Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #668

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far!  We've had a chinook blow in so the temperatures have increased and it's lovely!  I don't love the chinook headaches that accompany said temperature change but they don't last long for us!!

We have a great new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches today!  Our hostess this week is the lovely Karren Johnson!  Karren's cards are always so beautiful so please head over to her blog and give her some love!  

I popped into the local paper store here and saw this cute little gnome die from Spellbinders and couldn't resist him!  I absolutely love gnomes!  Not as much as I love grizzly bears but grizzly bear dies are hard to come by!  I decided I would make this guy a cute little Valentine's Day gnome.  I had some old SU Valentine's Day paper from years ago that I grabbed to make this card.  I had originally made him in red but my oldest told me he looked like a Christmas gnome!  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill Coverstock White, Melon Mambo, Early Espresso, Granny Apple Green, Petal Pink, Pink Foil (didn't photograph well at all)

DSP: Pop of Pink (SU Retired)

Stamps: P.S. I Love You (SU Retired)

Ink: Detail Black (Pink Fresh Studios)

Dies: Garden Buddies (Spellbinders), Nested Circle Dies (Spellbinders), Tasteful Label Dies

Other: Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder, Heart Punches (SU - Retired)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you will join in our challenge this week!  We would love to see what you do with our sketch this week!  

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

If you need some inspiration, please head over to our blog!  The Design Team has created some beautiful cards! 

Thought I'd share some of the pics from our hike on Friday.  It was a beautiful day - despite being -20C.  The sun was shining and we had bluebird skies!  The hike itself sucked and might have made me scream at some trees!  

I hope you have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #631

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great start to the week!  Did you get to see the eclipse this week?  We live on the Western side of Canada so we just saw a partial eclipse.  It didn't last long but it was still neat to see.  We had blue, cloudless skies so it was easy to see (with the special glasses of course!).

We've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess is our favourite airline captain, Jen Timko!  Jen is an incredible card maker so head over to her blog and check them out!  Jen is also a great hiker - I can't wait to take her on our next adventure!!!

I wasn't sure what to do with this card.  I had every intention of using a Lovely Layers flower of some sort but that's not what happened!  I decided to keep it nice and simple!  I really like the flowers in the Spellbinders Garden Wreath Add-Ons set.  They're super easy to use!  I hot foiled a circle, cut it out and added a flower!  I used some rose gold foil to cut some leaves and hot foiled a rose gold sentiment then called it day!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock

Other: Garden Wreath Add Ons (Spellbinders), Be Bold Blooms (Spellbinders), Be Bold Sentiments (Spellbinders), Nested Circles (PinkFresh Studios), Monoline Stars Embossing Folder. 

We were able to get out for a hike last Wednesday.  The weather forecast wasn't looking good so we made sure we were out there for a 7 am start and we were able to get up to the "peak" and back down before the weather hit!  We had the most beautiful weather.  It was incredible  The sun was shining and air was warm!  It was wonderful.  It felt so good to get back out there.  It's "shoulder" season so the trails are muddy and icy and overall just gross.  We will have a few weeks of this before actual hiking season will begin!

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!  There are some great cards posted that will inspire you!  The Design Team did a great job this week! 

You have until Monday at 1 PM EST to enter into the challenge!

Have an amazing day!

Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #621

Hello and happy Wednesday!
I hope you're having a great week!  We are still experiencing the joys of a chinook!  It's been above freezing and sunny most days so we are basking in the warmth and getting out as much as possible.  I can't believe how nice it's been.  I've heard that some places haven't seen the sun in weeks.  I do not miss that part of living in Ontario.  I remember you could go week and weeks and it would be gloomy and damp.

Since it's Wednesday, we've got a brand new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is our favourite pilot, Jennifer Timko!  Jen makes the most amazing cards and does a ton of the behind the scenes work on our little blog.  She is truly amazing!  Head over to her blog and check out her beautiful cards!  

So as always, this wasn't what I had in mind.  I really wanted to make a Valentine's Day card but could not for the life of me come up with a design.  I think my creativity has been lacking a bit more since I've been working but I have been enjoying the time I have had in my craft cave!

I had this Lovely Layers Mum sitting on my desk and realized it would work perfectly as the centre point of this card.  I cut out and inked up some leaves and called it a day.  I also had the gold rimmed circles on my desk so there wasn't a lot required to complete this card.  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic Black, Hammermill White Cover Stock, Daffodil Delight

Ink: Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness (All Distress Oxides)

Other: Lovely Layers Mums (Honey Bee Stamps), Nested Circles (Pink Fresh Studios), Hardwood Embossing Folder (SU), Mini Everyday Sentiments (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders), Gold Foil (Spellbinders)

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Please head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge!  We always love seeing the cards that you post!  If you need some inspiration, you'll definitely find it on the blog!  

I hope you have an amazing day!

Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #620

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far!  The weather has finally warmed up and the sun has finally come out!  I have never been so excited.  My youngest son and I went grocery shopping on Monday and the wind was so bitter.  It warmed up almost 20 degrees between Monday and Tuesday!  I'll take it!

We have a fantastic new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the fabulous Jacquie Southas!  Jacquie's cards are always so beautiful and the one she has made for today might just be my favourite!!!  If you know me you know that I love gnomes so this card makes me super happy!  Head over to her blog and check it out! 

So I needed a baby card and knew I had to use this sketch to make one!  I was running out of time and left it a little too long!  Let's say it didn't come together as easy or as well as I wanted it to.  This wasn't quite what I had in mind but this is what we're left with!  I had tried to get some new baby themed stuff at the store the other day but couldn't find much so we went with what we already had!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Hammermill White Coverstock

Patterned Paper: Gingham Happy Hearts (Honey Bee Stamps)

Other: Dainty Diamonds Textured Embossing Folder,  Baby's First Framelits Dies (SU - retired), Sentiments for Everyday (Spellbinders), Nested Circles (Pink Fresh Studios), Circle Dies (Spellbinders), Bedtime Stories Sequin Mix (Honey Bee Stamps), Foil (Spellbinders), Glimmer Hot Foil Machine (Spellbinders).

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!  If you need some inspiration you'll find some on the blog.  We can't wait to see what you create this week!

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #592

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great start to your week.  It's been a good week here.  My youngest had his last day of school yesterday which I was so thankful for!  He is now done at the middle school and will go to high school next year with my oldest.  My days of driving him to school are over!!!  Praise the Lord!!!  I'm so thankful to finally be starting our summer vacation.  My oldest has been done for over a week but he's working maintenance at the golf course so we don't see him much!

We've got a great new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week courtesy of our favourite French designer, Cecile Ribon!  Cecile's cards always blow me away so you need to head over to her blog to check them out!  Cecile's sketch really stretched my brain.  I struggled with it for a while but I had just used these trees and the dies were still sitting on my desk and I thought they would work perfectly.  I tried one design but didn't like it so opted for an all white Christmas card!

I apologize greatly that the photo quality of my card is poor.  The lighting was terrible when I took it.  We have some rare cloudy skies and it was impeding my ability to take a good photo!  I really love these white sequins from Taylored Expressions.  I had been using them sparingly but I used quite a few in my shaker!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic White (SU)

Other: Nested Circles (Pink Fresh), Circle Dies (Spellbinders), Silver Hot Foil (Spellbinders), Joyful Christmas Sentiments (Spellbinders), Evergreens (Taylored Expressions), Sequins (Taylored Expressions and SU)

I thought I'd include some pics of our hike on Friday!  We tackled the Heart Mountain Scramble!  It was a spectacular ridge walk.  No bears on this adventure!  We did see a cute marmot!  You'll see his picture below!  

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!  The design team has some amazing cards there to inspire you!  We can't see what you create!

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #587

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope your week is going well!  We finally got some rain last night.  Not a lot and of course it all came in about 10 minutes but we got some rain.  The air is clear and the smoke is FINALLY gone!  I know this isn't the end of wildfire season but I'm hoping Northern Alberta got some rain as well that helped tame those fires!

We have a fantastic new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches today!  Our hostess this week is our amazing resident pilot Jen Timko!  Jen's cards are always gorgeous so you should head over to her blog to check them out!  

Soooo, you might be rolling your eyes at the Be Bold Blooms again.  I can't help myself.  Someone asked me to make them a wedding card and what seems to be more perfect for a wedding than these sweet flowers?  White and silver seemed like a good combination to me as well!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic White, Silver Foil

Other: Be Bold Blooms Dies (Spellbinders), Nested Circles (Pink Fresh), Modest Greetings 1 (Poppystamps), Silver Foil, Dainty Diamonds Textured Embossing Folder,  Circle Dies (Spellbinders)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  

I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge!  The Design Team has created a bunch of amazing cards to inspire you!

Here are a couple of pics from our most recent hike.  We did a "quick" hike up the East End of Rundle.

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #583

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope your week is going well! I think spring might finally have arrived in Alberta - though I don't really think I should say anything in case winter comes back  We finally have some spring feeling weather, the snow has melted (well, not in the mountains) and the grass is very slowly turning green.  We don't get much (any) rain so it takes a while for things to green out. It's such a nice change from winter!

We've got a great new sketch today at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our hostess this week is our favourite Australian, Narelle Farrugia!  Narelle's cards are always so amazing and she does the most creative things with Stampin' Up stamps sets!  I'm always in awe of the gorgeous detail!  Head over to her blog to check them out!

I'll admit that this sketch through me for a loop.  It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do.  I don't have any rainbow stamps and I tried a few things that didn't look right but then I found this hot foiled circle sitting on my desk and decided to make it work. Of course I used the Be Bold Blooms again (sorry, not sorry?) and voila the card was done!

Supplies: 

Cardstock: Basic White, Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Gold Foil

DSP: Gingham 6X6 pack (SU)

Ink: Crushed Curry

Other: Be Bold Blooms Dies (Spellbinders), Nested Circles (Pink Fresh), Yana's Special Sentiments (Spellbinders), Gold Foil, Gilded Gems (SU), Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder (SU)

Thought I'd share a few pics from last weekend's hike.  It was pretty spectacular.  It was called Porcupine Ridge.  It was a tough hike with some water crossings - I was feeling a little sluggish but I pushed through.  The view at the top was definitely worth it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head to the Freshly Made Sketches challenge blog and join in our challenge!  At least head over there and check out the beautiful cards the Design Team has posted!

I hope you have an amazing week!

Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #582

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far.  Our snow has finally melted but we're supposed to get some more tomorrow and a little bit on Thursday.  It's supposed to warm up after that and I don't think the snow will last but still, who wants snow in April?!  There is still a ton of snow in the mountains!  Check out our most recent hike pics at the end of the post.  Still tons of snow.  

We've got a great new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the fabulous Karren Johnson!  Karren's cards are always stunning so head over to her blog to check them out!

I feel like I should apologize for the Be Bold Blooms again.  I love them so much!  They are so fun to work with and they work for so many different occasions!  This one is for an upcoming anniversary that I need a card for!  I think the pink flowers might be my favourite combination.  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Petal Pink, Watermelon Wonder, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Basic White

Ink: Watermelon Wonder

Other: Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder (SU), Nested Circles (Pink Fresh), Sentiments for Everyday (Spellbinders), Be Bold Blooms (Spellbinders), Silver Foil (Spellbinders)

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 seeing all of the beautiful cards that show up in the gallery each week!

Have an amazing day!

Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #563

Hello! Happy Wednesday!  Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends! I hope all have an amazing weekend celebrating!  Are you ready for Black Friday?  I am going to try and get most of my shopping done before the weekend and I'm hoping I've made my last trip to a mall!  I am not a big fan of crowds of people so I will avoid all stores this weekend!

We've got a brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  I am fortunate to be your hostess this week!  I do love when you get to go through each card and comment!  I love to see all the different takes and I love getting to know you better - especially when you post pics of your fur babies!  

I of course am still trying to get some Christmas cards done and really love playing with my hot foil machine.  My issue is that I only have a couple of plates and the ones I ordered didn't quite make it for some reason.  Don't ask.  I saw a Christmas card recently that had a wreath on it made of different foliage (this was a Hallmark card - not a handmade one) but I knew I could use that idea for my card!  I made a silver circle using the hot foil machine.  It doesn't show up too great in the picture though.  I added some foliage and a baby poinsettia and I was off to the races!  I threw on the same sentiment I used last week because that silver looks so pretty on the dark green!  

Supplies
Cardstock: Hammermill White, Shaded Spruce, Soft Succulent, Cherry Cobbler, Real Red

Other: Silver Foil (Spellbinders), Nested Circles (Pink Fresh), Christmas Mailbox Greetings (Spellbinders), Poinsettia Dies (SU), Pretty Pine Thinlits (SU), Basic Rhinestones (SU), Dimensionals

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge!  The Design Team has some amazing cards posted that you'll love!

We definitely can't wait to see what you create this week!

Have an amazing day!
Jen