Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #616

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far.  We received a surprise dumping of snow last week so it looks like we'll have a white Christmas.  Trevor and I got out for our first ski of the season on the weekend.  I am not a confident skier.  I don't possess that athletic prowess that most seem to have.  Skiing is very hard for me and so I really have to push myself to do it.  We had a great day and I mostly stayed upright which was the goal.  I'm sure the next time we go out I'll feel much more comfortable!  

We've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is our favourite Texan and the incredibly talented Amy O'Neill!!!  Amy's cards are always gorgeous so make sure you head over to her blog and check them out!

This was such a great sketch and the timing was perfect because I knew I was going to need a couple more Christmas cards.  My husband asked me for a few extras so he could give them to his staff.  I also think I will need one for my hair dresser!  Maybe I should just make enough to get started on next year's!  

Yup, black on black with the poinsettia's again.  Why re-invent the wheel when it's working?!  I added some Wink of Stella to the pine boughs to make them a little sparkly!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic Black, Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Shaded Spruce, Gold Foil (All SU)

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green

Other: Christmas Bird and Poinsettia (Spellbinders), Lovely Layers Winter Greenery (Honey Bee Stamps), Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder (SU), A Merry Little Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Gold Foil (Spellbinders), 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!  

You will definitely be inspired when you see the cards that are posted!  

Have an amazing day!

Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #615

Happy Wednesday!  We're a week closer to Christmas!  Are you ready?  Cards are mailed, gifts are mostly purchased, wrapping is almost done, baking has started, house is decorated.  I'm exhausted!  I actually still have some cards to make but they're for local people so they don't need to be mailed.  I need to make them simpler so that I can make them quickly!  Oh, December is always so busy.  I wanted to get my jobs done early so I could enjoy the month.  We shall see how it works out!  The more I think about it the more I keep adding stuff to my list so I might not be any further ahead!!!

We've got a brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the amazing Karren Johnson!  Karren makes the most beautiful cards so make sure you head over to her blog and show her some love!  

Shockingly this card came together fairly quickly.  I knew right away what I wanted to do.  The only thing that took some time was ironing out the background colour!  I originally wasn't going to have a black background and a black panel but black on black won out!  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic Black, Real Red, Garden Green, Gold Foil

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green

Other: Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder (SU), Christmas Bird and Poinsettia Dies (Spellbinders), A Merry Little Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Gold Foil (Spellbinders), Gold Sequins

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge!  We always love to see what you create!  If you need some inspiration the design team has some beautiful cards posted!  

 Have an amazing day!
Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #614

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week!  Are you ready for Christmas?  I'm nowhere near ready.  I feel like Christmas will be here before you know it and I want to have a very good handle on everything by the weekend!  Ha!!  We have  our tree up but we don't have any decorations on it yet because we haven't had a chance where all 4 of us are free to decorate it.  Hopefully in the next few days!

We've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches today!  I am this week's hostess and I've got a very circle intensive sketch for you.  I don't know what I was thinking but we're going to roll with it!

I'm not a huge fan of this card and I tried to make another one but  it didn't turn out either!  I think the circles were throwing me off!  I don't know what I was thinking with all of those circles!  I originally wanted a Christmas card but somehow it turned into a birthday card! I guess it could suit a Christmas birthday!  I do love the new flower dies from Spellbinders and think they make beautiful cards!  I can't wait to use them more in the new year!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill Coverstock White, Real Red (SU), Silver Foil

Ink: Lumberjack Plaid (Tim Holtz Distress Oxide)

Other: Build a Wreath Dies (Spellbinders), Garden Wreath Add-Ons (Spellbinders), Sentiments for Everyday (Spellbinders), Dazzling Diamonds (Spellbinders), Silver Foil (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Monoline Stars Embossing Folder (Spellbinders)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches and join in our challenge!  The Design Team has come up with some beautiful cards and they'll definitely inspire you!  I can't wait to see what you come up with using my sketch!  

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #613

Hello!

Happy Wednesday!  Can we believe we're back at Wednesday again?!  A big Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends who will be celebrating tomorrow!  I hope you each have a wonderful and blessed day with your families!  Black Friday is quickly approaching as well.  Are you a big Black Friday shopper?  I have a few things I'm looking at but I won't be getting too much I don't think.  Right now I'm stumped on Stocking Stuffers for teenage boys!  So fun!

We have a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches today!  Our hostess this week is our favourite high altitude designer - Kim Singdahlsen!  Kim's card are so beautiful and I always love them!  Please head over to her blog to check them out!  

I thought I should probably get a few more Christmas cards done!  I'm hoping by making Christmas cards I'll be feeling more festive!  I need to start wrapping my gifts to put under my tree - oh wait, my tree isn't up and I can't put gifts out yet or my cats will open them!  Well, Sprite will open them!

I love my Spellbinders "Christmas Bird and Poinsettia" dies.  I stuck with an all white theme because combining too many colours sometimes makes me crazy!  I also really love just white!  Keeps things clean for me!  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Silver Foil

Other: Christmas Bird and Poinsettia Dies (Spellbinders), Basic Rhinestones (SU), Banner Dies (MFT), Joyful Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Silver Foil (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders)

Trevor and I were able to sneak out for a small hike on the weekend.  It was a super early start to the morning but we headed out and met up with some crazy fast hiking friends and tackled Nihahi Ridge.  Trevor and I didn't actually do the ridge walk.  It looked a little sketch to me and I opted to keep my feet firmly planted.  Trevor took a tumble on the way down and is still feeling the effects of it.  It wasn't a bad fall or a far fall, it was more of an awkward fall!  

Morning light hitting the mountains

View from the top

Mount Reemus (the flat topped one)

It was so windy and cold at the top.  I have never felt wind like that before

Annie and I

Thank you 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 definitely find some there.  The Design Team has some amazing cards posted!

Have a fantastic day!

Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #612

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far!  It seems like we have gone fro the fall season to Christmas in the blink of an eye!  So many people have their Christmas trees up and have their houses all decorated.  I feel very far behind this year.  I'm usually well into my shopping by now but this year I just can't seem to get motivated.  Maybe this weekend we'll put up the nutcrackers or something and see if we can get some festive spirit going.  

We've got a fantastic new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Our hostess is the super funny and incredibly talented Linda Callahan!  Linda's cards are always beautiful so make sure you head over to her blog and show her some love! 

I'm going to admit the sketch through me for a loop.  I know I need more Christmas cards so I wanted to go with a Christmas theme but I couldn't seem to get any mojo going for this card.  Even now I'm not thrilled with the final product.  I had to whip it up fast because I was running out of time.  Oh well, I will need to get my act together for next week right?  This card uses the Lovely Layers Winter Greenery set from Honey Bee Stamps.  I don't think I've ever used the pine cones before and they're quite fun to work with!  I added some Wink of Stella to the berries and some of the greenery since it needed a little sparkle.  Sparkle never shows up in the photos though!  

Supplies:

Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso

Ink: Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso, Rustic Wilderness (All Distress Oxides)

Other:  Lovely Layers Winter Greenery (Honey Bee Stamps), Joyful Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Red Foil, Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Wink of Stella, Monoline Stars Embossing Folder (Spellbinders)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll join in our challenge this week!  Head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and you'll see some amazing cards that the Design Team has cooked up for you!  

Have an amazing day!
Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #611

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great start to your week!  We are currently on a little adventure!  No mountains involved though!!!  We're heading back to Ontario and back to the city we used to live in for 48 hours! My husband is heading there on a work trip and I'm just tagging along so I can visit with a few of the people that I love!  I have pretty much every second of my 48 hours there planned.  It's really not long enough but we've got to go with the flow!  I'll be exhausted when I get home!

We've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Our hostess this week is the amazing Jen Mitchell!  Jen's cards are always gorgeous and I'm always inspired by them!  Head on over to her blog to check them out!  

So I only made one version of this card!  I know, it's shocking!  That almost never happens!  I had just picked up some new Spellbinders dies at the local paper store and couldn't wait to crack them open! This card has a lot of pieces and I'm not sure I'd want to make 20 of them!!!  The sentiment is hot foiled with red foil.  I have nothing but grief when I use the red foil.  I have tried leaving the plate on the machine longer so it's good and hot, running it through the Glimmer machine twice, pretty much anything and it always just does something weird.  Not sure what I'm doing wrong.  I don't have issues with silver or gold foil.  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill Coverstock White, Real Red, Basic Black, Garden Green, Granny Apple Green, Silver Foil

Ink: Real Red, Garden Green

Other: Stitched So Sweetly Dies (Stampin Up), Christmas Bird Poinsettia (Spellbinders), Build-A-Wreath (Spellbinders), Garden Wreath Add-Ons (Spellbinders), Joyful Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Monoline Stars Embossing Folder (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Red Foil (Spellbinders), Basic Rhinestones (Stampin Up).

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll pop on over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge!  We always love to see what you create!

The Design Team has some amazing examples posted to inspire you!  We also have another fantastic Guest Designer with us again this week!

Have an amazing day!

Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #610

 

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a good start to your week!  It has finally warmed up above freezing here and the snow is sort of melting.  We still have a fair bit.  Our local ski hill opens this weekend.  Expert/intermediate runs only but it will still be open!  Crazy train.  I won't be going until this get a few non-expert runs open!!!  My husband and kids are chomping at the bit to get out!  

We've got a brand new sketch for a brand new month over at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the amazing Jen Timko!  Jen creates beautiful cards.  I'm always wowed by her creativity!  She also stopped in for a little visit a month ago!  Of course I took her to the mountains and of course I took her on a hike!  She survived.  We didn't see any bears.  All was well!  

I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this sketch.  Initially I thought maybe some flowers but I wasn't feeling very flowery.  I guess I did end up going with a flower though didn't I?!  I need a few more Christmas cards so poinsettias it was.  I kept the background simple going with a white background.  I already had this foil sentiment sitting in my basket of left overs so I threw it on and called it a day.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White, Real Red, Silver Foil

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Other: Holiday Blooms (Spellbinders), Joyful Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Silver Foil (Spellbinders), Subtle Texture Embossing Folder 

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and play along with our challenge this week!  We always love seeing what people create using our sketch!  If you need some inspiration head over to the blog and take a peek!  The Design Team have created some gorgeous cards for you! 

Here are a few photos from the little hike Jen and I went on!  It's called Grassi Lakes!  In the background you'll see Mount Lawrence Grassi!  Don't worry - I didn't make her hike up there!  Even I'm not too keen to do that one!  This was the very first hike that our family did when we arrived out west.  It might hold a special place in my heart! 

There is a beautiful waterfall you get to see on this hike!  

Have an amazing day!
Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #608

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far!  We are enjoying our last week of fall before winter makes its grand entrance next week.  The highs next week are mostly below zero and there's some snow in the forecast.  I'm not quite ready for it but I guess I don't have much of a choice.  The kids and Trevor are getting super excited for ski season!  I call it "meet Jesus season".  I'm pretty sure one of these days I'll have a wipe out and break something!  Maybe this year I'll get out there and absolutely love it!  

We've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches today!  Our hostess this week is our creative Canadian/Californian Jacquie Southas!  Jacquie's cards are beautiful and always so fun so head over to her blog and check them out!  

So I took one look at this sketch and decided that running away would be my best bet!  Actually, that's not true.  I made an anniversary card for my husband with it but I have no idea where he put it so I couldn't take a picture of it and he's away this week!  Plus I wasn't overly thrilled with that particular card.  I tried using butterflies but they didn't look right and then I realized these banners look like upside down pine trees!  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!  Pine trees it is!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Hammermill White, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Shaded Spruce

Stamps: Itty Bitty Gifting (MFT)

Ink: Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Shaded Spruce, Craft White (All SU)

Other: Pine Wood Dies (SU), Evergreens (Taylored Expressions), Itty Bitty Strips (MFT)

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 sure would love to have you play along!  If you need inspiration, you'll find it on the blog as well!  There are some gorgeous cards posted by the team!

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #607

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week!  If you're a Canadian you might have celebrated Thanksgiving on the weekend.  We had a lovely weekend.  Our neighbours came over for Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday and then we enjoyed leftovers Sunday and Monday!  It was lovely!  No hike for us this weekend so no pictures for you.  Sorry.  We decided that we would just enjoy the weekend and get some things done around the house - plus I feel like I spent part of the weekend in the kitchen!  I'm sure you know what I mean!

We've got a brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week our favourite Texan, Amy O'Neill!  Amy's cards are always delightful and she so much creativity!  You need to head over to her blog and check them out!  

At first I stared at this sketch for a while.  I thought about poinsettias and discovered one of the other girls had made a card with poinsettias and since Thanksgiving is over I am moving away from fall cards.  Then I saw a sunflower cut in half already sitting on my desk.  I knew that would work perfectly!  I went with a lot of white on this card.  Maybe a little too much white but we're going to roll with it for now!  

Supplies:

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Copper Foil, Hammermill White

Ink: Crushed Curry

Other: Stitched Squares, Lovely Layers Sunflowers (Honey Bee Stamps), Be Bold Sentiments (Spellbinders), Copper Foil (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Rhinestones (Honey Bee Stamps)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you will head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge this week!  We'd love to see what you create!  If you need some inspiration, the Design Team has cooked up some amazing cards for you!  

Have an amazing day!

Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #606

Hello! 

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far!  Monday was a holiday here - for some people so my days are all mixed up.  My husband was off but my kids were at school.  Trevor and I got a hike in - I'm thinking this might have been our last one for 2023.  Makes me a little sad but that's okay.  The 4:00-4:30 alarms are getting hard!  There is snow on the ground in the mountains which means ski season is right around the corner!

We've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our favourite Aussie is hosting this week - Narelle Farrugia!  I always find Narelle's cards are absolutely gorgeous and just when I think they can't get better, they do!  Head over to her blog and check them out!  

3 circles.  I didn't know what to do with 3 circles.  I had to think on it for a few days before I tackled this one.  I finally decided I would stick to fall coloured flowers with a kraft background!  I hauled out my Be Bold Blooms and went to town.  In the process I discovered that the centre die for the smallest flower is missing. I've turned my craft room apart looking for it to no avail.  These little pieces are so small and you just never know when they get stuck to a certain white paw.  She could track them anywhere.  I also don't know how long it's been missing for.  Oh well. 

Supplies:

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Cajun Craze, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Mossy Meadow, Copper Foil (All SU)

Ink: Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow (all SU)

Other: Mini Everyday Sentiments (Spellbinders), Be Bold Blooms (Spellbinders), Double Stitched Circle Dies (Reverse Confetti), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Copper Foil (Spellbinders)

Here are a few shots from Monday's hike.  Those yellow trees are called Larches (also known as Tamarack in some parts of the land).  Larches are evergreens that don't stay evergreen!  Their needles turn yellow in the fall and then they fall off.  Don't get me wrong, the summit of Mount Fairview was spectacular and Lake Louise looked so small down below!  It was fun to be out in the snow!  This is our first snow of the season - now don't get me wrong, we don't have snow at our house, just some of the higher mountains!  I do like hiking in the snow though as you don't get as hot which is nice and recovery goes faster!

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 a little inspiration, the Design Team has cooked up some beautiful cards so make sure to check those out!

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #605

Happy Wednesday!  

I hope you're having a fantastic start to your week!  We're having a couple of nice warm days but the cold is on it's way.  Last year we were fortunate to have a long, warmer fall but looks like winter is anxious to get here!  Our hiking season is quickly coming to an end...it might even be over (which I might be okay with).  

We have a brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches! Our sketch this week comes all the way from New Zealand and our amazing hostess, Karren Johnson!  Karren's cards are so beautiful and she's a world class colourer!  Trust me.  Head over to her blog and check them out!

I saw that giant circle and wondered what I could do with it.  I remembered my Lovely Layers hydrangea and decided I would cut them out and colour them in various shades of purple!  I'm working on my distress oxide blending and these hydrangea are perfect to practice with!  Unfortunately I couldn't get a good enough picture of my card.  I used some wink of stella on the petals and it doesn't show up well!  

Supplies:

Cardstock: Hammermill White, Highland Heather (SU), Silver Foil

Stamps: Itty Bitty Gifting (MFT)

Ink: Black (Pink Fresh Studio), Milled Lavender (Ranger), Dusty Concord (Ranger), Villainous Potion (Ranger), Wink of Stella

Other: Lovely Layers Hyrangea Honey Cuts (Honey Bee Stamps), Itty Bitty Strips (MFT), Basic Rhinestones (SU), Tasteful Texture Embossing Folder (SU)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll join in our challenge this week!  If you need some inspiration head on over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and check out the cards the Design Team has created! 

Last Saturday we went on Hike #30 of 2023.  My husband wasn't too keen on this one.  He likes to summit peaks but I'd seen some pictures of this one and it's beautiful!  He agreed to try out Piper's Pass.  We hit the mountains just as the sun was coming up.  It was so gorgeous!  The larches have turned from green to gold in the mountains (see pic #3 below).  We try and stay clear of big larch hikes because they're soooo busy.  We were fortunate to see a few larches on our hike and not have to deal with all the people!

The cloudy skies made this hike even more incredible and we all said that it might just be one of our favourites!  

I hope you have an amazing day!

Jen

 

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #604

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far!  It has quickly turned from summer to fall here and I'm pulling out the leggings and cozy sweaters!  The larch trees are starting to turn golden yellow and they're so beautiful!  Our hiking season will soon be coming to an end but we've had such a fantastic season!

We've got a brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is our incredible talented French designer Cecile Ribon!  Cecile's card always amaze me.  She continues to blow me away!  Head over to her blog to check them out!  

I wasn't too sure what I was going to do with this card.  I tried a few things (like always) and they didn't quite work out (like always) so I went with a Christmas card!  You can never have too many right?  And you also can't go wrong with red and white?!  I had one textured background chosen but it was too much so then I tried plain and didn't like it so I went with this one.  I always have such a hard time deciding things!  I really wanted to use red foil for the sentiment but for some reason I cannot get the red foil to work.  I always end up with foil where I don't want foil.  Has anyone else had this trouble with the red?  I've struggled with some other colours too.  So weird.  

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Hammermill White Coverstock, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Silver Foil 

Ink: Real Red, Cherry Cobbler (both SU)

Other: Subtle Texture Embossing Folder (SU), Christmas Bird and Poinsettia (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Silver Hot Foil (Spellbinders), Joyful Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders)

Our most recent hike pictures!  We hiked up to Black Prince Lake which you'll see was all dried up.  We actually hiked up past another lake that had also dried up.  It's so sad.  Our summer was so dry.  I don't know how some of these lakes will recover.  We'd need a LOT of snow and rain next year!  This was a fantastic little hike.  It wasn't as strenuous as our last one.  The weather was fantastic and we brought two friends along on this one!  We also saw 14 Mountain Goats which was the highlight of the hike.  Mountain goats are a little elusive so we were super pumped to catch a glimpse of some!  

My husband being crazy!  

One little gold larch tree

What's left of Black Prince Lake

My and my friend Annie

Trevor and I

One of the many Mountain Goats we saw!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head on over to the Freshly Made sketches blog and join in our challenge this week!

You'll find some gorgeous cards created by the Design Team already up on the blog that will inspire you!

Have an amazing day!
Jen