Freshly Made Sketches #703

Hello friends.  I'd never been a big fan of sketch challenges...until recently, and now I can't seem to stop playing with the gals over at Freshly Made Sketches!  This latest sketch by DT member Karren had me stumped for a bit...sometimes I just need time to think it through!!

I have several domed dies that I rarely ever use, but have to admit I really like the way this one turned out.  It's definitely NOT CAS which is what they like to see over at this challenge, but I like the way it turned out too much to not share it!  Take a look...

  Recently I was gifted the TH Festive Wreath die set from my sweet friend Bobby, and although it's intended as a Christmas wreath set, I wondered how it would look as an Autumn wreath?!  I switched up the colors to more of a Fall palette and added a couple extra die cuts from other sets, and voila!  I think I succeeded!!  I used Sizzix Revealz Sandable cardstock (they have texture that I really like!) for all my little die cut pieces and the wreath itself from Kraft cs (PTI).  Once I finished die cutting all the tiny pieces and gluing them together (time consuming but so worth it!!), I arranged them onto the wreath and then added the wreath to the Terrarium die cut (PFS).

  The pumpkins and the ghost kitty are from Poppystamps Perky Pumpkins and Ghostly Cats die sets...I thought they added a fun and whimsical touch to this fall themed card.  The sentiment is from Gina K's Thankful and Blessed stamp & die set.  I embossed my cream colored background with SSS's Fall Foliage ef and attached all the layers to a Kraft card base.  Thanks again so much for gifting me with this die set Bobby...it will definitely be well used and loved...stamping friends really are the best!!!

The DT has some amazing cards to share with you for inspiration using the sketch right HERE, so check it out and play along.  The challenge is open till Monday, Sept. 15th @ 3:00PM. 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge #95

Hello friends.  Still working on those Christmas cards, so I'm once again joining in with the gals over at the Peace On Earth Christmas challenge.

I was inspired by the light aqua colors in the mood board and used them to color up my images from PB's yuletide delivery stamp set.

This stamp set has 3 images and I couldn't decide which one to use (they're ALL adorable!!), so I colored up all 3 and have 3 cards to share with you!  I colored the image with my Copics and then fussy cut her out before placing her on a background I cut using PB's ripple die.  A little hard to see in the photo, but I did some white splattering on the background for snow, so I'm assuming she's outside at the mailbox and couldn't wait to get back inside before she started opening envelopes! I mean don't we all get a little excited about receiving handmade cards at Christmas?? I sure do!!

I did add glitter to the brim of her hat to add some sparkle and then added to a card front where I used PFS's Stitched Diamonds coverplate die.  My sentiment is from PB's feeling of christmas sentiment set.

My 2nd card uses another of the images and was also colored with Copics and framed out using PB's classy frames dies.  For my background on this one I used a piece of dsp Michele had given me and embossed it with SU!'s retired Winter Snow ef.

On this closer up you can see the embossing on the dsp a bit better...it really shows up in real life and I'm loving the look!  I finished this one with just a few Disco Ball sequins (Gina K) and some white & silver bakers twine at the top.  I couldn't figure out where to put the sentiment so just put it on the inside.

My last card uses the final image in the yuletide delivery set, and I once again colored it up with my Copics and then fussy cut it out.  

I used PB's crystal frame die to frame the image out and added a piece of pink cs behind to show through all the little holes in the frame. I ink blended the small rectangle behind this sweet little girl with more light aqua and finished with more glitter (even though it doessn't show up, it really is there!!).  The sentiment is once again on the inside.

The DT has some really pretty cards using the colors from the mood board and you can check it all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till Thursday, Sept. 18th @ 8:00PM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #102

Hello friends.  Playing along with Jo and her special guest elf Leslie at the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they are looking for Santa in September.

I have many Santa stamps that I've collected over the years, but I do have one that is my all time favorite from a company that is no longer in business (sigh...) called Flourishes and the name of the set is Santa I Believe.  Here's what I came up with this year using this sweet Santa face...

Isn't that just the sweetest Santa face?!  This year I added a silhouette of Santa (enabled by Leslie I might add!!) using Cottage Cutz Santa's Naughty/Nice List die to the card and I love the way it looks next to Santa's face!

 I cut off about a half inch on the right side of the card front and then added some red & white striped dsp (PTI) to the inside of the card where it shows from the front of the card when it's closed.  The sentiment on the both the outside and the inside are both from the Santa I Believe stamp set.  I added a few red gems (PFS) to the holly berries on top of Santa's head and a piece of black & white baker's twine to the side of the card.  Easy peasy and done! 

You can check out Jo and Leslie's cards right HERE for some inspiration and then play along...Christmas really will be here before we know it!  This challenge is open till Tuesday, Sept. 30th.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Freshly Made Sketches #702

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the Freshly Made Sketches challenge today and hopefully didn't stray too far from the sketch!

The Maple leaf in the sketch definitely made me think Fall, so that's the direction I took.  Here's what I came up with...

I love this oversize acorn from PTI's Into The Blooms: Acorns and used it in place of the large circle in the sketch.  I used kraft cs for the base of the acorn and the top part was die cut using Revealz Sandable Cardstock from Sizzix in a darker brown...love how it looks once I sanded it!  The die set also comes with 2 sizes of Oak leaves and I used the smaller one on a piece of water color cs that I used Lindy's Magicals on...if you've never used it, the mica flakes in this powder turn to an iridescent color once you add water and the shine is incredible!  I also used the Magicals on the trio of berries too.

 My background uses a SU! Brick Wall embossing folder and I lightly blended some kraft ink over the top of it.  My sentiment comes from an older PTI set called SCENT-IMENTALS and I love how perfectly it fit in the acorn!  I finished with a simple twine bow and a few Sparkling Champagne Pearls from PFS.

The gals over at the Freshly Made Sketches site have some awesome inspiration to share along with this fun sketch by Cecile, so check it out and play along!  This challenge is open till Monday, Sept. 8th @ 3:00PM.

I am also sending this card over to the Just Us Girls challenge where it's "Anything Goes" using DIES where I think my card will fit right into too!

Lots of awesome inspiration over at the JUGS gallery too and their challenge is open till Wednesday, Sept. 10th @ 6:00PM. 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

The Flower Challenge #106 - Use Our Sketch

Hello friends.  It's time for a new challenge here at The Flower Challenge and this month we'd like you to follow our SKETCH along with the usual flowers of course!!

It's a pretty simple sketch to follow...just put your florals in the bottom, lower left corner.  Here's what I came up with using this sketch...

I started with a die cut circle (The Greetery's Crimped Circle Die) and then ran it through with SU!'s Sunflower 3D Embossing Folder.  This is a large ef and fits an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" half sheet of cs.  I love 3D embossing folders and the depth you get when you emboss with them, and this sunflower comes out so realistic looking!  I used my smaller blending brushes with yellows, oranges and brown and lightly ink blended over the raised areas of the flower petals and centers.

I trimmed off the excess at the bottom and left hand side of the crimped circle and added to a white panel and then a Soft Suede panel and white card base.  My sentiment was die cut using gold mirror cs and a MB Hello Friend Posh Script die.  I finished with a few gold sequins and added some WOS to the flower centers.  This was one of those cards that should have only taken a half hour or less to make, but I kept trying different backgrounds because I thought all the white looked too stark!  They all made the card look too busy so in the end I just left the background plain...CAS!!

The DT has some beautiful examples using this sketch, so check them out right HERE and then play along with us!  This challenge is open till Thursday, Sept. 25th @ 5:00PM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Ala Michele & Bobby

Hello friends.  A couple weeks ago when I and Bobby went to Michele's house for a get together, both Michele and Bobby had dies that I cut out and brought home to make into cards. Today I have 2 of the cards I made to share with you.

This first card uses a die set from Michele and Concord & 9th called Cherry Nice, and it turned into a perfect birthday card for one of my granddaughters who is turning 5 next week (I swear she was just a baby last week!!).  Take a look...

I thought this turned out so cute, and I think my granddaughter will think so too!  This is a 4 bar size card (3 1/2 x 5 1/2) and the bottom of the card is dsp from PTI and the top white section was embossed with those sweet little cherries from Concord & 9th.  The cherries were cut from red cs and then ink blended around the edges to give them some definition.  The faces are actually from a bumble bee set from SU! and helps to make this card a little sweeter for Maddy!  The leaves and flowers were also a part of the set as well as the "sweet" die.

The BIRTHDAY WISHES sentiment was embossed in white on red cs and the red ric rac is from PTI's Skinny Ric Rac die.  Thanks for sharing Michele and helping me get this birthday card made actually ahead of time!

My 2nd card uses Honey Bees Winter Birds dies from Bobby after seeing her gorgeous card HERE.  I was so in love with the cardinal AND the color of the blue background that Bobby used that I had to try and replicate her card with what I had at home.  I ended up using poppystamps Bird House Pop Up Easel Dies and Boho Blue cs (SU!) to make a resting place for the cardinal.  I did a bunch of ink blending on the cardinal before putting the layers together, and then attached him to the house.

I was hoping my close up would show the glitter on the roof top and the snow on the bird house opening, but no such luck...grrrrrr!  My background was embossed with an older SU! embossing folder called Winter Snow and is still one of my most used ef's for Winter and Christmas cards.

I'm going to add both these cards to the Can You Handle the Pressure challenge since I used embossing folders for the backgrounds on both cards, and also the NBUS challenge since I have never used either of the dies before.

Thank you sooooo much Michele & Bobby for sharing your supplies and helping me with a birthday card and one more for the Christmas stash!  Crafting friends are absolutely the best!! 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues #117 - ORANGE & GREEN

Hello friends.  Welcome to September and another challenge here at Color Hues.  Our hostess for the next two weeks is the sweet Karen and she has chosen the color pairing of ORANGE & GREEN.

My first thought was Halloween with this color pairing, but I can't seem to stay on top of birthday cards this year, so I pulled out an oldie but a goody stencil from PTI called Wild Blooms and a WF Postage Collage Die and came up with this...

 I stenciled first with shades of orange and green and then used the postage die to make it look like a collection of stamps.  I love experimenting with stamps and stencils that are not specifically meant for the postage collage dies, but come out so cool looking anyways!  After stamping the postage amounts and cancellation marks in each section, I backed the panel with a piece of Certainly Celery cs (SU! - retired) and then added both layers to a white card base.

To finish my card, I hot foiled my sentiment in copper (to kind of go with the orange theme), and then added a die cut postage circle, baker's twine, Disco Ball sequins (Gina K) and a small vellum butterfly from Poppystamps Butterfly Button dies.  

We (the DT and our Special GD Lisa K.) have some beautiful and fun examples to share with you for inspiration using these 2 great colors, and you can check them all out right HERE.  We can't wait to see what YOU come up with using these two colors!  This challenge is open till Sunday, Sept. 14th @ 9:00AM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!