Freshly Made Sketches #245

Hi all! I'm back today with another card for Freshly Made Sketches. Have you checked them out yet? They are one of my favorite sites for sketch ideas. That's where I struggle the most. I find once I know what I want the layout to be, then the colors, sentiment, and embellishments come pretty quickly. But getting that design down the toughest part for me!

So, I'm playing along with Freshly Made Sketches #245 this week. I'm also entering this card into the gallery for Online Card Classes: Heat Wave. It's my first session with OCC, and I am very happy with the videos, tips, and tricks! (How can you not be when the leaders are Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner???)

Here's this week's sketch from FMS:

And, with a little "Christmas in July" inspiration, here's my take on it:

This card was SUPER simple to get together. Last year, I bought a paper pack from Hobby Lobby with Christmas theme. (It's by Recollections and called the "Cozy Lodge" collection if you're interested). All of the papers, including that deer with the sentiment, are from that pack. I just did some cutting with my Fiskars trimmer to get the paper to the size I wanted. The most difficult part of this card was the heat embossing across the card. I used Wow! Primary Ebony embossing powder. I also included a new technique I picked up from Online Card Classes to include that heat embossing. I finished the card with some black and white baker's twine, and a touch of Wink of Stella on the deer and his antlers. Done!


Anyone else getting an early start on Christmas cards in July? It does take a lot of time to make all of those holiday homemade cards!


Have a great day, and be back again soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #244

Hi all! Hope you had a good weekend. It has been H-O-T here. Gives me more time to stay inside in the AC and make some cards. :)

I recently made the plunge and purchased my first Hero Arts kit, and I LOVE IT. Did anyone else purchase this kit? I think they are all sold out now, but for those of you who were one of the lucky early purchasers, have you played around with the kit items yet? Honestly, I can't stop adding the stamps and die cuts to my cards. It is so perfect for July with the nautical theme, and I think the designers just did such beautiful work. My favorite stamp among the set is that turtle. Adorable! The jellyfish have such movement, too, and even the coral stamps come out beautifully. The ombre ink is so smooth and pretty, and the two specialty papers are amazing in person. If you're like me and you like the look of glitter and sparkle without the mess, these papers are for you!! I think it's one of those ones that I will go to again and again. A new personal fave!

And that leads me to this week's Freshly Made Sketches #244. Guess what set I jumped right to for this sketch? :)

Here's my take on it:

 I thought that turtle from the Hero Arts kit would add a different spin to the oval element in the middle of the sketch, so that was my jumping-off point. (I had die cut some turtles to have on hand when the kit first arrived, so that saved me some time when I went to put this card together. A good tip!) I also wanted to do something non-traditional to make a bit of a water-y look in the back, so I grabbed the shiny green paper that came with the kit, along with Papertrey Ink stencils. I used Blue Ribbon ink from Ranger and a blending took to make that background. I used a phrase from the Hero Arts set and Lawn Fawn Merman ink for the sentiment portion. For some finishing touches, I covered the turtle in Wink of Stella (this effect is so hard to photograph, but I promise it's there!) along with some PTI rainstones to reinforce the water/nautical theme. Then I just mounted this on a white card I had bought in a pack at Hobby Lobby, and that's it!

I'm sending this off soon to a friend with a July birthday. Hope you have a beautiful day! Until next time!