Freshly Made Sketches: Fall Greetings

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! 

 

It's a beautiful cool day outside my window.  I think I might actually see fall colors on the big red maple and the aspen outside my windows. This is our third fall in this house.  The first fall was stunning - they are huge trees and turned brilliant fall colors.  The second fall had a hard freeze just at the wrong time so all the leaves turned brown before they turned fall colors. We did have a freeze already this year - we set all kinds of heat and cold and weather change records (a 70 degree drop) in early September - but I'm seeing some fall colors so fingers crossed.

All the stamps and dies on this card are from Honey Bee Stamps. I used the Fall stamp and die for the sentiment on this set.  This year's release included an Autumn stamp and die set.  I've ordered it, but it's not here yet, so I'm happy to have gotten the older "Fall" and it fits perfectly on this sketch.  The flowers are from their Fall Bouquets set.  You should check out the samples on this set. This stunning card on their blog is what sold me on it.  There's a big pumpkin and a mason jar die in which you can arrange entire bouquets and the samples are gorgeous.  (Just want you to see a true bouquet with this set since I just used a couple of the dies.)

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Honey Bee Stamps Fall

Dies: Honey Bee Stamps Fall Honey Cuts and Fall Bouquets Honey Cuts

Christmas Kickstart: White on White

 I'm within an hour of missing the challenge at Christmas Kickstart. I had intended to play since it was first posted - time got away from me!!  It's White on White. I read the post carefully and a hint of  silver or gold is acceptable.  With an hour to go, I had to rely entirely on a fabulous die and some sparkly paper!

I'm not thrilled with my three little gold enamel dots.  I was trying to bring in the gold from the sentiment.  I like when people use a white pen on colored flowers to give it them little sunspot - and that's what I was trying to do.  Now that I see the photo - they kind of seem awkward.  Maybe three on each flower would have been better? Or maybe they should have gone between the flowers?  Too late - there is very strong adhesive beneath them!!

The paper is from Michaels.  They have glitter papers that I really like. They aren't chunky glitter; it's more of a sparkle.  This one even says it works in an ink-jet printer although I'm not sure I'd want to try it.

Thanks to Christmas Kickstart for the inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Hello Bluebird Quiet Christmas (sentiment)

Dies: Paper Rose Poinsettia Border

Poppystamps: Whittle Notes

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with four "Whittle" 3x3 notes for our kids' lunchboxes or backpacks and one regular card for the older kids.  Full details are over there, but here's a peek.

Sometimes with small dies, it can be hard to figure out how to fill a full-size card.  I like to group and layer the dies - my Poppystamps card from last week is an example - but another way is creating these smaller format cards.  I have two sons but my "kids" are 24 and 20 and are away at college so I don't have lunchboxes or backpacks to tuck notes into. My kids still need encouragement so I used the same idea of small square, but put it onto the front of a full-size card with a strip of patterned paper.

The Whittle Fox has to be my favorite Whittle just for the expression on his face - he goes perfectly with the sentiment.  This is exactly how my kids are feeling right now.  There's a lot of unexpected adulting - "how many people in this room - do we meet COVID restrictions" and "darn - I'm quarantined for two weeks - how do I keep up with classes" or "I'm president of a club that can't meet - how do I keep the club going".  I love sending them cards and they love whatever gift card I put inside!!

The monthly challenge at Poppystamps also happens to be Cards for Kids.  It's already the end of the month - there's only 3 days left for the challenge but check it out.  There are prizes!  (You do have to use at least one Poppystamps image or die.)

SUPPLY LIST - all Poppystamps unless noted

Stamps:

Whittle Sayings (the four little notecards)

Whittle Everyday (the adult stamps)

Dies:

Whittle Birds

Whittle Wood Frames

Whittle Clouds

Whittle Mouse

Whittle Hearts

Whittle Squirrel

Whittle Oak Leaf

Whittle Deer

Whittle Trees

Whittle Sleepy Fox

Memory Box Stitched Rectangle Trimmings (these are thin rectangle frames with stitched accents - I trimmed a straight piece of it for the ground)

Paper:

Memory Box Garden Folly 6x6 pad

Freshly Made Sketches: Hello Lovely Anniversary

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!

  

 

I send one anniversary card each year and it's this weekend, so the theme of my card was a given.  The Hello Lovely flower image from Concord & 9th was just right for my sister-in-law. She's way into black and white so I loved the idea of not coloring the flowers and having them cross the stripe in the sketch which I turned into three colors to give it some extra pop.  

The stripes are not on top of the white background because that always causes problems with some of the stamped image not showing right at the drop-off between the stripes and the white.  So I took the time to cut the top white panel, the three stripes and the bottom. My stamp positioner was critical because I could line them up and use some temporary adhesive down the left side.  Plus it allowed me to stamp it a couple of times to get the vivid black. 

Thanks to Jacquie for the inspiration! I hope to see all of you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Concord & 9th Hello Lovely

Dies: Poppystamps Simple Happy Anniversary (ret)

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Mango Melody, Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green

CAS(E) this Sketch: Thankful

I love the current sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch. There's a big bouquet and the sketch has a transparent overlay so you can see all of the details.  I don't do a lot of big stamps but I have a set I've wanted to use with a big bouquet.  Then I flipped through my sentiment dies, saw two other dies I hadn't used it and went in an entirely different direction.  I always have to embrace inspiration when it hits because sometimes that mojo takes a long vacation!!   (Never fear - the big bouquet is on my FMS card for tomorrow!)

I think these two dies from Poppystamps and Memory Box are stunning.  The Poppystamps Gentle Leaf Collage is retired; however, my go-to for older dies (and brand new!) is starlitstudio and it is there as I type this. It's such a graceful set of leaves.  I first fell in love with it on this card. It's an entirely different look and it made me think it would be perfect for sympathy cards. 

The sentiment is from Memory Box and is part of the Jotted Script series of dies.  I love the bold look and have a number of them.

I added a little sparkle to the sentiment to make it pop.  And if can't see it well, the little brown pieces are brushed metallic so give it even more shine.

Thanks to CAS(E) this Sketch for the inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Gentle Leaf Collage, Memory Box Thankful Jotted Script

Other: Simon Says Stamp Autumn Leaves sequins, Tsukineko Sparkle Shimmer Stix

CAS Colours & Sketches: Give Thanks

I love the fall color palette CAS Colours & Sketches and they've included Mango Melody which might be at the very top of my favorite colors right now. Recently I did a card using Stampin' Up's Stitched Leaves and I mentioned that I love their versatility - that they also create stitched window openings. So I decided that's what I'd do with these colors!

I'm not sure the branches were a great choice.  I like the idea of them and I needed to add some Cinnamon Cider, but I wanted to stick with Stampin' Up products and this is all I could find. I colored a few gems because as much as I love the colors of autumn, I also love the "sparkle" at the end of the day at the golden hour - or in the morning when there's a bit of frost.

SUPPLY LIST

All products by Stampin' Up

Stamps: Jar of Love (the branches), Arrange a Wreath (sentiment)

Dies: Everyday Jars Framelits (the branches), Stitched Leaves, Layering Squares

Paper: Plaid Tidings dsp, Cherry Cobbler and Mango Melody cardstock

Ink: Cinnamon Cider

Poppystamps: An Autumn Hello

 I am thrilled to announce that I am now part of the Poppystamps design team.  I definitely love dies and I love all of their products.  Here are other recent cards that I've made using Poppystamps' stamps and dies.

I posted a "hello" card on the Poppystamps blog today.  It is all about my favorite things - clean and fresh, little groupings of dies, and autumn colors.  Here it is, but check out all of the details on the blog.

I love all the detail on these dies.  I didn't do any coloring or highlighting and they still stand out.  I did add lots of dimension by not adhering the ends of the leaves and by using two different thicknesses of pop dots.

I'm looking forward to many future posts using these fabulous dies!!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Brush Hello, Colwell Label Set, Orchard Leaves, Whittle Squirrel, Pile of Pumpkins