Freshly Made Sketches #700!

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #700!

Freshly Made Sketches is celebrating a big milestone this week with the 700th challenge and 14 years of inspiration!!!! The sketch is a throwback to FMS14 and was designed by the challenge creator, Lesley Croghan. Although I stepped down from the Clean Team a few months ago, I am thrilled to be invited to play along with them this week!

The aqua and gray squares were die cut and adhered in their grid with washi tape to keep the edges clean as Tim Holtz Distress Snowfall Grit Paste was applied with a Taylored Expressions Breezy Stencil. While it dried to a translucent, frosty finish the Poppystamps Birthday Blowout sentiment was heated embossed in Liquid Platinum onto a oval piece of vellum.  

The the MFT Fab Foliage and Wild Greenery dies are attached along their spines to the gray tiles and then the sentiment oval slipped into place amongst the leaves.

For a little extra fun, Clean Team designers are posting the first card they created to play along with Freshly Made Sketches. For me, it was for FMS117 way back in December 2013!

My card is also being entered in Seize the Birthday #311 No Flowers challenge.

I hope you check out the amazing Clean Team designs at Freshly Made Sketches and play along with us this week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #686

 Freshly Made Sketches #686

Hi - it's been a while since I made a card, but I couldn't resist Clean Team Designer Kim Singdahlsen's fabulous sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

My retired professional forester father probably gets too many cards with tree, forest and woodgrain elements, but they do always make me think of him.

For this Father's Day card, the Tim Holtz Sizzix Forest Shadow tree die is used to cut a set of green trees and then to cut a white stitched rectangle. The MFT sentiment is stamped on the bottom of the white panel first, then the trees embossed with a Sizzix 3D Leaf pattern and the layers assembled.

It feels great to be creating! Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #679!

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #679!

Clean Team designer Karren Johnson has given us a fabulous sketch this week! I had The Stamp Market Bitty Bunny die sitting on my desk and kept thinking the fishtail tip reminded me of the bunny ears. It took far too long for the lightbulb to go off and me to realize if I flipped the sketch, I could make a fun Easter card.

The flag became a bunny by adding an oval die cut body stamped with a PTI Simply Spring Borders sentiment to the head.  The big bunny is overseeing several of the Simply Spring bunnies hunting for Easter eggs on the gingham hillside. ETA Or maybe they are putting out the eggs for a children's hunt Easter morning.

I hope you check out the amazing Clean Team designs and play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches this week!

I have been so privileged to work with these creative and inspiring artists for several years, but I am stepping down to concentrate on a working my way through a big pile of abandoned craft projects along with a health challenge.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #678

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #678!

Our whimsical sketch this week is from the queen of elegant, arty designs, Clean Team member, Cécile Ribon! My mind was immediately swirling around what to design with an inky puddle. When I sat down to create, it was an Easter and egg coloring design that was half formed in my head, but after I had my rainbow colored splash finished I didn't want to add anymore color.

The Tim Holtz Splatters stencil is selectively used with a number Distress Inks to make the paint puddle. A Paper Rose Studio Creator's Tools paintbrush and sentiment are added to finish this simple, happy design.

I hope you check out the fabulous Clean Team designs and play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches this week.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #677

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #677!

This fabulous sketch was created by the amazing Clean Team designer, Jennifer Brum! I am so tickled with the way my card came together because I thought I was going to make a baby card and then something else for the challenge when I sat down at my desk. 

The sweet Poppystamps Giraffe Trio dies are a favorite go-to image for first time parents but I just couldn't see how they would work for the sketch in my head. It was only when I started cutting and moving a few things around that I realized how nicely they were going to come together.

The trio of MFT Mod Rectangles are cut from white cardstock and two adhered along the middle and top right side of the panel. The giraffe family is cut from simply patterned paper scraps in shades of blue and adhered over the two rectangles. 

A couple of Memory Box Massa Leaf die cuts are trimmed apart and adhered so it looks like the giraffes are peeking over the tree tops before the third rectangle stamped with the MFT Beautiful Baby sentiment is added.

I hope you check out the terrific Clean Team designs and play along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #676

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #676!

Clean Team designer Kim Singdahlsen has given us a fun sketch this week! A weekend harvesting lemons completely inspired my design and had me pulling out the Memory Box Small Citrus Rounds, Zig Real Brush markers and watercolor paper. 

While the various layers of watercolor dried, an MFT Rectangle Frame, cardstock and canvas look patterned paper were cut and layered. A partial sentiment from MFT Full of Sunshine is stamped on the paper and the die cut layered below to finish off the panel.

I hope you check out the amazing Clean Team designs and play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #675

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #675!

I can't wait to see what you do with the fabulous Clean Team designer Linda Callahan's sketch this week! For me, the trio of ledges were always going to be sentiment strips.

The Penny Black Bashful Flower die is adhered to a Darice Thin Lines embossed panel. Maybe it is because we just had an atmospheric river pass through, but the lines reminded me of a rainy downpour which made a fitting background. The sentiments from MFT Deepest Sympathy and Essential Sentiments stamp sets are heat embossed on various scraps before being popped up over the flower. The card base is the same deep indigo blue as the bottom sentiment strip.

I hope you check out the amazing Clean Team designs at Freshly Made Sketches and play along with us this week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #674

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #674!

The amazing Clean Team designer, Jen Mitchell, has given us a fabulous sketch this week! I knew I wanted to do something with speech bubbles and text and almost flipped the design before deciding I like the look of an angled curved line more and kept the vertical orientation.

The MFT Happy Birthday Background Text is heat embossed on a white panel, then die cut with a MFT Speech Bubble edges die. Lawn Fawn Chit Chat stamps and dies were used to create the trio of birthday greetings popped up over this panel. Before it is adhered to the green panel, a MFT From All of Us sentiment is heat embossed in the bottom corner.

I hope you check out the terrific Clean Team designs and play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches this week!

I'm also entering this card in Seize the Birthday Challenge #299 in the Anything Goes category.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made SKetches #673

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #673!

I was away from home and the craft room when I saw Jen Timko's sketch, but knew immediately that the circle was going to be an inked sunset with the lovely, elegant floral becoming a palm tree silhouette. It made for a fast and easy card created under a tight deadline when I returned.

A circle mask stencil was inked with three of my favorite Distress Inks (Mustard Seed, Marmalade Spice and Candied Apple) to create the sunset. The only decision left was what sentiment to use before the Simply Graphic Under the Palm Tree (Sous le Palmier) palm tree is adhered. In the end I went an older Paper Smooches Get Outta Town sentiment stamped to overlap the inked circle.

I hope you check out the amazing Clean Team designs at Freshly Made Sketches and play along with us this week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #672

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #672!

I am excited to be hosting the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches this week and came up with a sketch that allowed me to play with The Stamp Market Happy Birthday Garland die set. You can make a simple banner along the top of your design or keep going as I did. Use whatever letter, numbers, images or shapes you want in your creation!

Although I ended in a place completely different from my original plan, I am really happy with the final result. A simple patterned paper provides a great base for the Fiestaware inspired letters left dangling from the paper strings. I think this die set is going to be well used for quick and easy birthday cards!

Check out the amazing Clean Team designs and play along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #671

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #671!

The amazing Clean Team designer, Judy Rozema, has created a fun sketch for us to work with this week. I've been poking through a bin of long forgotten dies and another of specialty papers that were perfect for adding a bit of dimension and interest to my design.

The crepe paper is cut with a rolled flower die, folded in half and adhered in over lapping rows to leave a loose fringe loop edge. The top of the fringe layers is covered with a border heart die cut trimmed to fit the width of the panel. A simple bright pink Memory Box Sketchbook Love die finishes the card.

I hope you check out the terrific Clean Team designs and play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches this week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #670

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #670!

Clean Team Designer, Amy O'Neill, has given us a fabulous classic design with the sketch this week! Hearts are on my desk right now, but I wasn't really in the mood for a Valentine card. Although I kept getting drawn back to the sweet little knit heart from Sugar Peas Knit Wit stamp set and finally decided to heat emboss it on the base heart from Taylored Expressions Mosaic Heart dies just to see how it fit.

After playing around a little more with more knit and heart elements, the design came together using a Paper Roses Knit Happens sentiment and Paper Sources embossing folder.

Please check out the amazing Clean Team designs at Freshly Made Sketches and play along with us this week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #669

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #669!

The queen of layering, Clean Team designer Narelle Farrugia, has a wide open sketch for us this week. My need to replenish the stack of birthday cards had me reaching for balloons when I saw the circles, but as always, you can use any image in your design. Inspired by Narelle's layers and a new The Stamp Market Wispy Waves stencil, a windy tone on tone background is created first by adding a touch of ink to white molding paste.

Both MFT Balloon Stax and Poppystamps Celebration Balloons dies are used to give me the sizes I wanted and cut in a number of colors before deciding to go with an orange and aqua mix. The MFT Bitty Birthday Wishes sentiment is heat embossed and a couple of waxed thread strings added to the larger balloons to finish the design.

Check out the amazing Clean Team designs and play along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

I'm linking this card to Seize the Birthday Challenge #297 - Use Something New.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #668

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #668!

It's great to see you here for another fabulous sketch! This week we have a fun asymmetrical design from the super talented Clean Team designer, Karren Johnson. My original plan was for a birthday card so I'm not quite sure how I ended up with a Valentine but that is often how my creative process works.

The circles on the scrap of grey patterned paper are outlined with a pretty pink, which had me reaching for more pinks and then hearts. The Mama Elephant Love Quotes sentiment is stamped in a PTI Layered Heart die cut, layered with a dark pink scalloped edge heart and a couple Memory Box Goldfinch dies. The gold glitter heart dots were an afterthought that I'm still on the fence about.

I hope you check out the amazing Clean Team designs at Freshly Made Sketches and play along with us this week.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Freshly Made Sketches #667

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #667!

Happy New Year! Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches first challenge of 2025. Our super talented Clean Team designer, Cécile Ribon, is the creative genius behind this perfect start to the year. 

Although tempted to use a new snowflake die, I went with stars this week. Remember, you can use whatever image you want and make a card for any occasion. Even though this one could be used to celebrate the New Year, it is heading to a dear friend for her birthday.

A four inch square panel is embossed with stars and a large gold shimmer MFT stacked star added with glue dots to give a bit of lift and dimension. The Stamp Market Big Bold Numbers base dies are cut and embossed before the outline dies are cut from glitter paper and layered on top.

The simple heat embossed MFT Itty Bitty Birthday sentiment and a scatter of star confetti finish the design.

I hope you check out the fabulous Clean Team designs and play along with us for the first challenge of the New Year at Freshly Made Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie