Yes, this is a Freshly Made Sketches post but please bear with me…it is also a memorial post for the heroes of 9-11.  For those who have been following me for a while, I have written September 11th post for the last three years.  You can read them here:  9th Anniversary, 10th Anniversary and 11th Anniversary.  Every year at this time I find myself reflecting on the events of that terrible day and the many challenges that have come since. The biggest challenge we face today in the industry is complacency.  When these events first happened, everyone was on heightened alert.  Today, the hassles of security and the inconveniences of the airport annoy us and tend to make us forget the why.

But the why is NOT forgotten by some.  Every single time I taxi into Boston Logan Airport, I see an American flag flying at gate C-19.  It stands there as a reminder of United Flight 175 that left there on the morning of September 11th.  I catch my breath every single time.

The why is NOT forgotten by Ellen Saracini, a widow from that same flight.  She is working on a bill in Congress to mandate secondary barriers on commercial airliners. You see, eventually during flight pilots do have to be able to come out of the flight deck and these barriers provide a line of safety for all passengers and crew.  The bill is called the Saracini Aviation Act.  The airlines do not want to spend the money for this but it is simply the right thing to do.  Mrs. Saracini is fighting to protect anyone from suffering what she has suffered.

I can promise you that I have NOT forgotten and I know that many of you have not either. Let’s make sure as we go through this day that we say thank you to first responders and military heroes who protect us every day.  Make sure we hug our family members extra tight in honor of those who can’t.  Make sure we show an extra measure of kindness to all around us because those people are what matter most.

I guess it doesn’t take much to figure out my inspiration for today’s card.  The Soft Sky print from Sweater Weather DSP was perfect for my background.  I thought the Crushed Curry print was the perfect complement.  This sketch is courtesy of the lovely Jen Brum and it really is wonderful.  I find myself a little off every year at this time and watercoloring is one of my favorite ways to find focus.  This flower from Simply Sketched fit my mood perfectly.

Thanks so much for stopping in today.  I appreciate you for sticking through my ponderings and I thank you for being so supportive of my work.  If you missed it, I have my Artisan Design Team card that went up a bit earlier.  Please take a moment to remember today and to be grateful for the blessings in your life.

In memory of:

United 93:  Jason Dahl, LeRoy Homer, Lorraine Bay, Sandra Bradshaw, Wanda Green, CeeCee Lyles, Deorah Welsh

United 175:  Victor Saracini, Michael Horrocks, Robert Fangman, Amy Jarret, Amy King, Kathryn Laborie, Alfred Marchand, Michael Tarrou, Alicia Titus

American 11:  John Ogonowski, Thomas McGuinness, Barbara Arestegui, Jeffrey Collman, Sara Low, Karen Martin, Kathleen Nicosia, Betty Ong, Jean D. Roger, Dianne Snyder, Amy Sweeney

American 77:  Charles Burlingame III, David Charlebois, Michele Heidenberger, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, Renee May

 

Another amazing sketch from the team at Freshly Made Sketches!  This one comes from the fantastic Cindy Hall and I just love it!  I can see so many uses for this and it will go right into my go-to sketches.

I knew I wanted to put a pretty flower on that oval but what??  As I looked at stamps, this one from Gifts of Kindness jumped right out at me.  When I saw the polka dots on the flower I immediately thought Modern Medley DSP and the card started coming together. I always love the pop of Real Red against Basic Black so I inked up the image with those two colors using Stampin’ Write Markers.  Then I stamped the flowers again and cut them out to pop them up.  The ribbon is from my stash and I cinched it up with a Basic Black button from Designer Buttons and some thread.

I hope you like this one and I can’t wait to hear what you think!  I know that you will love what the team has created!  Make sure you let Cindy know how much you like the sketch and I hope you can play along this week!

Thanks for stopping in today.  If you missed it, I posted my first September Artisan Wednesday Wow last night.  I hope you’ll enjoy that one too!

Stamp:  Gifts of Kindness; Paper:  Modern Medley DSP, Basic Black, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Real Red, Basic Black; Accessories:  Big Shot, Ovals Framelits, Ribbon, Neutrals Designer Buttons, Black Thread, Dimensionals

 

 

 

Whew, was last week exciting at Freshly Made Sketches!!!  129 entries, guest designers and we had such fun.  Thanks to all of you who participated!!  We are back to “work” this week with a great sketch from Linda Callahan.  She always has an eye for the greatest details so it is no surprise that this layout leaves room for lots of interpretations.

I thought it would be fun to use the Witches’ Brew DSP and show off the fantastic patterns.  I love the text print and knew I wanted to start there and then the spider web pattern called out to be put on the vertical panel.  Not to be outdone, the chalkboard print and skull/crossbones decided to get in on the act and they are topped off with a sentiment from Halloween Hello (appropriately enough).  All that was needed to finish it off was some buttons.  Two of these are retired (more new ones coming soon!!) but they are perfect here.

I have to admit that I don’t usually do much for Halloween but this paper has inspired me.  The prints are really fun and they coordinate with other products from the Holiday Catalog so well (of course).

Now, off to the challenge site to see everyone else’s projects!  You are going to love them! Don’t forget to check out my other post from today.  Remember, there will be two every Wednesday (for subscribers…they will come in the same email).  Thanks for stopping in today!  See you again soon!

Stamp:  Halloween Hello; Paper:  Witches’ Brew DSP, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie; Ink:  Basic Black; Accessories:  Buttones, Thread

 

 

I am so glad you are here for the second post of the day!  From now on, you can expect two posts from me every Wednesday.  My Artisan Wednesday Wow post and my Freshly Made Sketches post.  So Wednesday is REALLY going to be an awesome stamping day!!  Today’s challenge from Freshly Made Sketches is from the lovely and awesome Rita Wright.  I just know you are all going to have fun with it!!

I needed a birthday card this week and this sketch was so perfect to use!  I thought that using my Hexagon Punch to create little windows for the aliens from Blast Off would be fun.  Let’s face it, these little aliens are just so adorable!  And perfect for a 7 yo little boy.  I punched the hexagons and then stamped the aliens on separate paper so I could position them.  I added the scallop for a little pop of extra color and the sentiment is from the same set.  To make sure the hexagons lined up just right, I drew a light pencil line on the back of the card stock and used it as a guide for punching.

The team has created some awesome cards this week and I know you will appreciate them as much as I do.  Now you may notice that this is challenge #99.  Hmmm….what do you want to bet that we have some AWESOME stuff lined up for sketch #100 next week!!  *smile*  We can’t wait to see what you create for this week and then make sure you come back for the fun next week!

Thanks for stopping in for two posts today!  I’ll be back on Friday night (Saturday for e-mail followers) with an extra Artisan treat!  See you then!

Stamp:  Blast Off; Paper:  Pacific Point, Real Red, Whisper White; Ink:  Real Red, Old Olive; Accessories:  Hexagon Punch, Big Shot, Large Scallop Edgelit, Neutrals Buttons, White Baker’s Twine, Dimensionals

Happy Wednesday to you!  I am so happy to be here with this week’s Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  If you are looking for the 2013 Artisan Design Team Blog Hop just click here.  So yes, I will have two posts today!  This sketch is from the awesome Jen Mitchell and it is a great one!

I needed a sympathy card for a very special person this week and I immediately thought of using Simply Sketched for it.  This hostess set is so fantastic for so many kinds of cards.  I wanted to focus on the bird so I kept the rest of the card really neutral.  This wood grain from Natural Composition Specialty Paper seemed perfect.  I stamped in Early Espresso ink and the added in touches of Crumb Cake with a Blender Pen.  The bird is Soft Sky.  I might have a new favorite blue!!  The Naturals Trim ribbon kept with the tone and these new buttons matched up with the sketch really well, don’t you think?  It is never good to need a card like this but it is nice to know that I have a set that makes it easier to make one.

It will be no surprise that the team at Freshly Made Sketches has made a fantastic variety of examples (again!).  Make sure you go take a look and let Jen M. know how much you love this sketch!

I will be back tomorrow with more of the Artisan project hop.  If you haven’t seen it yet, it is something worth visiting!  The new 2013 Artisan Design Team is sharing the project they entered for the contest!  Thanks for stopping in today.  See you soon!

Stamp:  Simply Sketched; Paper:  Natural Composition Specialty, Naturals Ivory, Early Espresso; Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Soft Sky; Accessories:  Natural Trim Ribbon, Neutrals Buttons, Linen Thread, Dimensionals

 

It has been so fun sharing some of the pictures from Convention over the last few days but I am happy to be “back to business” with the latest from Freshly Made Sketches.  I love this one and that is no surprise since it comes from the incredible Amy O’Neill.  Yes, it is official…I am a member of her fan club.  We all know how talented she is, of course!  But she is also a woman with such grace and class that you feel privileged when you get to meet her.  I know…I got to spend some time with her at Convention (picture posted yesterday)!  I know you will love her card this week, as well as this sketch, so make sure you drop by to leave her a note.

My card falls well into the super clean category this week.  I made it last week when I was up to my eyeballs in swaps and was running out of time!  To the rescue was the Tag a Bag Accessory Kit.  Of course they are fantastic for putting on the Tag a Bag Gift Bags and Boxes but they are also perfect for cards.  I just pulled the colors from the tag kit and this one was together in no time.  The best part is that you could put together a whole little card set this way (and of course package it up in one of the bags).  I used Smoky Slate as a background and embossed the little panel with my Chevron Embossing Folder.  I added the sentiment from Six-Sided Sampler and popped the little oval up on Dimensionals.  The Tangerine Tango Baker’s Twine is in the kit and is a great finish to the tag.

I look forward to getting back to some stamping this week (or next).  I am planning on sharing some of the swaps I received from the Artisan Finalist group.  I can’t even wait to show you!  So more posts are definitely coming your way.

The design team has made some super fun cards with Amy’s sketch and I know this will be a popular challenge to play!  Can’t wait to see you in the gallery!

Thanks so much for dropping by today.  I’ll see you again soon!

Stamp:  Six-Sided Sampler; Paper:  Smoky Slate, Whisper White; Ink:  Tangerine Tango; Accessories:  Tag a Bag Accessory Kit, Dimensionals

 

Wednesday is my favorite stamping day of the week because it is Freshly Made Sketches day but today is even better because today I leave for Stampin’ Up Convention!!  Yea!!  First, about the sketch.  It is courtesy of the awesome Narelle Farrugia, queen of the elegant card!  I knew I would have fun with this one the minute I saw it.

I kept mine pretty simple since I have been running around getting ready for Convention (and flying too).  I thought that the prints from Gingham Garden DSP would be perfect for the sketch.  I hadn’t used these two and I love them together.  Something about the Island Indigo and Daffodil Delight feels like summer to me so I thought a butterfly would be a nice way to accent the card.  So another of the prints from the set was run through my Beautiful Wings Embosslit to get the two butterfly layers (they are facing prints).  The sentiment is from Six-Sided Sampler, a current favorite.  For the banner element, I chose to use some of the Sale-a-bration ribbon with a Daffodil button.  That ribbon is so pretty!  Yep, a fun and simple little card that just makes me happy!

I will say that the team has created their normal a-maz-ing cards for the week!  If you haven’t already, go take a look and hopefully you’ll be able to play along!

Convention!!  I am so excited to go that I can hardly sleep!  So many of my stamping friends together!  I am rooming with my fabulous upline Brandi and the oh-so-talented Heidi Baks.  I have swaps with the Control Freaks and all of the Artisan Award Finalists…those are both sure to be jaw-dropping!!  And of course, there will be the final announcement of the Artisan Award winners on Friday.  Plus, the full, full days of fun and stamping!  I FINALLY get to start sharing some of the things I have been working on.  Tomorrow I will share my roommate gifts, Saturday I will have my Artisan Finalist swap card and next week lots more.  I will only have my IPad with me on the trip and will have my posts pre-written.  If there are any big updates, I will do my best to add them in!

Ok, I hope your week is awesome and if you are going to Convention, I hope to see you there!  Thanks so much for stopping in.  See you tomorrow!

Stamp:  Six-Sided Sampler; Paper:  Gingham Garden DSP, Island Indigo, Whisper White; Ink:  Island Indigo; Accessories:  Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Crystal Effects (as glue), SAB ribbon, Brights Buttons (ret), White Baker’s Twine

 

Take a look at this cool sketch!!  Clean and yet very modern looking, don’t you think?  Over at Freshly Made Sketches our sketch hostess this week is Linda Suarez.  She has such a great style and I just love that she brought us this to play with!!

I decided to keep this really clean and stamp the diagonal.  What better to use than the chevrons from Oh Hello!!  It seemed a little plain so I added a flower made from the Fun Flowers Die.  I spritzed the flower with water and then formed it a bit to give it dimension.  I added a little center from the Boho Blossoms Punch and a tiny button tied with Linen Thread.  The sentiment is from the new hostess set Express Yourself and I am in love with it!  Yes, I seem to always fall in love with a good sentiment set and this one is wonderful!

The variety of the cards from the design team is amazing!  No surprise…they always are!  Make sure you go take a look and let Linda know how much you appreciate the sketch!

I am about 75% done with my swaps for Convention and finishing up some roommate gifts too.  The good news?  Starting with Convention, I’ll have lots of things to post!!  For now, I’ll just keep working and taking pictures so I’ll be able to share.  I hope your week is fabulous!  See you soon!

Stamps:  Oh Hello, Express Yourself; Paper:  Naturals Ivory, Tea for Two DSP; Ink:  Calypso Coral, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Marina Mist; Accessories:  Big Shot, Fun Flowers Die, Boho Blossoms Punch, Neutrals Buttons, Linen Thread, Stamp-a-ma-jig