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For Rita – A Surprise Blog Hop!

For Rita – A Surprise Blog Hop! published on 22 Comments on For Rita – A Surprise Blog Hop!

It is Wednesday and that means Freshly Made Sketches has a new challenge for you but we also have a surprise cooked up for our dear friend Rita Wright!  Yep, a surprise blog hop in her honor.  Conveniently enough the sketch this week is hers (we just turned it into this lovely hop badge).

For those of you who don’t know, Rita is pregnant and getting ready to take a leave of absence from our design team.  She is a wonderful stamper but an even more wonderful person!  The teams of Freshly Made Sketches and The Paper Players have joined together for this hop.  You are sure to be wowed and we hope that Rita sees how much we love and respect her for all she does.

For my card I took inspiration from this post from Rita.  The fabrics for little Laila’s quilt are so pretty and I thought this paper from Twitterpated DSP and the images from Joie (SAB ’11, French version) were perfect.  Rita, I wish you all the joy that you and your family so richly deserve.  Hugs to you, my friend!

If you have been hopping around already, you probably came over from Jen Mitchell at I Create.  The next blog on the list is Kathy Tanner at Stamping Still.  Here are all the participants:

We have a team blog where we post our pictures and we had to keep the secret so the Freshly Made Sketches team also designed “decoy” cards so that Rita wouldn’t get suspicious.  We have all been so excited about the big day on this!  Here is my other version of the sketch:

I am so thrilled to be a part of this little party in Rita’s honor.  Make sure you drop by Rita’s Creations and leave her a note.  You can be a part of the fun too!

Rita’s Card — Stamp:  Joie (SAB ’11); Paper:  Twitterpated DSP, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray; Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray; Accessories:  Perfect Pennants Die, Big Shot, 1-3/4″ Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

Card 2 — Stamps:  Bright Blossoms, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper:  Summer Smooches, Whisper White; Ink:  Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo; Accessories:  Big Shot, Adorning Accents Edgelits, 1-3/4″ Circle Punch, Neutrals Buttons, White Baker’s Twine

Craft Project Central – Bonus Project

Craft Project Central – Bonus Project published on No Comments on Craft Project Central – Bonus Project

It has been such fun working with the team at Craft Project Central this month.  All of the designers have created such amazing projects.  Here is a bonus for you.  All you have to do is subscribe to May and then meet one of the bonus criteria (they are easy!).  The criteria are posted at the link to CPC above.  Then you get this amazing project designed by Carrie Rhoades of Carrie Stamps.

Oh I know you said it out loud too….WOW!  Carrie is so talented and this bonus is simply over-the-top!  Go meet that bonus criteria right away so you can have the complete tutorial!

My thanks to Jacque Craig and all the designers at Craft Project Central for a fun month.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday published on 9 Comments on Happy Birthday

Nine years ago this morning, I was blessed to become a mom for the first time.  How can it be that so many years have passed so quickly??

And now look at him:

Yesterday we celebrated his birthday with his friends and he had a great time.  He also had a soccer tournament on Saturday and Sunday.  They played 5 games in 2 days and his team won the tournament for the U10 age bracket.  Wow, what a weekend!  And wow, what tired kids I have.

Here is the card I made him for his birthday.  I turned to the Summer Smooches again for the fun colors and patterns.  I love how this print goes perfectly with the balloons from Patterned Party!  I cut out two of the balloons and popped them up on Dimensionals.  The sentiment comes from Up, Up and Away.  The font on it is so perfect for kid cards!  The sketch on this card is from the oh so talented Margaret Moody and is for the Pals Paper Arts 135 Challenge.  Cool sketch, huh??!!  I chose the colors from the DSP for the balloon colors.  Great DSP really simplifies my stamping, I must say!

Thank you for humoring a proud mom today.  I’ll be back in just a bit with a bonus project from Craft Project Central and tomorrow with the latest from Freshly Made Sketches.  It is a sketch you won’t want to miss!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Stamps:  Patterned Party, Up, Up and Away; Paper:  Summer Smooches (available Jun 1st), Real Red, Island Indigo, Whisper White; Ink:  Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Gray; Accessories:  Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Craft Project Central – Project #10

Craft Project Central – Project #10 published on 2 Comments on Craft Project Central – Project #10

This month has flown by and I can’t believe I am already posting project #10 from Craft Project Central.  This fabulous combination was designed by the talented Kim Score of Paper Punch Addiction.

This amazing box and accompanying card are perfect for so many things.  Leave it flowery like this one and it is wonderful for so many women in your life.  Change over to Well Worn DSP and use it for Dad or that male teacher that you so appreciate!  Kim really created a beauty, didn’t she?  Make sure you link over to her blog to give her your thoughts!

I have one last post for Craft Project Central this month and you will be so amazed.  It will be up on Tuesday so make sure you come by to see it.  Another designer has outdone herself!!

I have a soccer tournament all weekend so not sure I’ll get any crafting done.  Maybe I’ll sneak a little card in this evening!  I hope to be back on Monday but we’ll see what I can get finished.  I hope your Memorial Day weekend is safe and wonderful.  Don’t forget to take some time to remember those who have sacrificed so much.

SCIC#54 – Inlaid circles

SCIC#54 – Inlaid circles published on 14 Comments on SCIC#54 – Inlaid circles

Stampin’ Celebration is back with a new challenge for May.  What a fun set of inspiration pictures, don’t you think?  I just love all the bright happy colors!

I thought it would be fun to incorporate all the colors into a card using my circle punches and this cool technique.  I have seen it called both embedded embossing and inlaid embossing, either seems appropriate.  I used every circle punch I have to make this one and just randomly punched the awesome Summer Smooches DSP (available again on June 1st), then played around with the pattern.  Once I attached them to a Whisper White layer they were run through my Big Shot using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  I let the one big circle hang over the edge for extra dimension.  Then I attached the embossed layer to another Whisper White layer and tied it up with Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine.  The twine goes really well with the Real Red in the DSP (and also with Cherry Cobbler, of course).  I added some little tags using just part of a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and the Jewelry Tag Punch.  I popped the layer up on Dimensionals and it was done!  I liked it so much that we made these at my Customer Appreciation Class last week.  They loved it too.  Perfect for kids and grown-ups alike!

I was so happy to see Stampin’ Celebration back from their break.  Make sure you go visit and give this one a try.  You have all month so there is no excuse!!

Thanks for stopping in today.  I hope your day is fantastic!  See you again soon!!

Stamp:  Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper:  Summer Smooches DSP, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive; Ink:  Real Red; Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice EF, Circle Punches (1-3/4″, 1-3/8″, 1-1/4″, 1″, 1/2″), Jewelry Tag Punch, Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Freshly Made Sketches #36

Freshly Made Sketches #36 published on 12 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #36

Wow, it is Wednesday already and I’m here with the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  The lovely Tui Nathan of Stampin-Time has brought us this fun layout.  The hardest part of using it was narrowing down the choices.  I may make a few more with this one since it is so versatile!

I turned it on its side to use one of my favorite watercoloring sets ever…Every Moment.  This one is on Stampin’ Up’s retirement list but it isn’t too late.  I can say with certainty that it will be in my collection for a long time to come!  I stamped the flower and butterfly in Early Espresso ink on Watercolor Paper, then colored in with Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.  Blessedly, this wasn’t made for any specific reason.  I had recently used a sympathy card from my box of cards and wanted to replace it.  I find that when I need one, I either don’t have the time or the focus to create one.  These are best made “just because” for me.  I used some retired Elegant Soiree DSP from a couple of years ago.  I thought the line art was a nice combination with the art of the stamp.

Well, you can see that I never got around to posting a card yesterday.  Apologies!  It seems that the end of the school year brings lots and lots to do and no time to do it.  Today I’m off to a field trip but I have already scheduled the post for tomorrow.

Make sure you go see the design team’s variations on this sketch.  So many beautiful cards!  Hope you have a great day.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Every Moment, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper:  Elegant Soiree DSP (retired), Soft Suede, Watercolor Paper; Ink:  Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum, Crumb Cake; Accessories:  Blender Pen, Dimensionals

Craft Project Central – Project #9

Craft Project Central – Project #9 published on No Comments on Craft Project Central – Project #9

Ok, just wait until you see this!!  Tara Bourgoin of Can’t Stamp the Rain has created the coolest project for Craft Project Central!!  Take a look:

Yes it is a tooth fairy set!  Oh my goodness!  Maybe it just hits home because I have a 6 year old with missing front teeth but this project is simply adorable.  You know what to do.  Get right on over to Craft Project Central and subscribe (if you haven’t already).  Then it will be there for you to download.  Tara did all the hard work for you!

Tara is also a guest designer at Freshly Made Sketches this month and you will see her card for that later today as well.  I’ll be back with mine in just a bit.

Blog Candy Winner

Blog Candy Winner published on No Comments on Blog Candy Winner

That’s right, I have a winner.  Thanks to all who left comments about the little sailboat favor.  It was so fun to create!

True Random Number Generator   10

Using a random number generator, the winner is the 10th post…..Linda Pittman!  Linda, I will be contacting you so I can get your information and register you for the free May subscription.

It was a busy weekend of soccer and family things so I haven’t taken the pictures of cards I want to show you.  Back tomorrow with one of those.  Hope you have a great day!

 

Craft Project Central – Project #8

Craft Project Central – Project #8 published on No Comments on Craft Project Central – Project #8

Thanks for all the kind comments about my little sailboat favor and matching invitation!! I’m back today with another project from Craft Project Central.  When I first saw this I said wow.  Then I saw the video on the site (click the link above to CPC) and I gasped out loud.  Yes, it is a gift card holder and it is interactive!  Oh my!!

This was designed by Amanda Corbet at Krafting Kreations.  Run right over and tell her how cool it is (and make sure you subscribe to get the tutorial).  Perfect for Father’s Day or birthdays for the men (and woodworking women) in your life!

Don’t forget to leave me a comment on my Sailboat Favor and Card before 6p Eastern tonight for a chance to win a May subscription FREE.

See you again soon with a new card from my class last week!

 

Craft Project Central – My Project!

Craft Project Central – My Project! published on 28 Comments on Craft Project Central – My Project!

Oh, finally I can show you my project for Craft Project Central this month!!  It has been so hard to not share this one and I hope you will love it as much as I do.  I have created a Sailboat Party Favor and Pocket Card for you.

When I first had this little sailboat floating around in my head, I thought it would be so fun for a baby shower and created the set for that.  After putting it together though, I realized how fun this would be for a birthday party.  Just put the children’s names on the flag and you have place settings and favors all in one!  The invitation is easily changed to a  birthday invite too!  Here are a couple of extra pictures for you:

I have written out all the instructions, complete with pictures, on how to make both of these.  Yep, all the work is done for you!  Just subscribe to the May projects at Craft Project Central.  You will get this plus the other amazing projects I have been showing you all month.

**BLOG CANDY**BLOG CANDY**BLOG CANDY**

Yes, it is a blog candy alert!  I am giving away a FREE, yes FREE, subscription for all the May tutorials.  You can get all of the project just for a little typing.  All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post and tell me what you love about Craft Project Central’s May projects.  Leave your comment by Sunday, May 20th at 6p Eastern.  I will choose one winner randomly (using a random number generator) on Sunday night and announce the winner on Monday.

I hope your day is amazing!  I have my Customer Appreciation Class today and I’m so excited.  I’ll share some of the projects from that soon.  Thanks for stopping in today!

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