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CASE Me A Christmas Card – Surprise Edition

CASE Me A Christmas Card – Surprise Edition published on No Comments on CASE Me A Christmas Card – Surprise Edition

For those of you who know Michelle Lupton, you know that she is both super talented and one of the nicest people! Over the last years, she has done a series of CASE Me A Christmas Cards where she will CASE (Copy and Share Everything) one of her guests cards and vice versa. You take a non-holiday card and turn it into a holiday card using the inspiration of each other’s work. It is always such fun. This year, Michelle has had some things happen where she was just unable to commit to the project. Soooooo….a whole group of stampers committed to do it together in honor of her!!! This is primarily an Instagram event and all you have to do is go over to IG and search for the hashtag: #casemeachristmascard2023

The hardest part of doing this for me is narrowing down the choice of what to CASE. I generally use the rule of three on a CASE where I change 3 things while keeping some of the main elements of the original. In this case, I chose a floral card with partial die cutting. Her original is posted below. I used the Joyful Poinsettia set from WPlus9 (I know you are super shocked) and found the die for the set worked perfectly in the partial die cutting. I used my Copic Markers to color the image with traditional colors.

I chose Artichoke Card Stock from Concord and 9th as my base once I had finished my coloring. Then I created a mini slimline card using the Sweet Stacks: Mini Slimline Dies. I heat embossed my sentiment in Gilded Embossing Powder on Black Card Stock by Concord and 9th. Oh, and if you have ever had trouble with heat embossing on black (I did and thought it was my powders…and I tried a lot of powders), this card stock changed the game. It is smoother and somehow the heat embossing stays crisper. YAY! I added some splatters with Gold and Irisdescent White and then some red pearls.

So here is Michelle’s gorgeous card. Things I kept: Partial Die Cut, Sentiment Placement, Florals and Gems. Things I changed: Slimline layout, Copic coloring, Raised sentiment, Image panel to edge.

I hope you like my version of her card. Please come over and celebrate with us all. Michelle is just beloved and I’m thrilled to be a part of this ode to her talent.

Freshly Made Sketches #605

Freshly Made Sketches #605 published on 2 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #605

Another week has flown by…literally. Lots of flying! But I did have a little time for some coloring this week. Just in time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches by the amazing Karren Johnson.

My obsession with these gorgeous flowers from Joyful Poinsettia has not waned. I thought it would be fun to create a dark background on a one layer panel for the circle element. All of the coloring is Copic Markers.

I used the Quilted A2 Cover Plate die to add a little interest in the background on Cobblestone Card Stock by Concord and 9th. I used gold embossing on the sentiment and a few gold pearls for a little extra shine.

I hope you like this one! Come over and see all the team has created plus a beautiful card from a guest designer this week too! Thanks for stopping in today. See you again soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #604

Freshly Made Sketches #604 published on 14 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #604

I love sketches with a clear focal point and that is just what we have for you this week! Our talented Cécile Ribon created a gorgeous challenge for Freshly Made Sketches!

The sketch has a big leaf and that put me right into fall creating mode! I pulled out my new Lovely Layers: Apple Barrel Dies and wow. Just wow. The details on these are incredible. I would love to say my shading was all my own idea but I watched the always amazing Dawn Woleslagle use these and I just went right ahead and mimicked her shading. I cut the pieces from Hammermill White Card Stock and then used Distress Inks for the shading. I cannot even tell you how much fun this was to do!! I didn’t have the same colors as Dawn so I just kind of winged it using some of the apples I got from a local orchard as my guide.

The key to the blending is all in those little blending brushes! The Bitty Bunny Blending Brushes are fabulous! You can color these little die cuts and add shading and nuance. So great! The background paper is from one of the “Free Bee” packs that come with orders from Honey Bee Stamps. The prints are always varied and so usable! Something about this one just made the apple barrel jump off the page. I heat embossed the sentiment onto brown card stock (another idea I stole from Dawn!). I added some leaves from the Lovely Layers: Autumn Bouquet set to try to comply with the sketch a little more.

I hope you like this one as much as I do. And please, do yourself a favor. Click Dawn’s name above and go watch her video. She is a genius! I hope you are having a wonderful week. See you again soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #603

Freshly Made Sketches #603 published on 6 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #603

A fun sketch from the wonderful Jen Brum today at Freshly Made Sketches. I immediately saw a snowman! But others on our team have seen adorable stacks and other fun interpretations. You know that is a great sketch.

I pulled out my favorite snowman, an old retired set from Honey Bee Stamps called Let It Snow. I chose some patterned paper from the Make It Merry Paper Pad (look, the snowflakes are a great match!). I picked a red and green to coordinate with the paper for quick Copic coloring.

I stamped and cut the snowflakes and even had the sentiment already pre-cut from another stamping session in the past. I’m not really ready for snow yet but I am ready for cooler temps!

Thanks so much for stopping in today! I hope you will come over and join us at the challenge. See you soon!

Twenty-two years

Twenty-two years published on 6 Comments on Twenty-two years

“No day shall erase you from the memory of time.” Virgil

As I approached today, as always, I feel the melancholy coming on. It always arrives. I think it always should arrive, truthfully. It has been interesting this year in that my youngest son has been studying the events of 9/11 in his government class and so it was a way to really talk to him about my experiences of the day. My stories have been told here over the years but very different when explaining it to my son. Harder, more personal. So I spent yesterday coloring, as I tend to do. I’m flying today, the first time in a long time that I have flown on the anniversary.

I used the beautiful new image from WPlus9 and stamped the extra full flower to color. Blues of course. I added a pretty script sentiment from Honey Bee Stamps and a few pearls.

If you would like to read more about my ponderings:  9th Anniversary, 10th Anniversary, 11th Anniversary, 12th Anniversary, 13th Anniversary, 14th Anniversary, 15th Anniversary, 18th Anniversary and 19th Anniversary, 20th Anniversary and 21st Anniversary.

In this time of great polarization and “other-ism”, I simply ask that you choose differently. Choose joy, choose kindness, choose love.

In memory of:

United 93:  Jason Dahl, LeRoy Homer Jr., Lorraine Bay, Sandra Bradshaw, Wanda Green, CeeCee Lyles, Deborah Welsh

United 175:  Victor Saracini, Michael Horrocks, Robert Fangman, Amy Jarret, Amy King, Kathryn Laborie, Alfred Marchand, Michael Tarrou, Alicia Titus, Marianne McFarlane, Jesus Sanchez

American 11:  John Ogonowski, Thomas McGuinness, Barbara Arestegui, Jeffrey Collman, Sara Low, Karen Martin, Kathleen Nicosia, Betty Ong, Jean D. Roger, Dianne Snyder, Madeline Sweeney

American 77:  Charles Burlingame III, David Charlebois, Michele Heidenberger, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, Renee May

Freshly Made Sketches #602

Freshly Made Sketches #602 published on 9 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #602

A new challenge from Freshly Made Sketches and the wonderful Kim Singdahlsen has a cool one for us. I see lots of opportunities for variation on this one!

Apparently I’m all in on Christmas cards already (worry not, I see some fall cards in my future too). I just had to play with some new (and new to me) items I got from Honey Bee Stamps last week. I got this awesome Lovely Layers: Trees die set that I think I will be using tons for the holidays. I used some patterned paper from the Spooktacular pack and picked a darker and lighter section from the same design. The only color I added was a little bit of Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges. I did add a bit of dimension between the tree layers and I love how that looks.

I opted to add some gold and pearl splatters to the tree for a little more of a holiday feel and then put it on a panel of two more prints. At first I tried this on white (too stark) and on kraft (too yellow). Then I pulled out this new Pebble Card Stock from Concord and 9th…just right! I added texture with the new Burlap 3D Embossing Folder and I love this effect. Products like this are unsung heroes and I’m always so happy when I add one to my stash. Finally, I did some gold embossing on the sentiment to pull those splatters a bit. This feels a bit like a masculine holiday card to me and could even be adapted to a non-holiday version.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I liked making it. A little bit different for me but I’m super happy with it. I appreciate you stopping in today. See you soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #601

Freshly Made Sketches #601 published on 6 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #601

We had such fun with our sketch #600 celebration last week and now, onward! This week’s Freshly Made Sketches challenge designer is the one-of-a-kind Linda Callahan. She is the BEST!

I felt this one was perfect for a little scene and what better than Christmas mice from Merry Little Mice? I went with some non-traditional colors and had such fun coloring these elements.

I think I stuck close enough to the sketch on the background. I played around with adding an additional pattern under the teal but it just didn’t work for me. I love the stars on this pattern from the Make It Merry Paper Pad and found the crossing teal patten in an older, retired pad. The sentiment is from one of my workhorse sets called Inside: Holiday Sentiments. If you don’t have a set like this one, go grab it!

Thanks so much for stopping in today. I hope you have some crafting time this week and will join us. I have to say that I had a pretty challenging week last week at the day job and I’m so thankful for my coloring and creating time to bring balance to the stress. I hope you have a wonderful week!

Freshly Made Sketches #600 – A Celebration

Freshly Made Sketches #600 – A Celebration published on 10 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #600 – A Celebration

Twelve years ago, Freshly Made Sketches was introduced as a new challenge for those who liked clean cards and sketches for inspiration. And here we are, still going strong. Some of the team started at the very beginning and others of us were added along the way. And oh, what a great team it is!! For this landmark, we are celebrating the players. Over the years, there are a few designers that are perpetual team favorites so we invited them in as guests for the celebration. And as we pick our weekly winners, they will be offered the chance to guest with us in a future challenge. Because, let’s face it, without the players there is no challenge!

I am ready to make the transition into fall and decided I’d make a card with more of a fall color scheme. I pulled out my pretty Lovely Layers: Sunflowers dies and had fun just getting a little inky. I started off with a brighter yellow and then added more depth and color. For the center, I mixed greens and browns and then used some of the same greens on the leaves. Something about the process of inking these die cuts really brings me joy when I have been away from the craft room. Guaranteed success! I went back and added a few splatter just for texture and I love the effect.

For the base, I started with some Neenah Desert Storm and stamped on the Farmhouse Check grid. I love this one for its neutral vibe and it always adds just the right something. The crossing panel is a scrap from the Team Tie Dye Paper Pack. Finally, the sentiment is from Inside: Thankful Sentiments. Perfect for this week’s theme.

I’m so thankful for the many years of kind words, inspiration and the camaraderie from this amazing group of creators. What started as another challenge has come to mean more to me than I could have ever imagined. Our team has been there for celebrations and heartbreaks. You, the players, have shown support, taught us techniques and have been a beautiful addition to my life. Truly, thank you!

Freshly Made Sketches #598

Freshly Made Sketches #598 published on 7 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #598

Hi everyone! Happy August to you! I am this week’s sketch designer at Freshly Made Sketches and I hope you will like this one. When I designed it, I had a floral in mind for the corner. I had this gorgeous poinsettia on my table from my last card so I opted to color the single image and go with Copics this time.

I stamped the image from Joyful Poinsettias twice and then colored. Dawn’s images have shading built into the design so I just followed her lead. I enjoyed spending a little time with my Copics! For the base I started with a light blue card stock and added Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide Inks.

I decided to add some splatters with white gouache and some red pearls. The sentiment comes from the same set. I love all the options this set gives and I suspect you will see it in heavy rotation for this holiday season.

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your August. Thanks so much for stopping in today. I’ll see soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #596

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A cool new sketch idea at Freshly Made Sketches! Judy has us doing halfsies! Designs only on the top half of the card and the bottom is clean. I found it a bit of a challenge but happy with the final result.

Along with the new set from WPlus9 that I used last week, I ordered another set called Joyful Poinsettias. I like the background style design along with the single flower and sentiments in the set. Again with the watercoloring (because I know Dawn designs like a water colorist). I stamped the image in black then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I colored the flowers and leaves and tried to keep to a more vintage palette. After it was dry, I added a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink with a light hand to “age” the white spaces.

I waited until I was done coloring to choose the base and I went with Artichoke by Concord and 9th. I stamped and embossed the sentiment, going with a small one to keep it on the top half of the card. Finally I added some champagne colored pearls as accents.

I hope you find a bit of inspiration in this card. I had lots of fun spending a little time on the watercoloring. Thanks so much for stopping in. See you soon!

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