Freshly Made Sketches: Happy Retirement

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Jen Mitchell and here’s what I did with it!

 

I have a workmate who announced she was retiring three years ago.  Not that in 2021, she said she'd be retiring in 2024 - but that she was actually retiring in 2021.  She had a calendar in her office on which she crossed off each day. Well one thing happened after another, both at work and in her life situation and it's now 2024 and she has announced that she is retiring in May.  This time I believe her. 

Her retirement plan is actually working a little "farm" which they bought about three years ago. They sell their local produce to various restaurants in the area and she raises prize-winning dahlias. I don't have anything farm-related in my stash and I don't have dahlias but I do have these cheerful little Nordic flowers. They have such a happy look, I thought they would be perfect for retirement.

The colors took me the longest to pick but that's fairly normal for me. I started with my comfort-zone colors of flamingo, mango and daffodil but it was a little "cutesy" for my future farmer. I just kept switching out colors until it felt like my friend. I had so many flowers in so many colors all over my desk, I couldn't even tell you at this point what the colors are that I ended up with! I do sometimes wonder why I obsess over each and every card.  I know my friend would have appreciated any version I made. But luckily I do like the process and I just keep going until it feels right.

FYI: The tall flower pot is actually taller. I trimmed a strip off the top and bottom of it to fit this 4 1/4" square card. Without the trimming, it would fit nicely on a taller card.  Also, there are smaller flowers in the flower set which I used on this card. 

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Big Balloon Sentiments

Dies: Poppystamps Nordic Flower Pots and Stems, Nordic Flower Heads, Nordic Butterfly Trio

Freshly Made Sketches: Single Rose

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Jen Timko and here’s what I did with it!

I had a specific need this week - a birthday card that needed to be sweet and pretty, but not cutesy. With the leaves on the sketch, I quickly decided the circle needed to be a flower and got quite excited when I flipped through my stash and found this flower that was almost exactly a circle! It's Single Roses by Simon Says and given where it was in my stash, it's an older die (although still on their website). I changed it up a little bit because the simple line drawn rose wasn't quite strong enough to stand out behind the "happy". They had an idea in their store showing it using the cut out pieces on top and that's exactly what I needed. 

With the older die, I went with something new-to-me from Simon Says Stamp - the Happy Combos stamp set with the Happy die.  It's a really nice all-around with dozens of sentiments to go with "happy". The Happy die also has a backer but it covered too much of the flower so I skipped it in on this card.

I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Happy Combos with dies

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Happy and Single Roses, Essential by Ellen Essential Squares

Paper: Stampin' Up Brights 6x6 dsp, cardstock in Flirty Flamingo and Granny Apple Green, Taylored Expressions Cupcakes

Other: Studio Katia Rose Pink pearls

Freshly Made Sketches: Hey Hi Hello

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Judy and here’s what I did with it!

I imagined a lot of different cards for this sketch. I saw a panel with a rainbow, one with clouds and one with sun. I thought about using three different patterned papers and a big sentiment. But I finally "settled" on a sentiment with three lines - specifically "Happy", "Birthday" and "To You".  Clearly I didn't actually settle on that. It was a nice mental picture in my head but I got stuck on how to decorate it.  Notice how the "hi" ultimately worked on my card with the bouquet of flowers extending across two panels.  That didn't work when the second panel had the long word "birthday" and I really like how the bouquet ties the panels together.  Only a crafter truly understands the drama of trying to figure out a way to decorate with that long word!!

The sentiment came from Concord and 9th so I dug into my C&9 stash and came out with the fabulous Friendship Garden set which has multiple tiny bouquets and fun holders for those bouquets. It's nice to work with becaue the little flower and berries are a separate die so very easy to get all the little pieces that you need and they plop right on top of the green stems. The background is also C&9. I thought about patterned paper like a simple gingham - it would have been nice but I do like a fresh white card.

I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Concord and 9th Friendship Garden, Stitched Stripe and Hey Hi Hello, Trinity Stamps Modern Embossed Rectangle Stack

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody and Lemon Lime Twist, Taylored Expressions Cupcake

Addicted to CAS: Easter Blessings

The current challenge at Addicted to CAS gave me the idea for my final Easter card of the year.  When I first bookmarked the challenge - which is the word "Bloom" - my mind saw the word as a verb as in "flowers bloom".  But as I was looking through challenges trying to find inspiration for the right Easter card for a dear friend, I saw the word and this time I saw it as a noun - as in a single "bloom".  Seems so simple but I'll take inspiration however it comes - it was literally enough to send me to my stash for this new Tulip Stem die from Simon Says Stamp.

I think it worked out perfectly.  I knew I didn't want cutesy for her and I didn't want pastel but I did want a cheerful spring card. The patterned paper is Garden Walk by Stampin' Up. I've pulled the blue flowers out multiple times as possibilities for my Easter card and it never quite made it on a card - but this card was the right card for it. The bow is from scrapbook.com and is cut in glittery Pretty Peacock paper. I knew I wanted a large sentiment across the bottom of the bloom and I found an older sentiment set from Reverse Confetti that fit beautifully. 

Thanks to Addicted to CAS for the inspiration.  (And to the card recipient - hopefully you got the card before seeing it here!! Have a happy Easter!)

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Reverse Confetti Springtime Sentiments

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Tulip Stem, Honey Bee Stamps Scallop A2 Card Frames, scrapbook.com Bow Toppers

Paper: Stampin' Up Garden Walk, Soft Shimmer 12x12 (the bow) and Calypso Coral cardstock

Ink: Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock

Other: Stampin' Up Fine Sparkle Adhesive-Backed Gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Nordic Fanfare Butterfly

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Amy and here’s what I did with it!

I'm loving the Poppystamps Nordic series of products. Maybe it's just the "Nordic" that's getting me given that's a chunk of my background. I have flowers and pots and small butterflies and this is the big Nordic Fanfare Butterfly. I've used him before on this card, but I wanted to make him warmer colors. 

Poppystamps is also doing a series of banner sentiments and it was in my head that I wanted that curvy look on this card, but it turns out that at least so far, they don't have a birthday sentiment which is what I needed. With the banner idea strongly in my head, I flipped through my stash and found this birthday die from Mama Elephant.

I made the background with the idea of a fence and the flowers beyond that fence. I'm not sure that's as obvious as I had hoped it would be, but I do like the look. I pulled all my colors from the floral pattern (by Stampin' Up but retired). 

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Nordic Fanfare Butterfly, Mama Elephant Banner Greetings

Paper: Stampin' Up Garden Walk dsp, cardstock in Calypso Coral, Groovy Guava, Petal Pink, Wild Wheat 

Other: Stampin' Up Pinewood Planks embossing folder, Petal Pink & Pretty Peacock Foiled Gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Hip Hop Hooray

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Narelle and here’s what I did with it!

I used this bunny a few weeks ago on this post and at the time I mentioned that when I opened the packaging I saw ideas for just using him peeking over things, not as a full bunny. So for today's card, I decided I needed to let him peek before I put him away. I was going to have him peek over the Easter egg but I just got this bold sentiment and I loved the way he fit into it.  The bunny is from Poppystamps. The sentiment is from scrapbook.com and comes with this one and with "Happy Easter".  They also had two birthday sets come out with this look which of course I got - and I will get any more they want to come out with. They are bold and fun!!

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Cuddle Bunny, Scrapbook.com Hip Hop Hooray, Taylored Expressions Egg Stacklets

Paper: ModaScrap Happy Flowers, Stampin' Up Tranquil Tide and Soft Succulent

Other: Stampin'  Up Loose Flower Flourishes, Taylored  Expressions Dottle Lattic Embossing Folder

Freshly Made Sketches: Easter Joy

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Karren and here’s what I did with it!

I ventured a little further from the sketch than I usually do.  Or maybe that's just because I had a strong idea in my head that included a rising sun and an Easter cross which would have fit it perfectly. I was flipping through my dies, saw the Simon Says Perched Whirl Bird, and just knew I to play with him!  I was definitely inspired by the sketch with the longer shape, the bird being the half circle, and the stripe at the bottom (even if it is hiding behind the top panel!) 

This didn't have to be an Easter card but I still more to make so when I saw the "Easter Joy" by Impression Obsession and it fit perfectly in the open space, I knew it was meant to be!

I love the texture that that bird has. I found another die by Simon Says that had the same look so the bird is perched on the Olive Leaf die. The bird's legs are a separate die. I colored his beak with a pen and I used a small black gem for his eye.

I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Perched Whirl Bird and Olive Leaves, Impression Obsession Easter Joy, Taylored Expressions Stitched Mini Slim

Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Granny Smith, Peapod, Salt Water Taffy, Sprinkles