14th challenge, then each design team member is showing off their first card as part of the design team. We even have a couple who have been around since challenge #1.  Plus, a few of the early design team members are back to celebrate with us. Be sure to check out the FMS blog for the fun. Here is my card for challenge #700 (which was originally challenge #14).

My first post on the design team was on 9/30/14 for sketch 152 so it's been 11 years for me! Find the details on this card here. 

Although I have to say that I knew this group was special early on because I did play along with their first sketch on 9/9/11. Find the details on this card here.

Then it turns out that I even played along with the 14th challenge which we are re-doing this week. Find the details on this card here.

Here's to another 700! I hope see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Memory Box Stained Glass Butterfly and Stitched Square Layers (I cut off two sides so that the stitching only showed around the outside of each square), Photoplay Hey Hello Hi

Paper: Stampin' Up 2024-26 In Color dsp, Shy Shamrock cardstock

Other: Stampin' Up 2024-26 In Color Shimmer Gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Thanks & Giving

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Verena and here’s what I did with it!

I was struggling a bit with the sketch. I had an idea in my head but after more attempts than I care to count, I just couldn't make it work. So I was getting a little frustrated and flipping through my stash when it hit me that pumpkins are round! Of course, not necessarily the pumpkin I ended up using but at least I had an idea. I wanted to stick with the sketch more and be different on the bottom half of the "circle" than the top half but that sketch difference did give me the idea of having flowers on one half and a butterfly on the other. FYI: The actual die isn't quite this tall. I made the pumpkin then cut it in half across the middle so I could stretch it on both sides of the banner.

I don't have many words today. I'm writing this as I'm running around packing for a trip to Virginia for my mother-in-law's 90th birthday. I am completely obsessive about packing and not forgetting anything so my mind is not on this post. My son just rolls his eyes and reminds me that there are stores where we're going so it's not a disaster if I forget anything. But he doesn't understand how hard it is for a woman-of-a-certain-age to find clothes if I forget clothing or how I wouldn't have time to order the special shampoo that works for my hair. So I'm already in a tizzy and as of the time this posts, I'll only have 8 more hours(!) to get it all done before we leave for the airport. 

You might notice that this is sketch #699 which next week being #700. Be sure to come back for the excitement! I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Pretty Pink Posh Sentiment Strips Fall

Dies: Picket Fence Pretty Pumpkin, My Favorite Things Boxed in Banners, Stampin' Up Textured Notes, Birch Press Simple Butterfly Contour Layer, Taylored Expressions Little Bits Flower Pots

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight, Cloud Cover, Granny Apple Green, Pecan Pie and Crumb Cake

Other: Stampin' Up Opaque Faceted Gems