Freshly Made Sketches: How Old?

Happy New Year!!  Welcome 2019!

It's a great way to start the year for two reasons.  Did you see the announcement at Freshly Made Sketches about the new design team members - they are amazing!!  And after taking the holidays off, it's time for a new sketch. Today we have a sketch by Amy

My youngest son turned 19 right after Christmas, my other son turns 23 in two days.  So I have had a definite need for masculine birthday cards.


I hadn't used the background die before and decided it was close enough to the rectangle on the sketch.  I put the sentiment strip on top of the circle. But other than those things, I stuck quite close to the sketch.  To be totally annoying, I added three little sequins.  All of my guys have a long tradition of walking by my craft table and saying "too much bling" even though you all know I'm not at all heavy on the bling!  So out of spite - I plopped on some bling.  This card was for the son's birthday last weekend so I can report that either he didn't notice, or he grew up overnight and decided to be polite.  I'm betting on the first!
SUPPLY LIST Stamps: Reverse Confetti Fancy Word Coordinates (without the Fancy Word!!) Dies: Simon Says Stamp Stacked Diamonds, Taylored Expressions Birthday Treat Toppers, Tag Stacklets 3, Double-Ended Flag Stacklets (I cut the yellow one in half to extend it behind the tag) Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Cookie Monster, Pineapple Patterned Paper: My Favorite Things Painted Prints Smitten

Celebrate on Christmas Morn

I'm writing this with soft Christmas music playing as I'm sipping a good cup of coffee and I'm smiling at different houses in the neighborhood as the lights are coming on and it's only 5 a.m. - the excitement of children on Christmas morning is truly wonderful.  My boys are older now - I'll be lucky if anybody is up by 10 a.m. and that's only because there will be banana pecan french toast! Relatives are coming this evening.  It will be loud and full of laughter and hugs and teasing and fun.  We'll celebrate.  But for now - I'm quietly celebrating the peace, hope and love that this day brings.



Merry Christmas!

SUPPLY LIST - The Rolling Hills die was used to create a mask to brush on the background - The Poppy Seed nativity was spritzed with glimmer mist

Glory to God in the Highest

I have a secret - I DO NOT like December, at least December 1st through December 23rd.  Don't get me wrong - I adore Christmas. And I survive the first part of the month by listening to Christmas music constantly!   Then December 24th rolls around and everything changes. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the best days of the year.  I love the overflowing church and the peace of singing Silent Night with lit candles and then ending with the organ thundering out Joy to the World.  I love the family gathered for a meal with the Christmas tree lights twinkling (although this year my guys are going to ruin Christmas Eve by watching the Denver Broncos play football).  I love being the first one up Christmas morning and relaxing with the tree lights, soft music, and a great cup of coffee. I love playing family games all day and laughing until my sides hurt.  And I love the true meaning....


I fell in love with this cutting plate by Taylored Expressions the moment that I saw it.  It's a fabulous mix of traditional poinsettias but done in a unique and somewhat contemporary way.  (My design teammate Gayatri even took it tropical!!)  I kept the colors traditional and paired it with the Glory to God sentiment from the stamp set Rejoice.  There's a quick poinsettia bouquet at the bottom (FYI - I used the cutting plate to create the dots in the center of the poinsettia and the bitty gold flowers. The poinsettia die comes with a center but I liked the little dots to mirror the poinsettias in the cutting plate.)  
I made this card a few weeks ago and delivered it to a very special friend who was being overwhelmed by December and I wanted to remind her of Christmas.  
Glory to God!
SUPPLY LIST

It's Reinbeer Time

Merry Christmas and a Hoppy New Beer!! (That's the inside sentiment!)


I think it worries me that I've posted two alcoholic Christmas cards this week!!  It might have something to do with the wine I've been guzzling over the last few weeks simply because a friend gave me some of those twinkling wine bottle lights and I need empty bottles to decorate with.  (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

The only cards I have left to make are for my kids although you should know that the kid who will get this card turns 23 right after Christmas.  He's a great guy, but he's always been an old soul and a rule-follower.  For example - McDonald's play areas with those signs that say you must only be this tall to play.  He's tall and he got tall young.  We'd go to friend's birthday parties at McDonald's and he'd be taller than the sign - so he'd actually sit and watch while his friends played. 

I tell you this story so you believe the fact that this guy did not drink until he turned 21.  So the last couple of years have been a learning curve for him and his taste for alcohol is years behind his friends.  We started with Moscow Mules - yum!!  Then he tried beer and ended up analyzing his likes/dislikes by figuring what IBU he liked. Now he wants to learn about whiskey because his friends drink it (and apparently savor it vs. doing shots).  My husband and I are not whiskey drinkers and wandered over to the local liquor store last night to get a gift of whiskey for my son (now you are really worried about my corrupt family, aren't you??!)  We had SO much fun.  Multiple customers got involved in the discussion - What type to start with? What's the smoothest? Go local for the connection?  Other customers would wander down the aisle and tell us about their favorite.  Whiskey-drinkers must be some kind of cult - but I'm thinking I want to join because it was fun!  Any whiskey advice from you??

My other son does not yet drink - so no more alcoholic cards on this blog!

I had one beer bottle colored - and I saw the AAA Cards Challenge to put three of something on a card thus the varieties of beer.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Your Next Stamp Reinbeer
Dies: Your Next Stamp Reinbeer
Cardstock and Ink: Taylored Expressions Confetti Cake
Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Snowflakes

A Wreath of Peace

It's the Friday morning before Christmas. Presents are wrapped, cards are mailed, house is decorated, and now it's all about family and fun, worship and celebration... and peace!!


I was browsing a sale at Spellbinders right after Thanksgiving.  It was a fun sale in that a number of things already on my wishlist were discounted - yay!  But I hadn't seen this set before and it just jumped right into my cart.  The wreath and bow are one set.  The snowflakes come from a coordinating set that has dies for each of the seasons.

The sentiment is from Memory Box.  They have a series of Jotted Script dies and I love the font!  I used birthday here and here.  I also have the "thanks" die which I clearly need to use.  And now I'm looking at their website and it seems there about 10 more than I need to order!  (Am I the only one that probably gets more giddy by the look and font of the sentiment as anything else on the card?!)

Peace to you in these last few days!!

SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Spellbinders Wreath Four Seasons and Wreath Elements Four Seasons, Memory Box Peace Jotted Script
Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Toffee, Salt Water Taffy, Confetti Cake, Cookie Monster (just backing the "peace")
Sequins: 28 Lilac Lane Aqua Dreams

Freshly Made Sketches: Cocktails!!

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

I've done it.  I've survived!!  All presents are purchased and wrapped.  All but two cards are made and those are for Christmas day (and for my sons).  The house is decorated (it was wonderfully fun being in a new house with space for different decorations.)  I've done no baking which was happy and sad all at the same time.  Sad because I always bake.  Really sad because we haven't had a working oven since we moved in (it's a long annoying story involving warranty companies trying to wait us out and repair people who don't return phone calls).  But it's also kind of happy in an odd sort of way because it took a bit of pressure off of Christmas!!  AND I had finally gotten around to deciding on a dining room table in early November so I could have it for Thanksgiving - it didn't make it - but it is scheduled to be delivered this Friday!!!  (Fingers crossed that I love it because I truly am not a decorator.)

SO...is it any wonder I used cocktails on this card??!!


I love those drinks.  I want those drinks.  I had this set out on my desk to make a card for a friend - and when I saw the angled panels on this sketch, it seemed just right.  Although I seriously doubt Narelle envisioned the oval being a cocktail tray when she designed the sketch.

I added a lot of sparkle using a Versamark pad for the background and pen to do parts of the cocktails, along with Taylored Expressions Diamond Embossing Powder.
I hope to see you play along with us.  Remember - we are taking a break next week so this sketch will end on the 31st.
SUPPLY LIST

CASology: North

I wanted to make a Christmas card for a group - partially for Christmas, partially to thank them for their hard work.  I was a bit stuck and then I had a series of ah-ha moments.  First, I saw the CASology Challenge: North.  More than the challenge itself it was the inspiration from the design team and the people who've already played along.  There were so many cute and charming little animals and snowmen, I realized a group of them would be perfect for my card.

Then, I was flipping through my box of Taylored Expressions Christmas stamps/dies looking for something that I'll post later this week - and I flipped by a set called Quick Critters - Winter.  I didn't put two and two together at that point, I just had the thought that I loved all the Quick Critters sets because they are...well...quick!!  (And absolutely charming!)

Sadly, it took about a day before I fit all those very obvious pieces together.  Those quick critters have little hearts which is perfect for the "thank you" part of this card and there's a group of them. So here's my card!


This all came together at the last minute - so I didn't have great lighting to take this photo.  Here's a different view because there's some fabulous sparkle on it!


I first stamped the sentiment, then I adhered a strip of post-it tape above it.  I very lightly sponged some Sea Salt above the tape to give it ground.  Then using scratch paper, I cut a mask out of the Build a Scene - Rolling Hills die and used it to sponge the blue.  The whole upper half got a spritz of glimmer spray.
I am posting this to CASology because I want to give a shout out to them for the inspiration; however, one of their main rules is "one main image" and I don't really have that.  But there is open space and with the dies, it really is quick and easy to I'm hoping they'll forgive me!

SUPPLY LIST