Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #714


Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week!  We got our first snow storm of the year on Monday.  What a disaster.  The roads were insane yesterday and today I found some great skating rinks to drive along!  As much as my husband loves winter, I am not a fan mainly because I hate driving!  I guess I better dig deep and get used to it, we've got another 5 months to go!

We've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches today courtesy of Cecile Ribon!  Please make sure you head over to Cecile's blog and check our her absolutely stunning cards!  
 

When I was in at Home Sense the other day I noticed that pink seemed to be the in colour for Christmas.  I'm not sure how I feel about that and I must admit I did not purchase anything pink since I'm pretty sure pink won't be the in colour next year!  I did however incorporate some pink into my card in honour of this year's wild colour!  This is a terrible picture because I forgot to take a picture while the sun was up and then the lighting was terrible!  I'll try and get a better picture tomorrow!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Pink Pirouette (SU)
Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes (SU - long retired!)
Ink: Cotton Candy (Catherine Pooler Designs)
Dies: Double Stitched Squares (Lil Inker Designs), Holiday Ornaments (SU - long retired!)
Other: Distressed Tile Embossing Folder (SU), Joyful Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Pink Foil (Spellbinders), Pink Jewels

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge this week!  If you need some inspiration you'll find it on the blog!

You have until Monday at 1 PM EST to get your card entered into this week's challenge!

Have an amazing day!
Jen


Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #712


Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far!  Trevor and I were able to get out for a snow free hike yesterday which was amazing!  The arthritis in my left hand (and my right to be honest) is bad enough to require surgery at the end of January but I also cannot use my hiking poles anymore.  Unfortunately that means I need to stick to lower elevation gain and lower distance hikes so that I'm not endangering myself!  It was quite the experience hiking without poles.  It sure feels different.  I needed one for the way down for a bit but then I had to just carry it.  Hoping this surgery fixes my hand and I can go back to normal life!  I'll also be hit or miss on making cards for the next little while as well as the fine detail work also has become quite difficult.  I feel so old!!!!  

We've got a great new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the amazingly creative Verena Shapiro!  Please head over to her Instagram and check out her cards!
So, the funny thing about my card this week is that I thought I was this week's hostess and so I made a card for my sketch only to find out that I'm on for next week and I still needed a card for this week!  Thankfully I had some paper and dies sitting on my desk that worked perfectly for this sketch and off I went!  I was also thankful that I was off today and had the time to get it done!  Now I'm not overly thrilled with the end result but that's okay!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Garden Green, Gumball Green, Real Red, Champagne Foil (All SU)
Patterned Paper: Simple Vintage Yuletide (Simple Stories)
Ink: Garden Green, Real Red
Dies: Christmas Foliage (Spellbinders)
Other: Joyful Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Red Foil (Spellbinders)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you really enjoy your week!
We hope you'll join in our our challenge this week!  Head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog to get find some inspiration!  You have until Monday at 1 PM EST to get your card entered into this week's challenge!  

 Have an amazing day!

Jen

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #710



Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a wonderful week so far!  I've in the thick of Christmas planning at work which actually has me thinking that Christmas will be here before we know it!  That thought alarms me because I haven't even thought about Christmas in my real life!!!  And since I'm not thinking about Christmas at home yet, I'm also not making any Christmas cards yet!!!  With the postal service still very iffy, I don't even know if we'll be able to really end them!

We have a brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the incredible and original Linda Callahan!  Linda is one of our original FMS designers.  She is such a valuable member of our team but she is taking a step back and retiring from our sweet team.  We will miss her like crazy and wish her the best!!  Please head over to her blog and thank her for all her amazing cards and funny jokes and stories!!!  

Now, when I saw Linda's sketch, I immediately saw mountains.  Then I figured the circles could be hikers but I have nothing that looks like hikers so those circles had to become clouds behind the mountains!  That's about all I could do!!!  
Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Soft Sky, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Smoky Slate, Shaded Spruce (SU)
Stamps: Typewriter Adventure Sentiments
Ink: Detail Black (PinkFresh Studios), Garden Green (SU), Smoky Slate (SU)
Dies: A2 Mountain Scene Builder Add-on Honey Cuts (Honey Bee Stamps), Scenic Adventure Dies (SU), Evergreen Dies (Taylored Expressions)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge this week!  We always love to see what you come up with.

You have until Monday at 1 PM EST to get your card entered into this week's challenge!

Have an amazing day!

Jen

Wednesday, October 15, 2025


Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great start to your week!  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend - if you were celebrating in Canada!  We went from fall to winter overnight!  We even had snow!  The mountains actually have a fair bit of snow!  I feel like the snow just melted and here we are back at the cold weather!  Let's just say that it's below freezing out side and the winter gear has been dusted off!

We have a fantastic new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches courtesy of the wonderful Jennifer Timko!  Make sure you head over to Jen's blog and check out her amazing cards!  


I figured since Thanksgiving was over and the postal strike might soon be fully over, I might as well get started on my Christmas cards!  I'm so far behind now that I might never get caught up!  I do love the poinsettia die that's in the Christmas Bird Poinsettia set from Spellbinders.  I had some left over Christmas sentiments on my desk from last year so I threw one on!  I kept it simple just in case I decide to make a pile of these!!!  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Real Red, Garden Green, Gold Foil, Brushed Gold Foil
Ink: Real Red, Garden Green
Dies: Christmas Bird Poinsettia (Spellbinders)
Other: Distressed Tile Textured Embossing Folder (SU), Joyful Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Red and Champagne Foil (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders)


I made another one with a red poinsettia - though I'm not sure which one I like better!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge this week!  You'll find a great group of cards on the blog from the Design Team to get your creative juices flowing!

You have until Monday at 3 PM EST to get your card entered into this week's challenge!  

Have an amazing day!

Jen

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #707

 


Hello and Happy Wednesday!
I hope everyone has had a great start to their week so far!  We went from summer to pre-winter in about 2 days!  The mountains got some snow and they've been looking quite stately!  The golden hues have been so pretty but we seem to be quickly headed towards winter and I'm not quite ready for it yet!!!  I am escaping to my parents house in Ontario next week so I will be able to enjoy some slightly warmer weather there!!!  

We've got a great new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week! Our hostess this week is the amazing Judy Rozema!  Head over to her blog to check out her amazing cards!  

I had this gorgeous patterned paper sitting on my desk and I couldn't wait to use it!  I combined it with the Lovely Layers Strawberries dies from Honey Bee Stamps and called it a day!  The sentiment was sitting on my desk so I decided I would make my life easy and just use it!!!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Real Red
Patterned Paper: Wildwood Secrets (Mintay Papers)
Dies: Lovely Layers Strawberries (Honey Bee Stamps), Circle Dies (Spellbinders)
Other: Curved Everyday Sentiments (Spellbinders), Silver Foil, Glimmer Hot Foil Machine

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll join in our challenge this week!  Please head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog to check out the the cards the Design Team has posted!  You will definitely be inspired!

You have until Monday at 3 PM EST to get your card entered into this week's challenge!

Have an amazing day!
Jen

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #705


Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week!  The smoke has finally cleared out here and the skies have been so blue!  It's so wonderful!  We've had some incredible sunrises and sunsets this week!  It's been pretty amazing!

We have a brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the amazing Narelle Farrugia!  Please make sure you head over to her blog to give her some love and check out her incredible creations!  

I thought for sure that the first idea I had for a card would be perfect!  Turns out I was wrong.  The second one wasn't perfect either but apparently third time is a charm.  I stuck with a simple white background.  Added some embossing and then kept the strips simple.  I opted for mushrooms for this card instead of leaves because I love mushrooms almost as much as I love fall!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Real Red, Smoky Slate, Basic Black
Stamps: Fall Foliage (Reverse Confetti)
Ink: Detail Black (Pink Fresh Studio), Real Red
Dies: Autumn Wonder (Spellbinders)
Other: Exposed Brick Textured Embossing Folder

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll enter into our challenge this week!  Please head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog to enter your card in this week's challenge.  You'll also find the inspiration you need to kick start your creativity!

This week's challenge ends on Monday at 1 PM EST!  

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #704



Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're enjoying your week so far!  We are still trying to get into the swing of things here.  Getting used to new schedules and the different times that people have to be here there and everywhere.  I'm finding it more difficult to get it all figured out this year.  I think my brain is still in summer mode and rebelling against all the craziness!

We have a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Our hostess this week is the fabulous Michele Ferguson!  We have a very special guest with us this week!  Please welcome Donna Mikasa the winner of our Challenge #700!!  Head over to Donna's blog and check out her beautiful cards!   
There sure are a lot of circles on this sketch!  You all know how I feel about circles!!  Needless to say when I saw those circles I automatically converted them to leaves!  It's fall after all!!!  The Fall Florals set from Spellbinders seemed perfect for this card!  

Supplies:

Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry (SU)
Stamps: Typewriter Adventure Sentiments (Spellbinders)
Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Crazy, Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie (All SU)
Dies: Itty Bitty Strips (MFT), Fall Florals (Spellbinders), Autumn Wonder (Spellbinders)
Other: Hardwood Embossing Folder (SU), Grain and Grunge Gem Stickers (Honey Bee Stamps)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge this week!  You have until Monday at 3 PM EST to get your card entered into this week's challenge.  

Have an amazing day!
Jen