Freshly Made Sketches

Freshly Made Sketches #200 – A Celebration!

August 19, 2015 Jentimko 32 Comments

The day is finally here! The 200th sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches!! I had to stop and take in all that means when it comes to crafty inspiration. The amazing challenge consistently has over 100 players each week. That means over the last 4 years our challenge has had over 20,000 cards shared! Wow. Just wow! When Lesley started this challenge, I felt immediately like she had put words to my style. Clean but not always simple. Don’t get me wrong, I like Clean AND Simple (CAS) but many times I make cards that have clean lines but also take a long time to make. Sometimes it is a technique, sometimes it is detail work, sometimes it is working on balance…but many of these clean cards are actually hard. *smile* Lesley gave me an a-ha moment and clearly I am not the only one! The success of this challenge is about the right mix of sketches and the amazing design team (I still pinch myself that I get to be a part of it!). It is even more about YOU, the greater crafting community. Our sponsors recognize what you bring and have been so generous in all they are offering as prizes!

We don’t have a traditional sketch hostess today. The whole team is your hostess! We chose a sketch that we felt allows for lots of expression and creativity. Based on what I have seen from both our FMS DT and our guest DT members, we were right. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as we already have!

I had so many ideas for this sketch that I could barely clear my head enough to use just one (actually I have more cards to share with you later this week). This one really reflects some of my favorite items in the new Holiday Catalog from Stampin’ Up so I just had to share. These catalogs should be arriving soon to customers and you are going to be in love! I started with the new Softly Falling TIEF and embossed my Thick Whisper White panel. This embossing folder is awesome. While it is meant to be “snow”, I just used it as a texture layer with the concentrated dots at the bottom (helped me stick to the sketch). It is so pretty and more impressive in person than in my picture. Then there are the snowflakes. These wooden Snowflake Elements are awesome. I should have gotten more. There are 24 in a pack and I’ll be through them in no time! I took them and smooshed them into my Versamark Ink Pad and them poured Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder on them. Add a heat tool and they emboss up super fast. GORGEOUS! They are attached with the new Fine Tip Glue Pen…so great for tiny things! I added a Basic Rhinestone to each center with such a pretty effect. Next, using the new Christmas Greetings Thinlit Dies and my Big Shot, I cut out the sentiment from Silver Glimmer Paper. Mmmm….glitter! As if the shine and sparkle weren’t enough already, I added a layer of Silver Foil behind the image layer and popped the whole thing up on Dimensionals. This card is such a wow in person. I love it and I hope you do too!

Now if you have ever needed inspiration, this is the week to get ready to Pin. I’m in complete awe over the talent that is in our guest gallery. As if I wasn’t already mouth agape enough from the FMS DT!!! The support from the stamping community has been humbling for all of us at FMS and I cannot begin to tell you what it has been like for me over the last few weeks. Every time a card was sent to me, I squealed out loud. As the companies responded with their sponsorship offers, I could hardly believe what I was reading. At one point I think I channeled my inner Sally Field. We can’t deny that you like us…you really like us! *smile* And that is a fabulous honor for all of us at Freshly Made Sketches. This community of artists and friends is unlike any other I have known. I’m grateful beyond measure to Lesley for having given me, a small time and unknown stamper, the offer of being on this amazing team almost 4 years ago. It changed the course of my crafting life. Gave me the confidence to enter and be chosen for Stampin’ Up’s Artisan Design Team. And most importantly, it has given me the chance to meet some of the kindest and most generous people in the world. The actual world….because we are all over the place and yet we feel like neighbors.

So, I’ll stop being sappy before I can’t continue my post. I hope you have fun this week! Here’s to another 200!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Ink: Versamark; Paper: Thick Whisper White, Silver Foil, Silver Glimmer ; Accessories: Big Shot, Christmas Greetings Thinlits, Softly Falling TIEF, Heat Tool, Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Basic Rhinestones, Fine Tip Glue Pen

Freshly Made Sketches #199

August 12, 2015 Jentimko 7 Comments

Happy Wednesday! It is usually one of my favorite days but next week, it is sure to be YOURS as well. Our 200th Sketch Celebration at Freshly Made Sketches is next week at you don’t want to miss it! Keep an eye on the FMS blog this week to see all the amazing sponsors who will be joining us!

This week our sketch is worth celebrating too! Karren is our sketch hostess and she has created one that I simply love.

I pulled out an old favorite for this one and kept it super clean to focus on this pretty flower. I stamped the image from Simply Sketched in Basic Gray onto Thick Whisper White. I added Daffodil Delight, So Saffron and Basic Gray to the flower with my Aquapainter. Super simple to do and such a great result! I put the panel up on Dimensionals onto a Basic Gray base and then added this Paper Pumpkin sentiment backed up with some retired Washi Tape. A few Basic Pearls are sprinkled on for a little extra elegance.

I have started seeing the previews of what the FMS team has for you next week (and what our guest DT members have created)…I’m here to tell you that you will be blown away with the talent! Since you can’t see that quite yet, I’ll just send you over to FMS for this week’s inspiration. The team never disappoints!

I hope your week is fantastic. My summer seems to be flying by with my oldest son starting back to school next week. How can that even be???? I’m enjoying the last few days with the boys and then some more flying this weekend. I’ll be back on Monday with a new Stamp Review Crew card. Until then….have a great week!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp: Simply Sketches, Petite Pairs; Ink: Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron; Paper: Thick Whisper White, Basic Gray ; Accessories: Aquapainter, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals, Retired Washi Tape

Freshly Made Sketches #198

August 5, 2015 Jentimko 10 Comments

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.

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!

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

Freshly Made Sketches #197

July 29, 2015 Jentimko 11 Comments

My trip to DC was so awesome last week. The Nats game was fantastic and they pulled out a great win. We wandered around over the two days and went to the Arboretum, the Natural History Museum, saw the memorials and generally had a great time (and a lot of walking!). Just what the family needed! I have a picture at the bottom of the post of the boys before the Nats game. The happy faces say it all!

Today over at Freshly Made Sketches we have this sketch that will become an instant classic. My friend Jen Brum designed it and it rocks!

I started with the butterfly from the Bold Butterfly Framelits. Conveniently, Just Add Ink has a butterfly challenge this week so I am playing along with that! I had the piece of watercolored paper from last week’s card sitting around still and I cut it out with the butterfly. Part of it was still uncolored so I splashed on a little Daffodil Delight ink with my Aquapainter. Remember when I told you last week about winning that flower die? Well, I also won this Basic Grey DSP and it works perfectly here! I added a square of Thick Whisper White with the sentiment from Garden in Bloom stamped in Rose Red. I added on some Basic Rhinestones for a little extra sparkle.

Now just look at those faces? Aren’t they cute?! They might be part of the reason that I’m not stamping as much right now but, let’s face it, they are totally worth it!!

Now, off to see what the rest of the DT created! You will love the projects! I’ll be back on Friday for this month’s Fancy Friday hop. Until then, have a great week!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp: Garden in Bloom; Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Rose Red, Daffodil Delight; Paper: Thick Whisper White, Basic Gray Vivienne; Accessories: Big Shot, Bold Butterfly Framelit, Aquapainter, Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals

Freshly Made Sketches #196

July 22, 2015 Jentimko 5 Comments

Did you see the news yet???!!! Freshly Made Sketches is rapidly approaching our 200th sketch and we have quite a celebration in store for our players! I’m sure you know that we normally run our challenge unsponsored but we have loads of AMAZING sponsors for this big event. Plan now to play along!! Keep an eye on our Facebook page or Instagram feed for more sneak peeks on who will join us!

Now back to the regularly schedule programing of sketch #196. This week’s challenge hostess is the always lovely and oh so talented Cindy Hall. You are going to love this one, I just know it!

I used Rose Red and Watermelon Wonder inks on watercolor paper to create a pretty look and then another spot of Pool Party. Then, using this amazing flower die, I cut out the flower. I got this one from a giveaway from Ashley Horton. Fun, huh?! I stamped the sentiment from the Watercolor Wishes Kit using a combination of the inks (this time sponged on the stamp). The Dots for Days stamp was inked in Pool Party and stamped onto Thick Whisper White leaving a white border for the sketch. I added on some sequins from the Watercolor Wishes Kit to finish. I love this card so much. It totally does not photograph as pretty as it is in person!

Thanks again to Ashley for the great giveaway!! Off today to a Nats game with my boys and some family time in DC. The weather has cooled down and it should be perfect for being a tourist! Thanks so much for stopping in today. See you soon!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp: Watercolor Wishes Kit; Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Rose Red, Pool Party; Paper: Thick Whisper White, Watercolor Paper; Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Die from Echo Park Paper Co., Aquapainter, Sequins from Watercolor Wishes Kit, Sponge Dauber, Dimensionals

Freshly Made Sketches #195

July 15, 2015 Jentimko 7 Comments

Can you believe it?! I got to visit with another amazing stamper this week on my journeys through the United system!! This time, I stopped in Toronto, Canada and got to have lunch with the lovely Jennifer Brum. Now we got to meet before when she was in the DC area and our families went to one of the Air and Space Museums together. Yep….we share both flying and stamping as interests (at least Jen gets brought along on the flying since her boys are huge aviation fans). For all that my flying has been exhausting this week (6 days out in a row), my visit with Jen was a big bright spot!

Now to stamping. The incredibly talented Kim Singdahlsen is our sketch hostess at Freshly Made Sketches this week and she has this fun and unique challenge for us! You are going to have a ball with it!

I was tempted to go with flowers again this week but I decided to stay close to the sketch (mostly because of the time crunch and flying). I chose these prints from the retired Moonlight DSP (using up those scraps!) and punched circles with my 1-3/4″ Circle Punch. I attached them to a piece of regular Whisper White and ran them through the Big Shot with my Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (inlaid embossing). Then I took the panel and cut it out using my Stitched Rectangles die from Simon Says Stamps. The sentiment is cut from Blackberry Bliss card stock using the Greetings Thinlits and I added a button and some Baker’s Twine for a little more detail. Isn’t this fun?! I told you that you would love the sketch!

Well, I am home today (finally) and looking forward to making some things in the craft room this week. I miss it so much when I’m out and about! Now I have something super important to tell you before I let you go. Make sure you are following the FMS site and keeping track of our sketches. You may notice how close we are to a landmark number of sketches. Well, you can be sure we have a big and I mean BIG surprise coming to celebrate. Be ready! We are so excited that we are ready to party now (but we’ll have to wait too!). Look for more details in the upcoming weeks!

Now our lovely team of stampers has their usual great inspiration for you. Make sure you hop over and tell Kim how much you love her sketch and go check out the team projects. Can’t wait to see what you create with this one! Thanks so much for stopping in today. Back soon with more fun!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Paper: Whisper White, Thick Whisper White, Moonlight DSP Stack; Accessories: Big Shot, Greetings Thinlits, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Stitched Rectangles Die (SSS), 1-3/4″ Circle Punch, Button, Crushed Curry Baker’s Twine, Dimensionals

Freshly Made Sketches #194

July 8, 2015 Jentimko 12 Comments

Another week of fun travels and another week of seeing friends while on the road at work. Twice in a row!! This week I got to hang out with my pilot training roommate and fellow United pilot, Cathy, and the fancy, fabulous Jeanna Bohanon. Seeing two of my dear friends, from two different sides of my life, meet and get along so well brought me such joy! And they live close to each other. I foresee Cathy learning to stamp after all!! *smile*

For our sketch this week, the clever and talented Linda Callahan is our hostess. This sketch is so fun and unique….just like Linda! How these ladies keep finding such original ideas is amazing!

Recognize this stamp set??!! Let me give you a hint. Cool, trendy and it shows up at your door once a month. That’s right! Paper Pumpkin!!! I knew the minute I saw these flowers that I would be using them over and over. Never mind how cute the kit is (and it is), this stamp is a gift that keeps giving. I’ve been saying that about Paper Pumpkin for a while but this month’s set is over the top fun! I took the flowers and stamped in Momento Black and then colored them with Copics markers. I stamped some leaves from Garden in Bloom to add to the edges. Love how they coordinate! The sentiment (also from Paper Pumpkin June) was stamped and then I hand drew the line using my Project Life Journaling Pen. All of this is stamped on the new Thick Whisper White. The paper handles the markers beautifully (and don’t forget it can handle watercoloring too). I hand cut the flowers and popped them up on Glue Dots and Dimensionals.

The ladies on the DT have such fun interpretations of this sketch…no surprise! Make sure you run over and tell Linda how much you love this too!

I have a big stretch of flying coming up but hopefully some stuff to share while I’m gone. I might even get another bonus visit with a stamping friend! I know….crazy, right?! I have always warned people that I might show up on their doorsteps with short notice. Now they believe me! Thanks so much for stopping in today. See you soon!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp: Paper Pumpkin June Stamp, Garden in Bloom; Ink: Momento Black, Copics (above); Paper: Thick Whisper White; Accessories: Project Life Journaling Pens, Glue Dots, Dimensionals,

Freshly Made Sketches #193

July 1, 2015 Jentimko 8 Comments

I hope you are having a fabulous week so far! Mine has been pretty full of work and fun. Got back from a trip on Monday and I got to spend some time with two of my amazing FMS teammates – Linda and Jen M – while I was on my trip. I know….you are jealous, right?! And they are just as awesome in person as you could ever hope for. How lucky I am that United affords me the occasional visit with my stamping friends. Now for trips to TX, FL, CO, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Australia…..you know, to visit the rest of the team! At least the first 3 are manageable in my Airbus!

Ok…on to our sketch this week. It is courtesy of the lovely Rita has created this beauty for Freshly Made Sketches and it is a real winner! It is unique yet there are so many possibilities!

So I got this lovely care package a bit ago from my dear friend Becky Cowley. It included this Bohemian DSP and some In Color Blossom Accents (why yes, she is fabulous and so generous to send me a care package of goodies!!). This bold diamond pattern is a bit more manageable when cut down into strips and the cool Hello Honey pattern is one of my favorites from the pack! I grouped them with the Watercolor Thank You stamp and added a little Hello Honey Blossom Accent to stay true to the sketch. The Blackberry Bliss ribbon adds another layer of detail and I framed my layers (and created a base) with Blackberry Bliss card stock. This card is super fun and easy to make as a group of cards.

The fabulous versions of this sketch already have me ready to Pin so I know you’ll love what you see this week. Hope you have fun playing along with us!

I busily using my two days off between trips to catch up but hoping for some stamping tomorrow. I hope you have a wonderful day and thanks so much for stopping in.

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp: Watercolor Thank You; Ink: Blackberry Bliss; Paper: Very Vanilla, Bohemian DSP, Blackberry Bliss; Accessories: In Color Blossom Accents, Blackberry Bliss 3/8″ Stitched Ribbon (ret)

Freshly Made Sketches #192

June 24, 2015 Jentimko 10 Comments

Happy first Wednesday of summer (at least for those in North America)! I am full into summer flying and summer activities with the boys. Camps, swimming and a little more of a relaxed schedule (at least for the kids). I’m working in a little bit of crafting time and I even have an open house/open stamp event today. Nothing like getting to see my stamping friends to brighten a week!

Speaking of stamping friends….my friend Jen Mitchell has our sketch for us over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and you are going to smile and head right to your crafting room! I was so excited for a reason to pull out this gorgeous flower again.

I remain obsessed with this peony stamp from You’ve Got This and am happy just to sit and color it over and over in different shades. For today, I used a combination of retired Blendies and Copics. I joined the image up with this fabulous sentiment from Garden in Bloom…another new favorite! All of the black was stamped using Momento Black. I layered the image panel onto some Smoky Slate and then put it on a Pink Pirouette base. To add a little something special I included these pretty sequins that I just got from Pretty Pink Posh.

The team has created gorgeous inspiration again. No surprise, I know! Every week they never cease to make my jaw drop!

I’m hoping to be able to visit with two of my FMS team mates this weekend (weather and flying permitting). If so, I’m sure you’ll here the squeals and laughs from wherever you are!! I will be back on Friday with the monthly Fancy Friday hop too! YAY!! See you then!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp: You’ve Got This, Garden in Bloom; Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Copics, Blendabilities; Paper: Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Pink Pirouette; Accessories: PPP Sparkling Clear Sequins, Dimensionals

Freshly Made Sketches #191

June 17, 2015 Jentimko 7 Comments

The middle of the first week with both kids out for summer break and so far, so good. I have actually made a couple of things (yay!) and they seem to be settling into a routine that is so much calmer (yay, again!). We finished the first swim meet of the season last night and both boys did a great job moving across those lanes. Fun stuff! And speaking of fun, I get to be the hostess for this week’s Freshly Made Sketches challenge.

In other posts I have spoken of my kids’ soccer. Well, it is that time of year and we are ending another year of training with great coaches. I created this card for my oldest son’s coach. My son asked me to color it to look like him and I did my best to capture that. He has blue cleats and wears an orange goalie jersey so I think I came close. The image is from Lili of the Valley and is called Goalie Saves. I colored it with a combination of the discontinued Blendabilities and Copics. Then I added a sentiment created using the Alphabet Rotary Stamp. I love that I can create an individualized sentiment with that cool little tool! I backed the image with some retired DSP that matched my green grass.

The team has some marvelous interpretations of this pretty basic sketch that I know you will love…I certainly do. I hope you will find some time to play along too. I just love looking at the gallery every week.

I’m off on another trip soon so am trying to fit some more stamping in today before I go. Hopefully I will have something to share with you later this week. Until then, have a great day!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp: Goalie Saves (LOTV); Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Copics, Blendabilities; Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Print Poetry DSP Stack (ret); Accessories: Alphabet Rotary Stamp, Dimensionals

Primary Sidebar