I hope you are having a good week.  One of my favorite days is Wednesday and Freshly Made Sketches is the reason!  The fabulous Tui Nathan has created this week’s sketch and it is another fun one to use!

I went around for a bit on this one…mostly deciding what to use for the circle element.  Finally I started just putting it together and the circle came on its own.  I used the retired Deck the Halls DSP (one of the best papers EVER).  Other than the sentiment, all the work is done by the paper.  I used my 2-1/2″ Circle Punch for the circle and then fussy cut that beautiful flower out of the same design piece.  Once I had the flower on the card, I thought it was missing something so I added a few colored Basic Pearls to the center.  It really make the flower coordinate with the berry paper, don’t you think?

I believe that this might be the last Christmas card of the year for me.  I am done (I hope)…finally.  I must admit that I have struggled to create anything over the last few days.  With the tragedy of the school shooting in CT, my heart hasn’t been in crafting.  I am the mother of a 1st grader and a 4th grader and this simply hit too close to home.  When I look at their sweet faces, I am overwhelmed with love, pride and the feeling of being amazingly blessed.  I generally do this anyway but you can expect minimum postings over the next couple of weeks.  I plan to spend as much time as possible with my family enjoying the laughs and smiles of Christmas (and maybe flying some of you to do the same).

The design team has some fabulous examples for this sketch and you are sure to be inspired.  The team is taking some down time, too, and this sketch will be open for two weeks, instead of one.  If you have some extra time to craft, we will enjoy seeing what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping in today.  I wish you a safe and happy week!

Stamp:  Bright Hopes (ret); Paper:  Deck the Halls DSP (ret), Crumb Cake; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories: 2-1/2″ Circle Punch, Big Shot, Perfect Pennants Die, Basic Pearls

It is my favorite stamping day of the week….Wednesday!  Time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and time for loads of inspiration from the amazing design team!  Our sketch hostess this week is fabulous Cindy Hall and her sketch this week is such fun!

I knew immediately that I wanted to use a tag as the “shape” for this and the Joyous Celebrations continues to be my go-to choice.  I love the size of the images and they are perfect for tags!  Then I started digging around in my stash of retired paper.  I seem to have too much of the Christmas variety (I really need to learn not to hoard it when I get it).  I came across this Frostwood Lodge DSP and knew it would be perfect!  Once I chose the two patterns, I got to work on the tag.  I created the tag corners first and then realized that a straight bottom wasn’t working for me so I cut the little pennant bottom by hand.  I stamped the oval and “JOY”, the punched them with the Extra-Large Oval Punch.  I cut out the little holly sprig and added a few Basic Pearls (colored with a Sharpie).  Finally I tied on some Tulle Ribbon with a bit of Linen Thread.

Can you believe that it is three weeks until Christmas??  Me neither!  My kids joyously announced this yesterday on the way to school and I started to panic that my cards aren’t done.  I did order a bunch that I created in My Digital Studio but I still have a lot on my list that will get handmade cards.  I think I will be reproducing a number of my cards this week so that I can get them done.  

I hope that you are having a great week.  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I look forward to seeing what you create this week!

Stamp:  Joyous Celebrations; Paper:  Frostwood Lodge DSP, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Whisper White; Ink:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories:  Extra-Large Oval Punch, Early Espresso 3-1/2″ Tulle Ribbon, Linen Thread, Eyelet Border Punch

Just look at what we have for you over at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Rita Wright has given us this fantastic sketch to play with and I love it!  My card came together faster than one has in quite a while.  Thanks Rita!!

I really wanted to go with a vintage style and this sketch left lots of room for interpretation.  I embossed some Core’dinations Early Espresso Card Stock with the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder and then sanded with the Stampin’ Sanding System.  So easy, so cool looking!  Then I cut out an oval with my Ovals Die (retired) and embossed it with the Designer Frames Embossing Folder.  I sanded it too.  Love how the dots show up!  I stamped the tree from Joyous Celebrations and punched it with the Wide Oval Punch, the popped it up on a Dimensional in the frame.  The Victoria Crochet Lace and the Crumb Cake Seam Binding were attached with a little bit of Sticky Strip which holds the ruffles in place.  Finally, I attached the sentiments (individual words from the New Year’s stamp in Petite Pairs) with a little Vintage Trinkets safety pin.

I know it won’t surprise you but the design team has an amazing variety of cards over on the challenge site.  It never ceases to amaze me how different designers interpret a sketch!  Go take a peek and then join right in.  I hope you are having a great week so far.  Thanks so much for stopping in!!

Stamps:  Joyous Celebration, Petite Pairs; Paper:  Early Espresso, Core’dinations Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory; Ink:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories:  Big Shot, Lacy Brocade EF, Ovals Die (ret), Designer Frames EF, Wide Oval Punch, Victoria Lace Ribbon, Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Vintage Trinkets, Jewelry Punch, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals

Happy Wednesday!!  I hope you are having a fantastic week!  For all of you in the U.S., I am sure you are deep in the preparation for Thanksgiving!  Just in time for the long weekend, we have another amazing sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  This one comes from my talented friend, Jen Mitchell!  I love her clean and fabulous style and this sketch is perfect for so many things!

I thought it was appropriate for today to make a Thanksgiving themed card.  Day of Gratitude is such a perfect set for this, don’t you think??  I started with the Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP and chose this More Mustard pattern.  Then I dug out my burlap and decided I liked the two together.  I thought a Cajun Craze background would work well and then framed everything with Soft Suede.  I stamped the leaves in those same colors and cute them out.  The Bronze Button is simply perfect for this look and I tied on one of the threads of burlap that I had pulled to fray the edges. Finally, I stamped the sentiment on the Natural Cotton Ribbon.  I love how you can stamp on this ribbon and guess what??!!  It is carrying through to the Spring Catalog.  So happy about that!  I realized the background layer was still missing something so I ran it through the Stripes Embossing Folder.

I would like to take the time to tell you all how thankful I am for you, my readers, and all of the people I have met through stamping.  From the design teams, to my upline, to my extraordinary customers…I am truly blessed!  Thank you for all the support you give me and for allowing me to be a part of your lives!!

You will love the variety from the team this week.  As always you will find loads of inspiration.  I look forward to seeing what you create too!

For those who celebrate, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!  Don’t forget that Stampin’ Up is having a huge Online Extravaganza.  Just click on the Shop with Jennifer button to see all the deals.

Stamp:  Day of Gratitude; Paper:  Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Soft Suede; Accessories:  Big Shot, Stripes EF, 7/8″ Natural Cotton Ribbon, Bronze Button, burlap

Yea, it is Wednesday!!  Time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  I am the sketch hostess this week and I am so excited to see what you do with this one.  I tried to leave it pretty basic to make room for watercoloring, large sentiments or cool DSP.  The design team has used all of these and you will love their cards!!

I thought it would the perfect place to put this large Happy Birthday from You’re Amazing.  This card had an interesting evolution, I must admit.  It originally started out with a So Saffron base and I had planned on using more rosettes.  When I put it all together, something was missing.  So naturally I added a bow!!  One of LeAnne’s lovely shabby bows…I really do love these!  I found that just one rosette as the center worked perfectly.  Then to the color…yep, had to change that too.  The So Saffron was a little too muted for my taste today so I brightened it up by changing over to Raspberry Ripple.  I embossed the base layer with my Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder (which we just found out will still be available in the Spring Catalog!!).  Of course the rosette needed a Basic Pearl so I added that as a finishing touch.

I would like to take the time to bid a fond farewell to Jen Sannes of Simple & Sincere.  She has been a guest designer over at Freshly Made Sketches and this will be her last week with us.  What amazing talent she has and it has been such fun to work with her!

You know what to do now.  Run right over to the challenge site and see what the team has created.  I hope you like this one and I look forward to seeing you in the gallery!

Thanks so much for stopping in today.  I hope your week is fantastic!

Stamp:  You’re Amazing; Ink:  Basic Gray; Paper:  Raspberry Ripple, First Edition DSP, Basic Gray; Accessories:  Big Shot, Lacy Brocade EF, Very Vanilla Seam Binding, 1-3/4″ Scallop Circle, Basic Pearls

Wow, has it been a week already??!!  Where did the time go?  I’m glad I have Freshly Made Sketches to keep me stamping this week!  We have an awesome sketch by the amazing Tui Nathan for you today.  Another layout with so many possibilities!!

I thought it would be fun to pull out my Snowflake Soiree stamp set again for this sketch. Just look how perfectly that snowflake fits on the  2-/1/2″ Circle!  Of course what is a snowflake without a little sparkle so I amped it up a bit with some Champagne Glimmer Paper.  Did you know that the snowflakes from the Snow Flurry Die coordinate with the stamp set??  Just look how pretty they are layered together.  I added some embossing on the Midnight Muse panel with the retired Snow Burst Embossing Folder (which also happens to coordinate).  Finally, to add a touch of champagne color to the pearl, I dabbed on some Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint.  It adds just a little bit of extra sparkle.

This sketch has so many amazing possibilities and I just can’t wait to see what you will create with it.  The design team has provided some incredible inspiration, as always!

Thanks for stopping in today.  I’m hoping to be back Friday with a project I made a while ago for one of my boys!  Until then, have a great week!

Stamp:  Snowflake Soiree; Paper:  Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Champagne Glimmer; Ink:  Midnight Muse; Accessories:  Big Shot, Snow Flurry Die, Snow Burst EF (ret), 2-1/2″ Circle Punch, Basic Pearls

I am back today with a great new sketch from Cindy Hall.  I love the possibilities for the square elements and can’t wait to see the gallery this week!

I actually decided to use a different shape and went with butterflies instead.  I need a card for a dear family friend who is fighting breast cancer.  She is over halfway through her chemo treatments and is such an amazing and inspirational woman.  She is in need of a bit of a lift so I wanted to make something special for her.  I chose to use stitching instead of ribbon for the sketch and added the gorgeous 3-1/2″ Scalloped Tulle Ribbon for the crossing panel.  Yes, I actually sewed on my card!!  My wonderful mom gave me an awesome sewing machine and I have been wanting to use it on a card so badly.  I really like the stitching here!!  I thought the little touch of pink would be nice to put in a pop of color and perfect for the last day of October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month).

I hope that you are having a good and safe week.  I am glad that I had pre-posted for yesterday and today because we lost power for about 27 hours.  Through the overwhelming kindness of friends, we were surprised when a generator was brought over yesterday afternoon.  It saved all the food we had and my gratefulness for their generosity is without words.  Unlike so many, we did not sustain any damage and are incredibly lucky.  All those in the path of Sandy remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Make sure you take a look at the amazing design team work this week!  It is LeAnne’s and Narelle’s last week as guest designers.  What a joy it has been to have them join us for October!!  Have a great rest of your week!

Stamps:  French Foliage; Paper:  Crumb Cake, Naturals Ivory; Ink:  Crumb Cake; Accessories:  Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Neutrals Buttons, Subtles Buttons, Basic Pearls, 3-1/2″ Crumb Cake Scalloped Tulle Ribbon, Sewing Machine, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals