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Freshly Made Sketches #565

Freshly Made Sketches #565 published on 2 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #565

Happy Wednesday! I am back today with the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and another watercolor tree. Truly, I’m obsessed. I did get a question on the tutorial on the watercolor trees. Dawn has a group on Facebook called WPlus9 Encourage Creativity where she has lives twice a week or so. The tree painting was on November 15th. Now, on to the latest sketch from the incredible Karren Johnson.

Armed with my confidence from the last watercolor tree, I attempted another style and, oh my word, it worked! I wanted to use it with the sketch this week and had to play around with backgrounds that worked. I finally settled on some patterned paper from Honey Bee Stamps.

I love this traditional plaid behind the tree and thought the dark wood print grounded the card nicely. In keeping with the sketch (loosely, at least) I chose a sentiment from Inside: Holiday Sentiments (Honey Bee Stamps). I had added a few gouache splatters to the tree after painting but still thought it needed a little something extra. A twine bow seemed to be just the right amount of detail.

I hope you’ll come over to join us for this week’s challenge. This sketch is perfect for those last minute holiday cards! I appreciate you dropping by. See you again soon!

Deck the Halls with Inky Paws with Newton’s Nook Designs

Deck the Halls with Inky Paws with Newton’s Nook Designs published on 2 Comments on Deck the Halls with Inky Paws with Newton’s Nook Designs

I’m super excited to be sharing for this year’s Deck the Halls with Inky Paws over at Newton’s Nook Designs. I have a card using the super fun Holiday Heights stamps set and dies that may or may not resemble two cats I know. Kate and Meg, I’m looking at you…

Using my Copic Markers, I colored this sweet image and added some details to match the colors on my girls. The background paper is the Christmas Time paper pad and I like how much texture it adds.

The sentiment comes from the same stamp set and all I needed to do was add a bit of ribbon from my stash. They have inspiration all week so make sure you check out the different designer features each day!

Hand painted tree for Christmas

Hand painted tree for Christmas published on 4 Comments on Hand painted tree for Christmas

My crafting lately has been a bit hit and miss. In order to preserve some of my days off needed, I have been on reserve (on call) for flying. It makes for a chaotic pattern and I have a hard time creating without a good schedule. Some days, I just watch videos of my talented friends and learn. Recently, the incredible Dawn Woleslagle (WPlus9) showed how to paint trees. And I don’t just mean color, but actually paint. Now I like to pretend I’m a painter sometimes but this is next level. I like to color OTHER people’s art! But she made this look easy so I gave it a go.

Using my Daniel Smith watercolors, I followed along with Dawn basically mimicking her every move. And you know what, I got a tree! I’m pretty excited about this tree, not going to lie. Enough that I’m going to try some more. We’ll see how that goes. I cut down the panel, in retrospect I wish I had left it longer for the sentiment, to create a card. In keeping with Dawn’s unique and truly special style, I even pulled out my sewing machine. I stitched around the edges of the colored panel and a paper print panel (from Honey Bee Stamps). My sewing is intentionally a bit wonky but if I tried to make it perfect, it would be wonky anyway.

I thought it needed a bit more so I added gold splatters to the back panel and a layer of vellum underneath. The sentiment is gold embossed (Honey Bee Stamps) and I pulled a gold button and thread from my stash.

So the lesson here is never say never. It takes a bit of courage to make art. A little of yourself is in every piece and you have to face “messing up”. I hope this encourages you to take a chance and try something new. And please go follow Dawn on all her social platforms. She is generous with her talents and a skilled instructor! Thanks so much for stopping in today. Wishing you a wonderful rest of your week.

Freshly Made Sketches #563

Freshly Made Sketches #563 published on 3 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #563

Super quick for today since I’m in the middle of a trip (typing from a hotel room and I’m TIRED!). I created this for the latest awesome sketch. This one was designed by our hiker extraordinaire, Jen Brum!

I saw this design from the free paper pack that came in my Honey Bee Stamps order (instant quick cards if you want and oh so cute). Thought it would be pretty for the sketch. I inked up some paper and cut these holly leaves and berries. So fast but so fun! I told you in Monday’s post about the Holly Jolly Background Stamp and the sentiment I cut out. This one was all ready to go and popped it right onto the card.

I think I will use more of these little cards in similar ways to create a stack of cards. I love when quick cards can still feel special. Hope you’ll come over and join us for the sketch this week.

For all of you in the US, wishing you a happy Thanksgiving holiday. If you are traveling, so am I! Keep an eye out in Houston, Charlotte, Chicago! See you again soon.

Holly Jolly from Honey Bee Stamps

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I have been working away on Christmas cards and trying some new techniques. I find that watching “lives” with my stamping friends inspires me to try things I would never otherwise do. This card is the result of one I watched with the queen of artsy, inky goodness – Lydia Fiedler.

Last week, Lydia was showing how to add color and depth to a background stamp and I was inspired to try it with the Holly Jolly background stamp from Honey Bee Stamps. There is nothing particularly hard about the process, it just takes a bit of time and patience. I started with a piece of Bristol Smooth paper larger than the image and put it in my Misti. The Misti is key to the technique since you stamp the image over and over again. Using my Mini Distress Inks, I started adding colors selectively on the image. I kind of went around and around the image adding and layering the inks. This gives you an idea of the work in progress. After this point I added some Peacock Feathers and Villainous Potion. It is kind of an experiment which is what makes it fun.

Once I had the panel inked, I decided I wanted it to take on a vintage vibe so I added Distress Oxide Ink in Antique Linen and some Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges. Next I splattered on some Early Espresso ink. I chose a section that seemed the most balanced and cut it with a rectangle die. Separately, I inked the big image in black ink and used the coordinating dies to cut all the sentiments out…such a great way to have a bunch of fun font sentiments on hand. I used the script Holly Jolly and matched the distress inking from the main panel.

Using the Make It Merry paper pack, I chose a plaid for the base layer and some of the red/green prints for my poinsettia. I little gold center to add some elegance.

This inking technique has made me look at some background stamps differently and I look forward to using this again. If you are every needing some inspiration to try new things, go visit my friend Lydia. She is amazing and truly her tutorials will just make your day happier. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Freshly Made Sketches #562

Freshly Made Sketches #562 published on 8 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #562

I had a bit of a break from the craft room and was out flying but managed to work in a quick card for this week’s Freshly Made Sketches. Our sketch designer, the awesome Kim Singdahlsen, has given us an interesting design that is open to so many options. I also wanted to work in a design for the 2022 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and I found just the right image!

I love this little mouse from the Merry Little Mice stamp set (Honey Bee Stamps) and when I pulled him out, I realized it had been a minute since I had done any Copic coloring. It was nice to use simple images that were not too fussy. And who can resist this little guy?! I added some presents and snowflakes from the same set and I love how the snowflakes from the stamp set (a set from last year) coordinate with this newly release patterned paper!

As I was looking at sentiments, this one made me chuckle. Not the classic cup of cheer but a fun one! It comes from the Hug in a Mug set which is meant to coordinate with a mug die. And I mentioned the paper, all the prints here (included the ombré green) are from the new Make It Merry Paper Pack. I heat embossed part of the sentiment on the top panel and turned the sister panel the opposite way for a little interest.

I have lots of excitement coming for the rest of the week…. Jury duty today, a little on call for United but then I get to go capture my college kid! Definitely moving in the right direction. Probably not much crafting time over the next week but I’m guessing a lot of flying time. If you are traveling out and about in airports, look for me! Thanks for stopping in today. Hope you have a great rest of your week.

Freshly Made Sketches #561

Freshly Made Sketches #561 published on 4 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #561

This is a record of sorts lately…3 posts in 3 days! I know….crazy! I really am trying to get into gear with holiday crafting and have been spending a bit more time in the craft room where I can. Our sketch designer at Freshly Made Sketches this week is our ever humorous and always amazing Linda Callahan. I won’t lie when I said that at first I was a little stumped on the sketch. And then…..

Then I wasn’t. This card was put together in 15 minutes. I kid you not! In fairness, I had the pieces all done and laying on the table when I had the a-ha moment. I pulled out the scalloped rectangles dies and the rest was just adhesives! Now to the pieces. The background Plaid A2 Foil Plate (Honey Bee Stamps) came about from a foil fail. I was working on another card and rushed the foiling. Patience is not always my strong suit. I do find with background plates that I need to give them just a bit more time to evenly heat up. But I kind of liked the foil distress look and put it aside. Leaning on that idea, I pulled out some Distress Oxide Ink in Tumbled Glass. Yep, I love it.

For the bouquet of greenery, I had already put this together using the leftovers from the other card mentioned before. All these Lovely Layers: Winter Greenery pieces are so pretty!! The green pieces are cut from the Make It Merry paper pad (the berries from another lighter paper) and the gold cardstock goes perfectly with the foil. The sentiment is from the Foil Script: Holiday Hot Foil set. I foiled the sentiment all at once so I had this one sitting ready to go. So yeah, I made it in 15 min but only because I had already done the work while goofing around in the craft room.

I’m glad you stopped in today. Take a look around your stamp table and see if you can put some of those unfinished objects (UFOs) to work. And join us over at Freshly Made Sketches too! See you soon!

Floral Reflection from Spellbinders

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I’m super excited to be a part of the November release from Spellbinders and I get to share part of the Floral Reflection Collection. This is a beautiful group of products! To show the versatility, I created two cards with the same design but that look totally different.

My first card starts with a base of Fog cardstock. Using the Solid Floral Reflection Hot Foil Plate I added some Opal Foil to the paper and then cut it out with the coordinating Floral Reflection Etched Dies. As part of the supporting layer, I added more foil with the Splatter Sentiments rectangle hot foil plate. So pretty in person!

I cut some of the new Sealed Wildflowers from white cardstock and decided I liked the look of them just plain over the Opal Foil. So elegant! Using Moondust Foil, I added a sentiment from Everyday Sentiments II Hot Foil Plates. I found some matching gems in my stash which finish the flowers perfectly!

Not content with just one version, I thought it would be fun to color the flowers for a totally different effect. I chose fall colors in Distress Inks and blended them onto the die cut flowers. This time I foiled some Splatters with Matte Gold and cut them out with the same die.

The gold is so pretty with the fall colors and really creates a totally different feel that the first card. As you can see, I’m all about using one idea to create different cards right now. I am never a fan of mass production but sometimes designing all new things every time is prohibitive. This method is a sweet spot and maybe one you will find helpful too!

I hope you like these! Make sure to go over and check the entire new release from Spellbinders. Links below are to the products and you’ll be able to find more once you are there. Thanks for stopping in today. See you again soon!

Nordic Tree Shaker Cards and Extras

Nordic Tree Shaker Cards and Extras published on 1 Comment on Nordic Tree Shaker Cards and Extras

I have decided that I better start getting more serious about Christmas cards. November is bound to fly by and I’ll be woefully behind! While I’m not a big fan of mass production, I actually made 4 cards for today (all a little different) by using positive and negative die cuts.

I started by inking to A2 sized panels in a blend I have used before – Kitsch Flamingo and Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide Inks. I told you then that you would likely see it again and I’m truly obsessed with this color combination. I cut both panels with the Nordic Tree Die from Erin Lee Creative and then used a rectangle die to center and cut down the panels. I splattered one with Hero Arts Iridescent Shimmer Spray and one with Hero Arts White Glimmer Metallic Ink. The ink is a bit more opaque while the shimmer spray has a more subtle effect. Both are awesome!

I created shaker cards using the Catherine Pooler St. Cloud blend of sequins (they have the blue and clear and pink-ish colors that match the ink blend perfectly). Then using Silver Glimmer Hot Foil used the Christmas Greetings Hot Foil and Dies set from Erin Lee Creative for the sentiment.

Using the trees that I cut out (because why would I not?), I created two more cards. For the first, I sprayed again with Shimmer Spray and added some silver thread behind the tree for a little more shine. I used another of the sentiments from the Christmas Greetings set. **Tip: I actually foiled all the sentiment from the set at the same time so that I had them ready to go for these and other cards. **

On the bottom card here, I did not splatter and went for a cleaner look. In my attempt to foil the sentiment directly onto the panel, I had my foil backwards (seriously….those who have, those who will) and ended up with a letterpress look along with a pretty silver on my hot foil plate. It doesn’t hurt the plate, for the record. I kind of like the look so went with it. I added the tree but gluing the middle straight down but putting a bit of foam tape under the branches for dimension. I thought the Pink Blush Pearls from Pretty Pink Posh were the right add, almost like a free form ornament.

So there you have it. Four cards, all a little different but the same. WIN!! This pretty tree from Erin Lee Creative will stay in heavy rotation as I create. I love the modern look and clearly it allows for some diversity of design. Thanks so much for stopping in today. Back tomorrow with a fun new product!

Freshly Made Sketches #559

Freshly Made Sketches #559 published on 5 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #559

Happy Wednesday to you! I’m the sketch designer over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I went with a little more detail than my normal design. But you can choose to interpret those circles however you want!

Taking a short break from the seasonal cards, I thought I’d use some of the pieces I had left in my pile of unused extras. I had these flowers from the Citrus Blooms set that I had previously watercolored and thought they would be pretty grouped together. I chose a the Inverted Stitched Scallop Circle (also Pinkfresh Studios) because I love the extra bit of detail on it.

I liked the idea of all the white but I thought a bit of gold would make it more special. I used the Fancy Script Words Hot Foil Plates and dies for the sentiment. A little bit of gold splatter and then some Matte Gold Pearls to finish.

The team, as always, has some amazing interpretations of the sketch and I look forward to seeing how you use it. I hope you have a good rest of your week! See you soon.

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