Freshly Made Sketches #709

Hello, friends!  Another Jen, another fun sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches #709!

I spy with my little eye a square card!  I'll admit I don't make them often, as there

is something about that smaller creative space that feels limiting!  But I found a way around that and am happy as a clam penguin about the results...

A fun 'waves' embossing folder sent from a friend was turned into

drifting snow - isn't it great?

Yes.  I did use a bit of felt and was really surprised how easily those Playful Penguins dies from Spellbinders cut through it!  I turned Jen's banner into a snuggly

scarf with a few snips of my scissors and added a 'tag' with my sentiment - an oldie

from Ellen Hutson.  

Wasn't he so nice to lend a 'helping flipper' while I tied my bow? lol

Oh, the possibilities are endless if you just open up your imagination!

Speaking of - check out what the rest of the FMS team made HERE.

=] Michele

The Paper Players #760

Jaydee is looking for CAS designs this week at The Paper Players - when one is busy planning/packing for an 8-day road trip, CAS is the only way to go!

These MFT Harvest Mouse images are my go-to for CAS cards in the Fall...

Inside: to warm your heart as temperatures Fall!

PTI Keep it simple Happy Mail outside sentiment.

Thanks, Jaydee!

=] Michele

Sunday, Funday!

My Sunday fun included two cards for challenges - first up: Color Hues #120:

Here's a little gal that hasn't gotten the love she deserves in a long while...

MFT: Thankful Friend - simple watercoloring and an even simpler 

sentiment from Papertrey Ink's: Larger than Life: Fall sentiments

Next up: Just us Girls #797 Moodboard from Carol:

Here's an enlargement:

Maybe you'll spot the elements I've included on my card - yes,

another much loved set from MFT: Fall Friends

Last but not least: another bird - this one was the first I created and posted

to Instagram.  Then I remembered not all of you would see it there - duh!

A lovely Spellbinders embossed panel made at Marcia's.

A white-on-white birdhouse from Concord & 9th,

and of course, this little lovely bird from Memory Box: Happy Dance Bird!

Sounds like you all like her very much!  Makes me do a happy dance!

=] Michele

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas!

My mojo got a kick in the pants this morning when my friend Bonnie posted her darling card for the pink challenge at Jingle Belles!

By now you all know I do love pink at Christmastime!

Here's that joyful little Happy Dance Bird from MB again... in pink!

These papers from Scrapbook.com's Merry patterned collection had just

what I was looking for to create a fun scene for her... doesn't it look like she's

'skating' in for a landing?  My old favorite W&W die stitched them together.

Here are the inks I used to color her feathers! and another 'stamped at Marcia's' sentiment!

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

=] Michele

Stenciling fun with my friend, Therese!

I love 'hanging out' with Therese and her fun friends during her YouTube LIVEs - let me tell you - Therese has been going gangbusters using one of my favorite supplies: stencils!  Head on over to her YouTube page to check out the latest.  But you'll find at least three posts on her blog where she dives into the many different ways she found to use stencils.  I took the bait and found ONE MORE... stenciling OVER patterned paper!  Yep, it works!  Take a look:

I found the perfect pattern in one of those Scrapbook.com Merry collections of Christmas papers I added to my stash this year.  I thought the stripe would be great as a backdrop to my stenciling - I've use Papertrey Ink's Berry Branches, and a few inks that were a perfect match to the colors in those stripes.  Then just ink away!

#1 Add the stems ...

then the leaves and berry layers.  Then for fun I borrowed

Therese's 'drop shadow'...

... then used the berry stencil to add dimension with the berry stencil

and my rubber mat...

I trimmed the finished panel just a wee bit, then popped it onto a side-fold A2 card base.

Adding a smattering of 'snow' using gouache.  Ready for the reveal?

Topped with a fussy-cut simple sentiment from my snippets, I couldn't 

be more pleased with the final card!

So, what do you say?  Will you try stenciling over patterned paper?  Or

will you be tempted by one of Therese's fun techniques?

If you do, we'd love to know about it!

I'm sending my 'snowy' creation - second helpings - over to

Christmas Kickstart #103!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #107 - Reminder

Hello, friends!  I do hope you don't mind... you see I loved that gift so much, I decided to use it for my reminder card, too!  SO pretty in purple which is the name of the game this month for The Flower Challenge!

Instead of watercoloring, I stamped them in black ink, and added color

using the coordinating stencils from Altenew's Flutter & Bloom!

My friend Marcia keeps me well-stocked in embossed panels!

I just grab a handful of panels from home and rifle through her EF stash until I find

a few that I don't own.  A bit of mindless embossing makes it easy to keep chatting! 

I think this grey is stunning with my purple blooms

 - and a sentiment pulled from my snippets was also stamped in grey so

it made finishing my card really quick!

Speaking of quick - get those floral stamps out quickly!  You have plenty of

time to make some purple-floral cards and get them planted in our gallery!

You HAVE to see the ways my teamies have used purple!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #708

Jen T. enabled a little bit of shopping recently and I couldn't wait to use this Fall Leaves embossing folder from HoneyBee!  Luckily, Jen is our Sketch artist at Freshly Made Sketches #708 - here's her Sketch:

 

and here is my card...

Another little birdy jumped into my cart too! I fell in love

with this Happy Dance Bird from Memory Box after seeing @paws_ink_love

cards on Instagram.

The leaves are some leftovers from my playdate with Marcia, and the

sentiment is from C&9th's Birdhouse & Blossoms stamp set and dies.

You'll find yourself doing a happy dance after seeing all the inspiration

from the FMS team right HERE... you have until 3PM Monday, October 20th to play along!  See you there!

=] Michele