Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #660

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week!  I took last week off (unintentionally really) as I was visiting my parents in Ontario.  I had such a great visit.  I was too short and the next one will need to be longer!  The trees were so beautiful in their colourful autumn garb.  I was so happy to see the leaves in all their glory!  I haven't spent any time in Ontario in fall for the last couple of years so it was so nice to see all the different colours!

We have a great new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Our lovely hostess is the Judy Rozema!  Judy makes the most beautiful cards so please head over to her blog to check them out!  

This card actually came together rather quickly which I know is shocking.  This pack of paper was sitting on my desk and was screaming to be used so I picked out some holly paper because I knew I had some holly leaf dies that would go with it.  I grabbed the biggest Christmas sentiment sent that I had and I was off to the races.  In hindsight I should have stamped the sentiment in a colour other than black but alas, here we are!  I really like the black ink I have and it doesn't usually fail me so I wanted to stick with something I knew would stamp well!  I did use some Wink of Stella on the holly berries so that they would be a little sparkly but of course it doesn't show up in the photo!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Shaded Spruce (All SU)

Patterned Paper: Simple Vintage Yuletide (Simple Stories)

Stamps: Carols of Christmas (SU)
Ink: Detail Black (Pink Fresh Studio)

Dies:  Lovely Layers Winter Greenery (Honey Bee Stamps), Ovals (Spellbinders)

Other: Wink of Stella

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 create!  It's also getting to be time to create my Christmas wish list so your cards always give me great ideas!

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

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #657

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great start to your week!  We're having a beautiful fall week!  I actually don't want it to end!  The sun has been warm and the skies blue.  I know the white, fluffy stuff is just around the corner so I'm going to embrace this weather while I can!  Fall hiking season is almost over and it makes me a little sad.  I'm sure we've got a few more weeks to go but we will need to start packing our winter gear!

We've got a brand new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches courtesy of the amazing Karren Johnson!  You will love Karren's cards so head over to her blog to check them out!  

This card actually came together quite quickly - I know, I was shocked too!  I had a pack of fall paper that I think I got last year and hadn't opened at all.  I love fall paper and fall cards and since I needed an anniversary card for my husband (22 years on Saturday) I figured this would work perfectly.  I diecut some oak leaves from the Spellbinders Autumn Wonder set and we were ready to go!  I have no idea what set the tag is from.  It was in my storage binder and back then I wasn't too concerned with writing down the names of things.  Now I have no clue where things came from!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Baked Brown Sugar, Hammermill White Coverstock

Patterned Paper: Simple Stories Acorn Lane

Ink: Antique Linen, Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz Distress Oxides)

Dies: Autumn Wonder (Spellbinders), Tag

Other: Curved Everyday Sentiments (Spellbinders), Copper Foil, Twine, Rhinestones (Honeybee Stamps)

I thought I'd share some photos from a recent hiking adventure!  For this one I traded in my regular hiking partner for my friend Annie!  Annie's husband serves in our military and he's on a training exercise so she's been joining us or her and I hike together!  We had a hoot!  This is the Skoki area - behind the Lake Louise ski hill.  It was so beautiful!  The larches were robed in their golden splendor and looked amazing!  There were so many lakes and it was so fun to explore!  We put on 26 km and 1000 m in elevation gain!  It was one of the most amazing days!

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 create!  If you need some inspiration, head over to the blog!  The design team has come up with some incredible examples!  You have until Monday at 1 PM EST to get your card entered in this week's challenge!

Have an amazing day!

Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #655

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope your week has started well!  We're having a bit of a heat wave here - which we will be very thankful for!  The sun is shining and warm and I'm loving having a week of warmth before it changes!  I'm afraid our falling hiking season might not be as long as we had hoped.  There are a couple of weekends when I can't hike so I'm a little sad.  The season has seemed super short this year.

We have a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  I am your hostess this week and I'm so excited to see what you do with my sketch this week.  I made the sketch with a card in mind and then I struggled to make the card.  Such is life these days.  I have not felt an ounce of creativity lately!

I usually love making fall cards.  Fall is my favourite season and I would make fall cards all year long if I could but this year, I've had no desire.  I don't know what's going on.  My desire to create just hasn't been there.

I was going to use different leaves for this card but they didn't work as they were too big.  I found some little (old) SU punches that I thought would work perfectly.  I punched the leaves out of white cardstock and used some Distress Oxides to colour them.  I originally wanted red maple leaves but they just didn't look right against the kraft cardstock.  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Kraft

Dies: Stitched Rectangles (Lil Inkers)

Stamps: Fall Foliage (Reverse Confetti)

Ink: Antique Linen (Distress Ink), Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo, Scattered Straw, Fossilized Amber (all Distress Oxides), Early Espresso (SU)

Other: Autumn Punch Pack (SU Retired)

A few pictures from a recent hike at Mount Lipsett.  This is such a beautiful hike and it's a fairly quick one.  We were able to get out and back before lunch!  The views are spectacular for the effort that you put in!  

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!  I can't wait to see what you create with my sketch this week!  

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

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #653

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far!  We've got a week of school under our belts here!  My oldest started his first year of university and seems to be enjoying it so far.  He is enjoying being able to live at home!  I won't complain having him here.  My youngest just started grade 11.  He's happy and liking his classes so far.  I guess it's been non-eventful.  What more can a mom ask for?

We've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches today!  Our hostess this week is the wonderful Kim Singdahlsen.  Kim's cards area so pretty so please head over to her blog and check them out!  

I might have had a little panic when I saw this sketch!  I don't have a lot of super big sentiments and so I had no clue what to do!  I looked through every stamp set and every hot foil plate and thought I was done!  Then I found the Biggest Wish stamp set from Stampin' Up sitting on my shelf and realized I could probably make it work!  But then what to do with the background?  A shaker card to the rescue!  Rhinestones, a border and done!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, 

Stamps: Biggest Wish (SU)

Ink: PinkFresh Detail Black

Dies: Border Die (MFT - I think)

Other: Window Sheets (SU), Unicorn Rhinestones (Honey Bee Stamps), Foam tape (SU).

A few photos from a hike up North Crowfoot!  This area of Alberta is one of our favourites.  So much unique beauty out there.  

This is North Crowfoot Mountain along Bow Lake

Bow Lake as seen from the top of North Crowfoot

Iceberg Lake! This little lake is the headwaters of the Bow River.  It's fed from Bow Glacier seen behind.

Just some beautiful peaks.

Bow Lake!

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 create!  If you need some inspiration, head over there and check out all the cards the Design Team members have posted!

You have until Monday at 1 PM EST to join in this week's challenge!  

Have an amazing day!

Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #652

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  It's back to school time here and I feel like I'm ready to get back into the swing of things but I'm not quite ready to let summer go yet!  We had such a short summer here with a late spring snow that I feel like summer went by way too fast and I'm not at all ready for fall or winter to come!  My oldest son started post secondary on Tuesday.  He's living at home this year and it doesn't quite feel as real as it would if he have moved out.  My youngest starts grade 11 today!  I am praying they both have the best year!

We have a brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the wonderful Linda Callahan!  Linda's cards are always so sweet so please head over to her blog and check them out! 

I wasn't too sure at first what I wanted to do for my card this week.  I need a thank you card but I wasn't inspired.  Then I saw these cute little birds sitting on my desk that I had cut previously and realized I could make them work.  I grabbed some really old SU DSP and went to town!  I love these birds and need to figure out what other colour combinations I can do them in!!  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Real Red, Early Espresso, Pacific Point, Granny Apple Green, Pumpkin Pie

DSP: SU retired

Ink: Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Dies: Perched Birds (Spellbinders), Double Stitched Circles (Lil Inkers)

Other: Sentiments for Everyday Hot Foil Plate (Spellbinders), Champagne Hot Foil (Spellbinders)

I still have quite a few hiking photos to share with you!  This hike is from earlier in August!  We decided we wanted to squeeze a hike in one day but they were calling for a storm.  We hustled up to the top - the last kilometer was such a grind.  We could see the crazy clouds coming and hear the thunder.  We managed to reach the top just in time but we did get caught in a cloud inversion!  It was so fun!  On the race to then get off the mountain, I fell - it wasn't a bad fall, just a cut and some blood but all is well!  Definitely one of our fastest and most exciting hikes!

You can see the runs our our ski hill in the background!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge!  We would love to have you!  If you need some inspiration, there are some amazing cards there that our Design Team have posted!

You have until Monday at 1 PM EST to enter this week's challenge!

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #650

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a wonderful week so far!  Today is actually my youngest son's 16th birthday!  I can't believe it.  It seems like just yesterday he came flying into the world 6 weeks early creating absolute chaos!  He was a very challenging baby and toddler but he is the sweetest and easiest going almost 16 year old!  I can't wait to see what this year brings!

We have a fantastic brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the lovely Judy Rozema!  Judy's cards area always beautiful so head over to her blog to check them out!  

I must admit this sketch stumped me!  I think it's because my brain is still longing for summer vacation!  Usually by this point I'm all over fall but I haven't got there yet for some reason!  Though I have purchased my first two pumpkins!!!  

I decided I would just grab some patterned paper and go from there!  I threw on a coneflower and a sentiment that was already foiled and called it a day.  Not one of my finest moments!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Lost Lagoon, Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Hammermill White Coverstock

Patterned Paper: Simple Stories Trail Mix

Dies: Lovely Layers Coneflowers Honey Cuts (Honey Bee Stamps)

Other: Hello Dear Friend (Spellbinders), Pink Foil (Spellbinders), Rhinestone Gems (Craft Consortium)

Thought I'd include some pictures from our bike and hike on Saturday.  The morning started out lovely - the clouds were low but there was still some blue sky.  Then as we started hiking the clouds got lower and we were trapped in it!  By the time we got to our destination - which was an alpine lake, we could only see about 20 feet in front of us.  By the time we were back at the car, the sun was out and the clouds had lifted.  Oh well.  Thankfully it wasn't a grueling hike and we are excited to give it a try again when the weather is cooperating!

Yup, that's a beautiful lake behind us!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge.  If you need some inspiration, you'll find it there as well!  You have until Monday at 1 PM EST to enter this week's challenge.

I hope you have an amazing week!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #649

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I apologize for being MIA for so long.  We went on vacation for a week and I just was having a hard time getting back into the groove.  I still feel like I'm lacking in the creativity department but we're working on it.  My kids are both working full time and I feel like the summer is flying.  I'm not too sure how we went from April to August but here we are!

We have a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week courtesy of our favourite Texan, Amy O'Neill.  Amy's cards are always so sweet and she always uses different pieces so creatively so head over to her blog and check them out!  

I have to admit I struggled with this one a bit.  The lack of creativity is probably affecting me.  I do unfortunately need a sympathy card though so I decided I would tackle that and see what I could do.  My craft cave desk had become quite a disaster so before I even started this card I decided I would clean it and I discovered all these pre-cut white flowers.  They worked perfectly for this card.  I love when you find little treasures that will work for your card!  That being said I'm not too sure what die sets they all came from!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Silver Foil

Stamps:Essential sentiments (MFT)

Ink: Detail Black (PinkFresh Studios)

Dies: Be Bold Blooms, Garden Wreath Add Ons

Other: Dainty Diamonds Textured Embossing Folder

We'd love for you to join in our challenge this week!  You have until 1 PM EST on Monday to get your card loaded onto the Freshly Made Sketches blog!  If you need some inspiration, just head over to the blog and you'll find some pretty amazing examples!

I've included some photos from our hike on Monday.  I've got a stockpile of hike photos to share over the next little while.  This one started from Moraine Lake and was called Wastach Mountain.  It was a grind.  I was almost in tears with frustration.  There were falls and lots of sweat but we did it and the view was incredible.  Definitely worth it but definitely won't be doing this one again!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have the most amazing day!

Jen