FMS 129 Thanks

Freshly Made Sketches this week has a very clean design. I used a piece of origami paper as the panel and a strip of buttercup card stock for the band.  The sentiment is from a Close To My Heart set.   This is a perfect go-to sketch and it works so well to show off a pretty paper.

 

Chicken In

Some silliness today- love this digital stamp from Bugaboo, paired with Close To My Heart Lollidoodle, and some paper candy.  The sketch is challenge #16 about to end at
 Seize the Sketch. It's spring break (yeah!!), and I hope to get some crafting in.

 

Skylark

How often have you used a punch or cut on the Cricut and looked at the paper and thought - that negative space is interesting?  The challenge at Retro sketches this week is to do something with that negative space.
I used Close To My Heart Skylark paper, Lagoon card stock, the Art Philosophy  cartridge to cut a bird, some washi tape, mini pearls and sentiment from the Holiday Tags set.

 

FMS 128 Birthday

Classically simple sketch at Freshly Made this week.  My card was very plain and CAS at first... but I kept adding. Hmmm. It seems when I have many things out on my craft table, I want to use them all!
A crafter posted on her blog that she was getting all her challenges and ideas mixed up and needed to organize.  I related to that! 
But this is today's version of the sketch. Time to go outside and see what this bright sunshine stuff is all about. 

 

It's a Birthday, Dude

Unscripted #249 challenge this week is another sketch that pushes the creative brain cells around!  I tried buttons, candy dots, pearls....all pretty, but I just had to change out the flower for this pocket from a favorite (now retired) CTMH set 'Rugged Dude,' sentiment from a Verve Plain Jane stamped in Outdoor Denim, distressed with Whisper.

Thank you Unscripted for another shout out last week, and for incredible sketches the keep the mojo fed so well!

 

Three Roses

Less Is More this week wants to see THREE of something.  I just heard yesterday my friend had surgery an emergency surgery, and so I made her this card.  It uses a CTMH stamp Rosy Regards, Hollyhock and Sweet Leaf inks. The sentiment is from the Sincere Expressions set.

Spring!

FRONT OF THE CARD



INSIDE THE CARD


Another last minute post today.  I was part of a committee that planned and cooked/decorated/performed for a big St. Patrick's Day party tonight, and didn't think I'd be able to post this card.  Life has been busy!
Anyway, this is for Cas-ology- 'Roots' challenge and Little Tangles 'inside the card' challenge.

I used an old favorite CTMH wood stamp with Chocolate and Topiary inks/papers.

 

Happy Birthday - Dynamic Duo 94

Love the Dynamic Duo 'Black Tie' color challenges.  This week it pairs black with mustard (CTMH Honey for me).  I used a sketch from CTMH Make It From Your Heart, vol. 2. And I added the option of dry embossing using a Cuttlebug border folder, and a frame folder that might be SU! Sparkles and black net are CTMH. Sentiment stamp is Verve; flower is CTMH from the Love This set. I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

 

Best Friend - Unscripted #248

Quite a while back I purchased a set of Scrabble stickers, and like so many other very cool things in my stash, they waited for me.  When I saw the sketch for this week at Unscripted I knew their time had arrived!  This has been a year of change and turmoil for me. My friends have been so wonderful and I love making cards to thank them for their support - for making my life a bright, sunny place!

I changed the sketch a bit by adding the panel behind the sentiment.

 

Baby Boy

This was my first cut using Cricut craft room...I know!  Where have I been?!  It was so fun, and once I get used to the formatting, it will be super easy to design and use.  Thanks to my fabulous upline and mentor, Renae, for helping me learn this. 

So, pretty basic: Cut the title out on craft room and used the Unscripted #247 sketch for inspiration.  The sketch shows this layout as a smaller panel in a corner, not the whole card, but it was perfect for this card.  I cut the animals using a Cuttlebug die "Zoo Animals". The paper is Lagoon card stock and the strip paper is from CTMH 'Skylark' packet. 

Super cute and I can't wait to send it off to my niece - little baby boy expected in May ♥

One Layer Watercolor

This post got long...feel totally free to skip it!

Last post speaking of goals and that always has me thinking in the future as well as the present.  I am terribly keen right now on constructing my "high school and beyond" plan as my June retirement comes ever closer.  In my top five wishes : water color classes.  It fascinates me. I took art lessons for years when I was younger, but as life as a teaching single mom got hectic I stopped painting, then stopped drawing. Time to get back there! 

That said, this challenge at One Layer Simplicity caused some stress.  I'm not giving up mind you, but this water thing is super tricky! Too much water= soggy, runny mess. Too little= just looked like plain stamping on watercolor paper.  sigh.

I tried direct mist to paper, holding the paper and misting the air above it, tried misting on the inked stamp, tried misting directly after stamping...The yellow card was pretty wet (misted paper before stamping), and required overnight drying. The pink version was a bit too dry (misted inked image before stamping), and I went in later with water brush. The black Memento stamp on top made the watery yellow look good. Not so sure about the pink.

Then there is the whole one layer placement issue.  I need classes for sure!! 

Image: Japanese Blossom, Close To My Heart

Pink and Red

This is my second post today, and there may be another.  I went to a wonderful regional gathering for Close To My Heart last Wednesday called Rediscover.  All about the old and the new really. And during the evening we were asked to set a goal. Mine was to select at least four challenges each week as inspiration to create.  I could have said to create four new projects each week, but the blog challenges help me be accountable.  They are specific and have time limits- just like any well-crafted goal. 
Pink and Red for Cards in Envy...old and new for my card. Lovely older CTMH Sophia papers (retired), a great new stamp from the Lollidoodle Workshop On the Go set, blooms from the stash and a brand new embellishment for the center called Flamingo Dots - a great new product! They have such shiny, vibrant color but are much flatter than a button or pearl. I used a sketch (#26) from Make It From Your Heart, vol. 2.
 

Monochromatic

I used this Freshly Made Sketch 125 for a monochromatic card.  Several of these challenges out there this week.  I used some Close To My Heart paper from Mayberry (retired) for the base panel, and matted the dry embossed center panel with Honey card stock.  The rose and sentiment are from a CTMH set- Rosy Regards (retired), and the rose is actually two stamps. The base was inked in Buttercup, the outline in Honey ink. 
This card is linked up to FMS 125 and Little Tangles #31.