Freshly Made Sketches #752

Narelle has a wonderful design to get your creative juices flowing... meet Freshly Made Sketches #752...

I simplified it just a teensy bit so I could use that gorgeous ASD Lush Peony Bouquet press plate and stencils again!

The plate was inked up with Memento Toffee Crunch ink and

colored with the coordinating stencils!  Easy peasy!

I fussy cut the image and mounted it loosely onto a panel

that has been pressed using Pinkfresh Studios Twist Pattern plate.

A quick sentiment on a circle and my card was done!

Take a really good look at Narelle's card - it is loaded with beautiful

die cut embellishments and really shines in her own fabulous style!

September is here!  I hope you have time to play before you

start jumping into piles of leaves!

=] Michele

The Paper Players #801

Jaydee over at The Paper Players has a tic tac toe board for our card-making-pleasure this week!  I was reminded recently of a die I JUST HAD TO HAVE that got used right away and never shared!  No time like the present, and it fits Jaydee's top line across just right!

Here's how a bit of Lawn Fawn gingham, SSS butterflies, and 

SB Post it Note die came together:

I even added a few extra layers of this very thin paper to

make it LOOK like actual pad of post-it notes!  A little bloom and thanks

from The Stamp Market finished it off nicely IMHO.

Off she goes to The Paper Players gallery!

=] Michele

Guest Designer at Color Hues #140!

I am SO honored to be the Guest Designer at Color Hues #140!  Nancy is our host this time and she has chosen one color and a neutral brown:

I have a brand-new right-out-of-the-package set to play with today!  It felt like these colors were perfect for it!

Concord & 9th and Kristina Werner's 

Calm Canopy, Easy Repeat Light Linen Background stamp

I first stamped the linen in CP Stone Blue, then two of the branches were

added in the same blue to the right side of my arch and two more

in CP Icing on the Cake on the left.  The set included dies for the sentiments

which always makes me happy.  A leftover snippet of dark brown cardstock

from my trip to Gina K's store many years ago brought it home!

The little leaves are from a FREEBIE die included with purchase - wanna see it

in these challenge colors?  Here you go... 

Yes, that is another of the new embossing folders I splurged on recently.

From Spellbinders: Distress Mix enabled by Donna M. and Bonnie sealed the deal! You'll be seeing more of this one for sure!

Thank you to the Color Hues team for choosing this card which qualified me

to be their Guest Designer - always such a treat to hang out with this wonderful group of card makers!

I hope you are inspired to play with Nancy's colors, too!

=] Michele

Just us Girls #838

Just us Girls #838 had me bringing out my Betterpress plates, papers, and stencils for a day of play!  

I have quite a few and they are all beautiful but here's an old[er] favorite:

Spellbinders: Cosmos Backdrop...

After it dried, I gave it a spritz with glimmer spray - hope you can catch

a glimpse of it above in her closeup.

Here are the inks I've used - and the sentiment is one from

Concord & 9th's Autumn Splendor.

While the inks were out - you know my rule - why not make another:

ASD Charming Floral Background with a die-cut hello from 

C&9th's Spring Prints die set.

Hey, look at that: Darnell is looking for stencils, too, for her I.D.E.A.S !

BTW there was a third...but you'll have to wait until Wednesday for that one!

Hope you'll come back!

=] Michele

I just CAWED...

... to say I love you!  This Happy Bird wanted to dress up for Halloween and who can say no to her?  Seems like an 800th birthday is deserving of 'second helpings' so she's flying over to The Paper Players! 

Every year I try to come up with a fun card for a dear friend whose

birthday is also Halloween day! 

Several old papers from The Stamp Market came together for their sketch and this sweet Happy Dance Bird from Memory Box.  

I gave her a witches' hat and broom from the HoneyBee set I used on my first card. 

Have a happy weekend, my friends!  Thanks for spending a bit of your

crafty week with me - I surely do appreciate it!

=] Michele

It's been a while...

It has been a very long while since I've done any water coloring!  After watching Jill Foster do her magic with the new Penny Black Christmas release, I was itching to get my palette of Distress re-inkers out again!  Another item from my big sale-shopping-spree at Alex Syberia Designs recently determined my playtime today!

Enter ASD's Cindy Lou's Poppies... first stamped in Memento Toffee Crunch ink onto a piece of Canson Cold Pressed paper then water colored using aforementioned re-inkers ...

I then stamped two of the other stems directly to my card panel - also

Canson 140# cold pressed paper - and die-cut my painted Poppies.

Before arranging the flower heads, I did a little splattering and

puddling of leftover green and cut it down using an MFT Wonky Rectangle.

Then came the lifted blooms.

I'm quite pleased at how this one turned out - I admit to being a bit rusty!

I'm almost ready to get my PB Christmas stamps out!

I hope you're having a great week - we're nearing the end of August!  Where

has the month gone?  Between picking green beans, raising butterflies,

and staying on top of watering my pots of peppers and herbs it has been a busy but wonderful month.  

Thanks so much for dropping by!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #751

Hello, friends!  Glad you stopped by today - I am the happy hostess of this week's Freshly Made Sketches #751 and I hope you like it!

When we get close to Autumn my heart is happy to turn to leaves!  In fact, my sketch is taken from a card I made many years ago.  You can find that one HERE - but come back because I have TWO cards to [fingers crossed] pique your playtime!

As promised two lovely golden leaves!  Of course we can't have leaves

without trees, or trees without bark!  I added a deep delicious brown

woodgrain cardstock, my first tipped square of green that was cut using an

old favorite Spellbinders Hemstitched die and then another

kraft woodgrain cardstock before topping them with my leaves - from Lawn Fawn

and perhaps one of my oldest sets from 2015 - and a tiny little linen bow!

My sentiment is from ASD's Spring Garden set.

Ready for the second?  It had to be a Christmas card!

It's pretty self-explanatory - but in case you're wondering,

 the snowflake is from HoneyBee's Lovely Layers: Large Snowflakes dies set - 

cut from sparkly paper from The Stamp Market.

Well?  What do you think?  Are your juices flowing? lol

You have plenty of time to make a card - or two - before the window

closes on Monday, August 31st at 3pm EST!

Okay - let's go see what the team has made, shall we?

=] Michele