Sending Shamrocks – Freshly Made Sketches 426

by Shannon Jaramillo // March 15, 2020 // 4 Comments

I have realized that St. Patrick’s Day is almost here so I dove into my very small but very sweet stash of stamps for aforesaid occasion and put them to work!!

Measurements:

White Card Base 4 1/4″ x 11″ scored at 5 1/2″
Layer of Pear Pizzazz Card Stock 4″ x 5 1/4″
Layer of Balmy Blue Cardstock3 7/8″ x 5 1/8″
Strip of DSP 1 1/4″ x 4 1/4″

Details:

I must confess that the traditional shade of green used for St. Patrick’s Day is probably my least favorite shade of all greens. {shudder} so I found a delightful combination of greens and blues in this pretty paper Plaid Patterns – Merry & Bright by MFT Stamps. Christmas paper of all things!!

I took my lead from the colors in the paper and used Granny Apple Green and Balmy Blue Stampin’ Blends to color this darling image by Fun stampers Journey.
I layered a piece of Balmy Blue card stock embossed with the Subtle embossing folder over a slightly larger piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock and then set the whole thing on top of a white card base.
A simple sentiment from the same stamp set and a bit of Wink of Stella complete this simple but sweet card. I LOVE the hint of St. Patrick’s Day in it!

The inside is very simple as well, leaving me a large space to write my message. I’m going to pop this in the mail to my mom!

Huge thanks to the Freshly Made Sketches design team, and to Karren for this week’s LOVELY sketch! XX

Have a wonderful, socially distant day and I will see you soon!!

Blessings!!

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted):

Card Stock: Pear Pizzazz and Balmy Blue; Neenah Solar White Classic Crest 80#

DSP: Plaid Patterns – Merry & Bright by MFT Stamps

Specialty Paper: None

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: Storybook Creations (retired) by Fun Stampers Journey

Alcohol Markers: Light & Dark Gray Granite & Light Petal Pink (mouse), Light & Dark Granny Apple Green (shamrocks), Light & Dark Crumb Cake & Light Petal Pink (birdhouse), Light & Dark Balmy Blue, Light So Saffron, Light Pumpkin Pie (bird)

Dies: Layering Circle Dies

Tools: Big Shot, Stampin’ Trimmer (both retired)

Embellishments: Wink of Stella

Other: Whisper White Envelope

Let Your Dreams Take Flight – CAS(E) This Sketch #362

by Shannon Jaramillo // March 10, 2020 // 2 Comments

What?!? Purple AGAIN?? Absolutely!! I am over the moon for the combination of Highland Heather and Seaside Spray! Isn’t it delightful? It’s raining today in Southern California and I think the rain outside has affected my color choices 🙂

Measurements:

Highland Heather Card Base 4 1/4″ x 11″ scored at 5 1/2″
Seaside Spray Card Stock 4″ x 5 1/4″
White Card Stock 3 3/4″ x 5″

Details:

Super simple design today for the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge today! I came across this darling hot air balloon and KNEW it was THE one! I have used it before here and I really wanted to color it again, this time with alcohol markers. It was SO quick and easy to color!!

Honestly, I went through every.single.stamp. I own to find the right sentiment for the sketch! But I’m very happy with the one I finally decided on. It’s from a very old set (I think) that I purchased secondhand, in a jumble of sets actually, by a company I have never heard of, but it was hot air balloons so I kept it and I’m so glad I did!
Once again, I have used gems from Honeybee Stamps. They really have a fantastic selection of colors!!

Mmmm, I added Wink of Stella to the base and top of the balloon for a soft shimmer (which you can only just barely see, but it’s there!). And an itty Bitty Calypso Coral banner up top!

A quick peek at the inside sentiments, which I think would work wonderfully for a graduation, a job change, or even a move to a new city!

Thank you to the CAS(E) This Sketch design team for their wonderful inspiration this week! It’s been a bit since I played – so glad I jumped in this week!!

Blessings to you!!

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted):

Card Stock: Highland Heather, Seaside Spray; Neenah Solar White Classic Crest Cover 80#

DSP: All Occasions in Highland Heather

Specialty Paper: None

Ink: Versamark Onyx Black

Stamps: Blue Skies by Fun Stampers Journey; Love in the Air by Our Craft Lounge (front sentiment); Special Celebrations & Above the Clouds by SU (inside sentiments)

Dies: Blue Skies by Fun Stampers Journey and Envelope Die (retired)

Markers: P145 Pale Lavender – Shin Han Twin Touch; Stampin’ Blends – Light & Dark Seaside Spray, Light Highland Heather, Light & Dark Gray Granite and Light & Dark Calypso Coral

Tools: Big Shot, Stampin’ Trimmer (both retired)

Embellishments: Wink of Stella; Ocean Breeze Gem Stickers by Honeybee Stamps

Other: Whisper White Envelope

An Open Heart – Freshly Made Sketches 422

by Shannon Jaramillo // February 16, 2020 // 5 Comments

Hello my stampin’ peeps! I am back in town and was SO happy to be able to perch on my stool in my craft space and MAKE SOMETHING! I’ve been away TOO long! And I have just enough time to squeeze in the latest Freshly Made Sketches challenge! So let’s get to it!

Measurements:

Mossy Meadow Card Base 4 1/4″ x 11″ scored at 5 1/2″
Pear Pizzazz Card Stock 4″ x 5 1/4″
Strip of Garden Lane DSP 2″ x 5 1/4″
White Die Cut Card Stock 2 3/8″ x 4 5/16″

Details:

In my search for an image that would fit within the layout parameters, I quickly came across the retired stamp set An Open Heart and decided that it would be perfect. It’s a set that I acquired secondhand and have never stamped up. I have FAR too many of those so was very happy to get it inky! I knew I would be coloring with alcohol markers so I stamped the main image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
Four colors of Stampin’ Blends were used here (you could easily just use one or two): Light & Dark Soft Sea Foam; Light Old Olive and Light Mossy Meadow. I needed a very fine tip pen to color in the branch stem so I pulled out my Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Write Marker for that.
I wasn’t sure what type of foliage I was working with and had no idea what the buds and berries really were so I went with the first image that popped into my head and that was – citrus! So I reached for more Stampin’ Blends in Light So Saffron (may I add that this is a FABULOUS addition to the Stampin’ Blends color variety – if you don’t have it, order it!) and Light Mango Melody. I love the brightness of Mango Melody!

Once the image was colored I searched through my stand alone dies for a rectangle shape narrow and tall enough to use with my stamped image and found the right size in the MFT stamps Pierced Traditional Tags die set. It fit perfectly and I like the added interest the tag shape adds to the card 🙂
I layered the tag over a pattern from the gorgeous Garden Lane DSP and then layered them both over a piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock which has been embossed with the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder.
I added this darling bird image from the same stamp set, again stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black (always use this ink when using alcohol markers), and wondered what color to color it. I am hopelessly illiterate when it comes to birds, but I found inspiration in the yellows of the buds and berries and then added darker shades as I went. When I was finished I had used a total of SIX colors! Light So Saffron, Light Mango Melody on the face, Light and Dark Crumb Cake on the body and Light and Dark Soft Suede on the wing and tail feathers. I’m pretty impressed with how he turned out. I have no idea if any such bird exists in nature but decided that it really doesn’t matter, and that knowledge is SO liberating! I just like the colors!! I fussy cut this little guy out and popped him up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
I found a perfectly small sentiment to add to my card in the Itty Bitty Greetings stamp set. This set is the replacement for Teeny Tiny Wishes.
The layout called for some of ribbon or twine so I reached for (as I often do) my Linen Thread and make a quick bow. I just love (insert audible sigh) these linen bows and add them to projects frequently.
Added some Wink of Stella to the the leaves and called it good – at least for the card front!

I chose a simple white insert for the card and added a darling sentiment from the Forever Lovely stamp set. The sentiment was inked up with Versamark Onyx Black for a vivid stamp and then I added a tiny leaf spring from the same set, colored in Light Soft Sea Foam with just a touch of color from my Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Write Marker. I left it at that for the card interior and proceeded to add matching DSP to the envelope flap and a partial stamp of the main image on the front of the envelope.

It can be sometimes a scary feeling for me when I start a project without a fixed image of the final result in my mind, but I worked through the twists and turns of the creative process and am super happy with how it turned out. Thank you again to the Freshly Made Sketches design team for their inspiration!! Make sure to visit the Freshly Made Sketches website to see all of their beautiful designs!!

Thank you for stopping by today and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted):

Card Stock: Mossy Meadow and Pear Pizzazz; and Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White (80 lb)

DSP: Garden Lane

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Versamark Onyx Black

Stamps: An Open Heart, Itty Bitty Greetings and Forever Lovely

Coloring Tools: Light & Dark Soft Sea Foam, Light Old Olive, Light Mossy Meadow, Light So Saffron, Light Mango Melody, Light & Dark Crumb Cake and Light & Dark Soft Suede Stampin’ Blends; Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Write Marker

Dies: MFT Stamps Pierced Traditional Tags & SU’s Envelope Die (retired)

Tools: Big Shot; Subtle 3D Embossing Folder

Embellishments: Linen Thread Wink of Stella

Other: Whisper White Envelope

Welcome Baby – Tic Tac Toe Challenge #50

by Shannon Jaramillo // February 6, 2020 // 5 Comments

Hello there, peeps! I’ve been quiet on the blogging front as helping my mom with life “things” has taken precedence. But I am SO happy to be back today with a special card and an announcement! The Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge is back up and running and today is their first challenge! I am the featured designer this week, which means that I get to create the Tic-Tac-Toe board! I filled it with things that I love so I hope you will love them too and play along! Without further ado, here is this week’s challenge board:

I used the far left column for today’s card: Flower, Ribbon, Punch.

Measurements:

Card Base: 4 1/2″ x 11″, scored at 5 1/2″
First Layer: 4″ x 5 1/4″
DSP Layer: 2 1/4″ x 5″ & 1 1/2″ x 5″

Details:

I used this gorgeous DSP Sweet Girl by CTMH as my inspiration. This month’s theme is Home Decor/Congrats/Thinking of You. I decided congrats could mean baby, which gave me the chance to color this darling giraffe from Whimsy Stamps.

I used rectangle stitched dies for my image as well as a foundation for my sentiment die. I snuck the punch in as an accent behind the focal image and even used up some positively ancient candy dots from Stampin’ Up!

I used another rectangle die for the inside of the card and snuck in a scrap of coordinating DSP as a fun accent. The sentiment is from the same set as the giraffe from Whimsy Stamps.

I SO hope you’re as excited as I am to have this challenge back up and running, Tic-Tac-Toe boards are SO fun to play along with – the possibilities are endless!!

Please stop by the Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge blog to see what the rest of the team has whipped up for you this week!

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted):

Card Stock: Going Gray (R), Blushing Bride; Neenah Solar White Classic Crest 80#

DSP: Sweet Girl by Close To My Heart

Ink: Going Gray (R) & Memento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: Baby Animals by Whimsy Stamps

Alcohol Markers: W0 Warm Gray No. 0, W1 Warm Gray No. 1, and R11 Pale Cherry Pink by Copic; RP196 Pale Pink Light by Shin-Han

Dies: Stitched Rectangle by Stampin’ Up!; Congrats by Hero Arts

Tools: Big Shot, Stampin’ Trimmer (both retired); Everyday Label Punch

Embellishments: Blushing Bride 3/8″ Stitched Satin Ribbon and Candy Dots, both retired

Other: Whisper White Envelope

Daisies & Dragons

by Shannon Jaramillo // January 6, 2020 // 4 Comments

Daisies and dragons, sigh. What could be better? Pairing them up with a fanciful color combination, that’s what! I came across this darling paper while going through some old supplies and fell in love. Then my mind connected it to the Magical Dragons stamp set by MFT Stamps that I had recently purchased and a card idea was born!

As you can see, I used dies to create just about everything so no measuring involved! I began with a base of Mama Elephant’s Femme Frames and added some stitched die cut pattern paper shapes.

I stamped the dragon (I named her Isabella) in Versafine Onyx Black and colored her with a combination of Copic, Shin-Han, and Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. I also stamped some darling daises from Whimsy Stamps (those are fussy cut, no dies) and arranged everything onto a popped up stitched scalloped circle. Another die, this one by Hero Arts, and coordinating sentiment complete this whimsical card.

The daisies have had a subtle sparkle added to them with Wink of Stella around the petal bases and did you notice the tiny sparkles? If you zoom in on the blue pattern paper you can see the tiny sparkles all over it – swoon!

I had SO much fun creating this card – thank you for stopping by to take a peek!

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted):

Card Stock: Stamper’s Select White & Ocean Tides by Papertrey Ink

DSP: 12 x 12 For Peep’s Sake – Drapin’ Daisies by Imaginisce (from 2008!)

Specialty Paper: none

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black

Stamps: Magical Dragons by MFT Stamps; A Girl’s Best Friend by Whimsy Stamps and Thanks Stamp & Cut by Hero Arts

Dies: Magical Dragons and Stitched Mini Scalloped Circles by MFT Stamps; Femme Frames by Mama Elephant; Thanks Stamp & Cut by Hero Arts and Stitched Rectangle Dies by Stampin’ Up!

Tools: Big Shot; Copic , Shin-Han and Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers

Embellishments: Wink of Stella

Other: Whisper White Envelope