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Picket Fence Studios August Release

Picket Fence Studios August Release published on 2 Comments on Picket Fence Studios August Release

Happy August release day from Picket Fence Studios! I’m so excited to share a couple of projects using two of the new sets. Also, this is my second post of the day. If you are looking for Week 2 of the Freshly Made Sketches #400 Celebration, just scroll down.

So in that “what did you do on your summer vacation” prompt for blogging, my family did a long weekend in New York City and I finally got to see Wicked. Yep, you can see where I’m going with this. Needless to say, the moment I saw the If You’ve Got It, Haunt It set, I knew I had to create Elphaba. Isn’t she glorious with her green complexion?!

I used my Zig Clean Color Markers to color her on Bristol Smooth Paper and then cut her out using circle die. I found this awesome ombré paper that matched perfectly too. Now this sentiment made me jump for joy! It comes from the Wicked Together stamp set and it was PERFECT! A few green sequins as a finishing touch.

Next up is another adorable Halloween set called Trick or Treaters. This little group of ghouls could not be even a little cuter! And the perfect size for quick coloring. I colored them up using Copic Markers and thought it would be fun to make a wobbler card. Yep, that little spider is on an Action Wobbler and it just makes me chuckle. I’ll have a short video over at Instagram if you care to see it in action. My background was created with Distress Ink in Wilted Violet and I used Tonic Glimmer Paste to add extra dimension with the Random Dots Stencil. The sentiment from the new Witch, Please cracked me up with the spider.

I hope you enjoy these cards and the whole release! Hop on over to Picket Fence Studios to see all the offerings! Thanks so much for stopping in today. And happy shopping…because you are going to want it all!

Freshly Made Sketches Anniversary Celebration Week 2

Freshly Made Sketches Anniversary Celebration Week 2 published on 1 Comment on Freshly Made Sketches Anniversary Celebration Week 2

Welcome to the second week of our celebration of 400 sketches at Freshly Made Sketches. We are continuing with a look back at sketch #200. We did a big team celebration on this one with tons of prizes and it really was such fun. We chose a clean and basic sketch then and I admit I still love it!

I thought this was the perfect one to pull out the Alcohol Inks since it was easy to put the focus on a background. I used the Nature Walk pack of inks along with Gold Mixative (all from Tim Holtz/Ranger) and combined two of the colors. I was inspired by my friend Caly Person who created a pretty tile art piece using similar colors a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to try it. Worked beautifully!

With the gold mixed in, I thought it would be good to use some gold glitter paper with a sentiment die. This Hello die from Gina K Designs is so wonderful and has just the right flair to stand out against the background. I shadowed the glitter paper with black to help it pop a bit and put the whole thing on a black base, again to help it stand out.

I hope you like this card and the sketch this week. Come on over to help us celebrate! This is my first post of the day. Hope you’ll stop back in for my Picket Fence Studios August Release coming up later. Until then, thanks for sharing a few minutes of your time!

Freshly Made Sketches Anniversary Celebration Week 1

Freshly Made Sketches Anniversary Celebration Week 1 published on 7 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches Anniversary Celebration Week 1

It is finally here! I can finally share a little with you. We are starting a month long celebration at Freshly Made Sketches. For eight years, this challenge has been a part of the crafting landscape and has provided inspiration for so many stampers. I remember being so excited about a sketch challenge for clean stampers! It was like my name was on it! I played along in sketch 1 and found a home shortly after. How lucky I am to be a part of this team!!

This is actually my third time using the sketch since it was both Sketch #1 and Sketch #100. It doesn’t get old! Today I thought it would be fun to make a Christmas card using my favorite snowman from Honey Bee Stamps. Let It Snow remains a go-to stamp set for me!! I found this retired patterned paper in my stash (SU) and did some super quick Copic touches to the snowman. The snowflakes worked great for the sketch too!

I hope you will join us this week and all month as we celebrate eight years of fun! Thanks for stopping in today. See you soon!

Picket Fence Studios with Thermoweb and My Sweet Petunia

Picket Fence Studios with Thermoweb and My Sweet Petunia published on 12 Comments on Picket Fence Studios with Thermoweb and My Sweet Petunia

I’m so happy to be joining another collaboration event today! Three amazing companies are joining in. Picket Fence Studios, Thermoweb and My Sweet Petunia and a whole lot of fun.

The hardest part of this collaboration is actually showing the products I used. You see, the Misti is a daily stamping companion (at this point my regular Misti and Mini Misti are fully loaded and used in tandem on everything) but it isn’t always shown in photos. But believe me, it was required for this card. And then I also used the Thermoweb Masking Magic paper for masking my bluebonnets. Again, not glamorous for photos but an absolute requirement to make this card happen.

I stamped the center flower from the Bluebonnet stamp set onto watercolor paper (multiple times to get full coverage) and then put down a mask that had been stamped and cut from the Masking Magic. These masks are usable over and over so I don’t mind the cutting! I repositioned the stamp and stamped again to get the layered effects on either side. Once I was done, I watercolored the images with Daniel Smith paints and then added the Thank You sentiment.

Now for the winning opportunity! All three companies are offering $25 Gift Certificates to a lucky winner (one each per company). And all you have to do is comment on team member blogs from each of the three participating companies. Super easy! You can find all the participants at the company blogs (each company will list their team).

Picket Fence Studios – Click here

Thermoweb – Click here

My Sweet Petunia – Click here

Thanks so much for stopping in today. See you again on Wednesday for tons of fun from Freshly Made Sketches. You won’t want to miss it!

Picket Fence Studios and WOW! Embossing Collaboration Blog Hop

Picket Fence Studios and WOW! Embossing Collaboration Blog Hop published on 35 Comments on Picket Fence Studios and WOW! Embossing Collaboration Blog Hop

I love when crafty companies get together and share the joy! It is such a great part of our industry and one to celebrate! Today, Picket Fence Studios and WOW! Embossing are joining together. Two teams, tons of inspiration! Hang on for some AH-MAZING projects! If you arrived from Erica’s blog, welcome. If you are starting with me, just hop along with the list at the bottom until you get back here. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention PRIZES! Yes, of course there are prizes from these two amazing companies! Details later in the post.

I know that we are still in July but, to be honest, if I don’t start on Christmas cards now I will never get them done. One of the things I look for when designing mine for the year is something I can make in bulk that won’t make me too crazy. I don’t love creating in bulk, you see. So the design needs to be simple but with a special touch. As a CAS stamper, simple seems to be what I make the most of but the special part…that is where the WOW! embossing powders come in. When I was playing with this design, I originally tested two powders on this pretty Neenah Desert Storm paper. Both results were so pretty that I could not decide which I liked. So I asked my most honest critics. My boys! One chose “gold” and one chose “silver”. And I realized I didn’t have to actual choose at all!

Armed with my trusty MISTI, I had all the elements in place to stamp multiples. This Fern Picture Frame stamp from Picket Fence Studios is gorgeous for holiday cards! All the detail is perfect for embossing! I stamped in Versamark Ink and then heat embossed with White Pearl and Oyster Glintz powders. I had a happy accident with these choices, by the way. I had played with a number of colors on white card stock and knew how gorgeous they are in “true” color. But on the kraft, these took on the silver and gold look. I love products that can really give value and can multitask. I was pleasantly surprised that this could happen with embossing powder! When I get further along with my creating for Christmas, don’t be surprised when you see this exact card layout done on white with these powders and others. The sentiment for this card comes from the String of Lights Stamp Set. This whole set would be amazing with embossing powders….hmmm, chances are I’ll be making that too. I thought a few sequins were the perfect touch on the wreaths and I found some in my large stash that matched perfectly. Love the monochromatic feel but you could use colored jewels or pearls too. So now to more fun….

PRIZES – No Blog hop is complete without a prize!

WOW! Embossing Powders has 6 powders of your choosing along with a WOW carry case to store your powders safely in.

Picket Fence  is giving away a $50 gift certificate to their store.

The Winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on THE POSTS.

To join this GIVEAWAY you must leave a comment on each blog post to have a chance at getting your hands on the prize. This hop is open internationally. Below is the entire blog hop roll in case you get lost along the way. Next up is ISHA GUPTA and you are sure to be, well, WOW’d!

Thanks so much for stopping through today! See you again soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #399

Freshly Made Sketches #399 published on 8 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #399

Wow! That number is getting pretty close to a significant big one, don’t you think?! Yep, me too. Make sure you tune in next week to see what Freshly Made Sketches has in store for you. But for now….we have a new and fabulous sketch by the wonderful Jen Brum this week. It is such fun and lends itself to repeated patterns and small images. Love it!

I thought that the leaves from Weekend Doodles by Altenew were perfect for the sketch. I stamped them three times in black Versafine ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder by WOW! (Oh yeah….don’t miss LOTS of fun inspiration in the WOW and Picket Fence Studios collaboration in my second post today).

I cut the images out using the coordinating dies and then watercolored with Daniel Smith paints. I had a little bit of fall on the brain (because the heat is addling mine at this point of the summer) and added a bit of golden yellow to the green and teal. I used a sentiment from the same set on Fog Gray card stock and then cut with a double stitched square die. I added some clear drops that I loved with the shine of the clear embossing and then put it all on a base of Tranquil Tide card stock (SU).

I hope you enjoy this card and all the inspiration from the team. Hope you will consider joining us too! Thanks so much for stopping in today and make sure you come back for the second round too. Have a great day!

Freshly Made Sketches #398

Freshly Made Sketches #398 published on 5 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #398

A quick Wednesday post for you. Lots of flying this week! If you are out and about (especially at O’Hare), look for me! Our sketch hostess for this week at Freshly Made Sketches is the lovely Cécile Ribon. Her sketch is super fun and just awesome to use.

I finally got half a second to play with my new Blender Brushes from Taylored Expressions (worry not, they are coming back to stock soon). No better way to play than to pair them with the Stacked Coffee Mug Dies also from TE. Aren’t they cute?! You see, I was waiting to order the brushes on launch day so naturally I added a few more things to my cart. These mugs will get heavy rotation! They have additional pieces that I inked with the colored brushes (they are color coded so you can just keep going without worrying about mixing colors). I used some Catherine Pooler ink from the Carnivale set. The dots behind the cups come from an old SU set I had and I just randomly inked it to create the background in the right size and orientation for the sketch.

I can’t wait to see the gallery this week. I foresee amazing things! And I know this because the team has already created some beauties to inspire! I hope your week goes well. Thanks so much for stopping in. See you soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #397

Freshly Made Sketches #397 published on 8 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #397

I’m so happy to share the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches today! It is really fun and you are sure going to love how many options you have when creating with it. The amazing Kim Singdahlsen is the sketch designer and she really outdid herself.

I did try, at first, to make this in the vertical. In fact I had all the elements colored and ready when I realized it was WAY better to go landscape. Now these little Happy Birds from WPlus9. What can I say?! I saw circles and I just knew these birds were perfect. I mean seriously, you just have to love them. I had not pulled out my Copics for a bit so out they came. I admit that I really needed some time just coloring and these were such fun. The little stitched lines were a great way to stick with the sketch and I added some leaves from the set as accents. The sentiment is great with these little guys and I hope this really will bring a smile.

I’m going to share a little bit of a secret with you. Actually kind of a sneak “peek”, if you will. You can see from the number above that we are closing in on a big number sketch at FMS. And we have some fun things planned. Can’t quite let you in on that yet but you need to be ready for some August fun! Keep your eyes out for more details in a few weeks. In the mean time, thanks so much for stopping in today. See you soon!

Christmas In July

Christmas In July published on No Comments on Christmas In July

You want to know something about blogging? You can write up a post and then, if you don’t set the time to go live, it can sit in the holding pattern for days. Yeah. Ask me how I know. So, while this was supposed to go live yesterday, just write it off to summer crazies.

I’m continuing my sharing of the Picket Fence Studios July Release today with a fun Christmas card. As soon as I saw this pretty Fern Picture Frame image, all I could think of was Christmas options. So I created this bright happy and almost summery version of a Christmas card.

I used the Colorbox Dyestress Inks from Clearsnap and blended together two colors (Citronella and Inchworm) for a quick and easy background to the wreath. I over stamped the image on the blended section and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder to give it a little more texture. I found this sentiment in the String of Lights set and simply masked off part of it. I found a coordinating green card stock (SU) and some sequins to give a little more shine.

I love all the possibilities with this set and I’m sure you can see them too! Make sure you hop over and look at the whole release. So much to love!

Thanks for stopping in today. I appreciate you spending a few minutes with me and look forward to seeing you again tomorrow for the latest from Freshly Made Sketches.

Picket Fence Studios July Release

Picket Fence Studios July Release published on No Comments on Picket Fence Studios July Release

Happy weekend to you all! Sorry for the quiet around here. I don’t know about you but I find that summer is actually a bit busier for me on many things that keep me from stamping. Work, of course, but also having the boys around all the time. Which is awesome. And loud! But when it comes to a release, like this new one from Picket Fence Studios, everyone in the house knows to give mom some creative time!

My first card today shares the new Woodsy Forest Die. I love the pretty framing effect this gives and also the detail in the die itself. I used a woodgrain paper from my stash and cut out the trees. It was pretty in itself but then I added a bit of distress ink with my Life Changing Blender Brushes to help highlight the details. To create a background (like peering through the trees), I started with the Layers of Grass Stencil on Bristol Paper with the brushes again. The best part of this stencil is that is has both the positive and the negative. You can create the grass and then add the sky without messing it up. Such a nice touch for a stencil! I kept this pretty simple with just a couple of wooden flowers (again from my stash) that were colored with the inks and then decided that a word die was the way to go. This Lovely Word Die from last month’s release called out. I used the Tattered Rose (like on the sky) again and simply cut out the word. I like the softness of vellum in the background since it keeps to the same feeling of the sky.

Next up, I went all in on coloring this gorgeous new stencil called Heart of Flowers. It is SOOOO pretty! I found that the little round Blender Brush was perfect (actually I used two of them) to get into the nooks of the stencil. Also super helpful was a product called Pixie Spray. This is a much needed thing if you love stencils as much as I do. What is it? A spray that adds a bit of tack to the stencil so that it stays in place while you color. It made this detail work a breeze with no slipping while I colored. On this one, I used Catherine Pooler inks and the colors blended on so easily. I added a sentiment from the Small Ways to Say Thanks set.

Ok, that is it for today! I’ll have another card to share tomorrow with another set from the release. You are sure to love all the products so hop over to the site to see them all by clicking here: Picket Fence Studios

Thanks so much for stopping in today. Hope you have a great day and I’ll see you again soon.

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