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Freshly Made Sketches #601

Freshly Made Sketches #601 published on 6 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #601

We had such fun with our sketch #600 celebration last week and now, onward! This week’s Freshly Made Sketches challenge designer is the one-of-a-kind Linda Callahan. She is the BEST!

I felt this one was perfect for a little scene and what better than Christmas mice from Merry Little Mice? I went with some non-traditional colors and had such fun coloring these elements.

I think I stuck close enough to the sketch on the background. I played around with adding an additional pattern under the teal but it just didn’t work for me. I love the stars on this pattern from the Make It Merry Paper Pad and found the crossing teal patten in an older, retired pad. The sentiment is from one of my workhorse sets called Inside: Holiday Sentiments. If you don’t have a set like this one, go grab it!

Thanks so much for stopping in today. I hope you have some crafting time this week and will join us. I have to say that I had a pretty challenging week last week at the day job and I’m so thankful for my coloring and creating time to bring balance to the stress. I hope you have a wonderful week!

Freshly Made Sketches #598

Freshly Made Sketches #598 published on 7 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #598

Hi everyone! Happy August to you! I am this week’s sketch designer at Freshly Made Sketches and I hope you will like this one. When I designed it, I had a floral in mind for the corner. I had this gorgeous poinsettia on my table from my last card so I opted to color the single image and go with Copics this time.

I stamped the image from Joyful Poinsettias twice and then colored. Dawn’s images have shading built into the design so I just followed her lead. I enjoyed spending a little time with my Copics! For the base I started with a light blue card stock and added Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide Inks.

I decided to add some splatters with white gouache and some red pearls. The sentiment comes from the same set. I love all the options this set gives and I suspect you will see it in heavy rotation for this holiday season.

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your August. Thanks so much for stopping in today. I’ll see soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #573

Freshly Made Sketches #573 published on 4 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #573

I was in a bit of a time crunch for creating this week’s Freshly Made Sketches card. In fact, I thought I would just have to miss out. But Kim Singdahlsen created a great one and I had an a-ha moment. I thought that her panel could be a wood print and a card was born.

I chose one of the prints from the Grain and Grunge Paper Pack since it looked a bit like the pattern of the sketch. But then what? Yeah, I know it shocks you but I thought flower die cut! I went to one I had not used in a bit, Lovely Layers: Hydrangea. I love this one. As a total shortcut, I used another paper print for the flowers. All that color variation and texture…on the paper. No extra work for me!

The only thing left was to choose a sentiment. I love this one from the Seeds of Kindness set. It is great for a birthday or just to cheer someone. I added some Trinity Stamps Confetti Embellishments to finish. Simple, but I really love it!

You’ll see that the team has a variety of interpretations and that just means it is a great sketch. Come over and give it a go! Back out to work later today. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week!

Freshly Made Sketches #567

Freshly Made Sketches #567 published on 4 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #567

Happy New Year!! I hope you will excuse the quiet but the truth is that I have not had time to make a thing for the last few weeks. Holiday flying (and the chaos from the weather events didn’t help), oldest home from college, husband finally home from a 4 month deployment (yes, I don’t talk about these until they are all done for safety reasons) plus some time with extended family where it could fit. Frankly, I need a vacation! *smile* Things are quieting down a bit so I’m hoping to find some routine over the next few weeks. I did have time to make a quick card yesterday for this marvelous new sketch by the lovely Amy O’Neill for Freshly Made Sketches. Our first challenge of the year and this is a good one to get the creativity moving.

When I saw the circles, I saw snowflakes and went searching through my pile to find these from Gina K Designs. Aren’t they pretty?! Not sure how these didn’t make it into the holiday card rotation but they are perfect for holiday thank you cards. I cut them out using Simon Says Stamp Silver Glitter Cardstock and they sparkle so much in person.

For the design panel, I blended on Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans Distress Oxide Inks and then added the Festive Stencil from Gina K Designs and inked with Chipped Sapphire. So pretty! I chose a sentiment from the Honey Bee Stamps Inside: Thankful set and heat embossed in silver. A few gems from my stash to finish the centers of the snowflakes and done.

It was nice to get back to crafting and I hope to fit in a little more this week. I am, however, back to flying and on call. Given the weather, I suspect more flying and less stamping will be on my agenda. I hope your holiday season was good and that the new year is treating you well so far. Thanks so much for stopping in today. As always, stop over to see us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Freshly Made Sketches #565

Freshly Made Sketches #565 published on 5 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #565

Happy Wednesday! I am back today with the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and another watercolor tree. Truly, I’m obsessed. I did get a question on the tutorial on the watercolor trees. Dawn has a group on Facebook called WPlus9 Encourage Creativity where she has lives twice a week or so. The tree painting was on November 15th. Now, on to the latest sketch from the incredible Karren Johnson.

Armed with my confidence from the last watercolor tree, I attempted another style and, oh my word, it worked! I wanted to use it with the sketch this week and had to play around with backgrounds that worked. I finally settled on some patterned paper from Honey Bee Stamps.

I love this traditional plaid behind the tree and thought the dark wood print grounded the card nicely. In keeping with the sketch (loosely, at least) I chose a sentiment from Inside: Holiday Sentiments (Honey Bee Stamps). I had added a few gouache splatters to the tree after painting but still thought it needed a little something extra. A twine bow seemed to be just the right amount of detail.

I hope you’ll come over to join us for this week’s challenge. This sketch is perfect for those last minute holiday cards! I appreciate you dropping by. See you again soon!

Honey Bee Stamps IG Hop + FMS

Honey Bee Stamps IG Hop + FMS published on 6 Comments on Honey Bee Stamps IG Hop + FMS

I’m super excited to share a combination card today. It is Honey Bee Stamps Instagram Hop day (with chances to win!!) and I used the Freshly Made Sketches challenge for my sketch inspiration. Perfect timing for this fabulous sketch designed by the fabulous Jacquie Southas.

When I saw the sketch, I knew just the focal point I wanted to use. Sleigh Bells Ring is a new stamp and die set from Honey Bee Stamps and it is a treat to use. The sled die is so fun and full of details but yet easy to put together. I used some wood grain paper from my stash for the sled. Then I used some of the elements from the stamp set to decorate the sled.

Once I had the sled built, I thought this cool print from the Vintage Holiday paper pack was added wonderful texture and was great for the sketch. I inked a panel with Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Ink and put it all on a taupe base.

Come over to Instagram to hop with us for a chance to win and I hope to see you playing along with the sketch. Thanks for stopping in today!

Freshly Made Sketches #500 – A Decade of Sketch Inspiration

Freshly Made Sketches #500 – A Decade of Sketch Inspiration published on 25 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #500 – A Decade of Sketch Inspiration

Yes, you read that right. Freshly Made Sketches is celebrating 500 sketches. A decade ago, the amazing Lesley started this challenge during a time when “clean” stamping was not a dominant style. She put together an idea of clean, but not always simple, designs based on layouts. BRILLIANT! I played along as a player from the first challenge and soon joined the team. It has been my biggest consistent inspiration in my stamping and it has been a great joy to be on this team for so many years.

As you can imagine, 10 years of a challenge is really worth celebrating. We have sponsors and the winners will simply be randomly chosen from all the players this week. Additionally, I have a personal prize too! As a thank you for the support you have given me over these many years, I will choose a winner from all who comment on this post. See the end of the post for details.

I love that Linda chose 5 layers for the sketch as a nod to the 500 milestone. I wanted to explore a little more on some of the products from the Honey Bee Stamps release we just featured. The Garden Harvest Florals is such fun to color and I thought it would be perfect for this sketch. All of the elements were colored with Copic Markers. I chose a pretty gingham from the Summer Stems paper pack that had a bit of a late summer/early fall feel.

The sentiment is my favorite part of the card. It comes from the Bitty Buzzwords: Fall stamp and die set. Truly, this sums up how I feel about this team. Some have been together for the whole 10 years, some joined us more recently, but all are amazing. In every possible definition of the word, our happy little group is a team. And one that has given me immeasurable joy!

For my personal giveaway, I will send the above products to one lucky winner, randomly chosen from those who comment on this post. Giveaway is limited to those in the US only. It include: Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry Ink and products from Honey Bee Stamps: Team Tie Dye Paper Pack, Precision Tip Glue, Bee Young: Blooms Stamps and Dies. Winner will be contacted via information left when you comment.

Again, thank you for playing along, supporting our fun challenge and for always sharing your time and talents in our gallery. We are so grateful you have included us in your crafty adventures!

FMS498 and SPD Mix It Up #82

FMS498 and SPD Mix It Up #82 published on 8 Comments on FMS498 and SPD Mix It Up #82

Happy Wednesday! I am here today with a combo card that joins two of my challenges, Freshly Made Sketches and SugarPea Designs’ Mix It Up Challenge.

When I looked at the inspiration photo, I fell in love with the colors! And then I saw Jen Mitchell’s sketch and I knew just what to do. I pulled out the Meadow Motifs Stamp Set and chose two of the floral sprays. To match the sketch I put the smaller one in the bottom right corner on Desert Storm card stock. Then I pulled out some fall colored Copic Markers in yellows, oranges and browns.

I love how those colors change the entire feel of the images! And it made me so very happy. For a sentiment, I reached to the Floral Envie Stamp Set. This sentiment is really beautiful and I thought it provided just the right balance for the card. I hope you enjoy this combination and will come play along!

Last week I promised a sneak peek week from Honey Bee Stamps. Well, Covid strikes again and there was a delay in shipping the release to the company. In order to make sure customers were able to order, the peeks were delayed. But they are scheduled to start this Friday. I cannot wait to share! Until then, I hope you have some time to craft.

Freshly Made Sketches #291

Freshly Made Sketches #291 published on 6 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #291

FMS291 by Jen Timko | Butterfly Kisses by Mama Elephant, Thank You by Studio KatiaI hope your week has been wonderful and full of summer fun!  We are still finishing up some school things with one of my sons so it doesn’t quite feel like summer yet…but soon!  Just a few more days!  And that anticipation was definitely on my mind as I worked on this card for today.  Our hostess, the wonderful Jennifer Brum, has created a wonderful sketch for us at Freshly Made Sketches this week.

I started with this pretty little butterfly from Mama Elephant and did a quick coloring with Ripe Persimmon Distress Ink.  I love butterflies and I’m finally started to see some around here.  Always makes me happy!  I created a watercolor background using a couple of yellow Distress Inks and the “smoosh” technique (apply the ink to acetate, spritz and ink the paper).  I this the two tones of yellow add a nice contrast.  This gorgeous sentiment comes from Studio Katia and it was an extra treat in our supplies that came for last week’s collaboration hop with Newton’s Nook Designs and Studio Katia.  LOVE this scripty font, don’t you?!  I thought a couple of the Clear Round Drops from Studio Katia to finish.  Quick and easy and perfect for summer (and it let me get back outside on a beautiful day)!

I hope you have fun with this sketch.  You can use designer paper, background stamps or keep it simple like it did.  Tons of ways to use this one!  The DT has shown you that, as always.  Love those gals!  I hope your week has time for some crafty fun.  Until next time, thanks for stopping in!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Butterfly Kisses (Mama Elephant), Thank You (Studio Katia); Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks; Paper:  Fabriano Extra WhiteWatercolor, Thick Whisper White (SU); Accessories:  Misti, BrusH2O Water Pen, Clear Round Drops (Studio Katia)

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Freshly Made Sketches #277

Freshly Made Sketches #277 published on 10 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #277

FMS277 by Jen Timko | Butterfly Kisses by Mama Elephant, Tim Holtz Distress InkSo is it acting like spring where you are?  Well, it certainly has been in Virginia and that inspired my card for today.  I’m the sketch hostess over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I hope you will love the sketch I created for you.  It is also the beginning of Kathy Racoosin‘s 30 Day Coloring Challenge (The Daily Marker 30 Day) which is a month of amazing inspiration that fills IG feeds with lovely art.  It reminds us, as crafters, to take a little time every day just to make a little something that is pretty.

I kept my coloring pretty simple for today and used this gorgeous flower from Mama Elephant.  Inspired by some of the cherry blossoms that are sure to be popping out any time here in my yard, I chose a soft pink for the flowers.  The sentiment comes from the set too and I think it is a favorite of mine.  The image and sentiments were stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and the flower was coloring using Tim Holtz Distess Inks.

I hope you will join us with this sketch.  I tried to make one that is open to techniques, large images or even pretty DSP.  The team, of course, used all of these ideas and I’m sure you will come up with even more!  Thanks for stopping in today.  Remember….YOU make the world a better place!  You certainly make mine better!  Have a great day.

Supplies (affiliate links included):

Stamp:  Butterfly Kisses (Mama Elephant) ; Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mustard Seed, Spun Sugar, Twisted Citron); Paper:  Shimmery White (SU), Pink Pirouette; Accessories:  Sequins (SU and Pretty Pink Posh)

Signature 2016 - 1

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