Freshly Made Sketches: Birthday Polygons

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 Big Birthday sentiment from Honey Bee Stamps is brand new. I paired it with a couple of retired products from Honey Bee - Polygon Thin Frames and the paper is the Great Outdoors. The paper pad also has more colorful papers and I had chosen the colors of the polygons based on those even though I ended up just using the basic woodgrain. 

This was a bit of a stretch for me so thank you to Linda for the inspiration.  This was a rare card that came together quickly for me. I did start out with plain rectangles on patterned paper but quickly realized my rectangles needed to be more interesting - so they became polygons.  Then with the color in the nested polygons, I changed the paper.  Those were my only sidetracks which is shocking given my average card takes a few hours!  And now I have a masculine card in my stash!!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Honey Bee Stamps Big Birthday and Polygon Thin Frames

Paper: Honey Bee Stamps Great Outdoors 6x6 paper pad, Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock, Cajun Craze, Coastal Cabana and Old Olive

Other: Stamp Market Silver Glitter Stars

Sunday Stamps: Artistic

I was on a roll crafting this weekend and decided I had to use my other retiring purchase from Stampin' Up.  Yesterday I used the Paper Florist dies; today is the Artistic dies.  I really wanted the stand-alone flower the leaf in the die set but I didn't get the stamp set so all the other dies in the set are irrelevant.  As soon as it was discounted at retirement, I could justify only needing half the dies in the set! 

I absolutely fell in love with the color combination at Sunday Stamps. It's nothing I would ever have come up with by myself. When I saw them, I knew the rich colors would really highlight this flower die in all white.  With the detail in the die, I just added four stripes and then used the fifth color to highlight the banner.

The sentiment went on the only thing from Stampin' Up in my stash that is still current - the Stylish Shapes dies.  It was a heck of a retirement year - my stash is now totally out-of-date.  Thank goodness I'm not a demonstrator and can use old sets as long as I want (check out the sentiment on this card to see how old I can go!)  Then I haven't used sequins in a while but I thought their shine just made sense on this card so I dug those out of the retired stash also.  (I don't love the look of the sentiment but it fit in the banner and it has a nice coordinating inside sentiment - "wishing you the HAPPIEST birthday yet".)

I had two other bouquets cut and I was going to layer them up to give it dimension. I was absolutely dreading it. I'm bad at layering up even simple die cuts - I never quite seem to get things perfectly lined up. But I had the card laid out on my desk and I liked the way the edges of the die were curling up. It gave it some nice dimension so I only adhered a strip down the middle.  I'll probably regret it when trying to get it in an envelope, but I like the way it looks sitting on my desk.

Thank you to Sunday Stamps for my color inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up On Your Birthday

Dies: Stampin' Up Artistic and Stylish Shapes, Simon Says Stamps A2 Thin Frames

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink Terracotta Tile and Melon Berry, Stampin' Up Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay and Pretty Peacock (just a hint behind the sentiment banner)

Ink: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock

Other: Stampin' Up Woven Threads Sequin Assorment

As You See It and Paper Players: Paper Florist

Two challenges came together to convince me to I absolutely needed to use a new set of dies before I tucked them away: Monochromatic Cherry Blossoms at As You See It and Spring Flowers at The Paper Players. 

I've had my eye on the Paper Florist dies by Stampin' Up all year but managed to talk myself out of them. I have far too many flower dies for the average crafter! But very surprisingly, they retired this year and even more surprisingly, they retired at a huge discount. I do love the variety of flowers and their quirky look but I have this terrible tendency to tuck away anything I buy in retirement sales and never use them again. After all, there will be fresh new stash to buy and use.  When I saw the Spring Flowers challenge at The Paper Players, I had to drop everything and play. The "spring" part guided me to these particular flowers. I think of spring flowers as delicate and perhaps a bit raggedy like the wildflowers in my Colorado mountains so these quirkly little flowers and flower centers were just right. 

I had already bookmarked the Monochromatic Cherry Blossoms challenge at As You See It and, while these aren't cherry blossoms, I love the color combination. This is the first time I've used Bubble Bath (a little too pink for me) but paired with the other two colors I think it is fabulous.

I needed a little interest in the background so pulled out the Stampin' Up Cane Weave embossing folder (which is actually still current). Then came time for the sentiment. Since everything I'd used was Stampin' Up, I looked through my stash and found a really old sentiment set that had exactly the look that I wanted for the flowers and then the sentiment fit in an older die set called Tasteful Labels.

A big thank you to both challenges for inspiring me to play with these retired dies just in case I tuck them away when I have new stuff to play with!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Well-Scripted

Dies: Stampin' Up Paper Florist, Tasteful Labels

Other: Stampin' Up Cane Weave EF and Gold Glitter Enamel Dots

Freshly Made Sketches: Happy Retirement

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!

 

I have a workmate who announced she was retiring three years ago.  Not that in 2021, she said she'd be retiring in 2024 - but that she was actually retiring in 2021.  She had a calendar in her office on which she crossed off each day. Well one thing happened after another, both at work and in her life situation and it's now 2024 and she has announced that she is retiring in May.  This time I believe her. 

Her retirement plan is actually working a little "farm" which they bought about three years ago. They sell their local produce to various restaurants in the area and she raises prize-winning dahlias. I don't have anything farm-related in my stash and I don't have dahlias but I do have these cheerful little Nordic flowers. They have such a happy look, I thought they would be perfect for retirement.

The colors took me the longest to pick but that's fairly normal for me. I started with my comfort-zone colors of flamingo, mango and daffodil but it was a little "cutesy" for my future farmer. I just kept switching out colors until it felt like my friend. I had so many flowers in so many colors all over my desk, I couldn't even tell you at this point what the colors are that I ended up with! I do sometimes wonder why I obsess over each and every card.  I know my friend would have appreciated any version I made. But luckily I do like the process and I just keep going until it feels right.

FYI: The tall flower pot is actually taller. I trimmed a strip off the top and bottom of it to fit this 4 1/4" square card. Without the trimming, it would fit nicely on a taller card.  Also, there are smaller flowers in the flower set which I used on this card. 

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Big Balloon Sentiments

Dies: Poppystamps Nordic Flower Pots and Stems, Nordic Flower Heads, Nordic Butterfly Trio

Freshly Made Sketches: Single Rose

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 had a specific need this week - a birthday card that needed to be sweet and pretty, but not cutesy. With the leaves on the sketch, I quickly decided the circle needed to be a flower and got quite excited when I flipped through my stash and found this flower that was almost exactly a circle! It's Single Roses by Simon Says and given where it was in my stash, it's an older die (although still on their website). I changed it up a little bit because the simple line drawn rose wasn't quite strong enough to stand out behind the "happy". They had an idea in their store showing it using the cut out pieces on top and that's exactly what I needed. 

With the older die, I went with something new-to-me from Simon Says Stamp - the Happy Combos stamp set with the Happy die.  It's a really nice all-around with dozens of sentiments to go with "happy". The Happy die also has a backer but it covered too much of the flower so I skipped it in on this card.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Happy Combos with dies

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Happy and Single Roses, Essential by Ellen Essential Squares

Paper: Stampin' Up Brights 6x6 dsp, cardstock in Flirty Flamingo and Granny Apple Green, Taylored Expressions Cupcakes

Other: Studio Katia Rose Pink pearls

Freshly Made Sketches: Hey Hi Hello

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!

I imagined a lot of different cards for this sketch. I saw a panel with a rainbow, one with clouds and one with sun. I thought about using three different patterned papers and a big sentiment. But I finally "settled" on a sentiment with three lines - specifically "Happy", "Birthday" and "To You".  Clearly I didn't actually settle on that. It was a nice mental picture in my head but I got stuck on how to decorate it.  Notice how the "hi" ultimately worked on my card with the bouquet of flowers extending across two panels.  That didn't work when the second panel had the long word "birthday" and I really like how the bouquet ties the panels together.  Only a crafter truly understands the drama of trying to figure out a way to decorate with that long word!!

The sentiment came from Concord and 9th so I dug into my C&9 stash and came out with the fabulous Friendship Garden set which has multiple tiny bouquets and fun holders for those bouquets. It's nice to work with becaue the little flower and berries are a separate die so very easy to get all the little pieces that you need and they plop right on top of the green stems. The background is also C&9. I thought about patterned paper like a simple gingham - it would have been nice but I do like a fresh white card.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Concord and 9th Friendship Garden, Stitched Stripe and Hey Hi Hello, Trinity Stamps Modern Embossed Rectangle Stack

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody and Lemon Lime Twist, Taylored Expressions Cupcake

Addicted to CAS: Easter Blessings

The current challenge at Addicted to CAS gave me the idea for my final Easter card of the year.  When I first bookmarked the challenge - which is the word "Bloom" - my mind saw the word as a verb as in "flowers bloom".  But as I was looking through challenges trying to find inspiration for the right Easter card for a dear friend, I saw the word and this time I saw it as a noun - as in a single "bloom".  Seems so simple but I'll take inspiration however it comes - it was literally enough to send me to my stash for this new Tulip Stem die from Simon Says Stamp.

I think it worked out perfectly.  I knew I didn't want cutesy for her and I didn't want pastel but I did want a cheerful spring card. The patterned paper is Garden Walk by Stampin' Up. I've pulled the blue flowers out multiple times as possibilities for my Easter card and it never quite made it on a card - but this card was the right card for it. The bow is from scrapbook.com and is cut in glittery Pretty Peacock paper. I knew I wanted a large sentiment across the bottom of the bloom and I found an older sentiment set from Reverse Confetti that fit beautifully. 

Thanks to Addicted to CAS for the inspiration.  (And to the card recipient - hopefully you got the card before seeing it here!! Have a happy Easter!)

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Reverse Confetti Springtime Sentiments

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Tulip Stem, Honey Bee Stamps Scallop A2 Card Frames, scrapbook.com Bow Toppers

Paper: Stampin' Up Garden Walk, Soft Shimmer 12x12 (the bow) and Calypso Coral cardstock

Ink: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock

Other: Stampin' Up Fine Sparkle Adhesive-Backed Gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Nordic Fanfare Butterfly

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!

I'm loving the Poppystamps Nordic series of products. Maybe it's just the "Nordic" that's getting me given that's a chunk of my background. I have flowers and pots and small butterflies and this is the big Nordic Fanfare Butterfly. I've used him before on this card, but I wanted to make him warmer colors. 

Poppystamps is also doing a series of banner sentiments and it was in my head that I wanted that curvy look on this card, but it turns out that at least so far, they don't have a birthday sentiment which is what I needed. With the banner idea strongly in my head, I flipped through my stash and found this birthday die from Mama Elephant.

I made the background with the idea of a fence and the flowers beyond that fence. I'm not sure that's as obvious as I had hoped it would be, but I do like the look. I pulled all my colors from the floral pattern (by Stampin' Up but retired). 

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Nordic Fanfare Butterfly, Mama Elephant Banner Greetings

Paper: Stampin' Up Garden Walk dsp, cardstock in Calypso Coral, Groovy Guava, Petal Pink, Wild Wheat 

Other: Stampin' Up Pinewood Planks embossing folder, Petal Pink & Pretty Peacock Foiled Gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Hip Hop Hooray

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 used this bunny a few weeks ago on this post and at the time I mentioned that when I opened the packaging I saw ideas for just using him peeking over things, not as a full bunny. So for today's card, I decided I needed to let him peek before I put him away. I was going to have him peek over the Easter egg but I just got this bold sentiment and I loved the way he fit into it.  The bunny is from Poppystamps. The sentiment is from scrapbook.com and comes with this one and with "Happy Easter".  They also had two birthday sets come out with this look which of course I got - and I will get any more they want to come out with. They are bold and fun!!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Cuddle Bunny, Scrapbook.com Hip Hop Hooray, Taylored Expressions Egg Stacklets

Paper: ModaScrap Happy Flowers, Stampin' Up Tranquil Tide and Soft Succulent

Other: Stampin'  Up Loose Flower Flourishes, Taylored  Expressions Dottle Lattic Embossing Folder

Freshly Made Sketches: Easter 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 ventured a little further from the sketch than I usually do.  Or maybe that's just because I had a strong idea in my head that included a rising sun and an Easter cross which would have fit it perfectly. I was flipping through my dies, saw the Simon Says Perched Whirl Bird, and just knew I to play with him!  I was definitely inspired by the sketch with the longer shape, the bird being the half circle, and the stripe at the bottom (even if it is hiding behind the top panel!) 

This didn't have to be an Easter card but I still more to make so when I saw the "Easter Joy" by Impression Obsession and it fit perfectly in the open space, I knew it was meant to be!

I love the texture that that bird has. I found another die by Simon Says that had the same look so the bird is perched on the Olive Leaf die. The bird's legs are a separate die. I colored his beak with a pen and I used a small black gem for his eye.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Perched Whirl Bird and Olive Leaves, Impression Obsession Easter Joy, Taylored Expressions Stitched Mini Slim

Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Granny Smith, Peapod, Salt Water Taffy, Sprinkles

Freshly Made Sketches: Cuddle Bunny

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 always love Cécile's sketches. I would never come up with them on my own but I always love the results when I use them! In this case, I had these brand new bunny and flowers from Poppystamps and as I looked at the sketch I thought I'd just offset green ground and blue sky to give the bunny an eye-catching background.

This is the Poppystamps Cuddle Bunny. I'm not out-of-the-box creative with my cards so I used him just like he was shown on the packaging.  But on the inside flap of the packaging, they showed him without his body and his little feet up near his face like he's peeking over the edge of something.  He's so cute and I'm not putting this die away until I've used him that way! The flowers are the Nordic Flower Heads. I used just the small ones but you can see bigger ones in the photo.  There's another coordinating set of dies called Nordic Flower Pots and Stems that, of course, I also own and I should have a card up soon.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Impress Cards and Crafts Spring Words

Dies: Poppystamps Cuddle Bunny and Nordic Flower Heads

Paper: Doodlebug Designs Dot-Stripe Rainbow Prints and Gingham-Linen Rainbow Petite Prints, Taylored Expression Cupcake, Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody and Daffodil Delight

Freshly Made Sketches: Forgiven

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!

The die down the side actually has one more layer to it so it can be very dimensional. I played with it for quite a while in white and a variety of colors, but decided I wanted as much of that ink drop paper to come through as possible for the look of stained glass colors. 

Funny story though.  I like the idea of this card more than I like the actual card and I think it's because of that very ink drop paper that I worked so hard to let shine through.  There's nothing wrong with the paper and I've seen others use it and it can be spectacular.  But I am such a fresh and clean kind of cardmaker that I'm thinking I should have stuck with all the die layers in basic cardstock in beautiful colors then a grass green cardstock behind the church. I think I would have liked it better.  Oh well - we all have to stretch some times even if the results aren't exactly to our liking!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Creative Expressions Triple Layer Collection Tina (the border), SImon Says Stamp Churches, Impression Obsession Easter Words, Reverse Confetti Stitched Rays

Paper: Craft Consortium Ink Drops Vivid, Memory Box Graceful Garden Glitter Pad, 

Global Design Project: Hoppy Easter

It might be due to the 60 degree weather we are having in February (I'm in Colorado - it's supposed to be winter!) - but I am definitely in the mood for spring and Easter cards!!  So when I saw the colors at Global Design Project, they became Easter eggs!

I had this new-to-me set of three eggs from Alexandra Renke. I love the detail in them so that was an obvious choice.  I also have three of their "Artist Rabbit" dies so I picked the one that was facing toward the eggs. These rabbits are just the sweetest. There are fabulous cards out there with multiple rabbits and that top layer is slightly askew and not completely adhered and they are absolutely charming!

After that I just found things that fit the theme and also matched the eggs.  The scalloped background is Waffle Flowers Lazy Stitch Layers die.  It actually has more detail beyond what you see but I trimmed the white panel so just the dotted scallops showed - with the dots coordinating with the eggs.  I found a small Easter sentiment from the Spring Words set by Impress.  I used Sentiment Suites by The Greetery which also has the dots to cut the sentiment but trimmed it a bit after cutting.  

A big thank you to the Global Design Project for inspiring me to play with these fabulous products with their very pretty colors.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Impress Cards and Crafts Spring Words

Dies: Alexandra Renke Fab Eggs and Artist Rabbit 3, Waffle Flower Lazy Stitch layers, The Greetery Sentiment Suite

Paper: Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo, Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight, Simon Says Stamp Fog and Smoke

Other: Spellbinders Hydrangea Blooms (February Embossing Folder of the Month)

Freshly Made Sketches: Easter Blessings

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!

When I drew this sketch, my plan was a baby card. I was going to do stitched stripes and a quilted background with the cutest little stuffed elephant. But when it came time to sit down and do it, it just wasn't coming together.  I didn't like the colors or the patterns or any sentiments that I had.  Actually I'm sure the colors, patterns and sentiments were just fine - but my mood didn't match the card. Probably because I had this paper pack out on my desk from last week's card and it just kept calling my name! When mojo calls, I must follow!

Then the issue was what kind of card was I going to make with the paper? Easter is creeping up, so that seemed like an obvious decision.  I pulled out a variety of older dies and my mojo was right - this was the card that I wanted to make!

The cross is a retired die by Taylored Expressions. It's simple but it's one of my favorites for Easter and will stay in my stash forever. I used Stampin' Up's Subtle embossing folder to give it a woodgrain look. The sentiment is from La-La Land Crafts. It hurts me a little that "Easter" isn't capitalized so I'm kind of surprised that I bought it - but it does fit the space on the card and perhaps I'm the only one who cringes a little?!! 

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Taylored Expressions Old Rugged Cross, La-La Land Crafts Easter Blessings

Paper: Stampin' Up Garden Walk 6x6 dsp, cardstock in Shimmer White, Wild Wheat and Mossy Meadow

Other: Stampin' Up Subtle embossing folder and Fine Sparkle Adhesive-Backed Gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Adorable Array

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!

I was actually looking for something else in my not-yet-used stash. I knew it was there and I was getting frustrated.  So I pulled all the dies out of the drawer started sorting them by company when - surprise - up came this sweet Paper Smooches die! How old is the stuff in my not-yet-used stash given this company is closed?!! Particularly dies like this that are absolutely charming.

The oval on the sketch put me in classic mood.  A decade or so ago (I don't remember, I've been doing this a long time), every card had an oval but not so much now. So I embraced my classic mood and added some older products, a quilted stitched background and a stitched ric rac border. The patterned paper is newer (although also not available!) - it's Garden Walk by Stampin' Up and one of my recent favorites with unique colors and both dainty and bold floral prints.  And just to continue with my theme of using products that are unavailable, the sentiment is from a retired Stampin' Up set.  (In fairness on that one, the sentiment was all about what fit in the space but wasn't so small it got lost.)

I don't have a plan for this card but I have a lot of people in my life who will definitely appreciate the classic look (they are old like me!!!)

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Circle of Spring

Dies: Paper Smooches Adorable Array, My Favorite Things Stitched Ric Rac border, Lil' Inker Designs Quilted Stitched Pattern die, Taylored Expressions Stitched Stacklets Oval and Petite Scallop Oval

Ink: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock

Paper: Stampin' Up Garden Walk dsp, cardstock in Poppy Parade, Garden Green, Pretty Peacock, Calypso Coral, Wild Wheat

Other: Stampin' Up Opaque Faceted Gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Consume Coffee

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!

 

My stash of masculine all-purpose cards has gotten very low and with two single adult sons negotiating job hunts, new jobs, various life disappointments and also successes - I need a stash. I figured this one would be for my job-hunting son on the day of an interview probably with a coffee gift card inside.  So I went very basic with the card because neither son appreciates even a hint of bling (a word which they always say with contempt - mostly when they realize there's some form of bling stuck to their shoe or to the cat's tail!)

I'm not in love with the card I ended up with - but I love the idea of it.  I should have backed it with kraft so it had the warm look of coffee.  It feels a little cold with the white and a "coffee" card definitely should not feel cold!  But I love that die - it's from the old (and very much missed company) of Paper Smooches.  I paired it with a coffee sentiment and die from Stampin' Up. 

I tried to honor the sketch with my sentiment across the middle of the coffee cup and then instead of the scallops, I used a narrow oval as a shadow (probably a bit of a stretch but that oval was definitely inspired by the sketch!)

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Nothing's Better Than

Dies: Paper Smooches Cozy Coffee, Stampin' Up Love You More Than dies, My Favorite Things Oval Shadows, Avery Elle Wonky Stitches

Freshly Made Sketches: Strawberry Love

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!

This was specifically designed for my son and his girlfriend.  I have not met her yet. I asked my son early on what she likes so I can personalize cards and he said bunnies and strawberries.  I also know that they read my blog post on their Christmas card.  I'm crossing my fingers that they don't read my blog post every day - just when it's theirs. When they do...

"Sarah and Andrew, Happy Valentine's Day.  I hope you find a special way to celebrate - probably involving strawberries! I'm sorry if you are seeing this early. This card will make it to your mailbox soon.  Sarah, when we do eventually meet and I know you better, we'll know if Andrew was right about the bunnies and strawberries!"

The strawberry paper is from a paper pack available from Stampin' Up during Sale-a-bration. I hadn't really intended to use it today. I did start out knowing I was doing a Valentine with hearts down the side but I just wasn't finding fun hearts that were the right size in my stash. The light bulb came on when I saw this paper sitting on the corner of my desk waiting to be put away. Thank goodness I'm a little behind on organizing my stash! I also knew I had strawberries (purchased for the same girlfriend) then found a bold sentiment 6so it would stand out on that paper, but still decided to add a strip of vellum behind it.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Lawn Fawn Strawberry Patch, Ellen Hutson Essential Hearts, Gemini With Love, Honey Bee Stamps Scallop A1 Card Frames (just used as a border on the vellum)

Paper: Stampin' Up Sunny Days (sale-a-bration), cardstock in Shaded Spruce, Sweet Sorbet and Crushed Curry, misceallaneous vellum

Other: Stampin' Up Playing with Patterns Resin Dots

Freshly Made Sketches: Valentine Envelope

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!

This is a recent purchase for me. I got it on clearance on a general stamping sight so I think it's older. It is still on the Altenew website so must not be too old.  I LOVE it.  I already have envelopes, flowers and hearts but this set has such a fun and bold look - I know it's going to be my go-to now. I used some of my favorite pinks and greens, then made a kraft envelope so it popped from the white. 

The sentiment is from Impress Cards + Crafts. They have a number of basic word sets (in their brand) that I really like for simple banners.  If you haven't shopped there, they carry a number of other brands too.  It's all carefully curated plus their Project Idea section tends toward clean and simple cards. 

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Impress Cards + Crafts Valentine Word Set

Dies: Altenew Lovely Envelope, Honey Bee Stamps Scallop A2 Card Frames

Paper: Taylored Expressions Peapod, Granny Smith and Cupcake, Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo and Daffodil Delight, MFT Natural, and an unkown brand labelled Speckled Chip

Ink: Taylored Expressions Peapod

Sending Birthday Wishes

I'm a very late adopter of this set.  When it came out over a year ago, it was going to be the first thing that I got but I saw so many other people using it in marvelous ways, I just wasn't sure I'd have any ideas for something new. But I just couldn't let it go and was part of a recent order. Then I saw two challenges that inspired me to use it right away: the sketch at Try a Sketch on Tuesday and the colors at As You See It. 

I saw those skinny panels on the sketch and immediately knew I'd use three of the tall skinny flowers from the set. The long sentiment panel was just right for the long "sending" die along with the one of the add-on sentiments (the sentiments are the reason that I got the set!)  I can't remember the last time that I used ribbon but I wanted to honor the component of the sketch next to the sentiment. A star wasn't quite right on my card, but a little bow worked.

The colors also immediately caught my eye with the bright and beautiful photo that inspired them. I am not a huge fan of Mossy Meadow but I moved ahead anyway. It's less the actual color of Mossy Meadow, but more that I've never been able to get a photo of it without it turning super dark. In fairness to Mossy Meadow, I use the camera on my phone and a big window for light with a cheap LED desk lamp if I need to get rid of some shadows. So of course my photos don't work perfectly with my quick and easy photo set up!

To include the Mossy Meadow, I started out by varying the greens on the stems but I hurt me not have three greens to change the greens across all three of them so I went with Granny Apple Green on the stems but it worked out really well.  The deeper Mossy Meadow gave the sentiment the pop it needed from all of the detail behind it. 

Thanks to the inspiration from Try a Sketch on Tuesday and the As You See It challenge.  

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Sending Smiles

Dies: Stampin' Up Sending Dies

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Melon Mambo, Mossy Meadow

Ink: Stampin' Up Granny Apple Green, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry

Other: Stampin' Up Glitter Enamel Dots

Freshly Made Sketches: Nordic Fanfare Butterfly

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!

 

The butterfly is from Poppystamps - the Nordic Fanfare Butterfly. It's a recent release and it was one of those purchases that I didn't think about too long.  I saw it - it was stunning - and I ordered it. The only real "challenge" was choosing colors for it. I think I was impacted by the absolutely freezing temperatures outside my craft room window when I used blue tones - although the blues do connect with its "Nordic" name. I already have it cut in soft spring colors and I'll definitely use it again with brilliant summer or even autumn colors.

I thought this was the perfect sketch for it.  Just a hint of scallops to frame it - and a bit of gingham paper down the side. All the focus is on the butterfly just as it should be!!

I've heard that all 50 states in this country were under some kind of weather warning this weekend.  Ours was dangerously cold temperatures.  I handled it by staying inside the entire weekend, crafting, knitting and reading, and there was perhaps some alcohol involved (there's nothing more warming on the inside than an Old Fashioned with a good bourbon!)  If you are in the States, I hope you comfortably survived whatever weather was thrown your way!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Memory Box/Open Studio Whittle Sayings

Dies: Poppystamps Nordic Fanfare Butterfly

Paper: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock, Lost Lagoon, Pool Party

Other: Stampin' Up Glossy Dots Assortment