Freshly Made Sketches #710

Happy Halloween!  I'm on the road but there was NO WAY I could miss out on playing cards with one of my favorite humans and her very fun Freshly Made Sketches #710!  

Yes, this is exactly what Linda sent me last week LOL!

 Inside secret: this is exactly how most of us

create our Sketches with a simple drawing that Jen T. magically

turns into those FMS Sketches that you see each week - btw you'll find

that sketch on our team blog!

Within seconds, I knew just who wanted to come out to play -

a few more of those MFT characters:

Those marshmallows need just a few more seconds, IMHO!

Sadly, MFT is no longer available - nor is the windy debossing or snow hills.

But I just KNOW you have equally wonderful supplies!

By the time you see this, I'll be on my way to Linda's house FOR REALS!

On a sad note, this is Linda's final sketch with our team - we love you, my friend, and I promise to keep coming by your blog as long as you post cards and photos of your darling grandkids - pinky swear!

Be sure you stop by FMS for lots of treats - no tricks!

=] Michele

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

Just us Girls #796

The gals over at Just us Girls are celebrating Halloween for this challenge.  I just happened to have made an extra recently and think it fits Sue's challenge #796 quite nicely!  

Before anyone asks, yes, I did write the sentiment

and cut it out with that old Altenew set of dies after printing.

This set from HoneyBee called Toil and Trouble was added to my 'sale' cart a while ago.

along with their Tangled Web embossing folder.

Inside: ...but you can leave your hat on!

How do you like that strip of cut-out bats?  It was left over from THIS card

and I couldn't bear to throw it out!  Silly, right?

I'll be back again soon!  Thanks for stopping by!

=] Michele

CASE me a Christmas Card 2025

I'm thrilled to be joining a wonderful group of card makers again this year for CASE me a Christmas Card with Michelle Lupton and Friends 2025!  

This series features ten creative hops in October—two on YouTube and eight on Instagram—where we’ll CASE (Copy and Selectively Edit) cards from fellow crafters. 

YOU can join the fun with "Case me a Christmas Card 2025"! Make your own unique Christmas card inspired by someone in the hop, upload it via Inlinkz on Michelle's blog HERE  You could even snag a prize from one of our awesome sponsors. It's all about sharing ideas, connecting with other card makers, and sparking your creativity for the holidays!

Lucky me, since I am the last in the list, I get to CASE one of Michelle's cards!  Jump over to Instagram to see my card and the fabulous card that inspired it!  Haven't joined IG yet?  Here's a peek...

It has come to my attention that unless you have an IG account, you cannot

see my card... here ya go... OH and Michelle Lupton's card I CASE'd and made

into a Christmas card:

Alex Syberia Designs: Festive Poinsettia stencils

=] Michele

Fa la fun-day at Marcia's

Last week I visited Marcia with the hopes that I'd go home with a good start on my final Christmas cards for my seniors... she never lets me down!  Good fun, good food can always be found at The Hill House!

Here are a few of the cards made with the darling Penny Black images I stamped from her stash...

PB Yuletide Delivery paired with PB friend edger; PB plaited frames

A second image from PB Yuletide Delivery; PB Plaited Frames; SSS Fir Sprigs; Wplus9 love notes; PB Linked EF.  It could almost be saved for Valentine's Day, right?

PB Bundled; sentiment from PB Frosty hops; PB Double Frames

This tweet little trio of birds were calling my name:

Impression Obsession: E19968; Gina K. Serene Branches

One more Halloween card - let's just say I was bewitched... and since she's playing

'dress up' I'll send this one to The Paper Players where Claire is

looking for costumes!

Thanks, Claire!

PB FaBOOlous; PB Frame it; sentiment: Colorado Craft Co. Birthday Wishing

A few weeks ago, Marcia posted some wonderful cards using C&9th Kristina Werner's Holiday Icons stencil set.  When you start with two half-sheets of paper, you end up with FOUR cards!  Well, you know I would NOT be able to resist a little stenciling with my friend - it's standard procedure!  I won't bother sharing the inks - here are my four cards with a fun little flurry of finishes so I could play at Christmas Kickstart's Challenge 103 - Snow Alert! with Jo and Loll!

All the sentiments are from Pinkfresh Studios: Holiday Large Sentiments

that were stamped in Altenew Obsidian black ink and clear embossed.

I found a few Altenew black enamel embellishments that 'brought them home.'

Simple white frames are from Waffle Flower Crafts: Nesting Rectangle Frames.

Marcia is always so kind to make chili for me - she knows I love it and Tom doesn't eat it, so I seldom make it!  I brought my honey cornbread which gets griddle-toasted with butter, and I tried a new recipe for dessert: LEMON brownies!  A winner in my book!  

Another all-together-wonderful day, my friend!  Thanks so much for sharing your goodies [and friendship] with me!

Now, let's go see what Marcia got up to after I left...

=] Michele

Color Throwdown #842

 

After all that color-blocking using those Joyful papers, there were 'leftovers' and I had just the card for Color Throwdown #842!

Though my 'wreath' is a bit different than the one in Kelly's photo, I think it works!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #707

Judy's play with blocks and a circle had me reaching for a new-to-me pad of papers from Scrapbook.com called Joyful - I seldom use patterned papers for FMS but I really had a fun playtime this week using them... here's Judy's Freshly Made Sketch #707...

It's screaming 'color block' to me!  I don't think it makes any difference at all

how or what size you make your blocks as long as the end result reflects Judy's sketch.

Are you ready for a very colorful card?  Get your sunglasses on...

Several Spellbinders sets contributed the dies for my florals.

I used my EH circles to create several rings to represent Judy's circle.

All topped with a better-pressed sentiment.

and here's a second version using four blocks of two patterns:

Is it too much?  This time I cut a full circle from a THIRD dsp and have 'sewn' them together using that old favorite MFT Stitched die!

Here's the trick... you now have to head over to Freshly Made Sketches

to determine which card landed in our DT gallery!  There's sure to be plenty of inspiration there to encourage you to play along!

=] Michele