Freshly Made Sketches: Sympathy with Floral Doodles

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 pulled the colors from the washi tape. I had already added texture to the background and like it before I realized the sketch showed the sentiment directly on the background. I simply added a black sentiment strip which made the sentiment pop so ended up working out well. Obviously I branched out from the square on the sketch. I had planned on putting a square behind the flowers, but as I added the leaves and the tulip, the square would have just been too big. 

The flower dies are gorgeous.  I love the layers.  I went with white on the top layer to keep the card very fresh and clean - but could easily add coordinating colors. There are other options in the die set so I definitely will be doing an even bigger bouquet in the future.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Round & Round

Dies: Altenew Floral Doodles Die Set, Altenew Featured Sentiments die set

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler, Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake

Other: Stampin' Up Tasteful Textiles embossing folder, Carpe Diem washi tape, Pretty Pink Posh Seaglass

Fab Friday: Garden Floral Stencil

I have not used a lot of stencils.  Maybe a few as light backgrounds but not much more than that.  No reason for it, I just have so many other products, why deal with one more?!  But finally, not only did I use a stencil but I used a five layer stencil!  I might be a convert because I love the results.

I didn't spend any time thinking about this one.  It was really supposed to be a practice image.  I pulled out some colors that I knew would blend.  Then when I got this big flower done and decided I liked it, I wasn't sure how to use it. I'm kind of a small-little-groupings cardmaker - these big things stump me.  Fab Friday to the rescue!

The fabulous design team for Fab Friday are Stampin' Up demonstrators although it's OK with them if our cards don't use Stampin' Up products.  I have more than my fair share of SU products and I felt a tad guilty not using them. So at the last minute, I added a background using the  Stampin' Up Tasteful Textiles embossing folder! I like it - it gave it a nice soft look. The pinkish color is also Stampin' Up - I adore Flirty Flamingo - which is amusing because #1 I don't like pinks and #2 when I read other blogs I notice that many others actively dislike it!

This was fun and so much easier than I would have expected. I think I'm going to go try some different color combos!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Avery Elle Simple Sentiments

Stencil: Pinkfresh Garden Florals set 

Dies: Pinkfresh Garden Florals, Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangles, Scalloped Rectangles

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo

Other: Stampin' Up Tasteful Textiles Embossing Folder, Pretty Pink Posh Marigold jewels

Poppystamps: A Whittle Animal Lover

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with this card for an animal lover!!

I love that row of Whittles - they make me smile.  I did this for a co-worker who adores animals and loves blue, but can you imagine it in pink with the Whittle Unicorn and hearts.  Or what about with about a bold stripes and various zoo animals from the Whittles line?

Check out the Poppystamps blog for all the details.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Happy Birthday Poe Script, Whittle Birds, Whittle Rabbit, Whittle Cupcake, Whittle Paper Hedgehog, Whittle Mouse

Paper: Memory Box Garden Folly

The Card Concept: A Big Hi

It's time for a new challenge at The Card Concept.  The theme is Welcome Wee One with a fabulous nursery as the inspiration photo.  I don't need any baby cards, but here's what I came up with.

The main thing I saw in this photo was the variety of patterns and colors.  That's not something I'm good at.  I'm very matchy-matchy.  (As a proof story - about 2 1/2 years ago, we bought a new house for the first time in 30 years.  I fell in love with a house. We got in a bidding war and many would say we overpaid for it.  We don't see it that way.  It was totally finished in ways that I adored but am truly terrible at it. Like the bathrooms have tile and flooring that aren't matchy-matchy - but are absolutely perfect together! Don't even get me started on the richly colored accent walls. My craft room has a fabulous rust wall - one of my favorites - but the living room is a calm and relaxing blue. So for us it was move-in ready and totally worth the price.)

That was a serious sidetrack!  In the inspiration photo I saw stripes in the throw, a pattern in the rug (although I didn't use animal print), and the colorful curtains.  I also saw a unique mix of navy (I think that's the striped throw but it might be black), peachy/pink and aquas.  There's also a hint of greenery on the dresser. I pulled out a giant "hi" and added patterns and colors around that.

BTW - continuing on my theme of the last week of organizing - one of the things I did was purchase this packet organizer from Amazon (another version is on Simon Says Stamp which is where I first noticed it). I was going to use it for scraps but I ended up pre-cutting a variety of standard-sized cards and fronts, and I also added all of the white backgrounds and frames that I had created and never used.  The background on this card is out of that stash.

I'm new on The Card Concept design team, but I have decided that I truly love inspiration photos.  They take me in new directions.  I really like my card today but it's not a card I would ever have come up with on my own.  And that's why they call them challenges! I hope to see you playing along.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: The Stamp Market Hi, Altenew Dotted Swirls Debossing Cover Die, Memory Box Scribble Leafy Branch Outline

Paper: Sunny Studio Dots & Stripes Pastel, Stampin' Up Pool Party and Mint Macaron, Taylored Expressions blue corn (the flowers are washi tape - I don't know where it's from)

Freshly Made Sketches: Big Hugs & Lots of Love

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 mentioned last week that I did a major clean-out of my crafting/work-at-home space and that I have a large basket of things I wanted to try.  There's nothing obvious on today's card, but I did use Altenew's Large Ink Blending Tool.  I got one that I planned specifically to use with stencils and white ink so using a stencil as the stripe on the sketch was the perfect chance to try it out.  

I think this blending tool is worth it!  Maybe I'll even use more of my stash of stencils if I have easier tools!!  (I do have other blending tools to try over the next few weeks - but I purchased this one specifically for white ink.)

Also new to me is the "Big Hugs" from Hero Arts that comes with a variety of matching sentiment stamps. I can see this set getting a lot of use - especially until social-distancing is a thing of the past (knock on wood!)

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Hero Arts Big Hugs Stamp & Cut (includes Big Hugs die)

Dies: Taylored Expressions Petite Scallop Rectangles, Stitched Rectangle Stacklets, Double-Ended Stackers

Other: Taylored Expressions Mini Slim Stencil - On the Dot, Fun Stampers Journey Bloom Time sequins

Poppystamps Leafy Vines Slim Plate Two Ways

 I am on the Poppystamps blog today and am thrilled to share some of the new Spring release. It is full of Easter dies and beautiful new sentiments - and even a couple of slimline dies!!  Today I'm using the Leafy Vines Slim Plate but I couldn't quite decide whether to use it horizontally or vertically so I did both!!

Here's vertical.  This looked like a fabulous setting for some brightly colored birds along with the brand new Happy Birthday Poe Script die which is cut out of Memory Box black glitter to keep it fancy!

I also like the die used horizontally. To me it looks like a tangle of growth, perfect for wildflowers and butterflies!  The flowers and butterflies are also new (part of the amazing Fern and Daisy Pop Up Easel set) as is the Splendid Happy Easter die.

Check out the Poppystamps blog for all of the details!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Leafy Vines Slim Plate, Chirping Birds, Happy Birthday Poe Script, Fern and Easy Pop Up Easel set, Splendid Happy Easter.

Glitter Paper: black is from Memory Box Frosted Glitter Pad and the orange/yellow is from the new Memory Box Graceful Garden Glitter Pad.

CAS on Friday: Birthday Love

I went insane this week and I ended up spending hours upon hours clean and organizing my craft space. It's my happy place and I love the big window and the tall ceiling and the built-ins.  However, it's also my work space right now.  I just saw a commercial for Tuff Sheds in which they are recommending getting a Tuff Shed for a home office so you can leave the space behind at the end of your work day.  That's the problem I'm having - and I'm not kidding that I'm going a little insane.  As much as I love this space, I never leave it.  Now it's my happy place and my stressed out space. I don't want to work in a Tuff Shed so I stared at my space for a long time and I decided that if I really organized and in the process made the difficult decision to get rid of things that haven't seen the light of day, I could quickly and easily switch out my spaces.  The work stuff has a place to hide when I'm crafting - and my crafting stuff doesn't cover everything when I'm working. 

One of the things that came out of my flurry of organizing was a basket full of products that I had purchased intending to experiment with or needing to pick the best option.  For instance, I have a shockingly high number of paints and sprays that bloggers promised made splattering easy so you'll be seeing a lot of splatters on my card.  But not today.  

Today I pulled some Altenew ink out of the basket.  I'm a full collection kind of person - and I already have full collections of inks/cardstock from six companies!  I know...it's a sickness.  I recently saw a discussion on people's favorite inks and Altenew showed up a lot so I've been thinking about adding a seventh company!!  When I ordered from them a while back, I tucked in the Rainbow Prism 6-pack of mini-inks. I decided they were today's experiment.

Then I saw the the current challenge at CAS on Friday: Love. The lightbulb came on.  I haven't used the Mini Delight: Birthday Love set also from Altenew.  This mini set doesn't have balloon strings, but I also recently got some basic Altenew washi that could substitute.  And to really get carried away with the same company - the sentiment is cut from the Altenew Featured Sentiments die set that I got for the rounded edges.  

I liked the inks - maybe not enough to go full collection (only because I already have six full collections and they've recently been organized!)  However, I think with the collection I picked, I missed out on the full benefit of these inks and that is those sets that include dark to light of the same general color to be used for layering stamps. That is something I do not have in my collection so I'll try one of those before I render judgement.  I like the coverage I got with it but it took a few tries each time because these inks don't play well with the baby wipes I used to clean. (FYI - I use Costco baby wipes as recommended by Jennifer McGuire.  Her most recent "My Favorite Crafty Things" video said try micro-fiber cloths.  My problem is the cats that walk across the desk and into my lap multiple times a day. No matter how well groomed they are, they drop fur everywhere. So I prefer baby wipes so I can use a fresh, unfurred one each time!)

Thanks to CAS on Friday for the inspiration!!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Altenew Mini Delight: Birthday Love with die

Dies: Altenew Featured Sentiments

Ink: Altenew Rainbow Prism set - Ruby Red, Orange Cream, Warm Sunshine, Parrot, Lagoon and Deep Iris

Other: Altenew Delicate Stripes Washi Tape, Pretty Pink Posh Glossy Black gems