Freshly Made Sketches #711

 I pulled out an older product to make a card for Freshly Made Sketches.

The Joy Wreath from Catherine Pooler was cut from Desert Storm and colored with Polychromos pencils.  One hint: leave the die in the cardstock to color.  I thought it looked rather rustic so I followed the through with that by adding it to some Altenew Spicy Yogurt cardstock that was lightly inked around the edges with Frayed Burlap DI.  The little bow is from Papertrey Ink and the sentiment die is from the wreath set.

I have more than enough Christmas cards made but it's always good to get a head start on next year.  Now I just have to do the inside sentiments and print the labels.  My goal is December 1. 

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Freshly Made Sketches #708

I had a certain stamp in mind for the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches but I have a feeling it has deteriorated over the years because I couldn't get a clear image.  So I pivoted and made this instead.

This is a Pinkfresh Studio card. The wreath and bow from Season's Greetings were stamped in Memento Fog, colored with Altenew Artist Markers and then gold heat embossed.  The gold embossed sentiment is from their Basic Banners Christmas.  

I already have enough Christmas cards made but I continue to make them since the only reason I'm ready now is because of all the cards I made for challenges last October, November and December.  I also have a number of new Christmas things that I want to play with so you'll be seeing a lot more in the coming weeks. 

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Freshly Made Sketches #706

I'm finally back in my main studio and jumped right in to making a card for Freshly Made Sketches.

I turned Tim's Festive Wreath into a Halloween one by adding skulls, a spider and crossbones from Tim's Frightful things.  The orange background was stamped with Honey Bee's web in Versa Mark and covered with Perfect Pearls.  The sentiment paper is from Doodlebug.  

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Freshly Made Sketches #697 and NBUS #77

It's been a fun and busy week but I still had time to a make card for Freshly Made Sketches and since I'm  using some new dies, I'm also sending this to Darnell's NBUS. 

I already have a Tim Holtz wreath but I loved this one with the Christmas symbols so I had to have this one too.  It's called Vault Festive Wreath and it's cut from a variety of scraps.  The background paper is from a freebie pack I got from Honey Bee last Christmas and the sentiment is from SSS.  

One more Christmas card for my stash.  How are yours coming?

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Freshly Made Sketches #673 and Color Throwdown #826

The sketch at Freshly Made Sketches had a lot of possibilities and it took me a while to narrow down what I would use.  It just so happened that my color choices were perfect for Color Throwdown. 

A background panel was embossed with SU's Timeworn Type.  SSS Chisholm Wreath was cut from kraft and given a spritz of Frayed Burlap Distress Spray.  A second cutting in white, inlaid into the wreath, gave a place to add the PB sentiment.  A bow from The Greetery and some pink flower sequins from SSS decorate it.  

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope you are safe from the winter storm blast.

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The Paper Players #717 and NBUS #68

I had some time on my hands and went looking for a challenge to play in.  The Paper Players sketch worked great with a stamp from Spellbinders.

It's stamped on Bristol and watercolored with Distress Inks.  A scrap of plain red patterned paper made a great ribbon to match the sentiment. 

I got this set on sale a while ago but this is its first outing so I'm also sending my card to Darnell's NBUS. 

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52 Christmas Card Throwdown 3.24

The theme for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is wreaths and I chose to make one from Concord and 9th.

This is a stencil called Boughs & Holly, colored with Altenew inks.  I added Nuvo drops to the berries and a red foiled sentiment from Simon Hurley. 

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Time Out #252

It's getting close to Christmas and Time Out would like to see your winter/holiday cards. 

I got a new set from Memory Box at the Ellen Hutson close-out sale and thought it would be great for making multiple Christmas cards.  I sent out 17 to the homebound members of my former church and this will be great for their cards.. 

The image was heat embossed in gold and watercolored with Distress Inks.  The sentiment is from Sunny Studios. 

This challenge is being sponsored by Birch Press.  The winner will be awarded a $20 store credit. 

The Design Team and I hope you'll make a card for the challenge. It's a great chance to make those last minute Christmas cards.

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Color Hues #75

I have a second card for Color Hues.  

I actually made this background with Mica sprays first but thought it was too dark for the challenge colors.  After seeing other entries I decided to send it anyway.  The wreath and bow die is from Penny Black cut from silver and purple foil.  Sequins were added as ornaments.

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Just Us Girls #705 - Word Week

Carol Mayne is our host at Just Us Girls and she chose this for Word Week.

I have a stamp from Jillian Vance that I wanted to use so I went searching for just the right stamp or die to go with it.  This is the results.

The sentiment fit perfectly inside the Chisholm Wreath from SSS that was cut from kraft.  To decorate it I used Lawn Fawn leaves cut from a smooshed panel, then added the bow from PTI.  

There are so many ways to use the word on a card so be sure to check out what the Design Team and our guest Melissa have made to inspire you.  Then it's up to you to take it from there.

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Time Out #232 - Birthday Time

We're celebrating our 9th birthday at Time Out and we'd like you to join in the festivities.

Our sponsor is Newton's Nook and they are awarding the winner of the challenge a $25 store credit.

I used the Rustic Floral stencils and die from PinkFresh Studio for the main image on my card. The wreath is layered for dimension and the center is inset after stamping the sentiment from Verve.  It's all on a panel embossed with the Blossom Field folder from SSS. 

We hope you'll come celebrate with us by making a card for the gallery.

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52 Christmas Card Throwdown 1/23

I'm going to try to make Christmas cards throughout the year and 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is one way to do it.  I also vowed to use more of my older stamps like I did on this card. 

This is sketch week for the Throwdown, shown below.  I pulled out my Woodland Wreath from WPlus9.  It is so old that the dies are solid which means you have to cut before stamping.  The berries on the wreath are embossed with Red Tinsel powder although the glitter doesn't show in the photo.  The bow has been quadruple embossed to give it shine.  Scored lines were added on each side of the sentiment from Concord and 9th to finish it.

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Freshly Made Sketches #559

I'm getting a headstart on next year's Christmas cards with a few challenges from now through this Christmas.  Today my card is for Freshly Made Sketches.

I have so many Christmas stamps and dies that never got used this year.  I found this one from Penny Black while looking for something else and thought it would work for the sketch.  The wreath was colored with a combo of Distress regular and mica sprays.  Pink glitter cs was used for the bow and under the sentiment from Concord and 9th.  The die cut gives little spots for berries but I used holographic confetti from Trinity Stamps.   

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Less Is More #476

What could be easier than using one of my many stencils to make a card for Less Is More? 

This one from Concord and 9th is one of my newer ones.  I used Distress Oxides for a softer look.  Bungled Sage, Peeled Paint, Gathered Twigs and Kitsch Flamingo.  The sentiment from HLS is embossed in Liquid Platinum.  

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CAS Christmas - June 2022

I'm so glad I brought my PinkFresh Studio wreath with me so I could make a card for CAS Christmas. 

I stamped the wreath in Gina K black and colored it with Altenew artist markers.  The bow was die cut and popped up and the sentiment is from Concord and 9th. 

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Inspired By #200

Inspired By has a unique challenge this week.  To celebrate number 200 they want us to be inspired by previous challenge winners.  You can see them all in a link on the blog,  pick one and CASE it.  I was inspired by Loll's card.

I loved the black and white with a green wreath so used those elements on my card.

The wreath is from Catherine Pooler, cut from two different greens and layered off-set. For the berries I used some ancient Enamel Essentials. I was surprised they still worked.  Also ancient is the patterned paper.  The heat embossed sentiment is from PTI.

This will be my last post before Christmas so I'm wishing you all the blessings of health and happiness through the rest of this year and for the new year.  

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Just Us Girls #612 - Photo Week

It's the last week of November and the last challenge for Just Us Girls until January 8.  We hope you'll join us then for another fabulous year of challenges.  

For today, Lisa has a photo for us.

I must say this one had me stumped for a while.  I usually take things literally and knew I had to break down the image before I could make a card.  Here's what I came up with.

The grocery bags inspired my kraft background and the circle topiary turned into a wreath by PinkFresh Studio.  It is stamped and clear heat embossed so I could paint it with my metallic watercolors from Altenew.  Here's a close-up so you can see the shine.  A sentiment from PTI finishes it off.

I hope you'll join us for our last challenge of 2021.

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