Grateful for... Everyday Goodness (two cards, one sketch)

Today I am playing along with Freshly Made Sketches. I love to see the sketches and what the talented artists will create. I finally had some time to play along. I was able to create two cards, because I just had to see if my ideas would turn out like I visioned.

This first card uses some Documented papers and a section of one of the Picture My Life cards in the collection. If you look closely you will see a new watercolor impressions stamp in the background, a new stitching stamp, and a little zip strip from a new paper collection releasing in September.

I also had to create a fall themed card, because I liked one of the design team member, Amy O'Neill's card so much. (Please visit the FMS blog to see all the designers cards!) These fall papers and chipboard leaf complement come from a new collection in the Holiday Expressions Idea Book available in just 1 week! Again I used that watercolor impressions stamp to add some texture in the background and just a bit of thread. On the inside of the card is a little, tiny "you".

I hope you will check out the Freshly Made Sketches blog and be sure to come back here soon. I will have more updates on that new book and have lots of projects to share using the new products!

Stuck on You!

I'm stuck on craft challenges lately. They help to launch my creativity with an idea or a sketch. This card is the result of 2 challenges this week. The first is a sketch challenge found on Freshly Made Sketches. It's pretty straight forward resulting in a clean and easy card. The other challenge comes from Heart 2 Heart Challenges which is a stitching theme. I chose to go faux!

I love the bright whimsical colors of the Prickly Pear papers, but I wanted to create more authentic looking cactus. For this I reached for an older stamp set called, Stuck on You. This is one of those sets that came with coordinating Thin Cuts making it all too easy. The more difficult part is coloring in the cactus, however I find this to be relaxing. The faux stitching is made by using some wavy Lawn Fawn Die Cuts.

Pretty clean, simple and cute! Be sure to check out these blogs for some challenges and inspiration!

RAWR!! = Party!!

A crazy little monster wants to wish you a Happy Birthday with a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches Blog! This card combines patterned paper, Picture My Life card and some cool Cricut cut designs. It all comes together for a colorful, fun card perfect for any little wild one celebrating a special day!

Freshly Made Beach

It has been a long time since I have played along with a sketch challenge. This was a fun one though and a great opportunity to use a new stamp set! I used the sketch for this week on Freshly Made Sketches along with the No Worries papers and cardmaking stamp set. What is great about this stamp set is that it has coordinating Thin Cuts to make all of your images perfectly cut and stamped!

Ah! No worries at all! Don't you just want to go hang out and relax at the beach now? Toes in the sand, cold drink in your hand!

Oh Hello!

With only 2 days until the newest Annual Inspiration book release, this card is a little sneaky! A sneak peek that is! Feast you eyes on some new items coming very, very soon as I play along with the sketch on Freshly Made Sketches this week!

I can't tell you about all the new stuff yet, but get ready for some crafty goodness coming to my updated website on Monday morning. Log on at www.amysart.closetomyheart.com

Hello with Feathers and Wood Grain

The sketch on Freshly Made Sketches is very clean and simple this week. I immediately saw a space on this card to use some leftover Charlotte feather stickers I had in my stash. I also wanted to add some wood grain texture for interest. It all came together in a very trendy, beautiful card.

Enjoy the Ride {in a cute two-toned van!}

Today I have a card using the stamp of the month and the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. I just can't get enough of this stamp set. I have done some random stamping in colors, but fell in love with just the gray tones. A neutral background really let my two-toned van stand out on this card. I used some fun star paper from Magical and some yellow twine looks like the lines on the road.

I used some liquid glass on the blue portion of the van to make it look like a nice new paint job!

Get The Long Way Home stamp of the month before the end of June. You can order online here.

Calypso Popsicle

Today I am playing along with the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. The side layers in this sketch were just calling for the fun colors and patterns of Calypso papers. Adding a popsicle with sprinkles as the focus made it extra yummy! What says summer more than that!

 Where is this cute popsicle from? It is actually one of the stickers included in the Calypso Complements. It doesn't get more simple than splashing a few stamps on the background and popping a popsicle in the center! Whether it's ice cream or fabulous scrapbooking products..."too much of a good thing can be {and is} wonderful".

Order the Calypso collection of papers and complements online today!

Best Pop Ever!

Today I am playing along with Freshly Made Sketches. I am already preparing for Father's Day which will be here before we know it! I don't normally have many masculine cards in my stock, so this was a start to creating a few cards for use in the near future. I used the new Day for Dad stamp set that is available in the latest Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book. I love the images and quirky sentiments on this stamp.

On this sketch I used some Magical papers and popped the super cute bottle image in the center focus of my card. I did a little fussy cutting and stamping on the bottle to get the final look I wanted. I also found that if I placed my cardstock in the right spot of the confetti embossing folder, it would look just like the sparkling fizz in a soda bottle.

You can find this stamp set and all the new papers online or in the newest Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book.

Beyond Awesome!

In the new Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book you will find some very cool stamp sets. One in particular is Beyond Awesome! I love the sentiments in this set. They will be perfect for all sorts of occasions. Here is a card I made for the Freshly Made Sketches using this stamp set with some new Magical paper and complements.

See more of these brand new products in the SE2 Idea Book. You can click on the image of the book in the right side column to view online.

Make a Splash!

This little crab is making a splash on the Freshly Make Sketches Blog and the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Blog this week. I have used the adorable crab from the Beach Days stamp set (D1684) for the sketch on FMS this week and used the colors for the color challenge on H2H. The colors were black, white and red so Mr. Crab was just perfect for the color scheme as were the La Vie En Rose papers. I liked that the sketch was pretty open for playing with images in the space at the upper left side of the card. I also liked the little piece of chevron paper to fill in that little peek-a-boo space in the sketch.

Be sure to check out the FMS and H2H blogs for more information! Have a fun weekend!

Plant a Kiss

I kept this card clean and simple for the Freshly Made Sketches this week. Using their sketch I layered some of the new cactus stamps with some older papers to be the focus of the card. Lately I've been cutting out the Thin Cuts cactus, stamping it, then using watercolors to fill them in. This time I simply cut them out on Juniper cardstock and stamped in the same ink. Done!

Be sure to check out the Seasonal Expressions Idea Book to see all of the brand new Thin Cuts!

Hooray, It's Your Day!

My card today was made for the Freshly Made Sketches Blog. The cute octopus can be found in the newest Seasonal Expression Idea Book along with the Regatta paper collection. The stamp is called Beach Days. (D1684) The beauty of this stamp is that you can cut the shape out on your Artistry Cricut, then all you do is stamp! The balloons and the "Hooray" sentiment are from some older stamp sets, however the "It's Your Day!" is from a brand new stamp that will be available this Monday! Stay tuned for that!

Thanks for stopping by!

Charlotte; My Type of Friend

I've been sharing information about the Charlotte Workshops Your Way all week. With this kit you will use several materials including the zip strips. I love that nothing goes to waste!

So this week for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge I reached for some more leftover zip strips to create my card. I also pulled out an older stamp set that just needed some more love!

 You can see just how awesome that zip strip is and the design of it really brings your eye to that cute sentiment. A little bit of water color and paint splatters makes the vintage typewriter stand out!

Giving Peace

Today I am sharing a card made especially for a little girl in New York. The story has been on the news and throughout Social Media about Safyre, an 8 year old girl that lost her dad and 3 other siblings in a house fire in 2013. Her wish is to receive cards from around the world this Christmas. Happy to help, I used some inspiration from the Freshly Made Sketches and the lovely White Pines PML cards.

I added the PML card with just the simple word of 'Peace' to some gold glitter scalloped paper and some topiary green fundamental papers. I dressed up the PML card just a bit by stamping some leaves & sprigs and adhering a pinecone White Pines badge button. A beautiful card, with a simple message, to a sweet little girl.

 

Holiday Cheer my Deer

Today I created a card for both Freshly Made Sketches and the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Blog. I have been slightly obsessed with the deer head decor that's trending everywhere lately! I've used the sketch on FMS in which the deer nicely dressed up the tag portion of the card. I also incorporated the White Pines paper and stamps which is part of the "Holiday Expressions Product" challenge on H2H!

Grateful for ... you.

I pulled out some Sangria paper and decided to make a Fall/gratitude inspired card for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week.

I love the pop of gold glitter paper and those delicately cut leaves from the Artistry cartridge!

Nightmare Before Christmas?

Today I am sharing two versions of this week's Freshly Made Sketch! I feel like I didn't create enough Halloween cards this year, so I wanted to make just one more fun skull card. After seeing all the wonderful inspiration from the design team, I wanted to create a Christmas card too. Aren't you so lucky to get two versions, one to use now for Halloween and another to use later for the Holidays!

Yummy, Yummy! Look at those colorful skulls and that awesome Cricut cut sentiment from the Artistry cartridge.

What a happy and festive snowman, looking so dapper in his top hat and scarf!

Be sure to check out Freshly Made Sketches for more inspiration or to play along!

White Pines; Warm Coffee

It's never too soon to think of Christmas card ideas! I used the sketch this week on Freshly Made Sketches and the new White Pines paper to create this fun coffee card. Warm Wishes of seasonal coffee is what I think of on a chilly Christmas day! The White Pines paper complimented the coffee cup stamp perfectly!

Grateful for FMS

Ugh! What a busy week I had last week! I am glad, or should I say grateful, to finally get to relax and even make a little time for crafting. Freshly Made Sketches is always a great inspiration for jumping right back into my creativity. The sketch this week was simple with a block pattern allowing me to play with several colors and patterns of the Sangria paper collection. I love what an elegant, yet fun collection Sangria is. I also love how well it lends itself to some gold glitter, because Fall screams gold glitter!