Freshly Made Sketches: So Happy for You

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!

 

This is my second card today.  The first uses retired products by Stampin' Up.  This card uses almost all new products!  The colors are the new in colors. I wasn't sure I'd love them (I'm not affiliated with Stampin' Up in any way so I can say that!) but I think I'll be using them a lot.  The red is fabulous - it's so much "softer" than any other red without leaning into pink.  The two bluish/purples are going to be fabulous for winter cards. The green and turquoise and are pretty close to past colors but they are colors that I loved so I'll embrace those too.  BTW - I do have Copic color matches to the new colors at the top of my sidebar. Just click, download and print. If you are reading on a phone, switch to "web" view (typically at the bottom) and you'll see the sidebar. If you are reading on email, you'll have to click on the title to go to my actual blog.

The butterfly is a new die set (I didn't get the matching stamps but the dies can stand alone). This is the tiniest butterfly in the set. I'm excited to use the bigger ones because they all have fun patterns like this one does. I was inspired by the banner in the sketch to put the butterfly on a branch and I found the perfect size in the Poppy Moments die set. At that point, I had used all the colors except red (the sentiment is stamped in a different color than the papers) so I found an older flower set and cut three little flowers.

I really was not convinced I'd love the new colors - but I LOVE how they work on this card! It's so rich, yet so bright and cheerful!  I think these colors will come out to play often!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Good Feelings

Dies: Stampin' Up Build a Butterfly dies (new), Poppy Moments dies - the leaves, Floral Squares dies (retired) - the flowers

Paper: Stampin' Up Tahitian Tide, Parakeet Party, Sweet Sorbet, Orchid Oasis, 2022-2024 In Color dsp

Ink: Stampin' Up Starry Night

The Card Concept: Red, White and Blue

 It's time for a new challenge at The Card Concept: Red, White and Blue. My Clean and Simple card was inspired by the colors and by the patriotic theme which always fills me with memories of down-home picnics!

I used a retired set from Stampin' Up. In the years that I've had it, I only ever used the wine bottle and glasses (perhaps a sad statement on my priorities!) but it's exactly the scene that I wanted to build when I saw the inspiration photo.  The patriotism of the scene and the classic look of the porch took me back to my youth when patriotic moments were spent at the Elks Club swimming and picnicking on the golf course.  Of course, the patriotic moment coming this weekend in the U.S. is Memorial Day which honors those who died in military service and probably should be somber vs. what many of us do and that is revel in a day off work. But I guess I hadn't realized Memorial Day was this close, so I went with my picnic memories.

I used the colors in the inspiration with the addition of the kraft-colored picnic basket and a hint of yellow for the cheese and wine.

I hope to see you playing along with us at The Card Concept.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Picnic with You (retired) and dies

Dies: Stampin' Up Layering Squares

Ink and Paper: Various brands and colors to match the colors in the challenge

Other: Stampin' Up Subtle Embossing Folder

Poppystamps: Stained Glass Butterflies

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with the gorgeous new Stained Glass Butterfly Collage!

The "thoughts and prayers" card also uses the new Small Stained Glass Butterfly and Background which coordinates perfectly. I used the background collage die offset in two different ways and then tucked in two different sentiments from Diamond Sentiments.

There are many more pictures and details on adding the glitter paper on the Poppystamps blog. 

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Diamond Sentiments

Dies: Poppystamps Stained Glass Butterfly Collage, Small Stained Glass Buttery and Background

Paper: Memory Box Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad and Stormy Blue 6x6 pack for the blue body

Other: Winter Fantasy Fairy Gemstones, Fairy Drops

Freshly Made Sketches: Amazing Things

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!

 

My card is definitely not a work of art but it's absolutely what I needed and I definitely thank Karren and her sketch which sent me in the right direction.

My oldest son graduated from college last week.  He took quite a circuitous route to get there so is graduating at 26 1/2 years old. Even if he weren't an older graduate, he is totally not into any pomp and circumstance so he did not attend (nor did we) any of the ceremonies.  All of that sort of stumped me when it came to making him a card.  I have a number of graduation cap dies that could fly through the air on the card, but that's the pomp and circumstance.  I have images of guys in robes - also pomp and circumstance.  But with the sketch, I started realizing I could use a meaningful sentiment along with stars in school colors. I am NOT a fan of his school colors, but they are what they are.

Just three stars didn't quite cut it so I started looking for different stars, patterns and a bit of glitter. I ended up doing one as a cut out with the patterned star on the inside. This is one of the very rare times that I decorated the inside.

For now, he's staying in his college town of Fort Collins, Colorado because he can work from home.  It's a beautiful town with a fabulous restaurant and bar scene.  We went up last weekend to see his first grown-up apartment and then he insisted on buying lunch (it was kind of cute!)  It's about an hour and a half from our house which is nice - we can visit, but not every day!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Pinkfresh My Favorite Things to Say

Dies: Lil' Inker Designs Stitched Stars and Free Star

Paper: Stampin' Up Shaded Spruce, and Bumblebee

Ink: Stampin' Up Shaded Spruce

Other: Heat and Stick Powder, glitter

Freshly Made Sketches: I'm Here for You

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

 

This was one of the very rare cards for which I had an idea right away and I stuck with it all the way through.  The Concord & 9th Friendship Garden dies have been calling my name and I hadn't had a chance to use them.  (BTW - I also used them on the other card I posted today).  There are multiple options in the set but I immediately decided the boot was just right.  My idea was the green grass paper for the ground, then the blue paper I thought looked like raindrops.  Unfortunately, then I couldn't find a sentiment that fit in the sketch about rain going away or sun coming out or anything like that - so I went with a general sentiment and probably lost the rain idea, but I still like it.

I pulled out my favorite bright colors for the boot and flowers and added a few sparkly gems.  I love the cheerful look but it's really entirely due to that wonderful rainboot!!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Avery Elle Speech Bubbles

Dies: Concord & 9th Friendship Garden dies

Paper: Honey Bee Stamps Over the Rainbow, Stampin' Up Cardstock in Mango Melody, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, and Flirty Flamingo

Other: Little Things by Lucy Caribbean Blue Jewels

The Card Concept: May Flowers

There’s a new inspiration challenge at The Card Concept and the theme is May Flowers. My Clean and Simple card was inspired by the sweet pinks flowers and the colors.

 

This card uses the Concord & 9th Friendship Garden die set.  I used it on the card in my other post today also.  I did the other card first, then as I was cleaning up I realized this planter and flower die pieces had a look that could work very well for today's inspiration!  (It's very VERY rare that two cards come together as quickly and easily as my two cards today!)

I did the flowers in the pink tones. Then I added their centers and the little heart in glittery orange. I did the planter in yellow but it's funny how much inspiration you can find in the photo, because the polka dots on my planter were inspired by the round lemons. I guarantee I wouldn't have thought of polka dots without it and I ended up loving them.

The sentiment is from an older Concord & 9th set - Little Thoughts - which was in my not-yet-used stash but I don't even think it's available on their website anymore (a sure sign that my stash is out of control!)  I used it anyway because I liked the way it grounded the planter. (The heart is from that set too even though the garden dies had one - that one was just too big.)

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at The Card Concept!

Supply List:

Dies: Concord & 9th Friendship Garden, Little Thoughts and Stitched Stripe Card Front

Paper: Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo, Taylored Expressions Cupcake and Granny Smith, Papertrey Ink Lemon Tart, Doodlebug Designs Swiss Dot Rainbow Petite Prints, Memory Box Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

Poppystamps: Anything is Popsicle

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today to say that "Anything is Popsicle"!!!

This was a very fun card to do! I started with the sentiment and I had pulled out the Whittle 

Popsicle.  Then as I continued flipping through my stash I saw the Arched Deco Cover Plate and I thought those arches would be fabulous behind the Whittle popsicles. Finally the light bulb came on and I realized that it doesn't have to be behind the popsicles, it could actually be the popsicle!  After all - anything is popsicle!  (I really LOVE that sentiment!)

There are more pictures and more details on the Poppystamps blog. Be sure to check it out!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Life is Sweet

Dies: Poppystamps Arched Deco Plate

Paper: Poppystamps Woodgrain Paper Pack Kraft, Memory Box Twinkling Jewel Glitter pad (available at Poppystamps)

Other: Poppystamps/Open Studio Autumn Fairy Jewels

Freshly Made Sketches: You Can Do It

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

 

I love Cécile's creative sketches (and her stunning CAS cards) and I tend to be quite strict about using them - for instance, the sketch has a leaf on a watercolor-looking swoosh and I would tend to do exactly that because I love it so much. So I gave myself a little internal challenge to use the concept of a sketch but with my own spin. I took the sketch as something less regular behind an image/diecut. As I was flipping through my stash, I came up with the idea of a coffee cup and a mug mat. I played with that for awhile, but I didn't think the mug mat was true to the idea of a background "swoosh". Then it hit me that I could make patterned steam!!  I know that it probably didn't come out looking like steam - but that was the inspiration.

The coffee cup is from Ellen Hutson.  I stamped the cup image, then heat embossed the foam design in white. To do the coffee, I stamped on scratch paper, cut out the center and used it like a stencil to brush on the coffee color - then wiped it off the white "foam" design.  The stamp set with the coffee cup also has nice sentiments - but I had a specific need for this card and none of them fit so I used a sentiment from Reverse Confetti. The stencil is from Memory Box - I used bits and pieces of it. It took me three stencil sessions to use the pieces that I wanted then letting it dry before adding a different section. The paste is pearlescent that I picked because of my steam idea.

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  "You can do it!"

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Ellen Hutson Latte Love and die (the cup of coffee), Reverse Confetti For the Love of Latte (the sentiment)

Ink: Stampin' Up Cinnamon Cider, copics

Other: Memory Box Heart Confetti stencil (selective portions of it), Dreamweaver Pearlescent Embossing Paste