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)