SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments and dies
Dies: Paper Rose Studio Little Etched Butterflies, Spellbinders Four Seasons, Simon Says Stamps A2 Thin Frames
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Cloud Cover, Soft Seafoam, kraft
Other: Stampin' Up Distressed Tile 3D embossing folder, Stampin' Up Antique Pearls
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Etched Butterflies
Friday, September 12, 2025
52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Rejoice
I am thrilled to be the guest designer at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for their teal and silver color challenge!
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: PhotoPlay Rejoice Word
Dies: PhotoPlay Rejoice Word die, Altenew Layered Snowflake A
Paper: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock CS, Soft Shimmer in Pretty Peacock, Silver Glimmer
Ink: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Love & Laughter
I love the arch in the middle of this sketch and luckily I actually have a set of arch frames. Then came the fun of figuring out what to put in the middle of it. I'm definitely feeling the desire to do fall cards, but on the other hand, what a perfect sketch for Christmas with the potential look of a church window. On the third hand, my sister-in-law's birthday is coming up and there's nothing in my stash that is quite right for her. Nothing was coming together, but while I was washing dishes this balloon die popped into my head. I haven't used it in years so I have no idea why I suddenly envisioned it but it seemed just perfect since it highlights the sentiment. And how fun that my mind is crafting while I'm doing housework!!
On a whim, I cut the arch out of Stampin' Up's Cloud Cover cardstock and I ended up loving it on kraft. I wanted colorful, cheerful balloons but the use of Cloud Cover made me head toward a more subdued, yet still colorful palette. I like the look and I think it will be just perfect for my sister-in-law!
I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Waffle Flower Sweet Birthday Sentiments and dies
Dies: Simon Says Stamp Balloon Bouquet, Essentials by Ellen Essential Arches, Honey Bee Stamps Scallop A2 Card Frames
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Cloud Cover, Soft Sea Foam, Peach Pie, Fresh Freesia
Other: Stampin' Up Muted Palette Dots
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: May God Bless Your Day
My brother and sister-in-law were married at the end of September in an old stone church in the mountains of Colorado fully decorated with fall so my card to them will always have a fall theme. You just don't see any fall-themed anniversary cards at the store so I love that I can make it.
I had the idea for the open heart right away and planned to tuck an appropriate anniversay sentiment into it but I don't have a lot of anniversary stamps. I knew they would appreciate a blessing and this one fit perfectly. I'll add the "anniversary" on the inside. I added some splatter which I want to try to do more than I do because it adds a nice texture. Plus in this case, it added a little more white so the white sentiment doesn't look lonely (and I like a little cool and wintery look on my fall cards because I am a huge fan of the crisp weather). Splatters are hard for me because I have to give up control. Even with the bitty splatters I added, some of them ended up in or near my sentiment so it doesn't look as crisp as it should - I hate that but I'll keep trying.
I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Tiny Words Faith
Dies: Ellen Hutson Essential Hearts, Sizzix/Tim Holtz Funky Foliage, Stampin' Up Textured Notes
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Timid Tiger, Crushed Curry, Pecan Pie
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Fa La La
I hesitated using these guys for the sketch. On the one hand, how could I not? Three rectangular shapes at the base on the sketch...so using three of the cutest singing snowmen that I've ever seen made sense! On the other hand, I have an FMS teammate who has done the most wonderfully creative things with these guys vs. my use of them which pretty much follows the sample on the packaging that came with the dies. Check out my teammate, Michele's, creative samples here and here. But I still love my basic card and I think that it shows these are fabulous dies that you can use in a basic way or in very creative ways!
I was also inspired by the sketch to put a sentiment on the third snowman. What I came up with is probably a stretch but I looked through my stash for a Christmas carol sentiment (because they are singing) that was split between a large sentiment for above them and a small sentiment for the third snowman. I did not find it all in one company. The die is from Hello Bluebird. The tiny sentiment is from Concord & 9th.
I know I wandered fairly far from the sketch although I was inspired. You definitely have to go look at the FMS blog to see the amazing cards were created while actually sticking close to the sketch! I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Concord & 9th Big On Christmas ("...la la, la la la la.")
Dies: Spellbinders The Snow Notes, Hello Bluebird Christmas Words ("falala")
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Blueberry Bushel, Azure Afternoon, Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry, Granny Apple Green and Crumb Cake
Other: Spellbinders Sparkling Snow embossing folder
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: 14 Years and 700 Sketches
Freshly Made Sketches is celebrating because we are on our 700th sketch! That's 14 years of challenges! A big thank you to everybody who plays along and keeps this challenge exciting and inspirational! To celebrate, we are using out 14th challenge, then each design team member is showing off their first card as part of the design team. We even have a couple who have been around since challenge #1. Plus, a few of the early design team members are back to celebrate with us. Be sure to check out the FMS blog for the fun. Here is my card for challenge #700 (which was originally challenge #14).
My first post on the design team was on 9/30/14 for sketch 152 so it's been 11 years for me! Find the details on this card here.
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Thanks & Giving
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Pretty Pink Posh Sentiment Strips Fall
Dies: Picket Fence Pretty Pumpkin, My Favorite Things Boxed in Banners, Stampin' Up Textured Notes, Birch Press Simple Butterfly Contour Layer, Taylored Expressions Little Bits Flower Pots
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight, Cloud Cover, Granny Apple Green, Pecan Pie and Crumb Cake
Other: Stampin' Up Opaque Faceted Gems
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Sunday Stamps: Birthday Rainbow
I am leaving town tomorrow for a short vacation and realized that I needed to get a card made and mailed before I left; otherwise, it would not get to my friend (and Stampin' Up demonstrator) prior to her birthday. So in a panic yesterday, I browsed challenges for some help and found the color combo at Sunday Stamps that called out to me mostly because I had just found the Stampin' Up Sunshine Vibes rainbow die that was totally misfiled in my stash so I already had a mental note to use it!
The challenge was to use a minimum of three colors, but I fit them all in! Of course, I had to use Stampin' Up products given it's for my Stampin' Up demonstrator.
I backed these bright colors with the neutral Crumb Cake because my friend is much more about the earthy or regal colors so, although I liked the fun rainbow colors, I wanted to tone it down for her. I used a vertical stripe embossing folder down the middle just for a slightly different look.
Thanks to the team at Sunday Stamps for the inspiration so I can get a card to my friend/enabler before her birthday!
SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Stampin' Up Sunshine Vibes, Wanted to Say
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Peach Pie, Daffodil Delight, Fresh Freesia, Coastal Cabana
Other: Stampin' Up Tinsel Gems Three-Pack, Stripes embossing folder
Monday, August 11, 2025
Just Us Girls: Divine Peony
I'm playing along with the Just Us Girls Floral Die Week using the absolutely gorgeous Simon Says Stamp Divine Peony.
On this post, I created a card for my MIL's 90th birthday but I was doubting myself. I love the card and it's the cheerful look that I wanted, but I just wasn't sure it was right for a southern lady's 90th. I debated in my post about switching things up to red roses but that just didn't hit me right either. Then this morning, I was looking through challenge blogs and Just Us Girls challenged us to use die cut flowers. I knew I had to play along given I have more flower dies than anything else in my stash. I was flipping through my not-yet-used dies and I saw the Divine Peony by Simon Says Stamp. My MIL problem was solved!! This is exactly the look that I wanted for her card - not too cute but not as formal as roses!
I let the die and cardstock do all the work. There are so many utterly amazing samples out there using this die with sponged and splattered colors but that is simply not my forte. Also, I am not a gardener so I had to look up peonies and saw a wide variety of pinks with darker leaves so I raided my stash (going back to one long-retired color) to get the look that I wanted.
It is a very good thing this card finally came together because we are flying to Virginia on Wednesday to spend some time with her before the big formal luncheon on Saturday. She's been getting handmade cards from me for over 30 years so it would not have been well-received had I not had come with a card! Thanks so much to the team at Just Us Girls for the inspiration.
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments and die
Dies: Simon Says Stamp Divine Peony, A2 Thin Frames
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Daffodil Delight, Garden Green and Gold Foil sheets, Taylored Expressions Cupcake and Toffee
Other: Stampin' Up Distressed Tile 3D EF, Studio Katia Gold Foil Pearls
Thursday, August 7, 2025
52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Season's Greetings
My card is inspired by this week's sketch at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.
The sketch first said wreath to me but I was going through my not-yet-used Christmas stash and very surprisingly, did not have a big wreath. But this lamp post and candle just jumped out at me because I imagined a soft yellow circle behind the candle. Then I was flipping through my paper looking for a beautiful night/snowy paper and found this paper that literally had the candle "glow" right in the paper so didn't need the soft yellow circle.
The Old Lamp Post and Melted Candle are both from Memory Box. I decorated it with some holly and small blooms from Spellinders Holiday Blooms. The sentiment is from the retired Stampin' Up Brightest Glow set. I didn't pick it for this outside sentiment but the set has 2 or 3 amazing inside sentiments in the same font that have the theme of "light" or "glow" that makes so much sense with this card.
A big thank you to the team at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for giving me the inspiration to pull out this lovely die set!
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Stampin' Up Brightest Glow
Dies: Memory Box Old Lamp Post, Melted Candles, greenery and flowers are Spellbinders Holiday Blooms
Paper: Whimsy Stamps Blurry Flurries, Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay CS and also in the Glimmer Paper Assortment, light yellow glimmer is from the Memory Box Delicate Pastel Glimmer pad
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Wildflower Birthday
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Birthday Daisies
I immediately saw a flower cart with a shaded top in the sketch. Although you can't really see that vision in my finished card, the idea sent me to these flowers. I got the Some Daisies set from The Stamp Market during a recent sale and then I just got the Dainty Daisies when they came back into stock. (The Little Leaves are also from The Stamp Market.) I do like sticking with the same company throughout the main elements of the card, but it turns out I don't have any basic birthday dies or stamps from The Stamp Market (I definitely need to remedy that) so I found one that fit from Paper Rose.
This card is intended for my mother-in-law's 90th birthday in just a few weeks. I love the card but I'm having my doubts that it is appropriate for her. We are having an extravagant luncheon for her in Richmond, Virginia, and all of her southern friends will be there. I've been a South Dakota and Colorado gal my entire life and we are quite casual so I am always surprised by the formality of Richmond or at least the formality of her generation in Richmond. In Colorado, even us older ladies tend to be in hiking pants, Crocs, and a favorite brewery T-shirts! To be more formal, I'm thinking I need to remake this same card with red roses and golden accents. Every time I look at it, I reach a different decision. Sometimes I love the cheerfulness of the current card and I think it make sense for a 90th. Other times I think the red roses make more sense but then I worry that could feel a bit like a get well or sympathy card. I don't know - maybe I'll try it and decide later.
I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.
SUPPLY LIST
Dies: The Stamp Market Some Daisies, Dainty Daisies and Little Leaves, Paper Rose Happy Birthday Chunky Layered, Taylored Expressions Stitched Edge Scallop Edger
Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Toffee, Pineapple and Cupcake, Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lolly, Granny Apple Green and Lemon Lime Zest
Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up Country Gingham
Other: Taylored Expressions Corrugated Embossing Folder, Studio Katia Arctive Breeze pearls
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Joyful
SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Simon Says Stamp Joyful, Essentials by Ellen Essential Arches (I lengthened it by cutting the arch side only then sliding it down, lining it up and cutting the square side)
Other: Sizzix Stars and Lights embossing folder
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Nordic Hello
This is kind of an unusual card for me because I don't generally use pink. I have nothing against pink but there just aren't any people in my life to whom I would send a pink card. I was flipping through my cardstock looking for some bold oranges and yellows for the butterfly but the deep pink just jumped right out at me. I actually think it's due to my first week of retirement. I know that sounds odd, but hear me out. I'm very much a Type A personality - the right tasks get done at the right time and nothing gets missed. I add things to my to-do lists even if they are already done just to give me the satisfaction of crossing them off! This even applies to my cards - each one has a purpose or someone in mind. But in my first week of retirement, I have very intentionally tried to immediately set a habit of slowing down and doing things for the sheer pleasure of it. When the pink jumped out at me, I was ignoring it but then my next thought was that I liked pink so why not do something different for the sheer pleasure of it!
NOTE: I used the Delicate Details embossing folder from The Stamp Market. It gives a nice, crisp and dimensional image. However, my clean and simple eye saw all the detail in the leaf and butterfly and, while I liked the look of the folder, I wanted it to be more subtle so I ran it back through the machine with just two plates to squish the pattern a bit so it was clearly in the background.
I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.
SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Poppystamps Nordic Belle Butterfly, Nordic Sweeping Branch and Hello Poe Script, Taylored Epxressions Stitched Stacklets Oval and Petite Scallop Oval
Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Guava, Pink Champagne, Cupcake, Cilantro, Peapod and Granny Smith
Other: The Stamp Market Delicate Details embossing folder (run back through to squish the pattern a bit)
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Grateful
I recently noticed that one of the clearance products at Stampin' Up was their Autumn Leaves die set. I hadn't gotten it when it was originally out because it turns out there really is a point where you can have too many leaf dies - but I'd always liked the set, particularly the dies for the leaf veins. When I saw they were $11 (that's REALLY cheap for Stampin' Up and it's a big set!), it was meant to be. They showed up the day I was going to make the card for this sketch and obviously, those circles are supposed to be leaves!
I actually started out with true autumn colors. Then after I cut two of the leaves, it just felt wrong to me to post an autumn card. I always feel like autumn cards only happen in autumn . (Oddly, while I have posting "rules" for autumn cards, Christmas can be posted any time!) So I switched directions and created the first card with brighter colors (even though it will be for Thanksgiving) and I felt much better posting it. But I just couldn't leave the first one undone!
I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: sentiment from Stampin' Up Falling Leaves (long retired)
Dies: Stampin' Up Autumn Leaves (retired), Tasteful Labels (retired)
Cardstock: Bright: Granny Apple Green, Berry Burst, Timid Tiger, scrap of gold
Rich: Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Pretty Peacock, Pecan Pie, Oxidized Copper
Other: Stampin' Up embossing folders: Pinewood Planks, Distressed Tile 3D
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Independence Day
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Vintage Picnic (and dies), Trinity Stamps Simply Sentimental - Happy (and dies)
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Azure Afternoon, Blueberry Bushel
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Sunday Stamps: Paper Posy Thank You
I saw the gorgeous colors at Sunday Stamps and just had to play along. I love the corals and blues, and especially the two rich colors as accents.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: His Love
You can see that I didn't quite get it right but hopefully you can see that I was inspired by it! I shrunk it down a little with a smaller rectangle cut into the card front because I had settled on those butterflies and they just didn't fill the entire card front. Then those same butterflies became a problem with the sentiment. I had picked a very small sentiment and had every intention to place it across the butterfly as the sketch would indicate but the butterfly was too small and I lost too much of it with the sentiment.
I've been sending regular cards to my 20-year old niece who is working at a church camp this summer and can't even have her phone - but can get mail. I've used up my stash of appropriate cards already, although in fairness most of my stash is for my adult sons and for all my friends who are generally of the same vintage as I am - so it didn't take long to clean out the more youthful, female cards. For a new card, the sketch quickly drew me to butterflies and then this butterfly from Birch Press jumped out at me because it wasn't frilly and detailed, just fun. I went for cheerful colors and then found a scrap for the background that grounded them with the browns and more muted colors.
I found a perfect pair of stamps in Simon Says Tiny Words Faith. They aren't in the stamp set as separate sentiments, not a pair, but I love how it worked out for my niece working at summer camp. With the outside sentiment being "His love guides us", the inside says "You are exactly where you're meant to be". I have so much respect for her decision to work at a camp and I rather doubt she's struggling at all - but just in case she's homesick or overwhelmed, I wanted the butterflies there to remind her she's in the right place!
I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps; Simon Says Stamp Tiny Words Faith
Dies: Birch Press Simple Butterfly Contour Layers, Taylored Epxressions Diagonal Stitch Rectangle Stacklets
Paper: Studio Calico Printshop! Paper Pad, Stampin' Up Bubble Bath, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Marigold Morning, Coastal Cabana, Summer Splash, Pecan Pie
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Thanks Berry Much
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Gina K Fun Fruit (and dies)
Dies: Spellbinders Strawberry Patch (Die of the Month Aug 22)
Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Peapod and Granny Apple Green, Stampin' Up Real Red, Poppy Parade, Vary Vanilla, Daffodil Delight
Other: Stampin' Up Cane Weave 3D embossing folder, Loose Frosted Dots (old)
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Oh Thank You
I had two requirements for making a card this week - it had to be a thank you and it had to include a cat. My son and his girlfriend took so much time away from their beloved Bucket while showing us around Michigan that I figured I had to send a thank you directly to the cat thanking him for sharing his parents with us. He's a beautiful cat with a gorgeous coat that's kind of gray, kind of tannish but where most cats have white, his is beige. Here's a pic that shows his coat even though he's looking at the camera upside down while hanging off the edge of the bed.
I kind of forced my needs into the sketch. I found a round thank you then found a kitty that could be standing next to it. Since Bucket's a boy, it had to be slightly masculine, but since I'm really doing it for Sarah, my son's girlfriend, I picked paper with a hint of pink and yellow too.
The brick was inspired in a completely different way. Just the plain blue was not enough so I started playing with my usual polka dots, etc. but they didn't have a "rugged" look to match the look of the paper. Then I was remembering and smiling at the fact that Andrew and Sarah shared that they regularly had "Zillow-time" together. They have a plan for their future and browsing Zillow looking for what/where their dream house could be is an important step. For some reason, that was in my head and out popped the brick embossing folder looking just like the side of a house!!
I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.
SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Die-Versions Oh Thank You, Simon Says Stamp Kitty Cat, Papertrey Ink Bows Galore
Paper: Stampin' Up Boho Vibes 6x6 dsp, cardstock in Cloud Cover, Daffodil Delight, Secret Sea, Cajun Craze and Sahara Sand
Other: Stampin' Up Brick & Mortar embossing folder
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Freshly Made Sketches: Let's Celebrate
Stamps: Altenew Sentiment Strips 2
Dies: Paper Rose Balloon Trio
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Pacific Point, Tahitian Tide, Poppy Parade and Daffodil Delight, Taylored Expressions Candy Corn
Othher: Stampin' Up Stripes embossing folder, Polka Dots embossing folder