Freshly Made Sketches: Loving Easter Wishes

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 really like the unique look of the sketch's angled panels. It's very eye-catching. So I decided with just a few more days until Easter, I'd add a cross with the sketch highlighting it using grass green, bright yellow flowers and a polka-dotted sky. Then I went tone-on-tone for the sentiment which led me down the path of adding other tone-on-tone accents.  The flower on the cross came with the set. Then I added a branch of leaves across the bottom. 

We are taking off tomorrow for the vacation I've been talking about! I had planned to get next week's FMS card done in advance, but I have not gotten it done so it will be a couple of weeks before I'm back on the blog!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Thoughts of Easter Sentiments and dies

Dies: Reverse Confetti Cross, Simon Says Stamp Simple Stems

Paper: Stampin' Up dsp in Daffodil Delight, Pool Party and Wild Wasabi

For Some Bunny Special

I definitely needed a bunny card for Easter given my son's answer when I asked about his very-serious girlfriend's favorite things so I could make cards she loved was bunnies and strawberries.   It also was a great excuse to buy a couple of the Nordic Bunnies by Poppystamps!

I love the entire Nordic series by Poppystamps and I'm not just talking the bunnies. They have leaves and flowers, butterflies and birds, wreaths and trees and snowmen, and even a moose.  I don't have everything but I do have a really good sampling! I wanted the sweet bunnies to be the focus so I simply added a floral embossed background and the sentiment (which is also from Poppystamps.)

I haven't seen my oldest son since he moved to Michigan nor have I met the girlfriend.  We tried last fall but it turns out that living in a big college football town significantly impacts the availability of flights and hotels. My son highly recommended we not come in the winter so are finally going in May.  We have our flights booked and nothing is going to get in the way!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps For Some Bunny Special, Nordic Bundled Bunny, Nordic Happy Bunny

Cardstock: MFT Natural, PTI Soft Stone, TE Toffee, Stampin' Up Crisp Cantaloupe, Groovy Guava, Pistachio Pudding, Mint Macaron, Barely Banana, Soft Saffron

Other: Spellbinders Hydrangea Blooms EF

Freshly Made Sketches: Forgiven

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! 

The cross is one of my favorites. It's retired, but it will always stay in my collection. Although hard to tell in the picture, I cut the cloth in white and spritzed it with sparkle to make it stand out. Then to follow the sketch, I added some lavender dots behind the cross using Stampin' Up's Gorgeous Grunge. I don't often add "grunge" like that, but I should do it more often - it really makes the cross pop.

And I have another Easter card ready to go!!  

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Gorgeous Grunge

Dies: Impression Obsession Easter Words, Taylored Expressions Old Rugged cross

Paper: Stampin' Up Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape, Taylored Expressions Kraft Woodgrain Cardstock

Ink: Taylored Expressions Lavendar Glaze

Other: Stampin' Up Distressed Tile Embossing Folder, Honey Bee Stamps Prism Gem Stickers

Freshly Made Sketches: Cross in a Circle

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!

The sentiment is from Verve Stamps which is sadly closed. I've been talking about downsizing and having to make hard decisions. But the easiest decision is that I will keep every Verve set that I have! I layered it under the Cross in a Circle by Alexandra Renke. I wanted to keep it very soft so I went with Stampin' Up's Petal Pink and their Country Lace dsp.  The background is their Eyelet 3D embossing folder but note that after I embossed it, I flattened it by running the embossed piece back through between two plates.  The embossing folder creates a fabulous 3D look but I was going for soft and subtle.

This is only my second Easter card of the year and I send quite a few. I had a moment of panic when I realized how far behind I was, but it turns out Easter isn't until April 20th this year so it turns out I have time to make my cards. Then I had another realization. My son and I scheduled vacation over that weekend without even realizing it was Easter. (We're leaving my husband behind to care for the elderly cat.) We'll be gone for the Maundy Thursday service, the Good Friday service and then we won't hear the organ thundering "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" on Easter morning. Not to mention the wonderful brunch we'd come home to. How will spring start without us being part of all of that??!

It's not a big vacation but I'm very excited. We're exploring Idaho. There are a lot of job opportunities for my son there and after he did a quick roadtrip there last year, he came home and said "Not that I want you guys following me, but have you thought about retiring to Idaho? You'd love it." I've never been, so he and I are flying to Boise and then exploring multiple medium and small towns east of there across the state. It looks amazing and might have everything my husband and I are looking for.  He and our son are going back later in the summer so my husband can explore the fly-fishing options which is his only retirement plan. It is surprising how much that plan limits our choices but so far I love the areas on our list. 

I'm clearly feeling chatty - and I'm sure you'd rather be making your card. I hope see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Verve Egg-stra Special

Dies: Alexandra Renke Cross in a Circle, Taylored Expressions Banner Stacklets, Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Strips

Paper: Stampin' Up Country Lace, Perennial Essence Vellum, cardstock in Petal Pink and Smoky Slate

Ink: Stampin' Up Smoky Slate

Other: Stampin' Up Pretty Pink & Pretty Peacock Foiled Gems, Eyelet 3D embossing folder

Freshly Made Sketches: Easter Greetings

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!

As I'm looking at the calendar, I need to get moving on Easter cards. I saw this sketch and my heart sank a little because those rectangles wouldn't easily be Easter eggs or bunnies or a cross or any typical Easter icon. But then as I was flipping through my stuff hoping for inspiration, the palm dies by The Greetery caught my eye and from there it was a fairly easy leap to create three little scenes.

I really like how this turned out. Maybe I'm ready for fresh spring colors. Or maybe I just adore the these bunnies from Impression Obsessions so it didn't matter at all how the card looked - the bunnies made me smile! 

I did struggle with the sentiment. Turns out I don't have many small sentiment strips for Easter and the newer ones that I have just weren't the right look for the card. The one I eventually found came from the way-back file - it was a wood-mounted stamp and could easily be 20 years old - but I like it. Although I am supposedly in the process of organizing and downsizing, what I've just learned it that I cannot get rid of anything because you never know when a 20-year old stamp might come in handy!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: A Muse Easter Greetings (very old!)

Dies: The Greetery BotaniCut Palms, Impression Obsession Bunny Buddies and Easter Gnomes (just the egg), Poppystamps Nordic Flower Heads, My Favorite Things Pierced Rectangles

Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Pink Champagne and Peapod, Stampin' Up Daffodil Delight and Peach Pie

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: 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: 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: Carrot Bunny

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 just had two cards that needed to be made this weekend - Easter for my 27- and 23-year old sons. Easter is a hard one because they really aren't interest in soft pastels and cute little bunnies.  But I thought this quirky Sizzix/Tim Holtz Carrot Bunny would work and then when I found paper from Paper Rose in these neutrals, I was ecstatic. Using it all on this sketch gave me a bit of a pause - I really hadn't planned on an oval nor on a small sentiment. Then the lightbulb came on that a sentiment fit on that big carrot. All in all this was a quick and easy card - great products and a fun sketch helped!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Impress Spring Words

Dies: Sizzix/Tim Holtz Carrot Bunny

Paper: Paper Rose Eggs-quisite Days, Stampin' Up Sahara Sand, Delightful Dijon and Bumblebee (I keep all of my retired paper - I have colors that I bet most of you don't even remember!)

Easter Bouquet

I got all of my Easter cards out to prepare for mailing later in the week and realized I was one short.  Darn. I just had to put those envelopes aside and make another card.  Luckily I had recently purchased the Spellbinders Sealed Bouquet which I used for this trio of leaves and flowers.

I have seen some stunning cards using the Sealed Bouquet and others from the Sealed line. They are all tall like these because the point is to "seal" them with a wax seal where they come together.  I don't have the wax part, but I LOVE the tall blooms. I've seen amazing full bouquets using these.  There's even a fourth in this set - a berry branch.  And then you can start combining sets. I started with this one (and a Christmas set) but I have others on my wishlist!

I had cut the shiny Easter for another card and didn't end up using it. I love that it was ready to go for me today - and it's even layered up a couple of times which is a pain to do on these fine line dies, but I'd already done it.  It was definitely a happy cardmaking day!

Now I have to get back to those envelopes.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Memory Box/Open Studio Springtime Typewriter Sentiments

Dies: Spellbinders Sealed Bouquet, The Greetery Let's Have a Word Easter die

Paper: Stampin' Up Granny Apple Green, Parakeet Party, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Flirty Flamingo and Champagne Foil, Taylored Expressions Cupcake

Other: Spellbinders Hydrangea Blooms Embossing Folder (Feb 2023 club)

Easter Gnomes!

Both the Global Design Project and Hand Stamped Sentiments gave me the inspiration for this Easter card for my husband. 

This might not be the most exciting or creative card that I've ever made, but it is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for my husband. A big thank you to the challenges for helping with that.  First - the gnomes. Going back to Christmas, I had just planned on minimal decorating but it turned out that my box of favorite decorations was hiding behind and under all the rest of the decorations in a tiny closet.  So I actually considered not decorating.  Then I was wandering Hobby Lobby one day and a quirky little gnome just begged to be taken home.  Christmas at Hobby Lobby was 60 to 70% off at that point so why not grab some decorations that I could consider "disposable".  My husband couldn't believe his eyes when my beautiful decorations suddenly became a couple of the tackiest gnomes that I could find (I walked right by the sweet and charming gnomes) and then it was downhill from there.  We started trying to out-gnome each other!  And I ended up keeping all of them!!  My favorite was a pillow he found with two little gray-haired gnomes holding hands with her braids and his beard being 3D. Now it's Easter and I doubt it's even occurred to him that gnomes work for Easter too so when I saw these Easter gnome dies, I got giddy!

The sentiment is self-explanatory for any of you who are a certain age! Years ago, I started taking notes where the eggs were.  Sad, huh??  This stamp popped up in the new category at Simon Says months ago and was out of stock before I got it ordered. Luckily, they got it back just a week or so ago and I got it in time for Easter.

Isn't this all just why we do this hobby?  I have the perfect card for the recipient!!

An apology to Hand Stamped Sentiments. I tried so hard to just use those colors plus neutrals. I found a brown that had an orange tone for the carrot - but I just couldn't do it - so a little bit of orange just crept in. 

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Riley & Company Funny Bones Hide Our Own Eggs

Dies: Impression Obsession Easter Gnomes, Poppystamps Little Bits of Turf

Paper: Stampin' Up Fresh Freesia, Pear Pizzazz and Balmy Blue, Taylored Expressions Candy Corn, Papertrey Ink Cocoa Bean

Ink: Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate

The Paper Players: Spring Has Sprung

The challenge this week at The Paper Players is a Clean and Simple Challenge: Spring Has Sprung. I just got a sweet new flower die that I wanted to use for an Easter card. I added some cheerful and springy sunrise colors behind it.

I fell in love with the Simon Says Stamp Posy die.  I needed another flower die like a hole in the head - but I didn't have anything quite like this. It is so sweet and so unique. In keeping with the clean and simple part of the challenge, all I did was added some sunrise stripes behind it and stuck it all to a scalloped frame. I did decide to emboss the background; I wanted it to be softer than stark white. I didn't even stamp the sentiment - it's clipped from a pre-printed set!

I actually posted five days this week.  It's been a long LONG time since I've done that. I know it wasn't serious and life-changing but my broken wrist and ankle last fall really made me take a look at everything I was doing.  First, I have to focus more on health and exercise - the broken stuff was a fluke accident but it really showed me how quickly things can change.  Second, my husband and I want to do more long weekends away - we did a road trip last fall that was spectacular and we want more of those.  Third, I'm an empty-nester and I want to start doing what I want to do and when I want to do it.  (That probably sounded a bit like a crotchety old lady, didn't it??)  The gist of all of this is I let go of two of my design teams.  It was SO hard - I loved them both. And it wasn't so much that I didn't like making the cards, but I HAD to do it and it HAD to be ready on a certain date and it HAD to be good.  Not to mention the photography side of it - getting a good picture is the worst part of blogging. So now I'll make the cards I want and I'll do it when I want!!  Last weekend, I wanted to make cards. Then if the picture isn't good - oh well.  I know good pictures make a difference, but I know I'll have some bad ones mixed in with the good. (I had one this week that it about killed me not to re-do!)

Enough about me - just wanted you aware of some changes around here.

Thanks to The Paper Players for the inspiration to use this beautiful Posy!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Posy, Stampin' Up Scalloped Contours

Paper: Stampin' Up Coastal Cabana, Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight, Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist, Taylored Expressions Cupcake

Other: Simon Says Stamp Reverse Easter Wishes (not the same as the Reverse Easter set), Stampin' Up Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder

Poppystamps: Joyful Bunny

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with some joyful Spring Bunnies with their glittery Farm Fresh Eggs in a field of beautiful flowers!

This card all started with that Spring Bunny.  He's one of two in the set. They are an older die set. As exciting as new releases are, there are some wonderful older products that will never leave my stash. Notice his fluffy tail!  

I loved creating the field of glittery eggs and fresh white flowers. I framed the scene and backed it all with two from my favorite blue trio from Memory Box' Stormy Blue cardstock pad. It's all such a soft look - just perfect for Easter!

There are many more pictures and details on the Poppystamps blog!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Colorful Life clear stamp set

Dies: Poppystamps Spring Bunnies, Farm Fresh Eggs, Potpourri Flower Set, Layered Pointy Petals, Teardrop Butterflies, Scalloped Stitch Frames

Paper: Memory Box Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad and Stormy Blue cardstock pad

Other: Open Studio Pastel Jewels

CAS Colours: Happy Easter

I LOVE the fresh spring color combo at CAS Colours and Sketches.  I've never really embraced Highland Heather so I took the challenge and added to my Easter stash.

Everything on this card arrived in my mailbox on Friday! The Fancy Happy Easter is new from Simon Says Stamp. Then I've had their Fab Flower on my wishlist for a while and since it seemed just right with the look of the Easter sentiment, it went into the order too.  Ditto for the Spellbinders embossing folder - it's such a fun and cheerful look! I knew I wanted to use them all together and then with the color combo, it was the time to do it!

A big thank you to CAS Colours & Sketches for the inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Simon Says Fancy Happy Easter and Fab Flower

Paper: Stampin' Up Highland Heather CS and various new and old patterned dsp in Highland Heather, Daffodil Delight and Parakeet Party

Other: Spellbinders Hand Drawn Scallops Embossing Folder, Pink & Main Enamel Dots

The Color Throwdown: He Is Risen

With extra crafting time over this three-day weekend, I started thinking about Easter cards. With a cold wind howling outside my window, I was struggling to get any ideas for a sweet spring card. When I'm stuck, I always turn to my favorite challenges for a kickstart and sure enough, it was the Color Throwdown to the rescue!

This was a surprising inspiration for me because it has three of my least-used colors.  I am so not a yellow fan and cream kind of falls into that dislike.  Our likes and dislikes always amaze/confuse me because so many other people will list yellow as a favorite color but I just can't embrace it (unless it's more of a rich golden color).  Ditto for pink. I don't dislike it quite so much.  In fact, if you glance back at my cards you'll see an awful lot of Stampin' Up's Flirty Flamingo but just like my gold vs. yellow differentiation, the flamingo color just feels richer to me.  But the challenge was specifically light pink so I tried!

This card is really all about the embossing folder. There seems to be a new passion for embossing folders across the industry.  I've been doing this card thing for a very long time and at one point, I had a huge drawer full of embossing folders and used them on every single card.  But about 4 years ago, when we were moving after 25 years in the same house - I did a major cleanout and, at that time, embossing folders just weren't the big thing so I let go of all but my favorites.  SO many regrets over that. On the other hand, it allows me to bring new folders into my stash!  AND it turns out that Spellbinders has embossing folders of the month clubs - both regular and 3D.  This is the one that convinced me.  It's February's folder from the regular embossing folder card.  

Thanks to The Color Throwdown for the inspiration to start my Easter card stash!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Simon Says Stamp He Is Risen, Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms

Paper: Stampin' Up Petal Pink and So Saffron, Taylored Expressions Granny Apple Green, Peapod and Buttercream Frosting, Recollections (Michaels) Pearl Pad

Other: Spellbinders Hydrangea Blooms EF (February EF of the month), Studio Katia Vintage Shimmer Pearls

The Card Concept: Holiday Gatherings

There's a new inspiration challenge at The Card Concept: Holiday Gatherings. My Clean and Layered card was "inspired" by the colors and the neutral elegance of the scene in the photo.

This card definitely evolved while I worked on it.  I didn't start out planning on Easter card. I did start with the idea of an elegant bouquet using the rich green and a metallic color. After I settled on the green and the linen color, I started seeing the potential for Easter - it would be rich and elegant yet also hopeful with the sweet spring tulips. Not only did the card work, but Easter is our next big holiday gathering so it fit right into the theme!!  But at that point, the gold metallics that I had pulled were just too bold for my soft card so I switched to champagne.  I was definitely inspired by the colors; I just kind of took a left turn along the way!

I hope to see you playing along with us! The theme is Holiday Gatherings with that gorgeous tablescape as inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Verve Egg-stra Special

Dies: Kat Scrappiness Layered Tulip Bouquet Die Set, Stampin' Up Scalloped Contours

Paper: Papertrey Ink Fine Linen, Pinefeather, Stampin' Up Champagne Foil

Ink: Papertrey Ink Pinefeather

Other: Stampin' Up Champagne Rhinestones

The Card Concept: Easter Blessings

There’s a new inspiration challenge at The Card Concept: Easter Blessings! My Clean and Layered card was inspired by the various patterns, the "Easter Blessings" sign, and the colors.

The Impression Obsession Bunny Buddies has eight bunnies!  But I got the set for this particular bunny (and one other sweetie who is looking up). Then when I went looking for carrots, I saw the older Spellbinders Hop Into Spring Small Die of the Month set. It had the carrots and the flowers - and it has also absolutely charming bunnies.  I probably should have switched my bunnies to stick with one set (I tend to obsessively stick with one company (or a couple) on each card) but the little guy that I used had my heart.

I used a bold sentiment from Kat Scrappiness inspired by the sign in the inspiration. I put it on woodgrain (just like the sign). The buffalo check in the background came from the bunny next to the sign. 

There's so much to be inspired by in the photo! I hope to see you playing along with us at The Card Concept.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Kat Scrappiness Easter Blessings, Impressions Obsession Bunny Buddies, Spellbinders Hop Into Spring - Small Die of the Month (carrots "grass" and flowers)

Paper: Doodlebug Designs Buffalo Check-Woodgrain Rainbow Petite Prints, Taylored Expressions Candy Corn, Peapod, Granny Apple Green, Sprinkles, Sea Salt

Other: Studio Katia Champagne Pearls

Poppystamps: Farm Fresh Eggs for Easter

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with this fresh and clean Easter card.

I used the Farm Fresh Eggs with a splattering of different colors. Then I tucked them behind the Flower Field Corner and added a sweet little bunny from the Spring Bunnies set cut from felt.

I love this grouping but it was a bit too small for a full card front so I added Double Scalloped Stitched Frame. I love the accent and it gave me a smaller space to fill (so made the eggs and the bunny a more prominent focal point). I love that the Splendid Happy Easter fit perfectly. And I topped it all off with a Grosgrain Bow.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Splendid Happy Easter, Spring Bunnies, Farm Fresh Eggs, Flower Field corner, Double Scalloped Stitched Frames, Grosgrain Bow

Paper: Memory Box Vibrant Violet and Sunny Orange paper packs

Other: Open Studio Pastel Jewels