Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #557

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a good week!  We're still basking in the sunshine here and I will totally enjoy every minute of it!  The leaves have been beautiful and the views from our latest hike were incredible!  I'll post some photos below!  The mountain is called The Fortress and man it was tough but so amazing once we made it to the top!  My husband and I are also celebrating our 20th anniversary today!  I can't believe it's been 20 years!  Time flies!

We've got a great new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Our hostess this week is Jacquie Southas!  Jacquie creates amazing cards and the one she's made this week is just incredible!  Head over to her blog to check it out!  

So the mojo definitely isn't flowing this week.  I had several different cards in mind but I tried to "get them down on paper" and that did not work.  I decided I would work with some plaid paper and add some leaves in - voila!  A fall'ish card!  Hoping the mojo decides to make an appearance at some point this week!!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic White, Rich Razzleberry, Mango Melody

DSP: Plaid Tidings

Other: Intricate Leaves Dies (SU), Stitched So Sweetly Dies (SU), Bitty Buzzwords Honey Cuts(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!  We would love to see what you come up with!  The Design Team has some great cards posted to inspire your creativity!

Enjoy the views from The Fortress!

Have an amazing day!

Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #556

Happy Wednesday!  

I hope you're having a great start to the week!  We've been having the most beautiful weather here!  Last year about this time it was much cooler and we had snow on Thanksgiving weekend.  We've had beautiful sunshine and and warm temperatures and we will totally take it all in!  The warm weather has lengthened our hiking season which is amazing!  We did an incredible one last weekend.  We hiked up Mount Sparrowhawk which was our first 10,000 footer!  It was a grind but oh so amazing!  Check out the view below!  

We've got a fantastic sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is our colour guru Amy O'Neill!  Amy's cards are always so pretty!  Head over to her blog to check out her creativity! 

If I said this was my first rendition of this sketch, I would totally be lying.  Same if I said it was the second or third rendition!  Seriously, this one almost did me in!  Honestly.  Sometimes the mojo just isn't flowing!

I had this bear sitting on my desk and I happen to love a sweet grizzly so I knew I would have to make a card around him!  I had this fall paper still sitting out and decided I wanted to use it up while it was still fall!  Voila!  Card is made!  It's definitely not my favourite but I wanted a more masculine card!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Basic White

Paper: Plaid Fever (Echo Park)

Stamps: Little Birthday Notes (MFT)

Ink: Basic Black

Other: Woodland Silhouettes 2 (Taylored Expressions), Pine Woods Dies (SU), Double Stitched Circles (Lil Inkers), Tasteful Label Dies, Dimensionals

 

We met a couple of people on the summit - all previously from Ontario who offered to take our picture!  So nice to have a pic that isn't a selfie!

The incredible view from the top!

Sometimes you encounter wild animals!  These are mountain sheep.  They are generally easy going - if they're female but these moms had babies with them.  We kept our distance but the herd was blocking the trail so we had to bang our hiking poles together to get them to move along!

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you will head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in this week's challenge!  We always love seeing the amazing cards that get entered in the challenge each week!  We definitely have a creative group that participates!

Have an amazing day!
Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #555

Hello!
Happy Wednesday!  We're halfway through the week already!  We are having some beautiful (and not very Alberta like) fall weather this week!  It's actually been more like summer!  I will take this warmth and sunshine as long as I can!  Trust me!  It's so lovely!  

We've got a brand new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our favourite Aussie is hosting this week!  Narelle Farrugia makes the most gorgeous cards!  Fussy cutting, blends and flowers are for sure her specialty so head over to her blog to check them out!  

This is not at all the card I had in mind when I saw this sketch!  I still want to make what I had in mind (and probably should have from the start) but I decided to try something else.  This card took me forever with several changes and I'm still not thrilled with it.  Card making is quite the process isn't it?!  

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic White, Basic Black, Real Red, Poppy Parade, Basic Grey, Garden Green

Stamps: Bitty Buzzwords (Honey Bee Stamps)

Ink: Basic Black, Poppy Parade, Real Red, Garden Green

Other: Bitty Buzzwords Honey Cuts (Honey Bee Stamps), Lovely Layers Wildflowers (Honey Bee Stamps), Double Stitched Circle Dies (Lil Inkers), Stitched So Sweetly Dies (SU), Sequins (Taylored Expressions)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll join in our challenge this week.  We always love to see what you come up with!  

Head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and check out the cards that the Design Team has posted!  Hopefully they'll inspire you!

I thought I'd share our most recent hike - We hiked up Cirque Peak just past Lake Louise (around Bow Lake).  It started out raining, changed to sun, then a freak snow storm while we hit the summit so we couldn't see anything and then an hour later, beautiful sunshine again!  You win some and you lose some!

Have an amazing day!  

Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #554

Hello!
Happy Wednesday! I hope you're having a great week so far!  Fall has hit hard here with very cool temperatures!  The mountains have snowy peaks (which honestly makes them look prettier) and so begins the deep spiral into winter!!!  Okay, we've got some time to go before that but you can tell summer is definitely over!

We've got a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Our hostess this week is the amazing Karren Johnson!  Karren's cards are always fabulous and you definitely want to head over to her blog and check out her card for this week!  

I loved Karren's sketch this week!  My husband notified me that our neighbour's birthday was yesterday!  I decided to whip up a birthday card for her.  I was going to go fall themed but the Lovely Layers Peonies were just crying my name!  I know there probably aren't peonies this colour but they really did strike me as pretty!

I might have used a LOT of dimensionals making this card so it's very thick and you probably wouldn't want to send this through the mail.  Thankfully I was hand delivering it!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic White, Bermuda Bay, Costal Cabana, Pool Party, Granny Apple Green

Stamps: Bitty Birthday Wishes (MFT)

Ink: Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Costal Cabana, Pool Party, Granny Apple Green

Other: Lovely Layers Peony Honey Cuts (Honey Bee Stamps), Sweetly Stitched Dies (SU), Elegant Sequin Mix (Honey Bee Stamps)

I wanted to include the view from the top of Cascade Mountain in Banff, Alberta!  My husband and I hiked up this beast on Saturday!  We were so fortunate to get a clear, smoke free day!  The weather was a little chilly but it was perfect for hiking!

Thanks 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 amazing cards posted by the Design Team!  They are gorgeous!  You will definitely be inspired!

I hope you have a fantastic day!

Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #553

Happy Wednesday!  

I hope you're having a great week!  Fall has been in the air a few times over the last week!  The mountains got snow which means our turn is just around the corner!  I'm not quite ready for that yet!  I could use a bit more summer but now that the house is decorated for fall I'm totally ready to embrace it!  

We've got a great new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Our hostess this week is our favourite French designer Cecile Ribon!  She is the queen of amazing diecuts so head over to her blog and check out her gorgeous creations!  

I loved Cecile's sketch and had to try a few things to find a combo of elements I was good with!  I wanted a fall card but this isn't the card I made first!  That's the one you'll see below!  This was my second card!  I love fall cards but struggled to get the placement of the leaves just right.  The perfectionist in me wanted to give up but I'm learning to just let some things go!  A few things anyhow!  

Supplies:

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Gold Foil

Stamps: Give Thanks (Concord & 9th)

Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake

Other: Intricate Leaves Dies, Seasonal Layers Dies, Harvest Dies, Double Stitched Squares, Gold Sequins, Blending Brushes

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 sure love seeing your cards each and every week!

The Design Team has got some amazing cards on the blog that hopefully will inspire you!

I can't wait to see what you create!

Have an amazing day!

Jen

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #552

Hello!

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a wonderful week!  It's been beautiful here lately.  We had a few smokey days from the many wildfires that are burning through Alberta, BC and down into Montana but it seems clearer now!  We've been so fortunate to have a nice, clear summer this year.  We won't complain about a few smokey days!

We've got a new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  I am your hostess this week and I hope you like my sketch and will join in and play along with us!  I always love seeing each one of your cards!

I wanted to do a fall card.  This isn't exactly what I had in mind but I definitely love the colours!  That gold is one of my favourites for fall!  I bought this paper at our local scrapbook store a couple of weeks ago and couldn't wait to use it!  

Supplies:

Cardstock: Basic White, Hello Honey, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler

Patterned Paper: Plaid Fever and Falling for Fall (both from Echo Park Paper)

Stamps: Fall Foliage (Reverse Confetti)

Ink: Early Espresso

Other: Intricate Leaves Dies, Seasonal Layers Dies, Twine, Dimensionals

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

Have a fantastic day!

Jen

 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #551

Hello!

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you are having a great start to your week!  Have your kids or grandkids gone back to school yet?  My youngest goes back tomorrow and my oldest on Friday.  As much as I'm ready for routine and a little bit more alone time, I have really enjoyed the summer this year!  My oldest got his license on Friday so he's excited to have a bit more freedom.  I'm not quite sure I'm ready for this yet! My youngest got his learners on Friday as well so we're all in to the driving scene!  My youngest is only 14 so it's a little crazy to think the province will let him drive!! Pray for us!!!

We've got a great new sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is the incredibly talented Kim Singdahlsen!  You need to head over to her blog and check out her beautiful cards!  

I picked up this adorable snowman die from Lawn Fawn on the weekend!  I just loved him!  There's a her as well!  I can't wait to make a bunch of snowmen!  My youngest came in and told me I was crazy making snowmen in the summer!!  I probably am but they were just too cute to resist!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, Blushing Bride

Stamps: Christmas to Remember

Ink: Basic Black, Read Red

Other: Build a Snowman Die (Lawn Fawn), Softly Falling Embossing Folder, A2 Mountain Scene Builder Add-on Honey Cuts (Honey Bee Stamps), Dimensionals

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I really hope you'll head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and join in our challenge.  

The Design Team has a bunch of gorgeous cards posted that will definitely inspire you!

Have an amazing day!

Jen