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Freshly Made Sketches #657

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Happy to share the fun sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week. Karren has really created a fun one with the angled panel and the tag element. I found my idea came together really quickly for this one!

It all started with these kitties….a phrase that pretty much describes daily life at my house! They come from the Meowgical Stamp Set by The Rabbit Hole Designs and I love them! A couple of weeks ago, I needed some coloring therapy and sat down to Copic color these two. I think I told you about a Copic “belch” and had to rethink a card. It was on one of these that I had almost finished. So I walked away for a bit and then came back to color again. As usual, I chose to make them Kate (the calico) and Meg (my gray tuxedo). I didn’t quite create Meg’s face flash but otherwise it is pretty much them.

There is a fun spider web image in the set and at first I planned to use it. But then I came across this paper from the Spooktacular Paper Pack (Honey Bee Stamps) and thought it was perfect for the sketch. I found this green texture paper in the same pack and used on of my “Free Bee” tag dies to cut it out (Honey Bee has freebies that come with certain order amounts…which I always seem to hit…and this tag set has other fun elements with it too). The sentiments from the stamp set are all so cute and punny! In my brain this is totally Kate casting a disappearing spell on Meg and Meg just looking at her all sassy after drinking some kind of immunity potion. And if Kate could make Meg disappear, pretty sure she would!! Ah, calico kitties!!! Also Kate has one of the loudest and purriest purrs ever so…. Clearly this will end up with one of the boys or someone who knows these two and their shenanigans.

I had an orange and white ribbon that, at first, I tried in the tag but it was too thick. Instead, I used it as a border detail and love the effect. All the ribbon and twine is from my “collection”.

Thanks so much for stopping in today. For the next week, I’m one happy mom. Both of the boys will be coming home for their respective fall breaks. A little staggered but both here over the weekend. For all of you who are in the path of the latest hurricane or have been impacted by Helene, please know my thoughts remain with you. Please take care of yourselves and know that we are waiting to support you in any way we can. See you soon!

CASE Me a Christmas Card with Michelle Lupton

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I’m thrilled that the amazing Michelle Lupton is back this year with her CASE Me a Christmas Card series. And I’m honored that she invited me to join her again. I always love this fun concept. I choose one of her cards from the year and use it as a basis for creating a Christmas card. She does the same for me.

Here is the card I CASEd of Michelle’s:

Using what I consider to be the basic rules of CASEing (Copy and Share Everything), I wanted to change at least three things and still stay true to her original. While she did a partial die cutting technique, I opted to mimic that look with die cuts strategically placed on the diagonal. Using the Deck the Halls Washi Tape elements, I just layered them up along the edge. I flipped to a landscape format to make the ornaments hang correctly too.

Where Michelle used a textured embossing folder, I opted for designer paper (from Honey Bee Stamps). I love how her texture really made those flower pop and I think this paper does the same for my ornaments and greenery. I heat embossed the sentiment from the stamp set that coordinates with the washi and dies. Finally, I added some pearls like she did. She used seven and I thought that was just perfect for my card too!

Michelle used one of my cards and I cannot wait to see what she did! This is part of the fun…we don’t share which cards we are using!! Go check her’s out here: CASE Me a Christmas Card with Jen Timko

Thanks for joining me today and make sure you follow Michelle for all of her guests! See you soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #656

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Hi everyone! Back with this week’s sketch from Freshly Made Sketches. This week our super creative Cécile Ribbon has created a sketch you are sure to love! I decided it was time to peruse through my bowl of unused elements and see what I found.

I think we can agree I went an entirely different direction than last week’s shares. This pink snowflakes were just sitting there waiting to be used and I thought they would be fun for the sketch. I don’t remember which pink card stock this is but all I did was cut out the snowflakes from the Lovely Layers: Large Snowflakes. I also had the glitter paper snowflake already cut and thought, sure, why not?!! The pink ones had been splattered with Hero Arts Shimmer Mist to add a bit of extra shine.

I took a sentiment from the Tag, You’re It stamp set and heat embossed with silver embossing powder. Attached the snowflakes and added some silver pearls from the Metallic Pearls set. Quick and easy for sure, especially since the die cutting was already done!

Hope you’ll come over and join us this week. I bet you have some things that would be perfect for this sketch too! I’ll be back tomorrow with a fun surprise post. See you then!

Freshly Made Sketches #655

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So, as I sit to write this, I realized that I never posted my card here from last week’s Freshly Made Sketches challenge. Sigh. Not exactly sure how that happened other than the card was a complete re-vamp after a Copic “belching” incident… Oy. Moving forward, as they say. This week we have a super fun sketch from our adventurer extraordinaire Jen Brum. Now mind you, this is a woman who says she doesn’t like circles in her sketches…um…. But I took a loose interpretation of those circles and I’m hoping she doesn’t mind.

I totally took this as an excuse to play with the new products from Honey Bee Stamps, starting with the Lovely Layers: Mini Fall Florals. This set abounds with fall awesomeness to include a fun boot but I lasered in on the sunflowers. Using my Bitty Bunny Blending Brushes, I had fun blending Distress Inks onto the die cuts. I added in a few branches from the Lovely Layers: Seasonal Frame for extra texture and I love that the two sets are at the same scale.

I chose a sentiment from the Bloom with Grace stamp set (it also has sunflowers) that I thought was really sweet. To help keep more to the sketch, I added a few gems from the Grain and Grunge gem sticker pack. I did brush a little Distress Ink on the edges of the base too for a bit of depth.

I hope you like my version of the sketch and will come over to join us. The team has a wide variation on it and I think you will enjoy it as much as we have. Thanks again for stopping in today. Sorry about skipping the card last week. For those who only see my cards on the blog, here it is (tree die cuts and papers are from Honey Bee Stamps). Have a great week and see you soon!

Twenty-three years

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“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.”
—Sandy Dahl, wife of United Flight 93 Captain Jason Dahl

When we said we would never forget, did we mean it? Sure we give a nod to the tragedy of 9/11. But I think we have reached the point that the words are ringing hollow. Captain Jason Dahl is an icon at United Airlines and not because he was the Captain of Flight 93. He was a man that took every opportunity to challenge other people to step up, to be leaders and to be better every day. He would often ask a variation of the question “what are you doing with the opportunity given you?”. His legacy is a group of pilots who have stepped up and stepped in. So when I saw the quote from his wife Sandy, I knew that she had captured the essence of what Jason asked. If we are out there making a difference, working to improve the world, how on earth can we have time for hate? Hate is what took Jason, and the thousands of others who lost their lives, from this world too soon.

As with other years, I look back and tell the stories, try to remember the good in the midst of horror and do my best to honor those we lost. When I saw the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches (by Kim Singdahlsen) this week, I thought maybe I had a way to say it with a card.

I chose the blue for the obvious reason. Always the blue September sky. But also a simple wish. I wish for a day of kindness, joy and beauty. The sentiment dies are from The Greetery (Let’s Have A Word: Beautiful Dies) and the flower is from Spellbinders (Butterfly Bouquet Press Plate). Both are inked using Distress Oxide Ink in Tumbled Glass.

I have written my thought and memories for years now. If you care to read:  9th Anniversary10th Anniversary11th Anniversary12th Anniversary13th Anniversary14th Anniversary15th Anniversary18th Anniversary and 19th Anniversary, 20th Anniversary, 21st Anniversary and 22nd Anniversary.

As we move through this 23rd Anniversary, I have an ask of you. Take a moment to walk in someone else’s shoes. Use a most respectful interpretation of intent and give people the benefit of the doubt. Choose to see differences as something that adds beauty to your world. I hope you have a beautiful day.

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 #652

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You are going to notice a trend on my card this week but I hope you won’t mind. Our sketch designer this week at Freshly Made Sketches is our talented and hilarious Linda Callahan. She gave us an overdue landscape sketch (we really do tend toward portrait versions) and I use pretty much exactly the same products as I did last week. I even mostly followed the sketch.

In last week’s post I told you I cut lots of pieces from the Deck the Halls washi tape (PinkFresh Studio designed by Dawn Woleslagle). These are more of the pieces. I just used them more as a swag to follow the sketch. It is great how fast these can come together with that washi! I heat embossed another of the sentiments from the set with gold and used it as the rectangle element. Hmmm, mostly meets the task, I think.

I used a scrap of the same patterned paper as last week (might as well use that piece up, right?!). Plus more of the gorgeous gold card stock from Erin Lee Creative. I showed a bit more of it this time for a bolder shine. And that’s it. Simple, elegant and FAST! I’m thinking I made a winning choice on getting this washi!

Thanks, as always, for visiting with me today. I hope you like the idea of multiple cards using the same products. I think it keeps it real and is a good way to show things are only good for one card. Hope you are have a lovely start to your September! See you soon.

Freshly Made Sketches #651

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Hi everyone! Happy end of August!! I know it has been kind of forever since I posted but, as I suspected, my month was really taken over by getting ready for the youngest to leave for college. He went a week ago, and then my “emotional support college senior” left on Sunday. Now the real quiet begins. Oh my!! Good thing I have stamping to do and new products to use! I’m the sketch designer at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I chose something that was simple for my brain to handle. And conveniently, it worked with some new products.

When I saw this gorgeous new suite of products from Dawn Woleslagle for PinkFresh Studio, I knew it would be perfect for some of my holiday crafting. She created a stamp and die set but also a coordinating washi tape that can be used with the dies too. This makes for quick cards and an easy way to create multiples that still feel fancy. For this card, I used the washi and put it down on white card stock, then cut it out with the dies. I did doubles of all the images (since it is so fast) so I’d have lots of pieces to play with. Didn’t need a lot for this but now I have them for the next time I sit to create! I created a wreath by layering the die cuts and then got to choosing how to finish the card.

I found this pretty print in the Holiday Wishes Paper Pack by Honey Bee Stamps that was perfect! It mirrors the gold in the washi tape and I love the pattern. I stamped the sentiment (from Dawn’s stamp set) and heat embossed with gold. To complete the sketch, I used some of my Gold Card Stock from Erin Lee Creative (she has some of the BEST papers!) along the edge of the patterned paper. Some gold pearls to finish.

This was a fun way to get back into the craft room after such a long hiatus. I look forward to getting some more crafting fun in over the next week as I adjust to the empty nest. Thanks so much for stopping in today. Hope you can come over and join us with my sketch! See you soon.

Freshly Made Sketches #647

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Hope all is going well with you summer! Here we are at the end of July already. I had a little time to make a quick card for this week’s Freshly Made Sketches so I’m here to share. This fun sketch from our wonderful Karren Johnson was easy to use and I think it will be a popular one this week.

I pulled out my new BetterPress again for this one and used the Floral J and Sentiment Press Plate. Seemed like the right letter for me, don’t you think?! I inked it up with Momento Tuxedo Black with the intent to use Copics and it worked great! Just some easy coloring and I love the detail on this.

To keep to the sketch, I cut out the letter with the Stacking Art Deco Labels dies. In the background, I used the Dogwood Blooms 3-D Embossing Folder on white card stock and then cut it per the sketch. Like I said, a quick card!

Thanks so much for stopping in today. As always, I appreciate you! See you soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #645

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Hi friends!! Coming to you from the surface of the sun (otherwise known as Virginia). Oh, is it crazy! I hope you are not being negatively impacted by the heat or the awful storms that have been affecting so many. I decided I needed an afternoon in my nice, cool basement craft room and I got some time to play with a new-to-me product. And…I’m hooked. Our hiking superstar, Jen Brum, is our sketch designer this week for Freshly Made Sketches and I love the elegant options this one gives.

I just got the BetterPress Letterpress system from Spellbinders. And yes, I’m a late adapter!! I love the letterpress look (always have) but wanted to make sure this wasn’t a fleeting trend before I committed. I got a few plates when I ordered it and this Butterfly Bouquet was one of them. And then it matched the sketch…well almost. Except backwards. But I wanted to break open the box and give this a try so I’m sure Jen will forgive the flip. I thought the circle on the sketch lent itself to the spotlight technique.

I used the Porcelain BetterPress Cotton card panels (A2) and printed the image twice. On the second, I cut a circle out and then colored those with Karin Markers in bright, happy colors. Daring to be different, I did not use the ink that comes with the BetterPress (although it is water safe). Instead I used a known ink to me, Versafine Clair. It worked perfectly and I knew it would hold up to the watercoloring. I stamped the sentiment on part of the scrap from the watercolored panel using the same ink and words from the On the Line: Fall Florals set. The texture on this is so pretty! The paper, the detail, all of it…so in love!

I hope you will have a bit of time to play along this week. Make sure to link up so we can see your beautiful work. My summer is going by so fast…today I’m off to do some dorm shopping…oh my!! Thanks for stopping by today. I so appreciate you!

Freshly Made Sketches #643

Freshly Made Sketches #643 published on 6 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #643

Well, it has been hot as blazes outside so naturally, I’m thinking cool thoughts! Our sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches is courtesy of our amazing Linda Callahan and all I could see was snowflakes!

I had this background sitting over in my stash of unused things and decided it was exactly right for today’s card. I don’t remember exactly how I made it other than with Distress Oxides and Hero Arts Shimmer Mist but ink smooshing was definitely involved. I also had the top snowflake sitting in the pile so I simply cut two more from the same Lovely Layers: Large Snowflakes set. I inked one with more Oxide Ink and left the other plain. Took them all to the spray box and added Shimmer Mist.

It is always hard to capture the shimmer on camera but the second photo give you an idea of it. I pulled a sentiment from the Let Nature Sing set and used silver embossing powder for it. Then I added some of the matte silver pearls from the Metallic Mixed Pearls pack.

I hope this finds you staying cool and having a nice summer. I will be intermittent in my cards over the summer. Trying to take advantage of every last moment before the youngest heads off to college in August. There will be plenty of time for stamping after the nest is empty. *sigh* Thanks for stopping in today!

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