I’m always so happy when it is Wednesday.  Because Wednesdays are Freshly Made Sketches day!  Jen Mitchell is our hostess this week and she has such a fun sketch for us.  The team has shown all kinds of clever ways to use it so I know you’ll find it great to try!

When Cindy Schuster created her adorable card for last week’s Artisan hop, I knew I wanted to use the technique with the fringed tissue.  Everything on this card but the stamp is from the Celebrations Add-On Kit from the Occasions Catalog.  Yes, it is intended to be an add on for the banners but I just needed to made it into a card!  I’m so in love with these prints and colors!  The papers are double sided so the Smoky Slate you see on the card is the back side of the Calypso Coral polka dots.  For the tissue, I cut it to length (there is a sticky strip already attached) and the filled my spritzer (in the kit) with regular old rubbing alcohol and Calypso Coral reinker.  Spritzed, let it dry a bit and then spritzed again.  Once the paper had dried (really, let it dry…I started too early), use the Fringe Scissors to cut the tissue.  It curls up like this on its own because of the coloring.  Cool!  The sentiment is from Simply Celebrate and fits perfectly on this tag piece.  I “destuck” the tag a bit by putting it on my jeans a few times and then used Dimensionals to pop it up.  I like the kit so much that I used it for another card today.  It will be a bit before I can post that one though.  *smile*

While I completely love all the kits that Stampin’ Up has been creating when they are used as advertised, I really love that they can be used in different ways.  It makes them even more of a deal!  And I love a deal!  Ok…time for you to check out the fabulousness from the design team.  There is so much to love!

Thanks so much for stopping in today.  If you missed it, please check out my post about Pinterest from last week.  Links to the Freshly Made Sketches Team page and other info too!  See you again soon!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

Stamp:  Simply Celebrate; Paper:  Whisper White; Ink:  Calypso Coral; Accessories:  Calypso Coral Celebration Add-on Kit, Dimensionals, Fringe Scissors

Do you love a go-to sketch?  Yep, me too.  The sweet and talented Rita Wright has given us one of those this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  There are so many ways to interpret this one….you’ll see that from the design team.  That is when you know you have a great sketch!

I thought I would go in an unexpected direction for this card and not put DSP in the bottom half of the focal panel.  Instead I colored the background and used vellum as the crossing panel.  Hard to believe I missed the chance to tie on a big bow, isn’t it?!!  Believe me I tried.  Just didn’t work with the watercoloring.  This stamp is from the Occasions set Blessed Easter.  I actually cut apart the words from the image when mounting it so that I could use each separately.  This allowed me to ink up the flowers using Stazon Black and watercolor.  I used my Aquapainter along with Soft Sky, Pool Party, Old Olive and Crumb Cake inks for the background.  For the flowers I used the Blender Pen and Daffodil Delight, Primrose Petals and Old Olive.  The sentiment is from Watercolor Wonder and it is stamped onto the White Vellum.  A black button tied with thread was my final solution to finish the sketch.

As always, the team has created a cool variety of cards and you will love them!  Don’t forget to tell Rita how much you love this one and join us in the gallery!

This week seems to be flying by already.  If you missed my previous post with my spring baskets, make sure you check them out.  I think they might be one of my favorite things I’ve ever made.  Hoping to be back on Friday if I get some extra stamping time.  Until then, so glad you dropped by.  See you soon!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

Stamp:  Blessed Easter, Watercolor Wonder; Paper:  Watercolor, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, White Vellum; Ink:  Stazon Black, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Primrose Petals; Accessories:  Aquapainter, Blender Pen, Neutrals Buttons, Thread, Dimensionals

Another Wednesday already?? Well, it really is one of my favorite days of the week!  I am lucky enough to be the hostess for this week’s sketch and I hope that you like this one.  I have a confession to make.  I was struggling and playing with sketches (none of which I liked) when I went searching for inspiration.  Do you do that??  It didn’t take me long to find it because it was in a swap I did at last year’s Stampin’ Up Convention.  We did a swap with all of the Artisan Design Team Finalists (yes….that was an incredible swap) and Concept Artist Melody Hyde joined in.  Melody works at the SU Home Office creating the inspiration for catalogs, Stampin’ Success (the demo magazine) and SU Corporate Blog posts. (Julie shows a picture of Melody’s design here – it was used for a Founder’s Circle project)

I thought that the vertical Word Bubble Framelit and coordinating stamp from Just Sayin’ would perfect for the sketch. Combining them with the bright and happy Kaleidescope DSP give this a fun and modern feel.  Rounding the corners is an easy way to add character to your card with no actual work.  It is particularly easy when you used the Envelope Punch Board’s rounder punch.  I cut the Strawberry Slush print to the same size as the front of a Whisper White Note Card then used the corner rounder to round all the corners on both.  Not surprisingly, the rounder matches the corners on the Word Bubble Framelit.  LOVE that!  I did the same to the Bermuda Bay print then started popping everything up on Dimensionals.  The stamp uses Stazon Black Ink.  A few buttons tied with Baker’s Twine (from the Tag a Bag Accessory Kit) and I’m done.  Admittedly, you have to find someone with the right sense of humor about birthdays for this one, but it just makes me chuckle.  Perfect for “significant” birthdays especially.

The team has done some wonderful work with this one and you are going to love what they created.  Hope you enjoy playing along too!

See you on Friday with a post showing a fun series of stepped up cards.  Until then, I’m so glad you stopped by.  See you soon!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

Stamp:  Just Sayin’; Paper:  Kaleidescope DSP, Whisper White, Whisper White Note Cards and Envelopes; Ink:  Stazon Black; Accessories:  Big Shot, Word Bubbles Framelits, Buttons, Tag a Bag Accessory Kit (for the Baker’s Twine), Dimensionals

Now just look at what Amy O’Neill has created for us at Freshly Made Sketches this week!! These fun off kilter panels add so much personality and will give lots of room for creativity.

I am continuing on with my spring theme.  Because I am done with winter.  Two more days of lost school for my boys this week and another disruption to the family mojo.  Even the boys are ready for a full week of school…and that is saying something.  *smile*  There is nothing like fun colors and happy prints to brighten the mood a bit so I pulled out the Fresh Prints Paper Pack and started playing.  Aren’t these great?  Because they are slightly larger than card size, the pieces were easy to use for this layout too.  I simply positioned them how I wanted, glued the two prints together, then put little pencil tick marks where I wanted to cut.  I chose another of the prints for this flower from the Fun Flowers Die.  I popped out two, one in the print and one in Real Red, and then another little flower using the new Petite Flower Punch.  The Stitched Grosgrain in Real Red was an easy go-to for the crossing piece of the sketch.  I topped off the flower with a Vintage Faceted Button and some Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine (it coordinates perfectly).  The sentiment is from Gifts of Kindness.

Well, the boys are going back to school today (with a delay) and hopefully, hopefully we’ll get back to a real routine soon.  They certainly have had fun sledding this year and even I have to admit it is really pretty when it first falls.  But the vortex is now welcome to stay in the polar areas!

I am also really excited for this weekend.  The lovely Rose-Ellen Eastman has put together an event for area demonstrators.  We will share ideas and inspiration.  I will be presenting a technique card that you will get to see next week.  Wish me luck…I’m a little nervous but I know I’ll be surrounded by lots of lovely stampers!

Hoping to be back Friday with another project from Leadership.  Until then, so glad you stopped in.  If you are needing a little more spring, make sure you take a look at my Artisan card in the previous post!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

Stamp:  Gifts of Kindness; Paper:  Fresh Prints Paper Pack, Whisper White; Ink:  Real Red; Accessories:  Big Shot, Fun Flowers Die, Real Red Stitched Grosgrain, Vintage Faceted Button, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Crystal Effects (as glue)

Narelle has an awesome new sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  This classic look has all kinds of possibilities!  I opted to keep really true to the sketch and keep it pretty simple.

As soon as I saw the sketch, I thought flower.  Because it is snowing again and I’m ready for flowers.  But which flower?  I had not played with the new Spiral Flower Die so it seemed like a good time to pull it out.  The Watercolor Wonder DSP is a new obsession and it seemed perfect to combine them.  I chose on of the watercolor-y pages with multiple colors (great explanation, right?) for the flower.  Ran that through the Big Shot and all the work is done pretty much.  I used my Bone Folder to add a little curl to the cut out and then rolled it up and attached it together with hot glue.  I rolled it a little loose and the center seemed too empty.  So, I cut a strip of 1/2″ Tangerine Tango about 5″ long and cut with the Fringe Scissors.  Rolled it up and hot glued it to the center.  I chose this polka dot pattern to match and pretty much done.  The sentiment is from Four You (wow, what a useful set).  While the flower makes it unmailable, it is perfect for a hand-delivered thank you, don’t you think?

The team has some fabulous interpretations again this week and you will be certain to love playing along with this one.  Can’t wait to see you in the gallery!

Back tomorrow with some more projects from Leadership.  Until then, thanks so much for stopping by!  See you soon!

Stamp:  Four You; Paper:  Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Watercolor Wonder DSP; Ink:  Tangerine Tango; Accessories:  Big Shot, Spiral Flower Die, Dimensionals, Hot Glue, Silicone Craft Sheet

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

So the wonderful Karren  has created her very first sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  This is a really great sketch, don’t you think?

When I created this card, I had hit the point where I was decidedly over winter weather.  I actually like a good snow every now and then but we have had too many weather days and the boys have lost a lot of school days.  I needed a little spring so I created it!  Using these pretty flowers from Simple Stems and the print/colors from Kaleidescope DSP, I thought it would be fun to create a stamped panel with popped up flowers.  I hand cut the flowers (there is a framelit but it doesn’t go with all the flowers I chose) and put them on Dimensionals.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes…just the perfect size for the panel!

Ok, short and sweet this morning.  If you missed it, don’t forget to check out yesterday’s card and the blog candy!

Back on Friday with another Leadership project.  Until then, hope your day is great!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

Well the Freshly Made Sketches gallery from last week blew me away and I have a feeling this week will be the same.  The lovely Jen Brum has created this fun sketch for us to use and I love it!

Ok, so where Jen sees circles, I see triangles.  Using the Triangle Punch and the Fresh Prints DSP stack made this so fun to put together.  I just randomly chose some patterns I like and popped out the triangles.  I thought this cute little sentiment from Hip Notes was perfect for the feel of the card (and I needed a card for my awesome nephew).  I stamped in Real Red ink and then put the triangles up on Dimensionals.  I used some Baker’s Twine from the Tag a Bag Accessory Kit and tied it onto a Cherry Cobbler button (which goes wonderfully with the Real Red in the DSP).  The layer got Coastal Cabana “frame” and then that panel went up on Dimensionals to attach it to the Real Red base.  On the inside I used the “Hooray for today” sentiment from Sale-a-bration.

I’m guessing you know what I will say.  But yes, the design team has rocked this sketch and you need to get right over to check out their work.  Make sure you play along and let Jen B know how much you love the sketch!

I’ll be back on Friday with another one of my Leadership display projects.  Until then, I hope your week is wonderful!  Thanks so much for stopping in!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

Just take a look at this fantastic sketch from Freshly Made Sketches this week!  A classic look with loads of possibilities from the wonderful Cindy Hall.  I knew what I wanted to make the minute I saw it…and I love a sketch where that happens!

So I got this awesome set, Simple Stems, from the Occasions Catalog and it is so fantastic.  Kind of a “build a flower” set.  I stamped the flower top in Strawberry Slush and the stem in Pear Pizzazz.  The sentiment is from the hostess set Express Yourself and I love that pretty font.  I pulled out some paper from Gingham Garden DSP and it seemed so spring-like.  Perfect to improve my attitude about all the winter yuck we’ve been having!!  After I had everything together I thought it still needed a little something.  You KNOW that my go-to solution was ribbon of some kind but as I was sifting through, I came across this little paper clip with a bow on it.  It is the Simply Styled Embellishment that was in the Holiday Catalog.  It seemed to be just what I was looking for.  Still have some left from your holiday cards??  Just pull them out and use them for spring!

The team over at Freshly Made Sketches has some fantastic inspiration for you (I know…they always do!).  Make sure you hop over and check out their work.  I hope you’ll play along too!

Back tomorrow with another project from the Leadership Display Boards.  Until then, so glad that you dropped by.  See you soon!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.

I know what you are thinking already.  What an awesome sketch we have this week at Freshly Made Sketches!!  Yep…I could not agree more.  The amazing Linda Callahan has given us this uber trendy looking design and the team has created some amazing projects!

A sketch like this tends to make my imagination run a bit and I just decided it was ok to run with it.  Something about the Essentials Wooden Elements just seemed like a perfect fit.  These little things are crazy cool and I had such fun with them.  So what can you do with them?  Apparently just about anything.  I colored the heart with my Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker.  Then I colored the starburst with a Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker and cut out a coordinating shape with the Starburst Framelits out of Polka Dot Parade DSP to layer on.  Finally I applied some Multipurpose Adhesive to the arrow and loaded on some Silver Stampin’ Glitter.  The background paper is from Kaleidescope DSP and the little xoxo is from the Circle Card Thinlits.

Those of you who hopped over from the challenge may notice that I have a new look to my blog but I know my email subscribers may not have seen it yet.  I’d love to hear what you think so just click on over and let me know.  I designed it (and my shopping and signature buttons) using My Digital Studio.  It is so fun to be able to change up the look when I feel like it!!

The team has some fun stuff to show you this week and I’m certain the gallery is going to have a fabulous flair to it!  Hope you’ll be able to join in this week.

I’m taking tomorrow off (out flying today) so I’ll be back on Friday with some more from my Leadership Display work.  Hope your day is fantastic!

Click HERE to purchase wonderful Stampin’ Up products.