Fa La La

 I had lunch with a dear friend over the weekend and it turns out she was worried that she had stopped getting email notices from my blog.  It had nothing to do with email - I just hadn't posted in a while!  So this week's for you Carol!! (And I'm sorry that lunch was so bad!)

Here's a card that I had made on a Christmas card binge about a month ago but never got it posted.

This is Stamp Market's Fa La La cover Plate. (I am fairly certain that when I made this card and checked their website it was there, but I don't see it now.) 

I cut the Fa La La out of a white panel, then I cut a panel of green slightly smaller than the white panel and cut the Fa La La out of that too.  I cut it slightly smaller so that I could move it around until just a shadow of the green shows at the edge of each letter. I picked a bold Christmas dsp that I love - it's LDRS Creative Peace and Joy and then I cut pieces to fit behind the letters. The tall "Fa" is 1 7/8" x 5", the upper right "La" is 1 3/4 x 2 3/8, and the lower right is 1 7/8 x 2 3/4.  Then there was a little too much white so I added a sprig of holly with some glitter dots as the berries. 

It wsa a quick and easy card once I got the measurements figured out!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: The Stamp Market Fa La La Cover, Holly & Berries

Paper: LDRS Creative peace and Joy, Taylored Expressions Cilantro and Peapod cardstock

Other" Stampin' Up Toile Tidings Glitter Enamel dots

Freshly Made Sketches: Ghostly Cats

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 swore I was done with ever making Halloween cards.  There is really no one in my life to send to. My adult sons just roll their eyes, my teenage nieces never really did Halloween and I don't have any obsessive friends.  And that was OK with me - I could just keep focusing on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  But now my oldest son has a serious girlfriend and she deeply appreciates anything that I send. Plus they just got a cat, plus the Ghostly Cats die from Poppystamps just came out. All of that was telling me that I wasn't done with Halloween cards after all!!

I was thrilled when I realized I had a pumpkin die in my stash that mimicked the tag in the sketch. Then I found some fun and feminine Halloween paper and plopped the pumpkin in a field of flowers. (I'll address it to both my son and the girlfriend but we all know the girlfriend trumps the son when I design a card for both of them.)  I am very limited in Halloween sentiment dies. I had wanted to put a longer sentiment on the diagonal but just couldn't fit what I had. I like how it ended up though when the "trick or trick" fit into the open space. 

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Ghostly Cats, Papertrey Ink Tricky Trio (retired), Picket Fence Layering Flora: Pretty Pumpkin Die

Paper: The Stamp Market (retired), Stampin' Up Wild Wheat, Pumpkin Pie (background of the pumpkin)

Freshly Made Sketches: Happy Thanksgiving

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'm on a roll the last few weeks with richly-colored Thanksgiving cards! Perhaps it's because I spent the end of last week leaf-peeping up in the mountains and am very much in the mood. Thank goodness we took a couple of days off and went up during the week because when we came home on Saturday, I think the entire city of Denver was heading the other way up into the mountains to see the leaves given the miles-long traffic backups. What makes that worse is that Colorado hardly has autumn leaves - just aspen trees tucked into the pines. I don't have any great stories about this trip as I did last week but that's expected. We were in a very touristy part of the state and it was crowded so, although we had a lot of fun, it just a different kind of trip.

With the weekend in mind, I added some colorful fall leaves to my card - along with a big pumpkin. I found some older patterned paper with the colors that I liked and mirrored those in the die cuts. The sentiment is from a set of three by Photo Play. I liked the unique look of it and it fit perfectly into the rectangle on the sketch. 

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Photo Play Autumn Word Trio, Taylored Expressions Layered Pumpkins, The Stamp Market Mini Autumn Leaves, Honey Bee Itty Bitty Fall Flowers, Stampin' Up Stitched Rectangles

Paper: Doodlebug Design Flea Market, Stampin' Up Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Pecan Pie, Peach Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Coastal Cabana, Taken with Teal

Freshly Made Sketches: Thankful

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!

It looks like Honey Bee Stamps has four sets of dies with Itty Bitty in the name and I have three of them. (The fourth just went on my wishlist since I clearly missed it!)  All three are on the above card. When I saw the sketch I imagined a row of pumpkins but when I saw the Itty Bitty Pumpkins, I realized I could change it up and use the Itty Bitty Leaves and the Itty Bitty Fall Flowers. I really love fall elements and colors so this was a fun series of 7 elements to make!

Then I got a little stuck at finding a sentiment that filled the space so I cheated a bit and made the card a mini slim so a single "thankful" would fill the middle. Since the "thankful" was a die, it gave a chance to add plaid to the background which always feels like fall to me. (This particular plaid also helped me line up my 7 fall elements.)

After this post, my family is running away to the mountains for our last mini-trip.  We've had a lot of problems getting away this summer between the work schedule for my husband and I, the interview schedule for my son, and an elderly cat - so we decided to do one-day mini-trips.  It's been quite successful.  The highlights have been the best pizza I've ever had at Pizza Rio in Salida, CO plus it's on a deck overlooking the beautiful Arkansas River. We went during the Salida Fiber Festival so I have a few (or maybe more than a few) new balls of yarn to use over the winter. Last week we discovered Howlin Wind Brewery and Blending in Rollinsville - a town of just 189 people but it has the brewery, a distillery, a wood-fired pizza place and a food truck (with amazing fried oyster mushrooms!) The entire front of the brewery was garage doors - all thrown open to the colors and smell of fall. And it was as friendly as it gets with the locals bringing even us city folks into conversations (horror movies and tattoos). I think the horror movies were because the locals are converting a defunct restaurant into a haunted house and based on the conversation, it would definitely be too much for me. The trip this week is actually going to stretch 2 days and we're going back to Summit County which was our stomping ground while the kids were growing up.  So probably nothing new, just a lot of fabulous memories!

Enough chatter - you have a card to make! I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Trinity Stamps Scripty Thanks; Honey Bee Stamps Itty Bitty Leaves, Itty Bitty Pumpkins and Itty Bitty Fall Flowers

Paper: Stampin' Up Balmy Blue, Lemon Lime Twist, Peach Pie, Pecan Pie, Daffodil Delight, Moody Mauve and the long-retired Confetti Tan

Other: Paper Rose Winter Plaid Embossing Folder, Pink & Main Thankful Enamel Glitter Dots

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Holiday Flowers

I am honored to be the guest designer this week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown! It's a fabulous "throwdown" with a wide variety of challenges that helps keep me up on my Christmas card stash throughout the year.  The challenge for this week is flowers and/or flourishes.

I tried to get a flower and a flourish onto my card but other things called my name.  This is actually the third card that I made for the challenge.  I liked the first two and if I get photos taken, they might be worth showing on my blog. One even had a flourish. But they used dark and rich colors and with the warm weather still outside my window, I just decided I preferred light and bright. So I pulled out this fun little poinsettia and a "happy holidays" and created my light and bright Christmas card!

I have a number of poinsettias in my stash, some are truly glorious. Somehow though, I often come back to this fun little die from Flora & Fauna. The sentiment is new-to-me from scrapbook.com. I love sentiments that include two different fonts and especially those that allow me to add multiple colors. 

I picked five bright and cheerful colors and cut the flowers and the "happy" then I added gold sparkle paper and some gold enamel dots to keep it festive. I wanted just a little hint of pattern in the background so cut with the Concord & 9th Stitched Stripe Card Front.

Thank you to the group at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - your challenges are always an inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Scrapbook.com Happy Holidays, Flora & Fauna Poinsettia, Concord & 9th Stitched Stripe Card Front

Paper: Stampin' Up Poppy Parade, Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingo, Coastal Cabana and Granny Apple Green

Other: Stampin' Up Gold Glitter Enamel Dots

Freshly Made Sketches: Decorative Trees

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

Even though I immediately envisioned trees when I saw the sketch, I planned to challenge myself to do something else. But then my Stampin' Up order with these new dies showed up on my doorstep the day before I was making cards, so what choice did I have?!  I adore these trees.  They will definitely be my go-to for this year's Christmas stash.

I didn't like the full picture that I got above but I hadn't looked at it before nighttime and I rely on natural light so I was stuck with it. Now I look at the picture and the white tree gets lost so the whole card seems out of balance.  I don't feel like it's that bad in real life so I took the close-up below (then had to edit out of all my yellow room light since there was no natural light!) It's a little closer to what I think the card looks like. (I guess I should have taken the full picture in the yellow room light because the close-up doesn't look half bad - but I didn't think of that until this moment.  It's hard getting older!) The white tree is probably still not quite right but I just had to use my favorite dies from the set right away.

I think they assume you'll do gem/pearl berries because there's even a set available in trios like these berries but I don't have those. I just found a small hole punch and punched my berries.

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  I wonder how many cards will show up without trees?!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Stampin' Up Decorative Tree Dies

Paper: Stampin' Autumn to Remember Two-Tone cardstock (the light side of the olive piece), Old Olive Glimmer Paper (along with Berry Burst and White), Gingerbread and Peppermint dsp (retired)

Freshly Made Sketches: Peace on Earth

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

I think I might have brought you the most boring sketch ever but I hope you don't look at it that way. Maybe it's just me, but I buy big sentiment stamps or dies and then I can never quite figure out how to use them. It seems too lazy just to plop them on a great piece of dsp or on a sponged wash of color or on an embossed background - but it isn't.  And I want to get over that feeling because those big beautiful sentiments can stand alone.

For my card, I added a big "Peace on Earth" sentiment from A Pocket Full of Happiness.  I toyed with paper-piecing the background then I remembered the feeling I was challenging myself to get over - so I just did a simple embossed background.  I sprinkled on just a few bright white snowflakes and I think it all works. That big sentiment stands alone!!

I hope to see you play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches. Use a big sentiment and then do what you will in the background.  Keep it simple or go crazy! I look forward to seeing your creations.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: A Pocket Full of Happiness Peace on Earth

Paper: Stampin' Up Boho Blue

Other: Simon Says Stamp Fir Tree Branches Embossing Folder, Taylored Expressions Snowflakes

Freshly Made Sketches: Blessed

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

The mornings are already cooler even though the days top 90 every single day.  I'm feeling autumn on the way!  It's my favorite season so I just could not resist a big fall leaf for the circle on the sketch. This is Honey Bees Lovely Layers Maple Leaf.  I used softer colors than I typically use for fall and then some pops of gold. I used a gray background because I like vivid fall colors with a cool, frosty look.  I'm regretting it though, I think it all would have been better on a warm kraft but after adhering all the little pieces, it was too late to go back! The sentiment is a from a set by scrapbook.com. I started out with every letter being a different color to mirror the leaf but it took the focus from the leaf. 

Now if the days would just get a little cooler around here - life would be perfect!!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Honey Bee Lovely Layers Maple Leaf, Scrapbook.com Grateful Sentiments, Memory Box Wrapped Stitch Rectangles, Taylored Expressions Easy Strips 1/4" Patterns

Paper: Stampin' Up Daffodil Delight, Peach Pie, Calypso Coral and Lemon Lime Twist, Simon Says Stamp Fog

Other: Stampin' Up Cane Weave 3D Embossing Folder, Studio Katia Gold Foil Pearls

Atlantic Hearts Sketch: Happy Holidays

 As I was flipping through my favorite challenges, I perked up at the sketch from the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge because I have recentlyr realized how many Christmas poinsettia dies that I have that I have never used.  Notice what I didn't use.

I was flipping through to get to the poinsettia dies and saw this little tree.  I realized that I could use the sketch and the little tree and a package of fun Christmas papers to create a flat card that would be easy to mail. I don't do flat very often; I love dimension. But with five fun papers, I think this works.

The tree is Mod Tree by Simon Says Stamp - I think it's just a couple of years old. The paper is Cozy Christmas by Simple Stories. I was looking around to see if it was still available but discovered it is a decade old!!  I must really like it because I've cleaned out my stash multiple times and this pad of paper is still there. Actually I must truly love it because I have a lot left. (I refuse to use my favorite papers becaue I might have a better card to use it on in the future!  And don't tell me you can't relate!!)

Thanks to the Atlantic Hearts Sketch challenge for the inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: My Favorite Things Cool Christmas Greetings

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Mod Tree

Paper: Simple Stories Cozy Christmas

Other: Stampin' Up Pinewood Planks embossing folder, Stamp Market White Glitter Stars

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Embossing

 I was inspired by the current technique challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Embossing. I decided to use embossing folders. Although I use them on a regular basis, typically they are just background but for the challenge, I wanted to integrate them into the design.

I started out with just the embossing folder that's in the background - the Simon Says Fir Tree Branches folder. It has a nice layout because the branches come from two corners instead of all over. I figured a big sentiment on top and some winter sparkle was all it needed.  I still want to do that but with the challenge, I wanted a little extra so hit on the idea of a window looking at the branches.  Then I found the arched window by Avery Elle in my not-yet-used stash and "peace" became my theme!

I cut three of the windows to layer them up. I added some wood plank embossing to the wall. The "peace" is a die set that coordinates with a sentiment set by PhotoPlay. They have a number of options in their "Say it with Stamps" line that often come in handy. I had some snowflake sequins out but it needed something to balance the sentiment so that led me to a Christmas star.

I'm happy with the way this turned out. I'm not a big fan of the hustle and bustle and the "noise" of December but I adore Christmas Eve. Our church service is all about peace with candles and "Silent Night" and that's when it's finally Christmas and I'm ready for the joy of Christmas day. 

Thank you to 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for the inspiration.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Photoplay Peace & Joy

Dies: PhotoPlay Peace & Joy, Avery Elle Arched Window Die, Memory Box Star of Wonder

Other: Simon Says Stamp Fir Tree Branches Embossing Folder, Stampin' Up Pinewood Planks Embossing Folder

Freshly Made Sketches: Sophisticated Sled

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 fell in love with this sled die by Stampin' Up. Every single piece of it has amazing details. For instance, the laces on the skate actually slide into a slit on the skate so they look like laces over the tongue of the skate. It's amazing! There's also a wreath in the set so I definitely need to make a Christmas-colored card using the wreath vs. my frosty blue card with ice skates!

The set has been on my desk for awhile so when I saw Jen's sketch and realized that her oval is remarkably sled-sized, it had to come out to play. I added some snowflakes on the white panel and woodgrain on the blue. Then I gave it all some elegance with champagne foil and gems. The sentiment is from a retired set but I tend to keep sentiment sets forever because you never know when one might fit and be the perfect match for a card.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Brightest Glow

Dies: Stampin’ Up Sophisticated Sled Dies, Wreath Builder dies

Paper: Stampin’ Up Boho Blue, Basic Beige, Pebbled Path, Champagne Foil and 2023-25 In Color 12x12 Luster Specialty Paper

Ink: Stampin’ Up Boho Blue

Other: Stampin’ Up Champagne Rhinestone Jewels and Pinewood Planks, Winter Snow Embossing Folders

Freshly Made Sketches: So Very Thankful

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!

It's my very first Thanksgiving card of the year!  Why is it that we can make Christmas cards all year, but you don't see many fall cards being made in winter or spring?!  For me, this card is a bit of a stretch from the sketch. I'm a pretty literal person. But as I was contemplating what to make, my phone dinged that a package had been delivered to my mailbox and that package included this wonderful Autumn Inlay die from Concord & 9th! So the three panels on the sketch became three rows of fall colors!!

I added shimmer to the leaf above the sentiment. I like a little shine on my autumn cards because there is nothing more beautiful than frost on autumn leaves!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Concord & 9th Playful Pumpkins and dies

Dies: Concord & 9th Autumn Inlay die 

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Lost Lagoon, Old Olive, Crushed Curry and Taylored Expressions Sweet Potato Pie 

Ink: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Snow People

I have a love/hate relationship with very detailed die sets - like the Tim Holtz Colorize or the fabulous snowmen from last year from Memory Box. I love the finished product, but my eyes and my fingers just don't handle the little pieces any more.  So this poor little snowman (and there's a bigger version) have been languishing in my not-yet-used stash until the challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown inspired me to use him on a card.

I really do love the detail in this little guy - that flowing scarf is so much fun.  I also had the sled die from Memory Box so decided to have him sledding down a hill. Then I found this sentiment, also from Memory Box, so I made him sled down the sentiment!  All in all, I like the results even though it gave my eyes and my pointy little tweezer a real workout!

Thanks to the 52 Christmas Card Challenge for inspiring me to finally use these dies.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Memory Box Little Bundled Snowman, Layered Sled, Merry Christmas Posh Script

Paper: My Favorite Things Cool Collab, cardstock in Tropical Teal and Red Hot

Other: Buttons Galore Caribbean Sea Doo Dadz

Season's Greetings with Eclectic Trees

I don't know why this is a surprise every year...but I'm behind on Christmas cards. I don't send enough that I have to mass produce, but I do send more than enough that I need to start earlier than August!  So I treated myself to an entire Saturday recently that was all about Christmas cards - I even had Christmas music playing!  I didn't get as many done as I had hoped, but my personal goal for that day was simply to enjoy the process even knowing that my process is insanely, overly long!  I have a few that I want to share here because they use products that I love!

I love this tree die. The card that made me fall in love with it is entirely different than this one. Check out the shiny, sparkly monochromatic samples here in the Simon Says Store.  I love that a die can take on entirely different looks (or at least that's how I often justify the purchase)!  I went in a different direction and used the new in colors from Stampin' Up doing something different for each tree.  The peach tree is glittered, the shamrock and summer splash trees use dsp, the pink tree is embossed and the petunia tree just uses matching dots.  

I needed a long sentiment for the base and found this Paper Rose die in my not-yet-used stash. I like its chunky look espcially with the unique look of these trees.

Although one of my goals was to clear out my Christmas not-yet-used stash, I think the trees may stay there because I thoroughly enjoyed working with it and want to try some different looks before I file it away!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Eclectic Tree Outlines, Paper Rose Season’s Greetings Chunky
Paper: Stampin’ Up cardstock in Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop and Peach Pie, dsp in Shy Shamrock and Summer Splash
Other: Heat n Stick Powder with clear glitter, Stampin’ Up 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Hummingbird Birthday

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!

 

When I first saw the sketch, I was excited because I knew I had that shape in my collection and I could follow the sketch exactly. But when I dug it up, it turns out it was too big and stretched across the entire card so would hide the stripes. While digging through my stash, I saw this poor hummingbird which has been languishing in my not-yet-used stash for a long time. So I convinced myself that the unique shape in the sketch could be a hummingbird!

I picked some bright blues and greens to mirrow the main colors of many hummingbirds. Then I added stripes in the same colors with striped dsp for one and the sentiment on another. I thought I was done then realized that little hummingbird needed something to hum around so I found this fun embossing folder in my stash to give him a few flowers.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Waffle Flower Elegant Sentiments

Dies: Creative Expressions Triple Layer Hummingbird

Paper: Stampin' Up Lemon Lime Twist, Summer Splash and Granny Apple Green

Other: Pink & Main Daisies Embossing Folder

Sunday Stamps: Country Flowers

Lately, I find that I almost always use dies vs stamps/coloring but the Stampin' Up set Country Flowers called my name and it's all about the coloring.  I used it once here but decided to keep it my current basket of supplies until I'd used the other stamps in the set.  The colors at Sunday Stamps were just begging to be used in the an array of richly colored flowers so out came my Country Flowers!  Funny story though - I got this card all done and then realized I'd used exactly the same teapot and flowers as my first card!!  Clearly I have favorites!

The colors they picked are just stunning.  I think the rules say you have to use at least 3 - I used 6!  Since there was no green for the leaves, I used the curry color to gave it a fall vibe (or at least an August vibe!)  

This set is so much fun to work with although I've clearly lost the limited coloring skills that I had (see the obvious lines in the pot and the fact that the light part is under the flower where there should be shadow).  It definitely takes practice. I doubt I'll dive back into it because my die cutting collection is out of control, but if there are other fun sets, we'll see!

Thanks to Sunday Stamps for the inspiration. 

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Country Flowers and Sending You Thoughts

Dies: Stampin' Up Country Flowers and Scalloped Contours

Paper: Stampin' Up Island Indigo cardstock, Crushed Curry dsp

Other: Stampin' Up Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder

Freshly Made Sketches: Ho Ho Ho

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

 

I totally missed Christmas in July.  It's been a tough year at work and any creative mojo, let alone Christmas mojo, has been long gone. I decided this past weekend to not work any more overtime and to try to let it go mentally - and I did it by proclaiming this past Saturday as Christmas.  I made Christmas cards all day.  And I wore a Christmas T-shirt, drank coffee out of a Christmas mug and played Christmas music and movies. My guys even humored me - when my son woke up, he ran into my office shouting "Merry Christmas" and gave me a big hug!  It was all very refreshing - I think I need to proclaim a day of Christmas every month!  

With Christmas in mind, Narelle's sketch had to be "ho ho ho"! I found a bold "ho" die in my not-yet-used stash and cut three, angling the "O" when I adhered them.  I found some paper that matched the theme and added a "Be Very Merry".  It's all a little different from my normal look but I'm happy with it - and it will likely go to the son who shouted "Merry Christmas"!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: The Stamp Market Heaps of  Holiday Words

Dies: The Stamp Market Ho

Paper: Bella Blvd Holly Jolly Christmas

Other: Honey Bee Stamps White Gem Stickers

Freshly Made Sketches: Comfort and Joy

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 still had this Stampin' Up dsp out from this card a couple of weeks ago when I challenged myself to use patterned paper. And then this sketch came along and I realized I could use more of it. I have issues with patterned paper. First, my cardmaking style just doesn't use a lot of it but second, when I get paper I love, I refuse to use it because I might run out.  I definitely have issues!  This is the retired Stampin' Up Garden Walk and I am so wishing I would have purchased multiple packs. 

I also got Stampin' Up's Paper Florist dies when they were retiring (and heavily discounted). I have so many flower dies but I love the wonky look of all of the dies in this set and I thought this one worked really well with the patterned paper even though it's not a poinsettia.  

And since I was all about retired sets, I used this sentiment from the retired Stampin' Up Christmas Classics which will always stay in my stash simply because of this one sentiment!

Given the record-setting heat outside my window, I am definitely enjoying fooling my mind into thinking Christmas!

Speaking of heat, I am getting ready to walk to work at my new office.  Heat bad - but walk good! Our offices are being renovated and expanded so my department was chosen to relocate for 18 months and in a stroke of amazing luck, the new offices are about 3/4 mile from my house!!  I am so excited - I have visions of so many more cards coming out of my craft room.  First of all - 3/4-mile commute so I'm home quickly! But secondly, I'm bound to get an energy boost from walking home instead of driving and then immediately collapsing on the sofa from a hard day. So it's nighmarishly hot outside but I've been waiting for this new office for weeks and I'm definitely walking.  It will be interesting to see if I call my husband or son at the end of the day to rescue me from 100 degree walk home.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Christmas Classics (retired)

Dies: Stampin' Up Paper Florist (retired), Tasteful Labels (retired)

Paper: Stampin' Up Garden Walk dsp (retired), cardstock in Poppy Parade, Wild Wheat, Granny Apple Green

Ink: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock

Other: Stampin' Up 2023-25 In Color Opaque Sparkle Dots

Freshly Made Sketches: Birthday Moose

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!

Cécile's cards and sketches are so amazingly artistic. They are clean and fresh and still so full of beautiful details. I love following her sketches; they inspire me to create cards that I never would have come up with on my own and I love them.  However, in this case, I went back to a classic look for me because I immediatley saw a row of trees and a sun. Then I just had to pick an animal for my forest!

I used linen-textured paper, then brushed a soft blue in the background for a sky. (You kind of have to squint to see it in the picture but it's there in real life.)  The Whittle Moose is from Poppystamps. It's retired but will never leave my stash because it's just perfect for my mountain-loving family who have all experienced a moose in the wilderness! I needed a variety of skinny trees and I had that in Alexandra Renke's 5 Pine Trees set Little. It's a fun set because some of the dies cut outlines of trees but I just wanted a simple row so didn't use any of those. The sentiment is also Poppystamps - they have a variety of these that come with the little dies.

FYI My card could easily have been a square card. I just forgot that part.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Birthday Banners and dies

Dies: Poppystamps Whittle Moose (retired), Alexandra Renke 5 Pine Trees set Little

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink Linen, Stampin' Up Daffodil Delight, Gray Granite and Pecan Pie, Papertrey Ink New Leaf

Ink: Stampin' Up Balmy Blue

Freshly Made Sketches: Tweet Cardinal

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'm already wildly behind on my Christmas card stash.  It's not so much that I have too many cards to make, but if I don't clear out some of my not-yet-used stash, I won't be able to buy new stash! (I'm guessing you don't believe the no-new-stash part because I don't even believe it myself!) So I made some space in my Christmas stash by using four different die sets. I had pulled a few poinsettias, then this little guy jumped out at me. He's Tweet Cardinal by Spellbinders. I've been doing this hobby for a long time and I remember when it was a big deal when basic-shaped dies like circles and rectangles came out and it was so exciting. Now look at all the dies available. There are so many layers and so much amazing detail. This die is just the cutest!

I stuck with my Spellbinders stash and found the greenery. Then I needed a large sentiment. I have lots of big Merry Christmas but do you ever find "christmas" hard to fit on a card front?  A big one goes across the full card and doesn't tuck neatly into a space like I had in front of my cardinal. So I found this "joy" by Simon Says. Then the background needed a little something so I added a die cut wnoflake background by Concord  & 9th and some sequined snowflakes.

This was a fun card to make. I did the cardinal first and he made me smile the whole time! I hope you hve as much fun playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Spellbinders Tweet Cardinal, Spellbinders Parcel and Post Christmas Decorations, Concord & 9th Snowfall Card Front, Simon Says Stamp Large Joy

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Poppy Parade, Real Red and Peach Pie, Taylored Expressions Cilantro and Peapod

Other: Studio Katia Bluebell Pearls, Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Snowflakes

Freshly Made Sketches: Sending Hugs

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

Virtually every time I create a sketch, I do it with the intent of using some of my patterned paper stash and most of the time, I end up making a card without patterned paper. I don't know why. It's not that I never use patterned paper, but when I do it's typically just a strip as an accent.  I love paper and I adore what I see other people doing with patterns (and then I end up buying that paper) but every time I use it, the card just feels cluttered so I don't use it and now I'm sinking under the weight of my stash. Wow. First world problems, huh?!

But this time I actually did use paper. It's the retired Garden Walk by Stampin' Up. Of course me being me, I couldn't go all out with color so I toned it down with a pure white bouquet of flowers from Be Bold Blooms by Spellbinders.  Actually the flowers were the second thought after I purchased the Stitched Rectangle Sentiments by A Pocket Full of Happiness (found at scrapbook.com) and realized they would make a nice tag for flowers. 

I hope to see you playing along with us this week. Have fun with it. I know I'll have fun looking at everybody's creative ideas. And as always, I'm sure I'll be adding products (especially patterned paper) to my wishlist after I've seen the amazing things you've done!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms, A Pocket Full of Happiness Stitched Rectangle Sentiments

Paper: Stampin' Up Garden Walk (retired), cardstock in Wild Wheat and Pretty Peacock

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: A Chubby Cardinal

The technique theme at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown has been to "colour an image".  I haven't colored in years and I used to color all the time, so I figured it was just the kind of challenge that I needed.  I pulled out a stamp set I got a number of years ago from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (probably about the time I stopped coloring!) and decided this chubby little guy needed to make an appearance on a card.

If you follow my blog, you might realize that I colored on my very last post so this card wasn't the first one in years.  True - but even that non-Christmas card was somewhat inspired by this challenge.  As I was thinking about coloring for this Christmas challenge, I started seeing other coloring that I should do and now I've colored two cards.  But I definitely need practice. I've always been a simplistic colorer but I fell in love with Copics because they blend beautifully and you don't need to be an artist to make it all work.  I even have an entire tutorial from 2011 about simple blending found here.  I'm now looking at this bird's wing and it's not blended at all.  I guess I should have reviewed my own tutorial!

Thanks to 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for the inspiration to do some coloring!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Winter Birds and dies

Dies: Essential by Ellen Essential Arches

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Poppy Parade, Distressed Gold (on the arch)

Other: Sizzix Embossing Folder, Stampin' Up Gold Glitter Enamel Dots

Freshly Made Sketches: Heal Peace Rest

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

OK, I admit it. I've been looking for an excuse to use this set so I made it fit the sketch. I haven't colored in forever. I really need to do it more because I thoroughly enjoyed making this card. I also store my Copics way too far away from my crafting table and it's just a complicated step to use them. But I already had them out finding my Copic matches for the new Stampin' Up in colors so decided to show off all of my picks. 

I added cardstock in each of the colors so you can see whether you like the Copic colors that I picked. Just keep in mind that (1) cardstock impacts the colors and (2) your eye impacts the color. Yellow is my best example (although there isn't a yellow in this batch).  I'm not a fan of plain yellow.  I don't know why because I know plenty of other people who pick it as their favorite color. That's my eye. So when I pick a Copic match for yellow (and remember, I did these matches for my use - I am not associated with Stampin' Up in any way), I will always tend toward a more golden hue than a bright yellow. It may not be the best match, but it will blend well and it's what I would use.

These are the Copics I used on my card.  The lighter of each of these colors is my pick to match In Colors.  The full chart of my selected Copic Markers for all Stampin' Up are available here and always on my sidebar. 

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Country Flowers, Comforting Thioughts

Dies: Stampin' Up Country Flowers and Stylish Shapes, My Favorite Things Oval Shadows (retired)

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop, Peach Pie, Shy Shamrock, Summer Splash

Other: Stampin' Up Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder, Adhesive-Backed Dappled Dots

Freshly Made Sketches: Feel Better

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

 

Oddly, my first plan for this sketch actually involved the stripe. I have these patterned stripes from Taylored Expressions that I hadn't used yet. As I was looking at them, I focused on these three patterns and they drew me toward a get well card. I see those stripes as sunshine, rain and rainbows and I love that imagery for a get well. I tried to make it a bit more obvious with the sweet little sun and the subtle background of clouds. The bold sentiment is from scrapbook.com - it's what I wanted to say plus it fit perfectly!

My latest retirement-exploration trip went well and the Black Hills area of South Dakota is staying on the list! It was beautiful there but I knew that because I grew up there and it just hasn't changed that much. I had some gorgeous walks and hikes while he found some great fishing holes. One of the fishing spots that he liked in the Hills is only 14 miles from Rapid City plus there is actually fishing right in the town! Compare that to Colorado where he can't get anywhere in less than 2 hours due to traffic and then might not be able to find a spot along the river due to the sheer volume of people. 

We still have a few years to figure this all out. We've visited two likely places this year, so now we need to figure out where we'll explore next year. It must have easy access to fly fishing for him and biking/walking/hiking options for me plus enough of a town that there are entertainment and social options. And it has to be reasonably priced - many of our very favorite areas have been "discovered" and we just can't keep them on the list (looking at you Bozeman, Montana and Buena Vista, Colorado.)

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Taylored Expressions Easy Strips - 1/4" Patterns, Scrapbook.com Feel Better, Poppystamps Whittle Sunshine, Spellbinders Postage Edge Rectangles

Paper: Stampin' Up Sunshine & Rainbows, cardstock in Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody, Pool Party, So Saffron