Floral for Freshly Made Sketches

Hello All!

We have a new sketch up from Amy; a great basic sketch with lots of room to play!

I wanted to use this beautiful Impression Obsession flower, Just Rosy; it was the perfect size to nest in the Impression Obsession Tea Cocoa die. The sentiment is apparently discontinued as I am not finding it on the website.   I am linking up to Impression Obsession's current challenge, 'Pour One On'.   Enabler Alert!!!  Impression Obsession has a sale right now, 25% off their entire site!  They have an amazing selection of stamps and dies!  The flower and cup combo was a perfect element for the circle on the sketch~

My colors are from Just Us Girls~

I got out my Arteza Real Brush Pens to color my Just Rosy floral that was stamped on  Canson Watercolor Paper in Memento Desert Sand Ink,  and then fussy cut the flower out.  The Tea Cocoa cup was die cut on white paper and watercolored with a mix of green and blue colors.
The background was done with the same Arteza Brush Pens; I scribbled some color onto a craft mat and then picked it up with a large wet watercolor brush and brushed it on the background.  I let it dry and then repeated with a different color.  Lastly, I splattered the background with watered down black acrylic paint.
 I'm also linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, 'Anything Goes'.
That's it for me.  Stop by the blog and check out the amazing inspiration from the rest of the team!

Lee Ann  

Two from the Flock

Hello, Hello! 

Being home and getting caught up on some things is also bringing some of the MOJO back.  And I for one am thrilled about that! 
Today I have two cards to share using the adorable Sweet Little Lamb Set from Sweet n Sassy Stamps.  I am playing along in Darnell's fun and creative challenge, Twofer; this month the challenge is Spring Animals. 

I have created two cards, using the same stamps, with two different themes and two different layouts. 

For the first card, I started with a sketch for inspiration.  I used one of the 3 that Julee at MOJO Monday has up for a few weeks.  My two background panels started out as 1 piece of Bristol cs and was sponged with Distress Oxide Inks.  I used Bueprint Sketch, Broken China and Ripe Persimmon.  The panel was then cut in half and adhered to a kraft cs layer.  The sentiment was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black ink and heat embossed with clear ep. 
The lamb image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with both Prismacolor Pencils (blue and orange areas) and Copics (face, hands, and feet).  I used the Prismas for some texture to the wool.  A Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen was used for highlights and a Studio Katia Crystal Clear Sequin was used for the flower center.  Wink of Stella was added to the blue wool.
I popped the lamb up with dimensional adhesive onto a stenciled panel.  a small grassy die cut and sprig of leaves was added to finish it off.
My colors came from Color Throwdown~

The second card uses the same lamb, colored with Copic markers~

The background was started by painting a large rainbow on Canson mixed media paper using my beloved Ken Oliver Color Bursts.  I then cut it out.  The background panel was done on watercolor paper and received a wash of turquoise and green Color Bursts.  
After determining my placement of things, I glued the rainbow onto the watercolored background and die cut a stitched rectangle panel from it.  The sentiment was then stamped in Versafine Onyx Black ink.
 I watercolored another panel of watercolor paper in green Color Bursts and then die cut 3 strips of 'grass' from them.  Everything was adhered to the card, adding some dimension to the lamb and top layer of grass by adding some scrap pieces of paper behind them. Wink of Stella was added to the Lamb's wool. 
A few of the Studio Katia Crystal Clear Sequins to the flower center and rainbow finish this off. 
Note- Just as I was finishing coloring and detailing the lamb, I messed up the face; the face was fussy cut out and a newly colored face was glued behind the image, which gives the face a lot of depth.

I am linking this card up to Inspirational.  

Also linking up to Festive Friday for their Unicorn Challenge~

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you are enjoying your time with family while you stay home!

Lee Ann 

Freshly Made Sketches #427

Hello, Hello!

 If you are looking for the Sweet n Sassy Stamps March Blog Hop, go HERE.

Regardless of things going on around the globe, we continue to come together in the stamping community.  I am grateful to have this online connection.  And I am grateful for all of the challenges that continue, just as Freshly Made Sketches does!  We have a wonderful new sketch today from Narelle.  Who can match Narelle's stunning floral creations!?!

Here is your sketch~

I opted to color up some succulents from SnSS Succulents Stamp Set.  I did some simple coloring with Copics and fussy cut the succulents out.  Finishing the card was more difficult than it should have been until I landed upon this monoprint made with acrylic paint and my Gel Press gel plate.
The sweet little sentiment is from SnSS  Love Wordfetti Stamp Set.
Check out the rest of the team's inspiration and then I hope you can join us!

Lee Ann 

Sweet n Sassy Stamps March Blog Hop

Hello, Hello!

Welcome to the Sweet n Sassy Stamps March Blog Hop!  What a fabulous release!  Follow along with us and leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win a $10 gift code to the Sweet n Sassy Stamps store.  Deadline to comment is 10pm et March 24th.

The Rustic Easter Stamp Set is just amazing!  I love the two styles of crosses.

I colored this cross with Copics, added details with Prismacolor Pencils, then fussy cut it out.
This Altenew Mid Century Frame Die had just arrived in the mail and was perfect to use as a background for my cross.  I sponged some yellow ink onto my white cs and then ran the paper and die through the Big Shot.  I left the die cut in and only removed the small arcs around the circle.  I splattered a bit of water on the yellow to distress.
The sentiment was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black Ink and then the whole die cut panel was popped up on dimensional tape and the cross adhered to the card.

I love the lilies in this set as they can be used for non-Easter cards as well.  I have been making encouraging cards to send to friends and family during this unsettling time and the lilies from the Rustic Easter Stamp Set were perfect to frame my sentiment.  The sentiment is from the Choose Faith Stamp Set.
I stamped the word 'Faith' in the center of my cs panel and then stamped the lilies twice.  I used Copics in yellow, green and teal to create a mottled background.  The word Faith was colored the BG Copics in an ombre fashion.  I finished off coloring the lilies and then stamped the rest of the sentiment- 'knows no fear'- in Versafine Onyx Black Ink and heat embossed it with clear ep.
I used a piece of 4.25 x 5.5 yellow cardstock and stamped the silhouette word, Faith, in versamark ink across the entire panel. My MISTI helped to keep things straight.  This was adhered to a white card base.  The image panel was die cut with a scalloped rectangle die.  The image panel was adhered to the yellow panel and the scalloped frame was popped up on dimensional tape.  White gel pen was used for the flower centers and sequins were added.

Here is your hop list~

Sweet n Sassy Stamps Blog
Julee Tilman
Ceal Pritchett
Diane Zechman
Esther Asbury
Jane Bosi
Karen Decknick
Lee Ann Barrett- You are here
Lucinde van Ballegooijen
Lyn Tomlin
Sheri Gilson

Enjoy the Hop! 

Lee Ann  

No Coloring Succulents

Hello All! 

Sorry to have been a bit MIA; not even sure why- just LIFE!  And a lack of MOJO.  But, I am starting to get a bit of mojo back and I made this succulent wreath with the Succulents Stamp Set from Sweet n Sassy Stamps and the Gina K Wreath Builder Template.

Coloring is my thing, so I tend to avoid silhouette, or solid, stamps.  I was determined to use one from this set- yes, I challenged myself.  I stamped the succulent image using my MISTI and the wreath builder template in a variety of colors- SU Soft Sky, Lawn Fawn Guava, Altenew Frayed Leaf, and Lawn Fawn Sage Leaf.  The wreath was then fussy cut out. 
Using a Large Frame Die.  I stamped the frame in light grey using the Wood Background Stamp Set to give it a weathered wood look.  I stamped the same wood stamp on a medium grey panel in darker grey ink. 
The sentiments are from the Sentimental Mash Up Stamp Set.  'Hugs' is stamped in Versafine Black Ink and heat embossed with clear ep directly on the card panel.  'To you' is stamped in Versamark on dark grey cs and heat embossed in white ep. 
The whole wreath was spritzed with Technique Junkies Irridescent Shimmering Bliss Spray, dried and then popped up on dimensional tape.  The 'to you' sentiment strip was glued to the wreath and a few sequins were added to finish it off. 
I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge- Add Some Green,
As well as the Inspired By Challenge.  I was inspired by the soft greens and greys as well as the wreath.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann  

Freshly Made Sketches #426

Hello and Happy Wednesday to you!

Karren is our hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches and she has a wonderful sketch for us.

So I took some liberties with this week's sketch, including turning it~

The image is from Pinkfresh Studio.  I stamped it in light colored Memento ink on Yupo paper using my MISTI.  I then started adding alcohol inks- first Honeycomb, then several different pinks.  I used alcohol as well and blew the ink around until I was happy with it.  Once I started adding the alcohol ink, the stamped image disappeared but I just used it for purposes of dropping in the ink initially.  At this point I was not planning on fussy cutting the image.
I added a bit of Jacquard Pinata gold alcohol ink as well and then let it dry. There were still some tacky areas, so I rubbed gold foil on the areas.  Lastly, I put it back in the MISTI, stamped it in Versafine Black ink and then heat embossed it with clear dp.
Overall, the look was just too busy, so this is where I decided to fussy cut the image out.
Using a Prima stencil, I added some white embossing paste to the card base, approximately where the circle on the sketch is as well as the narrow dark label type element.
Next came a strip of black cs and then the image itself, popped up on dimensional adhesive.
The sentiment is from SSS and is heat embossed on white cs.  I added a bit of gold threat behind it as well as 3 gold sequins in triangle fashion.
This card is for a dear friend, who is also my boss and lead nurse where I work.  She is leaving for greener pastures as a nurse practitioner.  I am happy for her, sad for me.  I certainly do treasure our friendship.
I am linking up to The Flower Challenge- 'anything goes'.   

Check out the blog for lots of amazing inspiration from the rest of the team! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann 

Monochromatic Green

Hello All!

Today's card is in-your-face-green!

The background was done by stamping various images from the Scribble Flowers Stamp Set in Versamark ink and then heat embossing in gold.  You may think I started with a white piece of paper, but I did not; I started with green- the green that you see in the center of the card is the cardstock color.
Next, I created an ombre effect by sponging the cardstock a couple of different shades of green, the darkest being around the edge of the card.
The sentiment is from the Grace So Amazing Stamp Set.  It was heat embossed on vellum.  The large die cut was one I found in my stash.  I cannot for the life of me figure out what die I used for this- I sure could not find anything remotely close to this.

I am linking up to The Rainbow Card Challenge~

In addition, I am linking up to Double D Challenge~

As well as Just Us Girls~

As the popular Christian song, By His Wounds, says, 'By His wounds we are healed'.

One thinks of St Pat's Day when they think green, but I am not a huge fan of St Pat's so I went with the green of renewal and rebirth.

That's it for me!  Have a blessed week, all!
Lee Ann