Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #212

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  Not only is it Wednesday but also Remembrance Day.  I am so thankful for all the men and women who sacrificed their comfort, safety and their lives for my freedom.  I am thankful for a grandfather who was willing to go to war not knowing if he would return.  I am thankful for his safe return (without it, I wouldn't be here!).  I am thankful for the men and women who currently serve in our Armed Forces and protect not only our country but fight for the freedom of those around the world who cannot do it on their own.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

We have a great new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our amazing hostess this week is Narelle Farrugia.  Narelle is one of the most talented card makers around!  Her cards are absolutely beautiful!  Make sure you check out her blog!

This sketch is so versatile.  I thought at first I'd do a Christmas card.  I think I even told my dad that's what I was going to make!  Ha!  I didn't even try and plan out a Christmas card.  I saw this DSP sitting in the disaster on my desk and loved it so much I needed to try it out!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Calypso Coral
DSP: Pretty Petals DSP Stack
Stamps: Apothecary Accents
Ink: Stazon Black
Other: Stitched Square Dies (Lil' Inkers), Stitched Rectangles (Lil' Inkers), Sequins

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a chance to check out the Freshly Made Sketches blog and see the amazing cards the girls have created for you!  You will love them!  Also, don't forget to take time today to be thankful for your freedom and for those that fought for it!

Have a wonderful day!
Jen

CAS(E) Thinking of You!

Hello!
Happy Monday!  I totally have been out of the loop these last few weeks!  My husband went away for a week which left me with minimal stamping time!  Tomorrow we celebrate my oldest's 7th birthday!  I have no idea how it's possible that he can be 7 already!  We celebrated today with a pirate party for Caleb and 6 of his friends.  It was exhausting.  I'm thinking we will need to change things up a bit next year.

I really loved the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge this week.  I really wanted to play along.  I must apologize for the quality of my photo.  it's late and I had to use my phone...

As soon as I saw this sketch I thought French Foliage.  I think this stamp set has got to be my all time favourite set.  I just love it!  It doesn't help that my favourite season is fall so to me I can have fall all year round!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Very Vanilla
Stamps: French Foliage, Apothecary Art
Ink: Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard
Other: Bitty Banners Framelits, 3/4" Circle Punch, Dimensionals


Here's a picture of my two pirates!  They were hilarious!!!!  The moustaches did not last long...sadly!  I thought for sure they'd love them!

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a fabulous day!

Jen!

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #74

Hello and Happy Wednesday!
I can't believe it's Wednesday already!  What a day Tuesday was!  I'm looking forward to the end of the week already!  Hopefully I'll get a few minutes on the weekend for some crafting!!!

Wednesday brings us a new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week's hostess is the one and only (and very creative) Allisa Chilton!  She has a fabulous sketch for us this week!  I was a little panicked at first but then I remembered that I wanted to haul out my Medallion stamp and voila!

I have a new found love for Basic Grey!  Don't ask me why...I just love it!  I got out the very well used white embossing powder, my new and favourite Stampin' Distress Tool and some pearls!  I realize now that I put my pearls in the wrong spot...oops!  My birthday card stash is slowly becoming replenished!  Now to add some sympathy and baby cards to the mix!!!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Basic Grey

Stamps: Medallion, Apothecary Art (Sentiment)

Ink: Versamark

Other: White Embossing Powder, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals, Stampin' Distress Tool

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you're able to head on over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog to see all of the other beautiful creations!

Have a fantastic day!

Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #73

Hello and Happy Wednesday!

I'm so thankful that it's Wednesday already!!!  Tomorrow is the day of love!  How will you and your beloved be spending Valentine's Day?!  I will be spending the day of love in my youngest son's kindergarten class in my PJ's!  Okay so I may not wear my PJs but I will be there helping make pancakes and taking pictures for their scrapbooks!  

So today is also a very special day!  It is my turn to be Hostess over at Freshly Made Sketches!  I'm so excited.  This is my first time hosting a challenge EVER!  

I really do love the Print Poetry DSP Paper Stack.  I love pretty much all of the patterns.  I also love the new Secret Garden stamp set and coordinating dies!  Who doesn't love a great flower?!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Gumball Green
DSP: Print Poetry DSP Paper Stack, Patio Party
Stamps: Secret Garden, Apothecary Art
Ink: Midnight Muse, Versamark
Other: White Embossing Powder, Two-Step Bird Punch, Secret Garden Framelits Dies, Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder, Scalloped Circle Die (Spellbinders), Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday and a Happy Valentine's Day!

Jen!

The Paper Players Fall Challenge

Hello!
How is your week going?  Jacob had his first day of school on Thursday. Well, it wasn't quite a day of school.  It was a half hour visit with the teacher (who was Caleb's teacher for the past two years!).  Mrs. Cooper is wonderful and Jacob loves her (thankfully)!  We had a great visit and he's ready for his next visit next Thursday...the start of kindergarten here is slow and painful!

Okay today's card...yes, it kinda looks like one I've made before but I tweaked it a bit to fit my mood!  I am so in love with the new core'dinations cardstock that I just can't stop using it!  Is that terrible?  I recently "acquired" the Stampin' Up! sanding block...it is so much fun!!!

Today's card is for this week's "The Paper Players" challenge.  Check out their design team's fabulous cards this week!

I love the Wonderfall stamp set and the Autumn Accents die.  I don't know what I'll do when fall is over!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Early Espresso (core'dinations), Cajun Craze, More Mustartd

DSP: Orchard Harvest

Stamps: Wonderfall, Apothecary Accents (sentiment)

Ink: Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Early Espresso

Other: Stripes TIEF, Buttons, Linen Thread, Autumn Accents Die, Dimensionals, Sanding Block

My baby started school today!  He was so excited for his first day of Junior Kindergarten!

Freshly Made Sketches #50

Hello!
I hope you're enjoying your week!  We are on "vacation" this week.  Maybe more of a "Stay-cation".  We are doing little day trips here and there and coming home each night to sleep in our own beds!  Today was a trip to the Halton County Radial Railway (Museum).  It is a Streetcar museum near us and the boys LOVED it!  What a great day trip for us.  We got to take a street car trip to an old street car that had been converted to an ice cream shop!  Fantastic!

Anyhow, today is Wednesday!  New sketch for us over at Freshly Made Sketches!  You NEED to go and check the blog and see the fabulous cards the Design Team has created for you!  What a talented group of ladies (most of whom are named Jen!).

Lesley brought us a fabulous sketch this week!  I loved it - there weren't any circles (sorry Jen M!).  I knew right away I wanted a fall card.  We were driving today and noticed the trees are already starting to turn colour around here...fall is sadly on it's way!

Okay so my card...sorry...I LOVE those leaves!  The Autumn Accents die is fabulous and it's great because it can be used without the coordinating stamp set!  The Orchard Harvest DSP is my new favourite and the colours remind me of a perfect fall day!  I also love the look of the Early Espresso Core'dinations cardstock paired with the Woodgrain Embossing Folder!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Early Espresso (Core'dinations), Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Very Vanilla
DSP: Orchard Harvest
Stamps: Apothecary Art
Ink: early Espresso
Other: Autumn Accents Die, Woodgrain, Perfect Polka Dot and Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folders, Basic Pearls, Bronze Button, Linen Thread, Dimensionals

Here's a little picture of my cuties standing on the tracks at the museum today!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a wonderful day!

Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #49

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  We're halfway through the week.  Yesterday was Jacob's 4th birthday and we had a great day together.  We ended our evening playing with the neighbours and eating chocolate cupcakes!  My little 4 year old went to bed awfully tired!

Wednesday's are great days in the blogging world because Freshly Made Sketches comes out with their new sketch!  This week our sketch is courtesy of the fabulous and lovely Jen Mitchell!

I saw those circles on Jen's sketch and started to sweat!  You all know how I feel about circles.  Then while laying in bed not sleeping one night I realized that those circles would look much better as cute butterflies...and so the card was born!

I totally love the Patio Party DSP and since it already has butterflies on it how could I not add some more?!

Hop on over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog to check out the other fabulous creations the design team have made for you!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Whisper White, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals
DSP: Patio Party
Stamps: Apothecary Art
Ink: Midnight Muse
Other: Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Basic Rhinestones, Chevron Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful day!

Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #46

Hello!

Happy Wednesday!  We had a crazy storm here yesterday and I wondered if this post would even work!  We spent the morning at the beach again yesterday!  The boys love playing in the sand and the water.  Tomorrow morning will be our Olympics party...not sure what will be on tap for today!

The new Holiday Catalogue is available for everyone TODAY!  I'll try and have a link directly to the catalogue up shortly or you can just click on my "Shop 24-7" link to the right and see all the fun new products that are now available!

Today's Freshly Made Sketches Challenge sketch comes from the talented (and hopefully well rested after her vacation) Lesley Croghan!  When I first saw it I thought the Top Note sketch would be easy but then I found it a little more challenging.  I decided to do another fall card and use the new Wonderfall stamp set and corresponding Bigz die (both available TODAY!).  Oh, not to mention my favourite Orchard Harvest DSP (also available today).  

I cut my Top Note out of the new Core'dinations Early Espresso cardstock (also available today!) and then sanded off some of that top layer to show the inside colour off!  It's so fun...I can't stop using it!  Of course I had to emboss the background with the woodgrain...I'm sorry!  I just LOVE the new stuff!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Early Espresso Core'dinations, More Mustard, Crumb Cake, Raspberry Ripple, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Very Vanilla
DSP: Orchard Harvest
Stamps: Wonderfall, Apothecary Art (sentiment)
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple, Early Espresso
Other: Top Note Die, Autumn Accents Bigz Die, Bitty Banners Framelits Die, Edgelits Die, Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder, Woodgrain Textured Embossing Folder


This is a picture of the storm and the branches that came down!  We were without power for a few hours but it was restored rather quickly!

The other night we had to walk down my parents street to get the mail...Caleb rode his bike and Jacob decided that he would push the wheelbarrow all the way there and back...hilarious!  Didn't quite make it back but thankfully the wheelbarrow is light!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a wonderful day!

Jen

So Grateful

Hello!
I hope you had a great day!  The boys are still in Papa and Grannie heaven!  They are having so much fun!  I got to pet my first groundhog today!  My mom has had the same groundhog ("Mommy") living in her backyard for 8 years.  She has managed to "tame" her and she comes when she's called, eats out of my mom's hand and lets my mom pet her.  I've always been a tad skittish of the furry little friend but today decided to give it a whirl and pet her!  She is very soft.  She is so sweet too!  I will try and get some pictures of her uploaded for tomorrow!

This is a card we'll be doing at my upcoming workshop.  I LOVE the Wonderfall stamp set (which coordinates perfectly with this Autumn Accents Die) but decided to cut the leaves and texturize them instead!  I really love the new Orchard Harvest DSP from the Holiday Catalogue!  It's super fun and has some fantastic colours in it!

This card is a sort of case from the most recent SU Demonstrator Magazine.  I altered it slightly to make it a bit easier for people at the workshop to make!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso Core'dinations, More Mustard, Cajun Craze
Stamps: Apothecary Art
Ink: Cajun Craze
Other: Brushed Bronze Designer Buttons, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Autumn Accents Bigz Die, Woodgrain, Perfect Polka Dot and Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folders, Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great day!

Jen

Freshly Made Apothecary!

Hello!

I finally was able to spend a few minutes in my craft room today!  Who know this week would turn into craziness!  Anyhow, I love tackling the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  This week Lesley had another great sketch.

My card didn't exactly turn out the way I thought it was going to.  This wasn't at all the card I had in my head when I started.  I'm probably going to give it another whirl later this week...I guess that would be tomorrow wouldn't it?!

Anyhow, the new Apothecary stamp set and the Framelits Labels Dies are so fun to work with!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Stamps: Apothecary Art
Ink: Soft Suede, Baja Breeze
Other: Baja Breeze Pleated Ribbon, Dimensionals, Lattice Embossing Folder, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder

Thanks for stopping by!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Jen

Apothecary Art

Hi!
Oh, another week starts soon.  I'm not sure I'm ready for this!  We don't have a lot of extra stuff this week so it should be relatively easy but I'm always a bit sad when the weekend comes to an end!

I wanted to try out the Apothecary Art stamp set and the new (and fabulous) Framelits Dies (Labels Collection) from Stampin' Up!

I picked an old sketch from Freshly Made Sketches to start with and then ran with it!  I wanted to use the Edgelits Dies and Embossing Folders are well so the sketch I chose worked perfectly!

A little trick I learned when using the Framelits dies (with or without a stamped image).  Use a post-it note to hold it in place when running your "sandwich" through the Big Shot.  The post-it note doesn't mark your paper or smudge your ink but keeps your paper snuggly in place!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Red Riding Hood, Basic Black, Whisper White
DSP: Twitterpated
Stamps: Apothecary Art
Ink: Basic Black
Other: Polka Dot Ribbon, Edgelits die, Edgelits Embossing Folder, Framelits Dies (Labels), Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by!