Freshly Made Sketches 709

It's my turn to be the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I went with my favorite kind of card design...a square one!  I don't know why I love them so much but I do!

I used this gorgeous Stampin' Up! patterned paper as my background.  I usually can't figure out how to incorporate paper with bold designs onto my cards, but I thought this one would be perfect for a background.  The horizontal flags added some nice contrast as well as the layered rectangles that I used for the sentiment.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  As always, my fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some awesome cards with my sketch.  So humbling.  A big shout to out to all of them who put up with my long absences. 💟

Supplies

Stamps:  Inside Greetings - Peace Stamp Set (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Whisper White, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Treasures DSP (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories:  Fishtail Flags STAX die, Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX die (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 700!

It's a very special day today!  At Freshly Made Sketches we are celebrating our 700th sketch challenge!  I can hardly believe it!  The challenge debuted on September 7, 2011 and here we are nearly 14 years later, and we're still at it!

To commemorate the event we are resurrecting our Sketch #14 - for 14 years - and I'm going to show you not only my redux of the card I made with that sketch, but my original one, AND the first card that I made for our debut!  So here goes!

Here's my new card.  My original one was a Christmas card so I decided to make another for this challenge...plus it doesn't hurt to add to my Christmas card stash.  Lord knows I don't create anywhere near the volume that I used to so every card helps. 😉 This is one of my favorite poinsettia dies and I love how it looks in the deep red of SU! Cherry Cobbler.

This is the card I made for the original #14 challenge which was from December 7, 2011.  I remember at the time I was enamored of making wreaths by stamping a small snowflake stamp over and over again in a circle until it resembled a wreath.  Add some small hand -drawn circles to resemble berries, some gorgeous patterned paper and a pretty bow, and I had a lovely Christmas card!

And if you'll indulge me for just a moment I want to show you the card that I made for our inaugural sketch.  I was really into patterned paper in those days and I still love how it can enliven a card.  I also used to do quite a bit of stitching on my cards too...still have my Janome mini so maybe I should try that some more!

A lot has changed these last 14 years.  I've got more wrinkles, don't craft nearly as much as I want to, but I still love the joy of creating something lovely.  I'm incredibly lucky to be a part of the Freshly Made Sketches team and I'm grateful that they put up with my long absences. 😝 I'm happy to know that our team inspires each and every one of you each week to create something that you love.  After all, that's what this crafty journey is all about!

Thanks for stopping by!  And once again, our Freshly Made Sketches design team has got some wonderful cards to, once again, inspire you to play along with us. 

Supplies
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Jolly Holiday, Silver Glimmer (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Stitched Mini Scallop Square die (My Favorite Things); Blooming Poinsettia die (Memory Box); brads (Stampin' Up!)

Freshly Made Sketches 684

Hi friends!  It's my turn to be the sketch hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches and I think I went a bit old-school with a multi-layered design.  I was feeling a little nostalgic for some patterned paper so that's what lead to this particular sketch design.

And even though spring is here and the flowers are blooming where I live, I settled on a Christmas card this week.  Gotta add those to my stash!  

Thanks for stopping by!  Our always amazing Freshly Made Sketches design team have made some fantastic cards this week!

Supplies:
Paper:  Whisper White, Soft Suede, Christmas Cocoa (Stampin' Up!)
Stamps:  Spruce & Sprigs (Papertrey Ink); Joy Stamp (The Stamp Market)
Ink:  Cloudy Sky, Crimson, Evergreen, Mocha, Almond Butter, Moss (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Scallop Border die (The Stamps of Life); Spruce & Sprigs die (Papertrey Ink)

Freshly Made Sketches #674

It's my turn to be the sketch hostess at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  The sketch that I made was entirely inspired by a die that I came across while organizing my craft room.  It was a simple die with a gentle stitched curve and I thought it was pretty and would make a versatile design.  Ta da!

And can I just say how much I love layered stencils!  They make me look like a coloring pro when all I'm really doing is sponging on some color through a bunch of stencils.  It's so easy!!

These cosmos make me think of summer - something I wish would hurry up and get here since it's been freezing around here lately.  They are so light and airy and as I perused my stash of sentiments for the perfect complement to them I found this mother's day one and thought I'd get out ahead of that holiday!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some gorgeous cards with this sketch I know you'll be inspired to play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Keep it Simple Mother (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); The Everyday Collection (Avery Elle)
Ink:  Wisteria, Hydrangea, Ultraviolet, Andromeda (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Climbing Cosmos stencil (The Ton)

Freshly Made Sketches #670

Hi there!  I'm back today with a card for our latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  Amy is our hostess this week and she's given us a fantastic sketch!

My seasons are a little off because this sunflower is more suited to the end of summer than the dead of winter but I love this image and I thought it would be perfect for this sketch.  I scoured my stash of patterned paper for the perfect backgrounds and found these two SU! beauties.  All of it came together beautifully!

Thanks for stopping by!  

Supplies
Stamps:  Splendid Sunflower (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  Honey Nut (Papertrey Ink); Early Espresso, Old Olive, Whisper White, Spring Shower DSP, Welcome Neighbor DSP (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Hello Honey, Baked Brown Sugar, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Splendid Sunflowers die (My Favorite Things); Yana's Sentiments hot foil plates and dies (Spellbinders)

Freshly Made Sketches #668

Hello stamping friends!  We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches and this week our design is brought to you by Karren.  The sketch looked like it had layers to me so I dug into my stash of patterned paper and made a valentine.

The color challenge at Color Hues helped to inspire my valentine.  Kraft + {insert color here} is always a favorite combination of mine.  The contrast is fun and so versatile.  In this case the vertical layers on the sketch lent themselves perfectly to a couple of different pieces of patterned paper which created the perfect background to my heart.  I added some gold Wink of Stella to the "love" die cut, but it looks very blah in this picture.  In real life it's quite zazzy!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can join us at Freshly Made Sketches.  🩷

Supplies
Stamps:  Love Stamp (Hero Arts)
Paper:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Real Red (Stampin' Up!); Gingham-Linen Rainbow Petite Prints (Doodlebug Designs)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Love die (Hero Arts); Scallop Border die (The Stamps of Life); Wink of Stella

Freshly Made Sketches #667

I've been a very erratic stamper over the last year, but I managed to carve out some time to join my Freshly Made Sketches teammates for our first sketch of 2025!  Kicking off the new year is Cécile as our hostess, and as usual, I tried to channel my inner CAS Cécile as I designed my card.

I opted for a shaker for this card, mainly because I hadn't done one in so long....and, in this case, lends itself to a CAS card.  Fun!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches, where my fellow design team members have made some fantastic cards to inspire you to play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Bokeh Burst Round (The Ton); All About You (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  You die (Simon Says Stamp); Royal Garden sequins (Pretty Pink Posh); gold embossing powder

Freshly Made Sketches 654

It's my turn to be the sketch hostess at Freshly Made Sketches and I think I came up with a sketch that has lots of room for interpretation.  Rectangles?  Who cares.  Triangles?  Boring.  The sketch is merely a prompt for you to unleash your creativity.  I can't wait to see what you create!

I, however, did modified triangles in the form of some slim trees. 😉

When I sat down at my desk to turn the sketch into a card I had a vague idea to use some triangular shaped trees, but honestly didn't know exactly how this design was going to go.  Then I looked through my stash of stamps and found these trees already stamped and in the colors that I needed!  Once I had all of those, this card went together pretty quickly. Some pearlescent snowflakes in the background, a bit of colorful paper, and some twine for added texture and my little Christmas card was born!

I've been absent from the Freshly Made Sketches blog for quite a bit this year because my work/life balance is out of whack.  But it felt good to make this card and take back my craft room from my kitties!  They had the last laugh, though, because I used a stencil for the falling snow and when I peeled it back from the card there was a big blob of cat fur stuck to the embossing paste!  

Thanks for visiting and a special thanks to my teammates at Freshly Made Sketches who have been graciously putting up with my absence for many months. 😘 🩷

Supplies
Stamps:  Peaceful Forest (Ink to Paper); Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Merry Moments DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Falling Snow stencil (Simon Says Stamp); Pearlescent embossing paste (Dreamweaver) jute twine

Freshly Made Sketches 642

Well it sure has been a while since I've posted here.  I won't go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that life gets in the way.....of so many things!  But it's my week to be the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches and hostess I will.  My sketch is square and it's got a wavy layer, but as you all know by now, neither is necessary in Freshly Made Sketches Land.  It's all about how YOU interpret the sketch!

I decided to use the gorgeous colors at the Just Us Girls challenge to make a square birthday card.  Blue flowers are hard to come by in my neck of the woods, but they are easy to find when you are the architect!  I love these pops of color!

Thanks for stopping by!  As usual my Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some amazing cards with this sketch!

Supplies
Stamps:  Birthday Messages (Mama Elephant)
Paper:  Midnight Muse, More Mustard, Bermuda Bay (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Papertrey Ink); Watercolor Wash (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Upsy Daisy die (My Favorite Things); Curvy Leaves die (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Freshly Made Sketches 632

Hey there!  I find myself to be the sketch designer at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I am excited to see how you all interpret this sketch.  For me, I used some of my patterned paper stash and added a floral display in shades of purple.

This is a big card - that floral display takes up a lot of room - but I love it!  The sentiment is hot foiled and tucks in to the florals perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by!  If you haven't already be sure to check out the cards my Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made.  They're awesome!

Supplies
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Lucky Limeade, Lucky Limeade DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Soft Lilac, Lavender Fields, Deep Iris (Altenew)
Accessories:  Climbing Cosmos stencil, Coming Up Cosmos die (The Ton); Super Scripty Thank You hot foil plate +n die (The Stamp Marktet)

Freshly Made Sketches 629

We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess this week is Amy and what a great sketch she's given us!

I really wanted to use use patterned paper for the background on my card so I scoured my stash for just the right thing.  I ended up choosing one in shades of blue.  I added white daisies and some colorful green leaves for contrast.

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some awesome cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Scripty Sayings (Gina K Designs)
Paper:  Baha Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Upsy Daisy die (My Favorite Things); Scallop Border dies (The Stamps of Life)

Freshly Made Sketches 626

I went a bit literal with the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week.  Our design is by Cécile and her designs always inspire me to dig deep into my CAS roots.  

The colors of my card were inspired by the bright colors of The Color Hues challenge.  I used turquoise and green to create the two half circles and then stamped some leaves and a slim sentiment over them.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some creative cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Brushed Off (Papertrey Ink); Natures Treasures II (Uniko); Tons of Type (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  White (Gina K)
Ink:  Parrot, Turquoise (Altenew); Nocturne (Versafine Clair); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Freshly Made Sketches 624

Our newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches comes to us from Kim.  Her sketch just called out to me to use up some of the patterned paper in my stash.

This particular patterned paper that I used is a favorite of mine for Christmas cards because of the earthy colors.  The rich greens and dark reds are perfect together and look great with my favorite Christmas flower:  the poinsettia.  I accented the earthy tones of this card with some leaves in brushed gold cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a chance to play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Supplies
Stamps:  Signature Christmas (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Brushed Gold, Deck the Halls DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Blooming Poinsettia die (Memory Box)

Freshly Made Sketches 622

It's my turn to be the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches and the sketch I made was pretty straight forward I thought.  And then as I thought about what my own card might look like I got the idea to do a slimline.  The proportions are a little off, but I think you can see the sketch there.

I used stencils to create these gorgeous floral images.  I love using layering stencils because they provide an super simple way to create dimension.  For the horizontal layer I used a piece of vellum and added a gold-foiled sentiment.  The sentiment is hard to see so I included a close-up so you can see it better.

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some amazing cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!  

Supplies
Stamps: Miss Your Smile (Pink Fresh Studio)
Paper:  Pure Luxury (Gina K); Certainly Celery, Basic Black (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Sea Glass, Dusk, Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades (Stampin' Up)! Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Superscript Thank you hot foil plate + die (The Stamp Market); Scallop Border dies (The Stamps of Life)

Freshly Made Sketches 621

We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  Our hostess is Jen Timko and her sketch put me in mind of some snowflakes.  I haven't seen many of those flying around this winter (fine by me) but I have no problem adding them to a card.

      

This card is pretty big - six-inches by six-inches but I needed it to accommodate the snowflakes.  The snowflakes are a mix of silver shimmer ink and glitter cardstock. So pretty in real life!  Thanks for stopping by. 

Supplies
Stamps:  Bizzard Hugs (The Ton)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); silver foil (Recollections)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine); Silvery Shimmer (Delicata)
Accessories:  Blizzard Hugs dies (The Ton)

Freshly Made Sketches 619

Hi friends!  I've been a bad stamper lately, but I'm back with a card for our newest Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  Our hostess this week is Judy and her card put me in mind of butterflies!

The color challenge at The Paper Players influenced the design of this card.  I used some grungy Stampin' Up! DSP for the black and white background and then used a butterfly as my pop of color.  

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have made some fabulous cards with this challenge so I hope you check them out!

Supplies
Paper:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Tempting Turquoise, Night and Day DSP (Stampin' Up!);  vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Papillons die (4enscrap); Blueprints 15 Die (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 617

It's our first sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches in 2024 and despite the holidays being behind me I went with a Christmas card!

Narelle is our hostess this week and using her sketch I chose to do three Christmas trees for the main focal point on my card.  The trees were foiled in gold and in true fashion, are nearly impossible for me to photograph properly.  The tree on the right looks gold, but the others look like......something less than gold.  

One thing I learned in 2023 was that I didn't have enough Christmas cards made 😳 so I'm starting early this year!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have some amazing cards using this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fa La La (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Real Red, Whispher White, Christmas Cocoa DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Geometric Trees foil plate (Trinity Stamps)

Freshly Made Sketches 616

We've got a fun new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess and sketch designer this week is Amy.  I discovered I'm a bit low on my Christmas cards this year 😳 so I took the opportunity to use the sketch to add to my Christmas card stash.  Gotta get those cards in the mail!

In addition to the pretty patterned paper I wanted to use snowflakes on my card. And since I've got about 8-million snowflake dies I thought this would be easy to do.  Alas, the dies proved to be difficult to cut and punch out  all the little pieces.  The one on this card is the only one that I managed to do properly.  But I love how it looks!

The colors of my card were inspired by the Christmas Card Throwdown challenge.  

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches have made some fantastic cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Paper:  Concord Crush, Champagne Glimmer, Lap of Luxury DSP (Stampin' Up!); Silver Foil (Recollections)
Accessories:  Snowflake Cluster Fancy Die (Hero Arts); cold cord (Stampin' Up!)

Freshly Made Sketches 615

I'm continuing a mad dash of making enough Christmas cards to mail to friends and family and this week's Freshly Made Sketches provided a great layout.  Our hostess this week is Karren and many thanks to her because the circle on the sketch was a poinsettia no-brainer for me!  We are also joined this week by guest designer Nancy Leppek, one of our 600th sketch challenge winners.  

I used the lovely velvet paper in my stash to create the poinsettia.  It is quite decadent in real life!  I paired it with a textured background and some ancient patterned paper for a quick and easy card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Peace Love Joy (Right at Home)
Paper:  True Thyme, Early Espresso, Holiday Thyme DSP, Rose Gold (Stampin' Up!); velour paper (Hygloss)
Ink:  Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories:  Layered Poinsettia die (Spellbinders); Rustic Burlap impression plate (Papertrey Ink)

Freshly Made Sketches 614

I've been a bit under the weather and missed last week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge, but I managed to make a card for this week with our new sketch designed by Jen Brum!

Our design team had a bit of a laugh when we saw Jen's sketch -  because she is a self-proclaimed circle-hater!  And this sketch is just chock full of them!  But kudos to her for facing her fears!  I decided to use a bokeh stencil to create the circles on my card.  I added a horizontal vellum layer and a die cut sentiment cut from red foil cardstock.  It's a super simple design and pretty much all my pneumonia-fogged brain could come up with!

We are joined this week by Nancy Elrick, one of our 600th sketch winners.  So be sure to check out her design and the designs of our design team.  Amazing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Paper:  Lost Lagoon, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); Watercolor Wash (My Favorite Things); Red Foil (Recollections)
Ink:  Frost White (Colorbox)
Accessories:  Bokeh Lights stencil (Simon Says Stamp); Merry Christmas die (Dee's Distinctively)