Hi stamping friends!  We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week our hostess is Kim and she's given us a perfectly classic sketch that has so many possibilities.  Here's what I did with it!

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Script (Indigo Blu); Label Love (Altenew)
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black (Stampin' Up!); All My Heart (Elle's Studio)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Linen & Canvas impression plate (Papertrey Ink)

It's time for a great new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess this week is Jen Brum and her sketch inspired me to make something a little whimsical.

Using colors from the latest Sunday Stamps Challenge I stamped a grungy image as my vertical layer then stamped these fun flowers and popped them up on foam.  The sentiment is a little on the fun and whimsical side too.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates totally rocked this sketch to be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Rugged Edge (IndigoBlu); Funky Florals (Papertrey Ink); Easy Expressions Birthday (The Ton)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Teal Cave, Rouge, Crimson, Jet Black (Altenew)

Hi friends!  It's time for a new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is Linda and I don't mind saying her sketch had me me stumped!

The obvious choice was to layer on some pretty paper in those horizontal lines and finish this with any number of images or shapes for the round part of the sketch.  But I wanted to do something different so I stamped a few images on the diagonal in a couple of shades of soft gray then added the butterfly in blue.  But when I was done I didn't love this at all.  The gray looked green and the butterfly looked too small, so I set it aside and promised myself l'd try something else the next day.

Well sometimes a new perspective is what is needed because when I ventured into my stamp room the next day I decided this didn't look to bad after all.  The "green" had somehow morphed into the gray I was looking for and the butterfly wasn't too small after all.  So I decided to keep the whole thing!

At the Paper Players the challenge is "spring is in the air" and I sincerely hope they are fortune tellers who can foresee the future because I'm SO ready for spring.  My butterfly is a nod to spring.  And in an amazing coincidence my card fits the Retro Rubber tic-tac-toe challenge.  I had already made the card when I checked out the challenge and found the bottom line across fit my card.  My butterfly is punched and the pearls down the back of the blue butterfly add texture (and the stamps are ancient)!

Thanks for stopping by!  Our Freshly Made Sketches design team has got some great cards to inspire you to play along with us!  We hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Rugged Edge (Indigo Blu); Papillon Potpourri (Stampin' Up!); Painted Butterflies (Altenew)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Limestone, Silver Stone, Dusk (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Elegant Butterfly punch, Basic Pearls (Stampin' Up!)

Hello everyone!  We've got a new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches and I am the hostess!  I went with a design that, I hope, gives you some room for interpretation.

It's my week to be the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches and I decided to go with a bit of an abstract design.  Week after week it always amazes me how you all interpret our sketches so I thought it would be fun to see what you would do with a big ambiguous blob!



It's a coincidence that the latest challenge at Less is More is to use scribbles, drips, or splats but I embrace all coincidences like that as an invitation that I must play along so I grabbed one of my favorite splat stamps, added a small butterfly, a few enamel dots, and a slim sentiment.  I chose all shades of blue so I could play along with the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge.


Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have taken my sketch and created gold with it!  So I hope you are inspired to play along!

Supplies
Stamps:  Ink Splats (IndigoBlu); Kinda Eclectic (Stampin' Up!); Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Blueberry Sky, Dark Indigo (Papertrey Ink); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Basic Pearls (Stampin' Up!); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

Will the real Freshly Made Sketches challenge #400 please stand up!  It seems like we've been playing a sketch challenge version of To Tell the Truth these last few weeks!  After taking a bit of a stroll down memory lane and digging some old sketches out of our archives we are ready to reveal the ACTUAL sketch #400!

It's quite a milestone, to be sure, and to celebrate properly we have PRIZES!  That's right anyone who plays along with us is eligible to win a prize from one of our generous sponsors!  We reached out to our crafty friends and asked if they would help us celebrate our 400th sketch and we were seriously overwhelmed by their generosity.

So let's get to it!



Isn't that a fabulous sketch?  SO. MANY. POSSIBILITIES.  For me, I saw that wide strip and new immediately that I needed to dip into my never-ending stash of patterned paper.  I love gingham so I chose this pretty blue one that was a perfect match to some cardstock that I also had (I love it when different brands collide and make something special)!  Then I added a two-tone butterfly.  It's been a while since I've used one of my pretty butterfly dies and this seemed like just the right occasion to use one of my favorite accents.

I also incorporated a couple of other challenges into my card today.  One for color (The Color Dare) and one that gave me an excuse to use a splatter stamp behind the butterfly (TGIF Challenges).



And now for those sponsors!  Drum roll please...........


Wouldn't you love a chance to win a prize from one of these awesome companies?  It's easy!  All you have to do is play along with our 400th sketch celebration at Freshly Made Sketches.  Winners will be randomly drawn from everyone who plays along!  I hope you'll join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle); Ink Splats (Indigo Blu)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Cool Caribbean (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Cool Caribbean (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Vivienne Butterfly die, Darla Butterfly die (Memory Box)

We've got a new challenge for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess and designer is Narelle.  I love how she manages to make a cards with multiple layers that still manage to be clean and simple.  For my card I tried to channel her love of flowers.



I went a bit liberal with the sketch this week 😉My circle, as per the sketch, is actually a splattery-style image that I stamped with my brand new Stampin' Up! ink pad Gray Granite, which I don't find to be gray in the least.  I would call it taupe before I called it gray!  As for the rest of the card I took my cues from the leafy design on the sketch --- and I expanded it to cascade over the front of the card.  My colors were inspired by the challenge at Just Us Girls.


Thanks for stopping by!  If you need some inspiration then look no further than our Freshly Made Sketches design team and our sketch this week!  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Ink Splats (Indigo Blu); Summer Silhouettes (Stampin' Up!); Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper: Solar White (Neenah)
Accessories:   Spring Green Jewels (Pretty Pink Posh)

Every other Thursday I combine the latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch with the latest challenge at Fusion.  This time around it was the flowers that inspired me and the sketch was perfect to show some off!



I was intrigued, also, by some of the design elements at the Just Us Girls challenge like the script background and the floral accents.  So I used a script stamp to create one of the "layers" on my card and followed it up with leaves, a branch, and some flowers.  Easy peasy!


Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can join us at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion, or both!

Supplies
Stamps:  Script (IndigoBlu); Beautiful Blooms III (Uniko)
Paper:  Soft Stone (Papertrey Ink); Fog (Simon Says Stamp); Certainly Celery, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Crisp Cantaloupe, Groovy Guava, Calypso Coral (Stampin' Up!); Soft Stone (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Grove Branch die, Fresh Foliage die (Memory Box)

My card today is a perfect blend of sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch and theme from Fusion.  I'm excited to say that I'm joining the design team at Fusion and today is my first official post!

For some strange reason the hot weather here has put me in mind of a cold bear for the latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  Maybe I need some cooling off!



For our sketch this week  I wondered what to do about those angled stripes until I looked through my stash of stamps and found this wide splattered image.  I stamped it in a cold, wintery blue then added my little scarf-wearing bear.  I had bought this stamp recently but hadn't the chance to ink it up until I saw the "bear" challenge at Cupcake Inspirations.  It seemed to fit perfectly with the sketch.


Thanks for stopping by.  My CAS(E) This Sketch teamies have made some fabulous cards using this sketch.  I know that you will be inspired by them and I hope that you can join us in the gallery with your own interpretation of this sketch!

Supplies
Stamps:  Boo Bear (Impression Obsession); Rugged Edge (Indigo Blu); Holiday Hugs Snowman (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir)
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up!); Prismacolor Pencils

Another presidential election is in the bag here in the US.  I have no idea who won because I wrote this post Tuesday night when it was "too close to call."  And in other news there's a new sketch challenge up at Freshly Made Sketches brought to us by Jen Brum!



I had Christmas on my mind when I made this card.  There is a "purple and gold" challenge at Less is More and the "flower" challenge at Jingle Belles got me thinking that maybe I could combine those with my FMS card this week.  Yes, that horizontal image really is purple!  I die cut the poinsettia out of vellum then added a couple touches of gold and voilà!  And can I just say that this is very cool looking in real life!

Thanks for stopping by and please stop by Freshly Made Sketches and check out the inspiration from the design team.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Many Merry Messages (Stampin' Up!); Rugged Edge (Indigo Blu)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Vellum, Gold Foil (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Concord Crush (Stampin' Up!); Gold Ultimate Metallic (Encore)
Accessories:  Blooming Poinsettia die (Memory Box)

This week the palette and patteres at colourQ are perfect for a masculine card.  I probably should have made a birthday card, but for I came across an old stamp set and  decided to make a graduation card instead.



I used the layout from Sunday Stamps and although I really like how this card came out I have no idea what I am going to do with it!  I don't know anyone graduating this year.  And I usually try to make my graduation cards match the school colors of the recipient.   I think I'd be hard pressed to find school colors as eclectic as this!


Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to pop on by colourQ and check out the inspiration from our fabulous design team.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Grads and Dads (The Craft's Meow); Ink Splats (IndigoBlu)
Paper:  Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Whisper White, Basic Gray (SU)
Ink:  Old Olive, Basic Gray (SU)
Accessories:  Pierced Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things)

The Monday holiday has really messed me up because I can't believe it's Wednesday already!  But it is and that means that it's time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  This week Cindy is our hostess and she's given us a fabulous one.



What a shock to find a butterfly on my card!  But that diamond shape put me in mind of either flowers or a butterfly and since I hadn't used this butterfly stamp set in a while I decided that this was the time to!  This is the biggest butterfly in the set and I think it makes a great substitute for that diamond.

There's tic-tac-toe challenge this week at the Paper Players and I chose to play along with the top row and used yellow, twine, and a birthday sentiment.  The linen thread that I used was a little hard to shape into an artsy tangle that didn't look like I spent too much time fussing over and as a result I spent too much time fussing over it.  This lead to an internal discussion with myself of what exactly twine is and whether it would have been easier to work with.  The debate is still ongoing so I have no answer!


My Freshly Made Sketches teamies have made some beautiful cards with the sketch this week so be sure to check them out.  I hope we'll get to see you in the gallery this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Butterflies (Altenew); Making a Statement (Verve); Script (Indigo Blu)
Paper:  Sweet Tooth (My Favorite Things); So Saffron, Whisper White (SU)
Ink:  So Saffron, Hello Honey (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Painted Butterflies die (Altenew); linen thread (SU)

This week at CAS(E) This Sketch we've got another great sketch for you!  I think I changed my mind a million times about how I wanted to tackle this sketch and I ended up using some images that I had forgotten that I had but stumbled upon when I was hunting for the stamps I thought I wanted to use.  That makes sense, right?



I went back and forth about what images I wanted to use for those horizontal lines on the sketch and finally decided to use some chevron shapes that I had.  Then I remembered I had some fun, kinda grungy edge images that I hadn't used in ages so I forgot about the chevrons altogether! I stamped the edge stamps in a couple of different gray inks.  Then I added the flowers in shades of blue and a few dots in lime green.  The colors for this, by the way, come from the latest colors at The Challenge.  They are kind of masculine but I used them for flowers instead!  And the challenge at CASology this week is "doodle" so I used these flowers which have a doodle-y look to them!


My fellow teamies at CAS(E) This Sketch had some whopping good ideas for this sketch so be sure to head on over there to check them out.  I hope I'll get to see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Rugged Edge (Indigo Blu); Blossom (Precious Remembrance); Many Thanks (Simon Says Stamp); Circles Circles Circles (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Sweet Tooth (My Favorite Things); Fog (Simon Says Stamp)
Ink:  Fog (Simon Says Stamp); Smoky Shadow, Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, Lucky Limeade (SU)

Hello hello!  I feel like I've been neglecting my blog lately, but the beautiful summer-time weather I've been having has prevented me from staying inside.  I just can't let these hot and sunny days go by being cooped up inside so I've been spending most of my weekend time relaxing on the patio.  You can be sure that once winter rolls around I won't be outside very much at all and hopefully I'll have loads of time to make up for my crafty absence!

But onto our new color palette at colourQ inspired by this mobile phone cover.  I love the rich tones and that woodgrain background.  Wouldn't you know it, this Etsy seller doesn't make this cover to fit my phone!  Rats!




I thought that I had a floral stamp in my stash that was similar to the flower on this phone cover but I couldn't find it.  Either I dreamed that I had it or I sold it on eBay!  But never fear - when a flower won't do grab a butterfly instead.  This one I bought a while ago and this is the first time I inked it up.  It's quite large and I was a bit nervous about coloring the blank spaces but decided to go with a bit of a streaky effect with my markers.  I like how it looked with the razzleberry tones but not so much with the teal ones so I blended those a bit.  My layout is from the latest Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.


Be sure to check out the design team inspiration at colourQ this week and then join us in the gallery!  We love to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Flutterby (Indigo Blu); Papillon (Tim Holtz)
Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Taken With Teal (SU); X-Press It Blending Card
Ink: Hot Fudge (My Favorite Things); Pumpkin Pie (SU); Copics
Accessories:  Stitched Square STAX, Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX (My Favorite Things); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)