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Freshly Made Sketches #208

Freshly Made Sketches #208 published on 9 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #208

Has it been fall-like where you are??!!  In Virginia, the last few days have been really amazing.  Cool morning, comfortable afternoons…perfect weather!  My family and I got to go out to one of our state parks on Sunday and enjoy the leaves starting to turn and the amazing day.  So nice!  And….I got to do a little stamping too.  Just a little but I’ll take it!

Our own sweet, kind and fabulous Cindy Hall is our sketch hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches and she has brought a really cool challenge this week.  The team has some really varied interpretations which always guarantees that the gallery is going to be amazing.

FMS208 - Deck the Halls

I am a hoarder of many Christmas things for stamping….because I love them so much!  I decided I had better pull them out this week.  And that I should also get bonus points for resisting using another snowflake.  Because I almost did!  Instead, I opted for this cute little present.  But you can totally use a snowflake!  *smile*  The sentiment is from Christmas Messages (2013 Holiday) and the present is from Color Me Christmas (2013 Holiday).  I added these to a base of retired DSP and added some Baker’s Twine that I double tied using the inspiration of Kimberly Van Diepen.  Cute, fun, easy to make a bunch of!   The present was colored using Zig Clean Color Markers.

FMS Final 208-001I hope you have a great time joining in this week.  We always have such a great time looking through the creations each week!  I have a bunch of new stuff to share in the upcoming week and I can’t even wait!  The fun starts on Monday with the Stamp Review Crew!  Until then, have a wonderful week!  Thanks for stopping in!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamps:  Christmas Messages, Color Me Christmas; Ink: Momento Black; Paper:  Thick Whisper White, Retired DSP; Accessories:  Zig Clean Color Markers, Black Baker’s Twine, Dimensionals

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Freshly Made Sketches #198

Freshly Made Sketches #198 published on 10 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #198

I know you have heard it before but I have to say it again.  We are only two weeks away from our 200th Sketch Celebration at Freshly Made Sketches.  You need to mark your calendars!  You will not believe what we have in store for you!

Now….here it is.  Yes….the first Christmas card of the season.  I made it to August!  I love making holiday cards.  Something about them always makes me happy.  So I figured it was as good a time as any to start.  This sketch from Cindy Lovell is so perfect for focus on images or pretty die cuts.

FMS198 - Reindeer Christmas

I just love, love, love this little reindeer from Color Me Christmas.  It is a retired set but I am waiting (impatiently) for my new Holiday Catalog order to show up so retired stuff it is!  This fellow is so fun to color.  I used a combination of Copics and Blendabilities to match this retired DSP.  The SSS Stitched Rectangles provide a little extra fun.  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs (love those fonts).  I added a Cherry Cobbler button and Early Espresso Baker’s Twine to finish.  Now you are in for it because the Christmas vault is open and let the seasonal stamping begin!

200th Sketch

Did I mention the 200th sketch?!  Yes….we are working tons behind the scenes to make this super fun.  We have sponsors that you are sure to love!  Big names…names you love….names I love!!  That is it for hints today.  But more will come.  Follow us on Facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss anything!

Now, off to see the amazing designs from the team this week.  You are going to love what you see!  I’ll be back on Friday with another card (and it might be another Christmas card).  Hope your week is going well.  See you soon!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Color Me Christmas, Petite Pairs; Ink:  Momento Black, Blendabilities, Copics; Paper:  Thick Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, ; Accessories:  Big Shot, SSS Stitches Rectangles Dies, Regals Buttons, Early Espresso Baker’s Twine, Dimensionals

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Freshly Made Sketches #166

Freshly Made Sketches #166 published on 8 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #166

FMS Final 166-001

The extraordinary Karren Johnson has created this fun and classic looking sketch for us at Freshly Made Sketches.  As always, the sketch seemed to show up just in time to help my creative spark.  In fact, it was the start of some excellent card making and I actually finished my cards for Dirty Dozen and then got to next week’s FMS card too.  Ah, the power of a great sketch!  Karren is such a clever and creative card-maker (never mind being an extraordinary enabler on crafting products!).  Make sure you go over to thank her for this fabulous inspiration!

FMS166 - Merry Tree

I went back to the Color Me Christmas stamp set and the retired Season of Style DSP.  Much like with the Santa a couple of weeks ago, this image was another NBUS and just called out to be colored with Blendabilities!  I pulled out the Old Olive Collection and added in some Cherry Cobbler ornaments and a Daffodil Delight star (the tree base is the Crumb Cake collection).  The sentiment is from the ever versatile set Petite Pairs.  I have a special place in my stamping heart for great sentiment sets and this one is so flexible and fun.  I tied on some Early Espresso Baker’s Twin and added a Cherry Cobbler button.  The tree was fussy cut and popped up on Dimensionals.  The star is on a tiny piece from the edges of the Dimensional sheet.  The whole image is up on Dimensionals too.  I almost forgot to share something really important with this too…..  Did you see the message about Blendabilities being ok to be used with many of the SU basic ink pads?  Yeah, well it makes coordinating a breeze.  I used my Early Espresso Classic Pad to stamp the tree and it just held beautifully while I was coloring.  So awesome!!

With all that I keep getting drawn to use my Blendabilities, I cannot tell you how excited I was to hear about NEW BLENDIES coming in the Occasions Catalog.  Lighter color collections coming to  add even more depth and dimension to the coloring palette.  I’ve been resisting making a pre-order but not sure how much longer I can hold out.  I have a lot of flying over the next couple of weeks and that will seriously impact any stamping.  Truthfully the only thing keeping me from ordering!

I just know you are going to have a great time using this sketch and I can’t wait to see the gallery this week.  And oh, the cards from the design team.  How do they just get more fantastic each week?!  Love those talented and amazing stampers!  Well, I hope that your week is going well.  I appreciate you dropping by today and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Don’t forget, all twelve PDF video tutorials for my Bright & Beautiful Edition are now available.  Just click HERE or on the picture to learn more!
B & B PDF Tutorials

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Color Me Christmas (ret), Petite Pairs; Paper:  Early Espresso, Whisper White, Season of Style DSP (ret); Ink:  Early Espresso, Blendabilities – Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake; Accessories:  Early Espresso Baker’s Twine, Regals Buttons, Dimensionals

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Freshly Made Sketches #164

Freshly Made Sketches #164 published on 12 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #164

FMS Final 164-001

Another week has flown by and here we are at Wednesday already.  And the sweet and talented Jen Brum is our sketch hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  Jen makes the most wonderful cards and I love her clean style.  And her boys (big and little) are huge aviation fans.  Needless to say when I was able to meet up with her at the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum over the summer, our kids were fast friends!!  I love the friendships I get to make through this hobby of mine!!

FMS164 - Skinny Santa

Ok, I have a confession to make.  For those of you who were with me during my Artisan Design Team year, you saw the boxes of Stampin’ goodness and all of the incredible things I got to work with during my tenure.  The down side (the ONLY down side) is that I never felt like I got to give some of the stamps I received their due.  So with my apologies to those who prefer “current” products, I am having so much fun going back to some of the stamps that have never even seen ink.  Oh, the travesty of an unused stamp.  There is even a name for this terrible syndrome:  Never Been Used Stamp or Stuff (NBUS).  Now it is even more fun to combine the NBUS with something new like Blendabilities!!  That is what I did here.  This Santa comes from the set Color Me Christmas from last year’s Holiday Catalog and the sentiment is from Oh, Goodie.  They were meant to go together and aren’t they fun.  The paper is from the same catalog, the Season of Style DSP.  I took my Skin Tone Blendabilities and colored Santa’s face and added rosy cheeks with Melon Mambo (the lightest color).  His suit and the candy cane are colored using the Cherry Cobbler set.  Such easy coloring but so much fun!  The image and the sentiment were stamped using Momento Tuxedo Black and I tied on some leftover Black Twine from my September Paper Pumpkin and added a button.  Now is it just me or does this guy remind you of Santa in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?  He is still a little bit of a skinny Santa!  Good thing he has another month for Mrs. Claus to get him to eat!

Now go and take a look at YOUR NBUS and see if adding Blendabilities will make you want to pull them right out.  And guess what??!!  NOW is the time to get Blendabilities.  Actually, December 1st is the day.  Because on December 1st (the last day of the Online Extravaganza), you can get 12 Blendabilities Assortments at at 30% discount.  That is a crazy low price.  You can see all the details plus the other sale items HERE.  You can order at my online store.  These are as supplies last so you need to get in on the deals as soon as you can!!

For those of you in the U.S., I hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.  And to all of you who stop in to visit, I am incredibly grateful for your support and kindness.  I count you all amongst my many blessings!!

In case you missed the announcement, all twelve PDF tutorials for my Bright & Beautiful Edition are now available.  Just click HERE or on the picture to learn more!
B & B PDF Tutorials

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Color Me Christmas, Oh Goodie; Paper: Whisper White, Season of Style DSP; Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Blendabilities – Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate, Skin Tone, Melon Mambo; Accessories:  Black Baker’s Twine, Neutrals Button, Dimensionals

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Freshly Made Sketches #160

Freshly Made Sketches #160 published on 9 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #160

FMS Final 160-001

Wow!!  Take a look at what Rita has created for Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Isn’t this sketch fun?  I just love the potential of all the layers on this one!

FMS160 - Merry Christmas

I decided I needed to pull out some retired products for this one.  I still love the colors and patterns from the Fresh Prints DSP Pack.  I chose two of the prints for the banner and little rectangle.  Then I pulled a page from a This & That journal and stamped the sentiment from Merry Little Christmas.  I added the little star from Hodgepodge Clips and looped on a Real Red ribbon piece.  I embossed the back panel with Stylish Stripes.  I love when I get to combined old and new products!  I can always count on them coordinating and it makes me happy to make a dent in my stash of DSP.

The cool elements on this sketch has given the team all kinds of room to inspire and they haven’t let us down.  I just look in awe every week!  I just know you’ll feel the same way.

I have some more projects coming this week.  First, tomorrow is my big day to hostess for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenges at Splitcoaststampers.  I cannot even wait to share my theme with you!  Then I have my Fancy Friday project for October on Friday and there will be BLOG CANDY!!!  Yep, the whole team will have blog candy for you so make sure you check back!  Until then, I hope your week is going well.  See you soon!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Merry Little Christmas; Paper:  Whisper White, Fresh Prints DSP Pack; Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Real Red; Accessories:  Big Shot, Banners Framelits, Hodgepodge Clips, Real Red Cotton Ribbon, This & That Journal

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Merry Monday #103

Merry Monday #103 published on 12 Comments on Merry Monday #103

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So guess what??!!  I get to be the Featured Designer on Merry Monday Challenge for the month of April.  Totally great, right?!  Well, it is even better because we get to use snowmen this week. Fantastic theme, don’t you think?

MM103 - Season of Snow

I had to pull out one of my favorite snowmen sets, Snow Much Fun.  I think these guys are, well, so much fun.  I stamped him on Whisper White in Early Espresso Ink.  Then watercolored using a Blender Pen with Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie.  Using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, I created the tag and tied it up with Crumb Cake Seam Binding and Linen Thread.  The paper is from the retired Season of Style.  I think this print is fantastic and was glad to still have some on hand.  The corners on the tag and the card are rounded using the Envelope Punch Board.

It was a nice change of pace to create a Christmas card this time of year and I can’t be happier to be a part of this great challenge all month.  I hope you’ll join me and the team for the challenge!

Back tomorrow with my latest Artisan Wednesday Wow project.  Until then, I hope the day is wonderful!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

Stamp:  Snow Much Fun; Paper:  Whisper White, Early Espresso, Season of Style DSP; Ink:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie; Accessories:  Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Linen Thread, Neutrals Buttons, Dimensionals

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More Christmas Projects

More Christmas Projects published on 2 Comments on More Christmas Projects

Please humor me because I suppose it is a little late to share these.  But I wanted to show you what my family and I have been up to in the final days before Christmas!  So, I have some things made by my boys (and one that included their friends) plus a final project from me.

Stylish BannerI’ll start with a card made and designed by my oldest son.  I had a few scraps lying about from projects you have already seen and he took them and ran.  Well that, and he really really wanted to use the HO3 stamp because is a big math fan.  So, I have another convert to Washi Tape (he says that it can be used on everything, lol) and I have to admit that I really love his design.  I even gave him is own watermark…I think he earned it on this!

Snow, snow, snowNot to be outdone, his younger brother got to work and chose the Best of Snow stamp to play with.  I unleashed him with some retired markers and paper and he made these for teachers.  You should have seen how proud he was to give it to his teacher!!  The joy of a handmade card!

Color Me TagsEarly in the Christmas break, I heard the dreaded “we’re bored”!!  Well, I needed some more tags and they had the time.  I cut some rectangles from Whisper White and gave them the images from Color Me Christmas.  The boys and two of their friends did all the coloring and added some sentiments too.  Then they cut the shapes they wanted.  These made me really happy too!  Perfect for family presents!

Simply Sketched bagNow finally, I created this little bag to hold a gift card.  I love that you can stamp on these and then watercolor them!  You can’t really see it but there is a tag to match.  The leaves are from Simply Sketched (a hostess set) and the sentiment is from Endless Wishes.  I threaded through some distressed Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding and tied on the tag with the original string from the bag.  This could really be made for any occasion to I wanted to show you how easy it is!

I hope that your Christmas was wonderful.  As I mentioned last week both the Artisan and Freshly Made Sketches teams are taking a break this week.  So instead I have a great post to share with you on Tuesday.  I have something awesome to show you that I have been not so patiently waiting to be completed for about 2 months.  Thanks for stopping in today.  See you in a couple of days!

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Artisan Wednesday Wow – Boxes and Bows

Artisan Wednesday Wow – Boxes and Bows published on 4 Comments on Artisan Wednesday Wow – Boxes and Bows

12-Dec-Blog-Hop-Button

Stampin’ Up’s Artisan Design Team is bringing you projects from our December box again this week!  These are the projects that Stampin’ Up showed on their Facebook Page last Friday.  We are in full holiday mode and having so much fun!  If you have come over from amazing Jeanna, welcome to the next stop.  I know you loved that box and her husband is talented too, isn’t he?!  If you are starting here, just continue around using the next buttons until you get back to me.

Dec FB- Jennifer - Boxes and Bows

I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t know but it is crunch time!  Yep..it is time to finish up the last details and start enjoying the holidays.  So I’m bringing you a quick idea that is perfect for those last minute packaging problems.  Stampin’ Up’s boxes (this is the Kraft Gift Box) and the Gift Bow Die will come to the rescue.  I know I don’t have time left for anything fancy but that doesn’t mean I don’t want it to LOOK fancy.  I love that the bow can be make in nothing flat with leftover paper from your cards.  Oh, and a little extra piece to make the tag match (using the Stamp a Tag Kit)…you look like a genius!  The Baker’s Twine is something I use year round and it is a great finish to this project.

Okay, off to go visit the awesome Mercedes Weber.  She has a beautiful card that is a perfect welcome to the new year!  Make sure you hop around the whole loop to take a look at beautiful creations by the whole team…you’ll be happy you did!

12-Dec-Blog-Hop-NEXT-Button

Click HERE to purchase any of these wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

Paper:  Season of Style DSP, Whisper White; Ink:  Cherry Cobbler; Accessories:  Big Shot, Gift Bows Die, Kraft Gift Boxes, Regals Buttons, Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine, Stamp a Tag Kit, Sticky Strip

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Freshly Made Sketches #116

Freshly Made Sketches #116 published on 11 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #116

FMS Final 116-001Well, it is Wednesday again.  Is it just me or is Christmas coming WAY too fast?!  Thank goodness for this fun sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches!  The wonderful Narelle Farrugia has given us this one.  Of course she has shown an elegant way to use it and the rest of the team has outdone themselves!

FMS116 - Candy Cane Christmas

I thought I’d focus on the candy cane stripes from Season of Style DSP and the Merry Little Christmas stamp seemed like a perfect match.  I also pulled out a new product to make my life SOOO much easier.  The brand new Banner Punch will be available to customers starting on Jan. 28th as a free (yes, FREE) option during Stampin’ Up’s annual Sale-a-bration promotion.  I was able to get it early as an Artisan Design Team member and other demonstrators can get it now too.  Yes, there are so many perks to begin a demo!  The punch and the paper did most of the work and I just added on a button tied up with Baker’s Twine to finish it off.

I hope you are able to join us this week because I know you’ll have fun working with this sketch!  Make sure you let Narelle know how much you enjoy it!

My house has been more chaotic than usual this week with lots of ice and snow in Virginia.  My kids had two days off from school (lots of happiness there) and they have a late start today.  I’m hoping to finish my Christmas cards today once I shuffle them out the door.  Wish me luck!  Thanks for stopping in today.  Hope your week is great!

Stamp:  Merry Little Christmas; Paper:  Season of Style Paper Stack, Early Espresso, Whisper White; Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso; Accessories:  Banner Punch (SAB), Neutrals Button, Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine

Click HERE to shop my Stampin’ Up Store.  Make sure you check out this week’s specials!

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Artisan Wednesday Wow – Snowflakes Galore

Artisan Wednesday Wow – Snowflakes Galore published on 3 Comments on Artisan Wednesday Wow – Snowflakes Galore

12-Dec-Blog-Hop-Button

Stampin’ Up’s Artisan Design Team is bringing you projects from our December box again this week!  We are in full holiday mode and having so much fun!  If you have come over from amazing Jeanna, welcome to the next stop.  If you are starting here, just continue around using the next buttons until you get back to me.

AWW Dec - Gold and Silver Snowflakes

So something funny happened on my way to this post…the set I used to create the project sold out!  Yes, I had created a card with Endless Wishes and it went like hot cakes.  I can see why since it is awesome!  So back to the drawing board, but yet not.  I created the exact same card using the still available Snowflake Soiree.  It is another amazing snowflake set and I just love the artwork on these!  I’m still obsessed with the silver and gold combination and they really make the card look rich.  The Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder is so gorgeous and particularly so on such an intricate stamp!  I put Silver Glimmer Paper behind the snowflake layer for an extra bit of sparkle and the Basic Rhinestones are a great finishing touch.

AWW Dec - Gold and Silver Wishes -

So the original card?  Well, I thought I should share it too since so many of you have purchased the stamp.  I have to admit that these are SOOOO much prettier in person.  I just can’t seem to capture the sparkle and depth that comes from the glitter, rhinestones and embossing.

Okay, off to go visit the awesome Mercedes Weber.  She is so extraordinary and I can’t wait to see what she has made every week!  Make sure you hop around the whole loop to take a look at beautiful creations by the whole team…you’ll be happy you did!

12-Dec-Blog-Hop-NEXT-Button

Click HERE to purchase any of these wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

Stamps:  Snowflake Soiree, Endless Wishes (ret); Paper:  Whisper White, Silver Glimmer; Ink:  Gold and Silver Encore; Accessories:  Heat Tool, Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals

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