Freshly Made Sketches: Winter Wonderland

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

 

I used a stencil by Newton's Nook to brush on the white squares, then on top of that stencil I used the Taylored Expressions Confetti Toss stencil to brush on snowflakes.  My original plan was to add poinsettias and greeneries (since yet another poinsettia set just happened to show up in my mailbox(!) but those little snowy squares just called for Hello Bluebird Frosty Friends.  Here they are up close.

I stuck mostly with a trio of soft blues, greens and lavenders with just a few pops of extra colors.  Then each one has a hint of stickles. The snowman just has glitter on the berries and buttons, the reindeer on the tree and the bell.  Then the bear has glitter on his stocking.

The embossing folder is a regular 6x6. I did one end, then flipped it and the it "locked" in right over the already embossed piece so I could get the bottom half.

I apologize for the pinkish glow on my photos (for the last few weeks).  I have a stunning red maple outside my craft room window and that's what you are seeing.  I try to edit it out but it changes the colors of the card too much - so I'll just have a hint of pink of everything I do!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Hello Bluebird Frosty Friends, Typed Christmas

Dies: Hello Bluebird Frosty Friends, Pinkfresh Slim Stitched Rectangles

Ink: Taylored Expressions Sugar Cube, Confetti Cake, Lime Zest and Lavender Glaze, copics

Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Toffee

Other: Sunny Studio Buffalo Plaid Embossing Folder, Newton's Nook Slimline Masking Circles and Squares stencil, Taylored Expressions Confetti Toss stencil, Stickles

Poppystamps: Sparkles and Snowflakes

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with this glittery snowflake card!

The Snowflake Corner Frame and the Small Freestyle Merry Christmas are both in the new Poppystamps Holiday release. I've used a number of new products over the last couple of weeks and I love them all.  This one particularly appeals to me because there's wonderful detail which lends itself to quick and easy cards that don't look quick and easy!

Memory Box also had their holiday release and there are three new glitter pads! I picked this one because the colors are almost holographic.  The impact is amazing. I couldn't narrow down the color so I used four of them! I picked these colors because of the new Fairy Gemstones. They are amazing little dots that practically glow.  I used all five colors from the Winter Fantasy Fairy Gemstones pack - they are all fairly subtle but they include white, lavenders and blues.

The other new products on this card that tickled my fancy is the embossing folder. I originally just had the snowflake frame on white but it just needed something - so I started playing around with embossing folders. I thought this one had potential but I got very excited when I realized I would trim it down and the snowflake frame fit perfectly in a frame of squares!

There are more pictures and more detail on the Poppystamps blog.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Snowflake Corner Frame, Small Freestyle Merry Christmas

Paper: Memory Box Glitzy Glitter Pad

Other: Memory Box Geometric Crystals 3D Embossing Folder, Memory Box (Open Studio) Winter Fantasy Fairy

The Card Concept: Fall Fun and Thanks

There’s a new inspiration challenge at The Card Concept and the theme is Fall Fun.

There's so much to choose from in that picture!! My Clean and Layered card was inspired by the colors, the plaid, all of the various woodgrains, the lantern in the bottom left corner and the beautiful bouquet with sunflowers and their big centers.

When the lantern caught my eye, I had a mental image of a bouquet of flowers around the lantern. So I ran to my stash and very surprisingly did not have a lantern die.  I let the idea go and moved on.  Later, I was at Hobby Lobby for absolutely nothing related to crafting, but I can't be in Hobby Lobby without wandering a bit.  It turns out the dies were 40% off and guess what?  Their Momenta brand had a lantern die!!  It was a Christmas set - but I just needed the lantern.  I think it was meant to be.

The flower center was a fun find when I was cleaning out my stash. I've probably had these Dress It Up Fun Dots Brown for a decade or more, but they were buried deep under the embellishment stash. Since it was coming into fall when I re-found them, I knew they were destined for sunflower centers!!

I hope to see you playing along with us over the next two weeks at The Card Concept.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Taylored Expressions Mini Strips - Harvest

Dies: Momenta Lantern (Hobby Lobby), Honey Bee Stamps Fall Bouquets, Taylored Expressions Mini Strips die, The Greetery Shiplap Builder

Other: Dress It Up Fun Dots Brown (I found them hiding deep in my stash - so VERY old)

Freshly Made Sketches: Giving Gifts in Thanks

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

 

I have done a series of cards using the Stampin' Up Giving Gifts dies along with their Playful Alphabet here, here and here.  But they were all Christmas and I hadn't use the pumpkins yet. I had planned  on stripes just like you see here.  I had all the letters cut and stripes made before I realized that the letters don't quite fit so I ended up having to squish the letters together. I think I would have liked them separated better (clean and open looking) but the idea was in my head and everything was cut so I was NOT starting over!

FYI I did alter the size of the framelit. It was a little too big and the next size down was too narrow.  I cut and then slip the die a bit making sure it "locks" into the previous cut stitching and then cut again.

(I just got the tags that coordinate with the Giving Gifts so I'm sure there are more cards coming!)

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Stampin' Up Giving Gifts, Playful Alphabet, Rectangle Stitched Framelits

Paper: Honey Bee Stamps Autumn Afternoon, Stampin' Up cardstock in Sahara Sand, Balmy Blue, Mango Melody and Pumpkine Pie

Poppystamps: Two Poinsettias

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with two different takes on the brand new Poinsettia Background.

My first card uses classic reds and pinks - all which a touch of shimmer.

Then in an entirely different direction, I did this card in black with white glitter cardstock and a sprinkling of red and gold gems.

There are many more pictures and details (including a story of my cat who stole my first glittery poinsettia background) on the Poppystamps blog.  I hope you check it out!

SUPPLY LIST

Pink Poinsettias

Stamps: Poppystamps Gilded Christmas Wishes stamp and die set

Dies: Poppystamps Poinsettia Background

Paper: Memory Box Berry Red and Lush Green cardstock pads

Other: Memory Box Fairy Drops

Black and White Poinsettias

Stamps: Poppystamps Peaceful Christmas Greetings

Dies: Poppystamps Poinsettia Background

Paper: Memory Box Frosted Glitter Pad

Other: Memory Box Christmas Fairy Jewels

Poppystamps: Brilliant Star Oval

Poppystamps is having an Instahop now through Oct. 18. It starts here: @poppystamps.  There's a prize on each stop of the TWELVE stops on the hop - more details below - but here's my card and then the die that's available at my stop on the Instahop (@kimsingdahlsen) just for leaving a comment!

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And here's the gorgeous Brilliant Star Oval die!

I used a trio of soft blue glitter papers on my card. They are from the Memory Box Delicate Pastel Glitter pad with a burst of yellow from the Twinkling Jewel Glitter pad.  But can you imagine using this die with a rainbow of bright and cheerful colors?!  So festive!

The sentiment is also from Poppystamps (all links below) - it's the Merry Christmas Poe script.  Their various "Poe" dies have to be my favorite font!!  And did you notice the glow from the center of the star? There's a variety of new crystal dots at Memory Box!  I used the Poppystamps Basic Ovals set to cut an inset area for my die.

I didn't actually start with the above card in my head - I made the following card first and the peaceful nature of this card is what led me to the soft trio of blues.

The sentiment on this card is from the new Gilded Christmas Wishes set which has a variety of label shapes and there are coordinating dies. The embossing folder is Memory Box' Snowy Forest. I also used the Poppystamps Basic Ovals on this card to cut an inset area but I also cut a smaller frame behind it so I had a layered look.

After I got the forest card done, and realized I had lots of extra blue pieces for the insets that I did not want to waste, I made my first card - and then with still more pieces, I made the following card too!  I'm not wasting my glitter paper!

The snowmen and trees are from the new Snowman and Trees die. I leaned them back just a little so they were marveling at the star!

Be sure to head over to our Instahop starting here: @poppystamps. There's lot of prizes so definitely worth the trip over!!  Enjoy!

SUPPLY LIST

Yellow Star

2481 Brilliant Star Oval craft die

2472 Merry Christmas Poe Script craft die

2477 Basic Ovals Set craft die

GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

GP1003 Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

CRY101 Autumn Fairy Crystals

Snowman Peace

2481 Brilliant Star Oval craft die

2490 Snowman and Trees craft die

2477 Basic Ovals Set craft die

CL495 Christmas Greetings clear stamp set

GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

GEM102 Winter Fantasy Fairy Gemstones

Peace Love & Joy

2481 Brilliant Star Oval craft die

2477 Basic Ovals Set craft die

CB508 Wintertime Sentiments clear stamp and die set

EF1010 Snowy Forest 3D Embossing Folder

GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

GP1008 Majestic Hues Glitter Pad

DDP101 Christmas Fairy Dewdrops

Peace on Earth: Calm and Bright

 I've been seeing a lot of cards based on a new card challenge - the Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge. When I checked it out, I fell in love with their graphic and was immediately inspired to create this card.

I was inspired by the soft colors of the tree image which pointed me towards the dsp. Then the lower right caught my eye because it had the look of the Stampin' Up dies that I used on yesterday's card. Today's card has an entirely different look than that card and that variety is why I just had to have the dies in my collection!  I did originally intend to do a larger grouping of dies because I loved the look of the inspiration photo - but using only the two stars kept it clean and fresh (and calm!)  BTW - there are three other shapes in the die set and I intended to use a different shape today than yesterday, but the star worked with the paper!

The sentiment is from Simon Says and is exactly what I thought the card needed to say!

Thank you to the Peace on Earth challenge for the inspiration.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Clean Line Christmas

Dies: Stampin' Up Gingerbread dies

Paper: Stampin' Up Whimsy & Wonder 12x12 dsp, Mint Macaron CS, Simon Says Stamp Assorted Holographic

Ink: Stampin' Up Mint Macaron

Other: Trinity Stamps Rainbow Reflection Rhinestone mix

Freshly Made Sketches: Bring on the Merry

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

My Stampin' Up demonstrator had just dropped off my order that included things from the Gingerbread and Peppermint set of products. I saw the bigger dies and the smaller peppermints and decided I was going to make them fit on this sketch!  (I did have to go out of the Gingerbread & Peppermint suite for a sentiment that fit the banner on the sketch.)

I added a little sparkle to the peppermints. Then I used Stampin' Up's Wonderful Gems to add red to the gingerbread and then a few extra drops just for the sparkle. You can see it all better if you click on the next photo.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Hello Bluebird Typed Christmas

Dies: Stampin' Up Gingerbread dies, Rectangle Stitched Framelits

Paper: Stampin' Up Gingerbread & Peppermint dsp, Cinnamon Cider, Real Red

Other: Stampin' Up Wonderful Gems

Addicted to CAS: Hip Haunts

I needed Halloween cards for my 21- and 25-year old sons and the Spooky challenge at Addicted to CAS pushed me into getting them done. I recently did two pink(!) ghost cards for my nieces, and I thought I'd turn to the dark, spooky side for my sons but the cards turned out a bit more on the cute side. Since they are CAS, I'm still crediting Addicted to CAS for my inspiration! (Maybe the spider in the corner works for "spooky"!!)

These are the Hip Haunts dies from Sizzix/Tim Holtz.  I love the detail in his dies but I may need to start just admiring them instead of buying and working with them - between older hands and older eyes, they are tough to work with. SO many bitty pieces to line up but that's also what gives them their charm!

I am particularly in love with the cat because I modified him to have the look of one of our cats.  Check out the actual cat being "abused" by my youngest!  (They are actually great friends - my son was just demonstrating how tolerant the cat is.) I added black ears, nose and tail to my cat die to make it obvious it was this cat!

The mummy is cute too. There are four characters in the die set then a die that cuts all kinds of disguises - different mustaches and sunglasses and more.

The inside sentiment is my favorite part.  I didn't see this stamp last year, but with both kids on college campuses that still have some mask mandates - this stamp by Stampendous still seemed just right!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Photo Play Trick or Treat Halloween along with coordinating dies, Stampendous Double Mask

Dies: Sizzix/Tim Holtz Hip Haunts, Photo Play Sentiment Strips Etched dies

Hero Arts: Peek-a-Boo Books

I really debated whether to post this card because I don't particularly like it - but I LOVE the idea of it.  It's not even really the card itself that I don't like but as you'll see, it really does a number on my clean-and-simple-loving brain. I didn't even get great photos because I was so sure I wouldn't post it, but I just got to thinking about how many ideas I get from all of you and maybe this is a set of products that you've never seen and will now need!!

Hero Arts has a die called Peek-A-Boo Doors that can be used with a variety of background scenes and little messages.  Here's what the die does.

The die covers the whole front with little doors.  Then you can add little messages or images behind each door!!  Isn't that fun?!  Here's the whole card.  I chose not to color every book but I think I would have liked it better if I had because my brain could have made sense of it.  Instead I stamped stars on each door to point them out and it's just too busy for my brain.

But I don't think it will be too busy for my teenage nieces. I used the Bookcase Peek-a-Boo Parts stamp and I made two cards.  My nieces are both book-lovers.  Not just readers, but reading real books - no Kindles for them!  I'm so darn proud of that because somehow my husband and I, both avid readers, raised two sons with almost zero interest in books.  One will get wrapped up in a series once in a awhile, but I've never seen the other open a book.  It's so sad.

You've seen a lot of cards lately for my brother and his family who recently moved from Colorado to Georgia.  The move went well and they are loving their new home.  However, three of the four them just got COVID for the second time. The first time, they had it before anybody really even knew about it.  They had spent a month in Italy late in 2019.  Guess which was one of the first countries to get hit hard?  We had to postpone Christmas that year because they were so sick with the "flu".  It was only later that they realized what they had when they were tested for antibodies. 

Anyway, my nieces definitely need special cards right now - far away from friends (even though it seems to be going well) and also quarantined.  

Hero Arts also has a sentiment set for booklovers called "Literally the Best". When we got together before they moved, I made different book cards with the sentiment "Congrats! Enjoy your new chapter!".  These cards use "To make a long story short: I miss you".  

There are also many backgrounds for the Peek-a-Boo die.  I also have their Wish Big Peek-a-Boo set and the Venetian Neighborhood background.  I'm sure I'll use them when my brain stops spinning from this one!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Hero Arts Bookcase Peek-a-Boo Parts, Literally the Best and Mini Messages (for all sentiments inside the doors)

Dies: Hero Arts Peek-a-Boo Doors Fancy dies