Hi friends!  It's Wednesday so that means we've got a new sketch challenge for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is Linda and her sketch has a bunch of circles on it. 🙈What to do, what to do?? In true Freshly Made Sketches fashion circles are not necessary (you can always substitute other shapes) but that's what stuck in my brain when I sat at my desk to make my card.  So circles lead to rain drops which lead to an umbrella which lead to the only stamp set I own with an umbrella in it.

The "umbrella man," as I have taken to calling him, was a perfect image for some masculine colors so I used the challenge at TGIF for my color choices.  My raindrops are 3D enamel dots.  Whoever gets this card will get it hand-delivered because I'm sure those dots won't survive the post office and their sorting machines!

We've got a great new challenge for you at Fusion!  The inspiration photo is full of beautiful poppies but, alas, I didn't have any of those in my stash so I took my cues from the colors and from flowers in general and combined them, along with the sketch, to make this card.

We've got a great new sketch for you at CAS(E) This Sketch and it's a retro one.  The sketch first debuted over five years ago - find it HERE - and I will admit I was a little intimidated by it.  I think I was the first time too!

It's that time of year when I start thinking about Halloween cards.  I think they are the most fun cards that I make all year!  This card uses the colors from TGIF Challenges and I just layered circles to mimic the layout of the sketch.  I took a little liberty with the placement of the sentiment and just for fun added a die-cut bat that I cut from black glimmer paper.

Thank for stopping by!  My fellow CAS(E) This Sketch design teammates have made some amazing  cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Bite Me  (Stampin' Up!);  Circles Circles Circles   (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Solar White  (Neenah);  Basic Black,  Rich Razzleberry, Sweet Pea DSP (Stampin' Up!);  black glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:   Circles die  (Little B)

For my Fusion card this week I decided to turn the sketch clockwise and incorporate a few farm animals per the theme.  Despite my extensive stamp collection I didn't have any farm animals in my stash so I did a little poking around Etsy and found some fun digital images.

I did some ink blending to create a blue sky background then added some grass for my little farm animals to tramp around in!  My happy sun is shining down on the pig and cow and wishing someone a happy birthday!  At TGIF Challenges they are looking for ink blending so I took that as a sign that I was on the right path with this card.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Fusion design team members have made some great cards for this challenge so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Birthday Bears  (My Favorite Things); Farm Animals (Pixel Paper Prints)
Paper:  Solar White  (Neenah); Bristol Smooth; X-Press It Blending Card; Cocoa Bean (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Slim Film City die, Slim Window Dressing die (Mama Elephant)

We've got a great new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is Kim and she has given us a great design that is wide open to so many interpretations!

I'm a bit late but today I've actually did get my DT card made for my combination of CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion!  Work is crazy and sometimes causes what I like to call Pandemic Pandemonium - so every so often it causes me to post my projects a bit late.  I'm so lucky that my fellow DT members put up with my shenanigans!

Hey there! It's time for me to combine the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch with the inspiration at Fusion.  I almost got it right...once I had the card made, photographed, and edited I realized that I put the sentiment - per the sketch - in the wrong place.  And I mean completely the wrong place.




I think I was so excited that I managed to cut layers in those particular shapes for the sketch that I just glued down the sentiment in that big blank space in the center, without regard to where it was supposed to go.  By the time I realized what I did it was too late to change it so I'm posting it anyway - with apologies to my CAS(E) This Sketch teammates.  The colors I chose were inspired by the colors and sentiment of the Fusion challenge and the die cut sentiment is a nod to the "use your die cut words" challenge at TGIF.



Thanks for stopping by! 

Supplies
Paper:  Pure Ivory (Gina K); Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Pure Poppy, Everyday Enchantment DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Thanks Script die (Mama Elephant); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

It's week two of my guest spot over at CAS Colors and Sketches and this week we've got a sketch for you.  I will confess that when I see a circle on a sketch I tend to think of some kind of flower.  The double-layer circles on this sketch had me thinking of some patterned paper and a die cut flower.



The die cut flower is, of course, my favorite poinsettia die so this quickly became a Christmas card.  And those two horizontal layers were a great spot to put a sentiment.  The colors of my card were inspired by the challenge at TGIF Challenges.



Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Fa La La (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Old Olive, Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black, Holiday Treasures DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Layered Poinsettia die (Penny Black); Petite Scallop Circles die, Standard Circles die (Spellbinders); enamel dot (Freckled Fawn)

It's time for a brand new challenge from Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is Lee Ann and if you're a fan of tilty layers this challenge is for you!



I love tilty layers!  I was able to take advantage of this one to dig into my seemingly never-ending stash of patterned paper.  So I created a colorful layer with some of that paper then added some pretty flowers from a stamp set I recently bought.  I love how bright and cheery this is!  A birthday sentiment let me play along with the birthday challenge at TGIF.


Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic cards with this sketch so I'm sure you'll be inspired to play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Always There (Altenew); Simple Sentiments (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pear Pizzazz, Twitterpated DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Citrus Burst, Maple Yellow, Honey Drizzle, Silver Stone, Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades, Evergreen, Jet Black (Altenew)

We are two weeks away from Christmas and I am officially done with my Christmas cards (finally)!  They are all in the mail - signed, sealed, and delivered!  So this card, made for the latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches designed by Narelle, is the first one I made for my 2020 stash!  Woo hoo!  I don't think I've ever been this far ahead!

I took those two, thin vertical layers and turned them into triangular trees using the colors at TGIF Challenges.  And speaking of trees, that's what they are looking for at Addicted to CAS.


I love to take a traditional cue like "tree" and give it a modern take with some triangles.  And if I can add a bit of sparkle I like it all the more!  One of my triangular trees is a pretty silver glimmer and the other is a light shade of blue.  For some extra interest I added some silver stickles. 

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  December Typed Words (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up!); silver glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Modern Christmas die (Clearly Besotted Stamps); Silver Pearl Stickles

Sometimes when I see a sketch an idea for a card does not immediately spring to mind and I have to spend a bit of time pondering.  I ponder in the car, I ponder when I go for a walk.  I even ponder at work - when I'm supposed to be working. 😉  And then suddenly an idea pops into my head.  It's a miracle!  This week my sudden idea came about for the latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch!




I thought replacing the heart on the sketch with a paw print was a really cute idea!  Then I only needed a complementary sentiment and I was done.  Super easy!  That doesn't happen often so I celebrate those small victories.  My colors are based on the challenge at TGIF.


Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow CAS(E) This Sketch teammates have made some amazing cards with this sketch so be sure to check them out!  I hope you can play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Dog Talk (Tim Holtz)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Dog Icons die (Paper Smooches)

Whew!  That was quite a month we had at Freshly Made Sketches!  We reached our 400th sketch with a small trip down memory lane and capped it off with a brand new sketch and prizes for some of our lucky participants!  So now it's time to get back to business with a brand new sketch.  This week our hostess is Cécile.



I really tried to channel my inner Cécile with my card.  I so admire the way she artfully designs her cards.  She always uses interesting backgrounds and unusual die cuts and each card is a masterpiece.  So I tried to keep my card clean and yet still be interesting.  I gold embossed some coffee rings to add a metallic touch, added some soft vellum leaves, and a bold, yet simple, birthday sentiment.  I'm really pleased with how this turned out!

There are a couple of other challenge I'm playing along with too.  Less is More is looking for metallics and TGIF wants us to use embossing powder.  That's a match made in heaven!


Thanks for stopping by.  We are well on our way to another 400 sketches at Freshly Made Sketches 😳so I hope you'll go along with us for the ride!

Supplies
Stamps:  Java Spills (Stamping Bella); Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink); The Big The Bold and The Happy (Winnie & Walter)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Versamark; Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Curvy Leaves die (Elizabeth Craft Designs); gold embossing powder

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)

It's time for a new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch!  This week our sketch is designed by Brian and it's a great design that is open to a wide range of interpretations.



I decided to incorporate the butterfly challenge at TGIF Challenge along with the purple challenge at Just Us Girls on my card.  I love how those butterflies seem to be floating across that panel!  I added a few sequins to take up some of the white space and a birthday sentiment and quick as a wink I was done!


Thanks for stopping by! I hope you can join us at CAS(E) This Sketch this week!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Butterflies (Altenew); Sentimental Birthday (Winnie & Walter)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Amethyst Allure (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Soft Lilac, Lavender Fields, Deep Iris (Altenew): Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Lovely Lilac sequins (Neat & Tangled)

How about a brand new sketch challenge from your friends at Freshly Made Sketches?  And how about a brand new guest designer?  This month we are so pleased to say that Tracey McNeely will be joining us as our guest designer!  Pop on over to her blog to say hello!  And this week our sketch is brought  to you by Cécile.  I predict you are going to love it!



What a fantastic sketch!  How can you not love it?  Those wispy leaves are quintessential Cécile and I tried to do them a little justice with my silver ones.  My silver and gold color scheme are inspired by the anything goes challenge at TGIF.  The inspiration is to come from one of their designers and I chose Shesha Bloodhart's card as my inspiration.  I love how her design is a classic silver and gold one.