Simply Zinnias — FMS633

There is a new sketch up at Freshly Made Sketches, and this week it is provided by our crafty up-state New York friend, Linda Callahan. Take a look at her clever sketch:

There is a gorgeous suite of products that is available online and it is called the Flowering Zinnias Suite Collection. It is an on-line exclusive bundle so you won’t find it in any of the catalogs. I was really drawn to it because of the gorgeous dsp, but when I sat down to make my first card with this suite, I ended up only using the stamp set.

I started by stamping and coloring the flowers with my alcohol markers before cutting them out. There are coordinating dies in this bundle. The sentiment is also from the Simply Zinnia stamp set.

For the two little blocks in the corners under the focal panel, I used one of the dies from the Autumn Leaves Dies.

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch! Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has created for your inspiration!

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

Pre-Order Goodies — FMS632

There’s a new sketch up at Freshly Made Sketches, and it comes to us via our favorite Bay Stater, Jen Mitchell. Take a look at her fabulous square card sketch:

This sketch offers so many possibilities! Having just received a box of pre-order goodies (all of these new products will be available to order on May 1), I couldn’t wait to dig in and get some new items inky. My favorite bundle in the new catalog is the Country Flowers bundle. The images are adorable and they are easy and fun to color. And I love how you can mix and match the images in the set.

I stamped three of the images and colored them with alcohol markers before cutting them out with the coordinating dies. They were placed on two different pieces of the Country Lace dsp, which will also be available when the new catalog is released on May 1st. The card base was made with the new Basic Beige card stock.

The sentiment is also from the same stamp set. I love the mixed fonts!

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch! Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has created for your inspiration!

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

Blooming Butterfly & the Eclipse — FMS631

It’s time for another new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, and this week it is provided by our crafty pilot friend, Jennifer Timko. Take a look at what she has for us:

I love the pretty images in the Sweet Thoughts Memories & More Card Pack. These little packs and coordinating cards and envelopes make it so easy to whip up cards quickly.

This pretty butterfly is a sticker, so I just peeled it off, added a baker’s twine bow, and put some dimensionals behind it, as I wanted to pop it up a little. I added some of the rose gold leaves to match the sketch, and attached the sentiment, which is also an included sticker, and some Adhesive-Backed Sparkle Gems as embellishments. Easy peasy!

It was so easy, I was inspired to make another card with the kit. I was having a hard time deciding which image to use for the sketch because I love them both, so I decided to make two. Here’s another with the paintbrush image.

This one uses the coordinating cards and envelopes, and is a regular sized card rather than a square sized card as above. I only used the included stickers on this card.

Even though it happened on Monday, I think we’re all still buzzing here over the solar eclipse. We are fortunate to live in the path of totality, so the event has been on our calendar for months. But it is April in Texas, and with that comes an increased chance of storms. We woke up Monday morning to a sky covered in clouds and a severe weather alert for later in the day. I was substitute teaching at a middle school, and we were resigned to the fact that we might not have the experience we were hoping for. About a half hour before the full eclipse, the clouds started parting and we got some awesome views. I think the surrounding clouds even added to the experience. At the moment of totality, the students cheered and then there was silence while we were in darkness for about three minutes. I think everyone was in awe. It did live up to the hype!

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch! Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has created for your inspiration.

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

Surf’s Up — FMS630

It’s time for another new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, and this week it comes to us via Judy Rozema, our theater loving, card making friend in Nebraska. Take a look at her creative sketch:

To be honest, this sketch threw me for a loop. I just could not come up with anything. Then I looked at the Beach Day stamp set, which was sitting on my desk, and thought, “I really like those surf boards! Maybe they could represent the three rectangles in the sketch if I flipped the sketch on its side. These sketches are really designed to just spur our creativity, right?” OK, so I was reaching.

I stamped the surfboards with Versamark ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder before cutting them out with the coordinating dies. They were made with Granny Apple Green, Sweet Sorbet, and Lemon Lolly card stock.

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch! We love to see what you make as we browse the gallery each week. Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has created for your inspiration.

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

Oceans of Love — FMS629

It’s my turn to serve as the hostess at Freshly Made Sketches this week, which is always a little nerve-wracking as I’m never sure how the sketch will be received. We haven’t had a sketch with an oval as the focal image in quite a while, so I decided to go with that shape. Here’s the sketch:

I hadn’t used the cute Submarine Life stamp set yet, and since the sub is an oval shape, I thought it would work with the sketch.

I started by blending some Pool Party ink on a piece of white card stock and then stamped several of the images from the Submarine Life stamp set on the bottom half. The sentiment from this set was stamped with Azure Afternoon ink.

I stamped the sub with Crushed Curry and Pebbled Path inks and cut them out. There is a coordinating punch to make this work easier.

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch! We love to see what you make as we browse the gallery each week. Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has made for your inspiration!

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

Hang in There — FMS628

There’s a new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, and it comes all the way from the land down under courtesy of our Artisan designer friend, Narelle Farrugia. Take a look at her lovely layered sketch:

The Hot Air Balloon set is such a fun set, and since I hadn’t used it in a little while, I decided to start with it.

I thought that the square element in the sketch could be a window with clouds floating by in the background, so I cut out a square and then framed it using one of the Stitched with Whimsy Dies. I cut out the basket and clouds with the Hot Air Balloon dies and the balloon itself from a piece of the Lighter than Air dsp collection.

The sentiment is also from the Hot Air Balloon stamp set.

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch! We love to see what you make as we browse the gallery each week. Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has made for your inspiration.

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

Beautiful Day — FMS627

There’s a new sketch up at Freshly Made Sketches, and it comes all the way from New Zealand courtesy of the ultra-talented Karren Johnson. Take a look at her fun sketch:

When I first saw this sketch I immediately thought of a sunrise on the horizon. Going with that theme, I decided to create a scene using the Beach Day bundle.

I blended some Lemon Lolly and Daffodil Delight inks onto a piece of white card stock using a stencil I made by punching a circle out of a piece of scrap card stock. I added some Balmy Blue ink for the sky, and cut a piece of Crumb Cake Card stock using a die from the coordinating Beach Day die-cuts and spritzed it with some Crumb Cake ink. That created the background.

The remaining images are from the Beach Day stamp set and dies, including the sentiment. This is such a fun bundle! I had to make myself stop adding more cute things (beach umbrella and chair, surfboards, etc…).

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch! We love to see what you make as we browse the gallery each week. Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has created for your inspiration!

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

All About You — FMS626

There’s a new sketch up at Freshly Made Sketches, and it come courtesy of our favorite French card-maker, Cecile Ribon. Take a look at her fun and creative sketch:

I thought of the Nature’s Sweetness suite right away when I saw this sketch. I haven’t played with it as much as I’d like, so I thought this was a great opportunity.

I started by stamping and coloring an image from the Lovely & Sweet stamp set with alcohol markers, and then cutting it out with the coordinating dies. I used one of the stamps from the Notes of Nature set to stamp a subtle pattern on the Crumb Cake circle and cut it in half.

I used a couple of other stamps from the Notes of Nature set to stamp a backround on the white card base. The sentiment is from The Notes of Nature stamp set, as well. Some Adhesive-Backed Cork Rounds and linen thread were added as embellishments. I had some Soft Sea Foam leaf branches laying on my desk that I had previously cut using a die from the Notes of Nature die set, and I placed then under the focal image.

This was a fun card to make! I love playing with this suite of products. Having two bundles of stamps and dies gives one so many options.

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch! We love to see what you make as we browse the gallery each week. Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has created for your inspiration!

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

A Birthday Hooray — FMS625

It’s time for another new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, and this week it comes to us from our favorite Canadian mountaineer and card maker, Jen Brum. Take a look at her fun sketch:

I wanted to make a birthday card for a sweet friend and I thought the Hot Air Balloon suite would be perfect with this sketch.

I started by stamping the balloon with some Versamark ink and embossing it with clear embossing powder, and then cutting it out with the coordinating Hot Air Balloon Dies. I added some banners cut with some of the other dies in the set and some clouds as well. A strip of dsp from the Lighter than Air collection was used on the right side of the card, and the sentiment is from the Hot Air Balloon stamp set.

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch. We love to see what you make as we browse the gallery each week. Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has made for your inspiration.

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

Cradled — FMS624

It’s time for another new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, and this week it comes to us from Kim Singdahlsen, our favorite crafty Coloradan. Take a look at her fun sketch:

I am very low on baby cards and thought this sketch would be a great opportunity to use the Cradled in Love stamp set, which is a Sale-a-Bration offering.

I stamped the image and colored it with alcohol markers. I then added some strips of paper from the Hello, Irresistible dsp collection. This card came together quickly and easily. I wish that would happen more often!

We hope you’ll join us and create your own card using the sketch! We love to see what you make as we browse the gallery each week. Meanwhile, be sure to stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site to see what the design team has created for your inspiration!

Enjoy your Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!