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

Happy Wednesday to you all!  I am back with this awesome sketch from the oh-so-talented Allisa Chilton.  I love the clean lines and when I saw the square, I immediately thought “frame”.

I am in love with this instagram/polaroid picture trend so I decided to give it a go.  I started with the two strips of Washi Tape and then created the little frame using my paper cutter.  I stamped the chevron oval from Oh, Hello and then used my Beautiful Butterflies Die to punch out the butterfly.  The smaller one uses a Six-Sided Sampler hexagon and the Beautiful Wings Embosslit.  The sentiment is also from Oh, Hello and I used the new little buttons!

Sorry for the short post!  The Convention preparation has begun in earnest and I am working on swaps today.  The Artisan Finalist group is planning one so that is my work for today (I am still just so excited about getting the call!!).

I love this sketch and there are some great cards from the design team today!  I look forward to seeing what you share with us too!  Thanks for stopping in today!  See you again soon!

Stamps:  Oh, Hello, Six-Sided Sampler; Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight; Ink:  Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight; Accessories:  Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Die, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Gingham Garden Washi Tape, Epic Day Washi Tape, Neutrals Buttons, Baker’s Twine

Another week gone so quickly and it is my favorite stamping day again!!  We have a fresh new sketch for you this week over at Freshly Made Sketches.  This one comes courtesy of the lovely Jen Brum.  Cool, huh??!!

I’m afraid that my card doesn’t do the sketch justice this week but some weeks are like that!  I have been gone lots.  Just got home from a trip last night and am now fighting a nasty cough/no voice.  Ugh!!  Summer flying is definitely in full swing along with weather delays and other things that make the flying days long and the sleeps too short.  In any case, I used the Gingham Garden DSP and cut the curve into it by hand.  I added the Stretch Ruffled Ribbon again because it drapes on the curve so well.  The flowers were fussy cut out of the DSP and I added the sentiment from Six-Sided Sampler.

I am hoping for some stamping time later today and tomorrow.  I will be participating in a fun blog hop with my upline’s group Hawaii Ink on Sunday!  Make sure you stop back then to see what we have to show you from the new catalog!!

Until then, so glad you dropped in!  I appreciate each of you and thank you all for the kind words you leave me!  Now make sure you get over to the challenge site!  There are some really cool cards by the DT this week!  See you soon!

Stamp:  Six-Sided Sampler; Paper:  Gingham Garden, Night of Navy, Whisper White; Ink:  Night of Navy; Accessories:  Scissors, Strawberry Slush Stretch Ruffled Trim, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Yippee!  It is Wednesday!!  Freshly Made Sketches day!  Our sketch this week is from lovely and talented Cindy Hall – another great one for using again and again.  There a lots of ways to use it.  You can stamp the big panel or use some DSP…the choice is yours!

I chose to stamp the big panel, mostly as an excuse to pull out my brand new stamps!  This one is Gifts of Kindness and it was right at the top of my “must haves” out of the new catalog.  I love this beautiful flower and the sentiments are some of the best I have seen (especially for thank you notes).  Of course I had to ink up with some new and returning colors so I pulled out Strawberry Slush, a new In Color, and Pear Pizzazz, a returning favorite.  Aren’t they pretty together??!!  That scalloped edge in the sketch said “Stretch Ruffle Trim” to me and I just had to use the Strawberry Slush version of it.  It is so pretty and so easy to use for a pop of color and texture!  Some Gingham Garden DSP in Daffodil Delight adds a little interest on the side and thought that a Vintage Faceted Button was a nice addition to the sentiment banner.  That sentiment is from Gifts of Kindness and that font is simply beautiful, don’t you think?

I look forward to seeing all that you create in the gallery this week.  After seeing the awesome creations from the DT, I know there will be lots of variety and fun things to admire!  Make sure you go tell Cindy how much you love the sketch too!

I’m so glad you stopped in today.  Hoping for some stamping time later today and to have something to share later this week.  Until then, have a fantastic week!  See you soon!

Stamp:  Gifts of Kindness: Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Gingham Garden DSP; Ink:  Strawberry Slush, Pear Pizzazz; Accessories:  Strawberry Slush Stretch Ruffle Trim, Vintage Faceted Button, Baker’s Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

I think that summer is almost officially here!!  My boys have started swim team and tomorrow is their last day of school.  The summer flying seems to be in full swing (make sure you look for me if you are on a United Airbus…especially on a weekend, lol) and I am working to find time for stamping.  That said, it is easy to stamp when you have a sketch this great!  Linda Callahan really did a fantastic job on this and you are going to have such fun using it!!

I am not so patiently waiting for my new catalog order to arrive (it should arrive today!!) so I chose to combine a little new with some old favorites.  The colors…oh yes, this is a very happy color combination for me!!  The new In Color Crisp Cantaloupe pairs beautifully with Early Espresso.  I used the Core’dinations version of Early Espresso for embossing and ran the split panel through with the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder.  I lightly sanded the Espresso side (trying to keep it clean) just so that you could see the bit of “core color” peeking through.  I thought Creative Elements paired nicely with the embossing folder so I stamped the flourish and then cut out a butterfly from the same set.  A sentiment from Petite Pairs seemed like a nice match.  I added in a little bit of retired Early Espresso Satin Ribbon tied with a retired Neutrals button.  I topped the button and the butterfly with Basic Pearls.  This card doesn’t have a particular recipient yet but I can think of a few people I would love to send it to!

I actually said “wow” out loud at this week’s design team cards!  Truly, I am incredibly lucky to be associated with such amazing talent!!  That creativity is not limited to the team though.  I am thrilled every week by the inspiration I find in the gallery!  I love reading your posts and seeing your work!!

Ok,  I have a card to share with you on Friday.  Father’s Day is almost here and I’m trying to get everything ready!  I look forward to showing the card I made for my father-in-law!  Until then, thanks for stopping in!  See you soon!

Stamps:  Creative Elements, Petite Pairs; Paper:  Early Espresso Core’dinations, Crisp Cantaloupe, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso; Ink:  Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe; Accessories:  Big Shot, Fancy Fan EF, Basic Pearls, Neutrals Buttons (ret), Espresso Satin Ribbon (ret)