52Christmas Card Throwdown: Gingerbread

I actually put a note in my calendar to start Christmas cards a month ago - but I didn't do it.  Then I saw the Gingerbread challenge at 52Christmas Card Throwdown and remembered that I have a really fun die set in my stash to cut large gingerbread men and a second set to dress them up - male and female!!  So I just made my first Christmas card of the year!!


There are a lot of pieces in the dress up die set.  I relied on this post from Melody from last Christmas season to give me ideas - just scroll down to see an entire garland of gingerbread men!!  There are so many options! I kept mine super simple - I thought the card looked so fresh with the bit of blue that I didn't want him to be too decorated.  But I have to admit that I put the die set back in my to-use stash because I want to use him (and her!) again with a few more decorations!


Here's the challenge!  It closes today so I just squeaked it in.  I'm hoping that I stay inspired to focus on Christmas.  This one was fun so I may just have to keep them coming!

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Freshly Made Sketches: Lucky Stars

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

The timing was particularly good on this sketch.  My youngest is headed to college in just a few short months.  When my oldest went, I had made a huge number of cards to have on hand for him - cards if he succeeded, cards if he failed, cards if he got stressed or worried - or just goofy "mom misses you cards"!  But I have nothing prepared for my youngest so it's been in my head that I need to get a start on these.  When I saw the sketch - it clicked that I have a set that has 9 stars on a stamp laid out in that pattern so I don't even have to line them up!!


Guess what's extra fun about this card - it's his new school colors!!  Fun story - he's going to Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.  Guess where I graduated from many, many decades ago?  Augustana College but not in Rock Island - my Augustana College (now University) is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Both of them use blue and gold and both are Vikings.  So I have throwback stuff from my school that I can wear for his school!  We didn't plan it - in fact, he's somewhat horrified that I walk around bragging that I went to the real Augustana College.  
He was heavily recruited as a lacrosse goalie.  Augie has a good Division III program which is a perfect fit for him - competitive but not insane.  I love that it's a small Christian school. He loves that it's in the Quad Cities which has about a half million people - and it's just a few hours from Chicago so he can experience true city living while living on a small, protected campus.
The border is inset.  I cut the center out with a stitched rectangle, the trimmed off the stitched part leaving a bit of a gap between the two.

Here's hoping I need many, many more of this type of card! 
FYI - this is a Taylored Expressions set and if you haven't started on Easter cards - they have a jelly bean set with the same layout (and there are others!)   I had it out to use, but I only have one more Easter card to make and jelly beans just aren't right for this one.
I hope to see you playing along with us this week.
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Taylored Expressions: A Hawaiian-Themed Wedding

I have a very interesting event coming up - and I love that I can create a custom card for it that's just right.  A wonderful guy at work - a bit older - is getting married for the first time. He and his fiancee dated in college and connected again recently.  They are doing this wedding their way - a Hawaiian theme in a Colorado mountain park with a group hike afterwards and the Hangry Ohana Hawaiian Barbeque food truck for refreshments!!  LOVE IT!!

So I needed a card for them that wasn't particularly frilly but still celebrated a wedding - with a bit of Hawaiian added in.  Luckily I have the Taylored Expressions products to do it!!


I put the bright colors in the background. The great part of putting the color behind the cutting plate is that there is still so much fresh white that it is clearly for a wedding!  The color in the background doesn't need to be done carefully either.  I literally sponged on blobs - then I did a quick sprinkle of black watercolor for the texture.

To formalize it just a wee bit - I painted the "congrats" with shimmer watercolor.  I also added three little sequins - but in a bright purple!!  The sequins come from a Halloween set (linked below) that I have multiple bottles of just for these purple sequins.  I also added quite a bit of dimension - it is a very thick card but I like the substantial look of it.

I'm ready with the card.  Now I just have to figure out what to wear to a Hawaiian wedding in the Colorado Rockies that matches my hiking boots!!
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Freshly Made Sketches: Pray Hope Trust

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

A few weeks back we had circles on a sketch and I used bouquets of flowers.  Last week we had circles and I totally stuck with circles.  This week...more circles...I did one true circle and one circular doily!!  (Close enough!!)


This card was a struggle.  The sketch wasn't a problem and I adore the butterflies - but it had to be meaningful, yet for someone I really don't know.  That's hard.  It's a lady my husband works with and he thinks the world of her.  I've met her once while I was visiting my husband.  She and her husband have asked my husband and I to join them at their favorite brewery but we just haven't made it work. They seem very down-to-earth and I know they are outdoorsy.  I also know they are Christians. I played with a variety of options but settled on butterflies as the mood I wanted.  
Her husband just had a biopsy which did not show good results.  They haven't even dealt with that yet because the biopsy caused a major infection.  There are so many unknowns.  The sentiment on this card has become my go-to in these situations.  I have thousands of sentiments, but these three words usually say exactly what needs to be said - "pray hope trust".
I hopw to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!!
SUPPLY LIST Stamps: Stampin' Up Butterfly Gala, Taylored Expressions Faith in Bloom (the sentiment) Dies/Punches: Stampin' Up Butterfly Duet Punch, Lil' Inker Designs Cover Up Die: Stitched Woodgrain, MFT Fishtail dies, Taylored Expressions Stitched Cricle Stacklet Cardstock: Stampin' Up Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lime Twist, Neenah Desert Storm Accessories: Stampin' Up Colored Doilies, Iridescent Sequin Assortment, Versamark Ink, Wow Super Fine Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder, Copic Markers

Taylored Expressions: And So the Adventure Begins

A wonderful co-worker has resigned and he and his wife are moving across the country.  I can't decide whether to be sad (he was always the only calm one in times of crisis and he was great at patiently explaining things), or mad (because guess who gets to work two jobs until he is replaced which is never quick in the government world) or happy for them (although it wasn't necessarily a move they chose to make - isn't life what happens when you are making other plans??!)   This is what I came up with.

With all of those mixed emotions, this was a tough card.  First I settled on a the cute little house and then I was thrilled to find the little tree with the heart. The big burst of sunshine was to make it bright and cheerful.  The sentiment was a bit harder - given even they had mixed emotions.  Instead of "good luck" or "new house" - I settled on "adventure".  The sentiment just seemed to say what needed to be said.  It's a new chapter in their lives - that's always an adventure!

I love how all of these products work together.  The road matches the rolling hill.  The house and the tree are the perfect size.  The car comes from a Christmas set (it comes with a little tree to put on top).  There is another car/truck die set available here - I was absolutely shocked I didn't have in my collection but I will remedy that soon!!  I love the look of traveling with the sunshine at the end.

This card is mainly just lots of dies. It's my favorite thing to do - little scenes of dies!!  I did the sunshine with the Here Comes the Sun Stencil.  I centered it by the house and brushed just a small circle of Lemon Meringue.  Then went further out (but not all the way to the edges) with Potato Chip.  I removed the stencil and gave it all a light brush of Potato Chip.  This makes the rays look like they are fading toward the edge.

I hope this had meaning to them - because I sure had fun thinking of their adventure as I put it together!

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The Paper Players: Spring Fever

There was no way that I could miss The Paper Players this week.  Check out the graphic - then see the wonderful Spellbinders Small Die of the Month Club for February - Spring Flutter.

I didn't use quite the same colors although I loved them.  I squeezed this card in before work so went with whatever struck me in the small amount of time I had.  But isn't it wonderful that the die is so detailed that I can create a quick and easy card but still have lots of detail!!

Not many words today - I have 5 minutes to dress, pack lunch and hop in the car or I'll be late for  a meeting.  You know what the die is.  The stamp is from Simon Says Stamp You Got This.  The paper is ancient but it's Chalkboard from We R Memory Keepers!
Thanks to Paper Players for the lovely graphic!!

Freshly Made Sketches: Hey Sugar!

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

We seem to have had a lot of circles at Freshly Made Sketches lately!!  I've played a little loose with the sketches recently so I committed to myself that I was doing circles this week no matter what.  Since I somewhat obsessively index and tag all of my dies on my computer - I searched on "circles" and found a set called Candy Shoppe Shaker.


For the two background candies - I glittered the white circle.  For the blue candy - I used foam adhesive and acrylic to create a shaker filled with some seed beads.

I tend towards lots of white space but for some reason lately, plain white seems a little stark to me. It's a mood!  Last week when the mood hit, I got out some black acrylic paint and splattered.  This week I used a stencil and some shimmery mist to add polka dots.  It's hard to even see - but it added enough to satisfy my mood!


Personally, I'm a sugary candy person.  I won't turn down chocolate, but jelly beans or Skittles or Smarties - those are my real favorites.  So I had a great time creating these sparkly pieces of candy!  I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

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