Freshly Made Sketches #716

I am your Sketch designer this week at Freshly Made Sketches!   Ready for it?

 

Can you dig it??  I sure hope so!  Here is the little cutie that inspired it...

Of course she is my Memory Box: Happy Dance Bird!

My heart just couldn't help but use her one more time before the year ends!

I've perched her upon a little branch from one of my TH Poinsettia sets,

embossed my card front with a Penny Black Encircle EF.

That sweet little tag is just one of many from the HoneyBee Tag Builder die set.

I've brought out another oldie from Ellen Hutson/Julie Ebersole: Cozy Christmas

for the simple yet sweet sentiment.

Whatever makes you happy dance - that's what we want you to 

use this week!  I can't wait - see you in the FMS#716 gallery soon!

=] Michele

The Paper Players #767 - I see you Jaydee!

It was so fun when I opened the newest challenge at The Paper Players this week -  Jaydee is our host and it sounds like I may have had a little influence on her seasonal shopping!  I won't apologize as this is one of those 'sorry not sorry' instances!  Be sure you head over to PP767 to see Jaydee's card!  

Just for fun:  I see your hand, Jaydee, and have found the perfect gift for it!

In fact, this little shopping bag die from WF was a gift from my lovely friend Stephanie!

and I'm pretty sure I cut this snowy panel at Marcia's house.  The sparkle is another of

those wonderful papers from my cousin... you could say this is the card that 

wouldn't be as fun without my generous friends!

Last but not least is the square frame from Waffle Flower Crafts that provides

my Grinch Hand from Kat Scrappiness to sneak in - or is it out? hmmm. lol

The papers are some from Scrapbook.com's Merry collection.

You've given me the perfect chance to play with this guy again, Jaydee - thanks so much!

=] Michele

Doe, a deer, a female deer?

When I added this darling Vintage Reindeer to my HoneyBee shopping cart I was certainly thinking about Bambi - he is just as adorable!  But when I cut the layers, using Tracey's combo at Color Hues #123 in mind, and decorated those antlers it sure did make me think it was a doe!  Someone once mentioned that female deer can have antlers - it appears uncommon in the Whitetail family of deer, but both male and female REINDEER have antlers to 'root' for food in winter!  Well since it is a Christmas card, today SHE will be the cutest Reindeer of all...

Pink ornaments and background space, green Betterpress-ed pine.

all topped with another BP'd sentiment, and my card was done!

Of course she has a male counterpart...

He's all ready to be hooked up to Santa's sleigh! hey, why not

bring a red nose to the table?? Back to the drawing board!

Pinkfresh Studio Diagonal Stitched Plaid cover plate - Penny Black Plaited frames.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend planned that might just include a bit of card-making or perhaps Christmas cookie baking?  That last part would make my counterpart very happy!

=] Michele

The Paper Players #766 - Tic Tac Toe

Claire has a really fun Tic Tac Toe board for us to play with for The Paper Players challenge #766! 

Though I started out choosing the left column: white, Christmas, and die cuts

I think you'll catch a bit of sparkle and a quite 'vintage' looking panel of patterned

paper tucked into a thank you from HoneyBee Stamps - thanks for the Free Bee, Melissa!

This lovely HoneyBee Lovely Layers: Dove is delivering a tag for

perhaps a special gift left under someone's tree? along with a Betterpress-ed

sentiment with the best gifts of all...

I'd love to live in this little village - wouldn't you?  Did you catch

that Subtle Embossing here?  It gives it an extra bit of vintage IMHO.

That's it from me this week - thanks for your visits!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #109

Well, my friends, if you haven't completed your Christmas cards by now this could be your wakeup call! lol 

The Flower Challenge's December challenge is always about those lovely Christmas blooms - and that always comes down to Poinsettias for me - by now you know how much I love them.  Nothing new in my stash but I often go to this lovely, layered Poinsettia die set from HoneyBee - always fresh, and beautiful!

I've cut the layers from creamy white and added a few neutral

die-cut leaves and branches from several HoneyBee and Spellbinders' sets.

That gorgeous woodgrain is Simon Hurley for Spellbinder: Bark.

A platinum heat-embossed sentiment from 

Pinkfresh Studios: Holiday Large Sentiments completes my design.

Now for some sad news.  December is our final month for The Flower Challenge. Please know that this wasn't an easy decision to make.  Don't even think we haven't loved every moment/card/team member and lovely floral card you have all shared with us over the years!  Beyond that, I cannot thank YOU ALL enough for the love and support you've given me personally in your kind comments!

We'll each have one more reminder card for you on the 15th.  Until then, I look forward to all the cards I just know you all will add to our gallery this month!  Let's go out with a bang, shall we?

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #715

Hello again, my friends!  BIG news: We have TWO new designers and we're so excited to welcome Donna Mikasa and Michelle Langley to our FMS family!  welcome, ladies! 

A fresh and fun new Freshly Made Sketch to play with!  Karren has a dandy for us ...

Do you agree it's just tricky enough to make us think a little?

Well, here's where my thoughts took me...

I know I have a few friends who live in warmer climates where

sand dollars may be found more often than snowflakes!

Besides, I just could not resist this gorgeous paper from HoneyBee's Vitamin Sea collection.  My little Gina Marie Designs Sand Dollar brings me back to my very first meeting with my friend Marcia at a craft show - the rest is history, right, my friend?

Here is her closeup where you might see the snowflake embellishments,

and the PTI's Elegant Edges: Snowflakes, a big die cut snowflake from

HoneyBee and one more of those Betterpress-ed sentiments.

I look forward to seeing how YOU interpret Karren's Sketch soon -

you have until Monday, December 8th at 3:00PM EST!

=] Michele

Color Hues #123

I'm still so upset that I missed the last challenge at Color Hues, I thought I'd make up for it today... it's been some time since I've made 'second helpings!'  'Tis the season for it, I think!

Tracey has a lovely color combo for us this month - and they've given us a WHOLE MONTH to play with challenge #123!  

 

Another of the goodies from The Greetery shipment to share - their gorgeous Capsule Christmas Gallery Prints... though those berries might be more 'berry' colored than pink, I couldn't resist this vintage beauty framed in eucalyptus green and tied with a gold bow...

I couldn't help but send that oval through my Subtle Texture EF from SU!

The layers are: Capsule Basics Small Scallop, Capsule Filigree border, the berry branch cutout, and to top it all off a gold hanger and bow cut from vintage gold foil using the 

wonderful freebie enclosed in my order shown below:

My 'seconds' were so simple I should make 'thirds!'

A beautiful Betterpress: Season's Greetings Evergreens from Spellbinder

using PF Ballet Slipper and Altenew's Sweet Leaf, and Just Green inks.

This just makes my CAS-loving heart happy!

=] Michele