Freshly Made Sketches: Gifting Snowman

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!

 

There's a cold rain outside my window and there is measurable snow in the mountain towns we visited over the weekend. That definitely put me in the mood for snowflakes and snowmen on this card! I needed a short little snowman to fit in the stripes and found this charming guy in the Waffle Flower Giving Snowmen die set. While I was digging for him, I found the Dashed Snowflake Panel also by Waffle Flower in my not-yet-used stash. 

I grounded him with a stripe of white "snow" and then settled on a soft blue and lavender. I used those same colors on his accessories plus a bit of darker polka dot to give him an accent. Since the dies came from Waffle Flower, I remembered that I had their Classic Holiday Sentiments that included a large variety of small sentiments and happily many of them fit in the stripe that I had already cut. 

It really is amazing how easily a card comes together when you have a charming little snowman die cut smiling at you the entire time!

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

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Waffle Flower Classic Holiday Sentiments

Dies: Waffle Flower Giving Snowmen, Dashed Snowflake Panel

Paper: Stampin' Up Pool Party (and old Pool Party dsp) and Peach Pie, Taylored Expressions Toffee and Lavender Glaze, Doodlebug Swiss Dot Rainbow Petite Prints

Freshly Made Sketches: Etched Butterflies

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

For the last FMS sketch, I used the Stampin' Up color Cloud Cover on kraft and loved how it looked (see it here). As I was imagining ideas for this sketch and butterflies flitted through my mind, I settled on them right away because I saw an opportunity to use Cloud Cover on kraft! Instead of colorful balloons as with my last card, I added white flowers and Soft Seafoam leaves to keep the entire palette calm and peaceful. 

I picked my dies simply by finding those that I had that could cut multiples at once. I do love the details on the butterflies by Paper Rose so they would have come out regardless of how many there were (in this case, six different butterflies). The flowers and leaves are from Spellbinders and included five of each on a die. I had them all laid out and it looked good when I decided the background needed something more. So I used my favorite craft room tool, Press 'n Seal(!), to pick them up all at once, emboss and add a frame to the background, then applied adhesive to all the diecuts at once and I was able to adhere them all at once right back where they were!

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

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

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!

Teal and silver said sky and snowflakes or stars to me and how perfect are those for a Christmas card! The next decision was whether to go cute like a snowman or elegant with a Christian message. I started with the background plate and built it with glittery teal and silver. I actually built it to be used vertically and I was going to place a tall snowman along the bottom. Then I was looking for sentiments and stumbled on this "rejoice" that was still in my not-yet-used stash and it just clicked that that's what I wanted to use with the elegant colors and joyful sparkle. So I rotated the background and tucked in the sentiment. When inspiration strikes, you just have to go with it!

If you are running behind on Christmas cards and you haven't played along with this challenge, be sure to check it out. There are sketches, colors, themes and techniques so you have a wide variety of inspiration to pick from.

Thank you to the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown team for letting me join in!

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

Freshly Made Sketches: Love & Laughter

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 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

Freshly Made Sketches: May God Bless Your Day

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

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