Hello Baby

Hi and welcome to another fabulous sketch, courtesy of Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is the delightful and talented Jen Brum.  And look, there are no circles on her sketch :)

I love this sketch and my card came together reasonably quickly, unlike most of the cards I've made recently which take forever!

I had a pre-colored elephant so that was the starting point for my card.  I decided to go with neutral tones and make a baby card.  The card base is white and then there is a layer of Smoke, die-cut with two dies from Blueprints 21.  The Slate banner was white-embossed with a sentiment from Winnie & Walter.  

Some Pretty Pink Posh sequins and my card was done.

Thanks for visiting.  Be sure to check out the wonderful cards from the rest of the design team.  And before I go, we're coming up to our 200th sketch and we are having a huge celebration.  There will be some amazing prizes so I hope you can make some time to play along!

Products used:

Stamps:  Unforgettable (WP9), The Big, the Bold and the Happy (W&W)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Smoke, Slate, X-Press It

Accessories:  Unforgettable dies, MFT Fishtail Flag Stax, MFT Blueprints 21, White EP

Cheers

Karren

Coffee

Hi!  Today's card has a few more layers than I'm used to working with, but I enjoyed making it.  I used the sketch from Viva la Verve, the kraft theme from Inkspirational as well as the food and markers themes from Friday Mashup.

I started with a card base using Neenah Desert Storm and die cut that with my stitched rectangles die.  The Dark Chocolate panel was stenciled with translucent embossing paste and the Splatters stencil by Tim Holtz.  

I stamped and colored the coffee cup using Copics and stamped the sentiment using Dark Chocolate ink onto a die cut tag.

The patterned paper comes from an old Stampin' Up pack called Well Worn.

You can see the embossing paste better in this next photo.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Better With You (Verve)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Dark Chocolate (SSS)

Cardstock:  Neenah Desert Storm, Very Vanilla (SU), Dark Chocolate (SSS), X-Press It, Well Worn Patterned Paper

Accessories:  Lil' Inkers Stitched Rectangles and Circles dies, Tag Builders Blueprints 2 (MFT), Splatters Stencil (Tim Holtz), Translucent Embossing Paste (Wendy Vecchi), Copics

Cheers

Karren

Gamer Birthday

Hi and welcome to Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is the super-sweet and talented Cindy Hall.  Check out the fun sketch Cindy has given us:

I flipped the sketch onto its side and came up with this card:

I should point out that when I made this card, I was sick with a nasty cold.  Why is it that a simple thing like a cold can make us so miserable and woolly-headed?  

I started by cutting a frame using two rounded square dies.  I then stamped and cut the "happy" word using my new Game Tile Letters set.  I used more NBUS in the form of MFT's Pop Up Birthday die for the rest of the sentiment.  I cut along the bottom so they weren't "pop up" anymore.  The game controller started out with a white piece of card that I sponged with Slate ink to make a grey color.  That way the circles and '+' stand out more.

Once I had that done, I couldn't decide what to do with the panel at the top.  I didn't want anything heavy-looking so ended up sponging over a stencil and finishing with a thin strip of black cardstock.

This isn't my favorite card but considering how I was feeling, I'm not going to complain :)

I'm entering this into this week's challenge at The Paper Players, to make a CAS card with a frame.

Thanks for visiting.  Head on over to the blog to check out the wonderful cards from the rest of the DT.

Products used:

Stamps:  Game Tile Letters (SSS)
Ink:  Audrey Blue, Slate (SSS)
Cardstock:  White black, Audrey Blue, Island Blue, Green Apple, Sunshine, Schoolhouse Red
Accessories:  Game Controller Die (MFT), Pop Up Birthday die (MFT), Rounded Square dies (Lifestyle Crafts), Scrambled Letters Stencil (SSS)

Cheers
Karren

Merry, Merry, Merry

Hi!  It's time for our next Merry Monday challenge.  This week our hostess is Bonnie and she wants us to have a heart on our Christmas card.

Isn't that a pretty graphic?  For my card, I came up with a CAS but rather time-consuming card featuring lots of die-cuts.

I die-cut several of the "merry" word from PTI's Wet Paint Holiday dies.  On one of the words I sponged Green Apple and Green Leaf inks in an ombre fashion.  I die-cut the "Christmas" word after sponging some white cardstock with Schoolhouse Red ink.  In hindsight, I should have sponged an ombre pattern in reds too.

I layered all the die cuts onto a white card base and finally finished with a heart die cut and coated with Glossy Accents.  As you can see, I hooked part of the "C" through the loop in the "y" for some added interest.

A very simple card!

Thanks for visiting.  The rest of the design team have some wonderful cards featuring hearts so be sure to check them out.

Products used:

Ink:  Green Apple, Green Leaf, Schoolhouse Red (SSS)

Cardstock:  White

Accessories:  Wet Paint Holiday dies (PTI), Joy to the Woods dies (Lawn Fawn)

Cheers

Karren

Pawsome

Hi!  I decided to try my hand at no-line Copic coloring.  I stamped this cute little dog onto some X-Press It cardstock using Grout Gray ink then went to work.  It's certainly going to take some practice!

Once my dog was as good as he was gonna get, I adhered him to a rounded square panel cut from Sea Glass cardstock.  The sentiment was white-embossed on black cardstock and one corner was rounded.  I die-cut the word "pawesome" and placed that just under the dog to look like he's sitting on the word.

I'm entering this card into this week's CAS(E) This Sketch challenge as well as Friday Mashup where they are looking to see a pet on our cards.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:  

Stamps:  You are Pawesome (SSS)
Ink:  Grout Grey (MFT), Versamark
Cardstock:  White, black, Sea Glass, X-Press It
Accessories:  Copics, Cat & Dog Pawesome dies (SSS), Rounded Square dies (Lifestyle Crafts), White EP, Corner Chomper

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Friday Mashup.

A Little Sunshine

Hi and welcome to another fabulous sketch from the team at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week, our hostess is the super-talented Kim Singdahlsen.  She has come up with a fun and unique sketch for us.

My mind went in many different directions with this sketch but I ended up settling on a rather obvious theme:

I used some NBUS stamps and dies from WPlus9 and some ink blending on this CAS card.

I started by blending some Lemon Chiffon, Duckling and Goldenlocks ink in an ombre fashion before die-cutting the word "sunshine" and the sun.  I then did the same with some Sea Glass ink for the clouds.

Once I had everything positioned where I wanted it, I stamped the sentiment using Versafine Onyx Black ink.

Thanks for visiting.  The rest of the design team have done some wonderful things with this sketch so be sure to check them out. 

Products used:

Stamps:  Sending Sunshine (WP9)
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Duckling, Lemon Chiffon, Goldenlocks, Sea Glass (SSS)
Cardstock:  White
Accessories:  Sunshine Layers dies

Cheers
Karren

Pink Brick Wall

Hi and welcome!  Today's card covers a few different challenges.  I'm using the sketch from Verve as well as the colors from Color Throwdown for my card.  As it's a birthday card, I'm also entering it at Seize the Birthday (although no toppings this time).

This card has far more layers than I usually use, but it was fun to make.  I started out with a black card base die-cut with a stitched rectangle die.  I stamped a brick background stamp onto the pink panel using Cotton candy ink and adhered that to the card base after stamping the sentiment.

A Green Apple stitched circle was next then two tags - the pink one again stamped with the brick background.

The flowers were stamped and colored with my Zig Real Brush pens using pink for the leaves and orange for the centers.  The leaves are from MFT.

And that's about it!

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Lean on Me, Poppy Birthday (Verve), Brick Background (Impression Obsession)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Cotton Candy (SSS)

Cardstock:  Black, watercolor, Cotton Candy, Green Apple (SSS)

Accessories:  Pointed Flower die (Verve), Layered Leaves die (MFT), Zig Real Brush Watercolor Pens, Twine, Tag Me die (Reverse Confetti), Stitched Circle and Rectangle dies (Lil' Inkers)

Cheers

Karren

Gamer Boy

Hi and welcome to a new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week, our hostess is the talented and funny Linda and she has a great sketch for us:

I was hunting through some pre-colored images for another card when I came across a digi stamp that I'd colored when I first started using Copics.  The idea for my card came immediately to mind and it was fairly smooth sailing from that point.

My youngest son turned 13 yesterday and he loves gaming, so as soon as I saw this image from Mo Manning, I had to buy it.  This card was given to William by his older brother, Matthew.  

As I said earlier, I colored this in my early Copic-coloring days so it's not that good, but it'll do.  

I cut a square opening in my white card base then I partially die cut the image using the same square die.  I only die-cut the bottom and fussy-cut the rest to add some interest.  I accidentally cut off a tiny tuft of hair sticking up from the top of his head but it's not noticeable, I hope!  I glued the bottom of the image to the card base using mono multi glue then adhered some patterned paper behind the aperture with foam tape.

In lieu of the twine on the sketch, I used an edger die that I cut using black cardstock.  No embellishments or frills on this card.  My poor son already got a birthday card from his ageing grandmother that was in lovely girly pinks and purples with flowers, so I don't think he really wants another card with girly stuff on it!  He did me proud and accepted the girly card without a negative comment and said thanks and hugged his grandma, so all is good.  We had a bit of a laugh afterwards, though :)

Thanks for visiting!  There are some wonderful and inspirational cards on the Freshly Made Sketches blog, so be sure to check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Video Boy digi stamp (Mo's Digital Pencil)

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It, Black, Just Add Cake patterned paper (SU)

Accessories:  Greetings Top Word Edgers (Impression Obsession), Copics

Cheers

Karren

Penguin Pals

Hi and welcome!  It's time for another Christmas card courtesy of Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge.  This week, our hostess is Wendy and she wants to see a penguin on our cards.

For my card, I chose to use Polar Pals from Mama Elephant.  I combined that with the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and the dots/spots theme at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

I created a snowy night sky by blending Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Stormy Sky ink onto a panel of white cardstock.  Then I used the SSS Falling Snow stencil and some embossing paste to create my "snow".  Once that was dry, I die cut the curve at the bottom with a die from the Stitched Slopes and Hills set.

The sentiment comes from Clearly Besotted's Hanging Around set and was stamped onto the card base before adhering the sky with foam tape.

My little penguins were stamped and colored with Copics.  I gave them orange tummies just for something different - I'm pretty sure real penguins don't have orange tummies!  But then again, real penguins don't usually have top hats and scarves either :)

Thanks for visiting.  The rest of the design team have some wonderful penguin cards to inspire you, so be sure to check them out.  Note that for July and August, our challenges will stay open for two weeks, in light of the Northern Hemisphere's summer.

Products used:

Stamps:  Polar Pals (Mama Elephant), Hanging Around (Clearly Besotted)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Stormy Sky (Distress)

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It

Accessories:  Polar Pals dies, Stitched Slopes and Hills die (SSS), Falling Snow stencil (SSS), Embossing Paste, Copics

Cheers

Karren

Color Blocking

It's time for the wonderful Freshly Made Sketch Challenge to unveil the latest sketch!  This week it's the talented Rita's turn and she has designed a fun sketch that screamed "color blocking" to me.

My card was inspired by a dress I saw worn by the blonde girl on Dog with a Blog - a show my son watches and I abhor, but it was playing in the same room and I couldn't avoid it!

I started with the Comic Strip Cover Plate and black cardstock then cut it down and flipped it over to suit the sketch.  I used Island Blue, Green Apple and Audrey Blue cardstock to fill the gaps.

I die-cut the Hugs word and stacked it four deep, using three white layers and one black layer.

A few black enamel dots and my stamp-free card was done.

Thanks for visiting!  Check out how the rest of the design team have used this sketch.

Products used:

Cardstock:  White, black, Island Blue, Audrey Blue, Green Apple

Accessories:  Big Hugs die, Comic Strip Cover Plate (PTI)

Cheers

Karren