Merry Wreath

Hello All!

Well, the big day is almost here; this is my last Christmas card for this season and last post until after Christmas.

I have really been enjoying the oversized floral images, like the Poinsettia Greetings from Sweet n Sassy Stamps.  I decided to get creative with several sets to make this oversized wreath.  I was inspired by the challenge at Inspired By.

I started with mimicking the wood bowl by stamping a wood grain background with the Wood Backgrounds Stamp Set.  Instead of blue pine cones, I stamped the branch from Christmas Pine Stamp Set in two shades of blue multiple times.  I used a roll of blue tape for my circle size.  I also used one of the pine cone images from the set, added color with Copics and then, GASP, used glitter on the snowy areas.  Yep, 3rd time this season I have used glitter.  Mark it down on the calendar, lol!
I added white berries, or if you prefer, baubles to the wreath; I used the Lots a Spots Stamp Set for these.  I colored them with Copics, fussy cut them out and them coated them with glitter.
The sentiment is from that fantastic set, Poinsettia Greetings.

 Enabler Alert!  The entire Sweet n Sassy store is 20% now through December 31st!

I am also linking up to The Mod Squad Challenge for their Christmas/Winter Challenge and Cupcake Inspirations for their theme challenge, 'Holidays'.

Lastly, I am linking up to Winter Wonderland Challenge for the end of the year 'Anything Goes' Challenge.

And last, but most important of all, Have a very

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!  

Luke 2:11 Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.

Lee Ann

Penguin Cuteness!

We all have that favorite card of a new release or of a new order we have just played with.  Well, this is my favorite card from the December Sweet n Sassy Stamps Release.  I just adore this happy go lucky penguin! 

This sweet penguin is part of the Winter Hugs Stamp set.  I used pointillism to color him, trying to give him the fluffy baby penguin look. 
My background was a discarded piece from another project and I love how it works with this happy guy.  I used the Folk Art Snowflake Stamp Set and did the Wrinkle Free Distress technique using Coloringz paints in red and pink from Shimmerz Paints.  The snowflakes were first embossed with white ep and then the background was pressed into the colors that was spritzed onto a craft mat.  I dried in between layers.  Lastly, I splattered the background with Shimmerz Angel Wings.
I am linking this cutie up to The Mod Squad Challenge for their Christmas/Winter Challenge as well as the Mix It Up Challenge, Anything Goes.

Freshly Made Sketches- the Last Sketch of 2019!

Hello All! 
Can you believe we are already talking about 2020???  I am not sure where the year went; they somehow seem to be flying by at a faster and faster rate each year. 
Our last sketch of the year is from Amy.  Amy has added skewed panels to her sketch and they just about put me on tilt!  I like everything even and lined up, so skewed panels have always been something I avoided.  But a challenge is a challenge and I did it!

 Here is your sketch for the next 3 weeks~

I made this very easy on myself as I pulled out a gel print I had made over the summer and a watercolored image I made, oh, sometime around last Valentine's Day! 
The image is from Honey Bee Stamps.  It is stamped on watercolor paper and colored with my well loved Ken Oliver Color Bursts.   The Color Bursts are currently 48% off of list price at Dick Blick; this is the cheapest I have ever seen them.  I am not sure of the colors I used anymore, as I did this almost a year ago.  I keep my Powders in a palette like this one.  You don't need tons of powder in the pans as the powder is very concentrated. 
The background was done on a gel press plate, using Shimmerz Well Blue Me Down Coloringz and Vibez Jeni B Blue.  I also used a Tim Holtz Stencil.
Well, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here as it is currently snowing, with about 5 inches already on the ground.  We hope you find time during this busy holiday season to take time for yourself and play along with us at Freshly Made Sketches!  Maybe you can share some of your new Christmas goodies! 

Lee Ann 

December Blog Hop with Sweet n Sassy Stamps

Hello All!

It is time to take a closer look at the wonderful stamps released by Sweet n Sassy Stamps this month.  Check out all of the inspiration and leave a comment at each blog along the way for a chance to win a $10 gift voucher to the snss store!
This release is all about cuteness overload, at least with this adorable stamp set, Winter Hugs!

I cannot get enough of these cute cold weather friends!  For this card, I created a scene, complete with Northern lights and snowy peaks.  The mountains are from the Landscape Silhouettes Stamp Set.  I added snow to them with a white gel pen and some white acrylic paint
This next card was super fun to make.  I used two stamps, and did some masking.

I cannot get over how cute these guys are, especially the joyful one at the top.  I used my MISTI and some post it notes to create my crowd of penguin friends. Once stamped, I fussy cut them out and popped them up on dimensional tape over some patterned paper.   My die cut sentiment was cut out in white cardstock, covered with ScoreTape and then burnished with Dazzling Details glitter.
And yes, that is glitter that I have used twice this season.  The world must be ending, lol!
I am sneaking in under the wire to the Time Out Challenge, 'Merry and Cheerful'.  

The last day to comment on blogs for a chance to win is Dec. 22 at  10pm et.  

Enjoy the hop!  

Sweet n Sassy Stamps Blog

Julie Tilman

Ceal Pritchett

Jane Bosi

Lee Ann Barrett- you are here!

Lucinde van Ballegooijen

Lyn Tomlin

Sheri Gilson

CAS(E) This Sketch and a Snowflake

Hello All!

There is till snow on the ground and I am still playing, lol!  It has really been nice to have 2 unexpected days off.  I really wanted to try the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and I wanted to play with a new Impression Obsession Die and play in their challenge as well.

As you can see, I was kind of done with the whole photograph thing today, lol.  Winter lighting just plain stinks.  Even with snow on the ground.  So, my card looks like it is on a hill, lol.
EDIT- It is Saturday and we finally have some sun.  I took another picture- not sure if it is any better, lol.  This just happens to be one of those difficult to photograph cards, I guess.

Impression Obsession has a great challenge this week, It's Snow Time~

I was shopping for snowflake dies and found this beauty at Impression Obsession.  It is called Large Snowflake.  Now I am not one for intricate dies, but- this one really caught my eye and it was a must have.  I do not have a fancy cutting machine, so I did have to use a metal shim with my Big Shot to cut through all of the intricate bits and pieces.
I decided I wanted a watercolored snowflake, so cut it out in watercolor paper.  I used my beloved Ken Oliver Color Burst Water Colors to add various purples to the outer most layer and inner most layer.
I used the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch~

My curved panel was cut from a gel print that I made some time ago.  I used acrylic paints and a Tim Holtz stencil, Flourish.
The sentiment is one of my faves- I just love the font for this sentiment.  It is Impression Obsession's Peace.
Thanks for stopping by; see you tomorrow!

Lee Ann 

Winter Scene

Hello and Happy Tuesday! 

I am finding time to do crafty things as we are on our second snow day here in St Louis. 
This snow scene was inspired by a Pinterest photo.  It can be a Christmas card, but would work for a general wintry greeting card as well, especially if done in different colors. 

I started with the tree line image from the Thrill of Hope Stamp Set and placed it in my MISTI, allowing me to get perfect placement and even ink coverage. I did second generation stamping with my red ink. 
The pair of trees was next and again I used the MISTI, allowing me to get even coverage of red ink. 
Next up, snowflakes, from both the Thrill of Hope Stamp Set and Snow Much Fun Stamp Sets.  They were stamped in Slate Grey. 
Lastly, I stamped the deer from the Thrill of Hope Stamp Set in Versafine Black ink.  The MISTI allowed me to stamp several times, getting complete coverage. 
I used the sketch from Sunday Stamps- love this versatile sketch.  I was inspired by Korin Sutherland to use patterned paper and layers- something I do not do much of anymore. 

The sentiment strip uses sentiments from the Christmas Wordfetti Stamp Set and is heat embossed in silver. 

Here is my inspiration photo~

That's it for today; I will see you back tomorrow for a new FMS sketch and a SNSS new release blog hop! 
Lee Ann

CAS Freshly Made Sketches

Hello and Welcome back to another Wednesday sketch from FMS!
We have a great sketch from Narelle today- make it as CAS or as detailed as you want it.

I  chose to use images for the vertical elements versus strips of paper and went CAS.

The poppies are from the timeless Sweet n Sassy Stamps set, Precious Poppies.  I was really trying for a soft, airy look, so I tried some no line coloring.  I stamped with InkOn3's Fade Out Ink, then colored with lighter shades of Copics (contrary to what I normally do!).  To add some depth and definition to the poppies, I used Prismacolor pencils for additional shading and details. And get this guys;  the set of 72 pencils is currently 78% off of list price at Dick Blick!  That is one heck of a price!  I am getting myself a second set!  And shipping is free with purchase of $35 or more!
 Lastly, the flower center was detailed with a Sakura Pigma Micron Pen.  The sentiment is from this month's Stamp of the Month, Sympathy Morning Glories.
See what the rest of my talented team mates have for you on the FMS blog, then join us and create with this great sketch!
I am linking up to the challenge over at Color Throwdown~

Lee Ann 

Good Morning, Glory!

Hello! 

When my son was young, I would wake him up in the morning and often say to him, "Good Morning, Glory"!  So when I started this post about Morning Glories, that old memory popped into my mind. 
Today, Morning Glories are in the form of the newest stamp of the month from Sweet n Sassy Stamps, Sympathy Morning Glories. 

I love the size of this stamp; large enough to stand on its own, small enough to stamp off the edge as I did here, creating a frame around the card. 
Using my MISTI, I stamped the flower image with Versafine Black Ink onto Arches Water Color Paper.  I then rotated the panel 180 degrees and stamped it again.  To do the remaining two corners, I needed to repostion the stamp, and then repeated the process. 
Once stamped, I watercolored the image with a combination of Daniel Smith Watercolors and Kuretake Gansai Tambi Water Colors. 
When the painting was dry, I die cut the panel with a SugarPea Designs Zig Zag Stitched Rectangle Die.  Some Wink of Stella was added to the flower centers and sequins added.

If you are doing some snss shopping, remember, this Stamp of the Month is FREE with a $75 purchase. To sweeten the deal, Korin at snss offers FREE shipping with your $75 purchase. 
That's it for me!  Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann

Deer Crossing and FMS

Hello!
I'm working on simpler designs that I can mass produce for Christmas Thank Yous.  This gorgeous scene makes it easy!  It is the stamp, Deer Crossing from Impression Obsession.  I am linking up to their challenge, Holiday Wishes.
I used this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  It's a great sketch from our talented Karren.

 An elegant yet easy card!

 I used my MISTI to stamp the scene.  The MISTI allowed me to stamp more than once, getting great coverage. My gold edge was done by dragging my Versamark ink pad over the edge of a piece of cardstock and then embossing it in gold.
The sentiment is Peace Script, also from IO.

Won't you join are challenge this week?  We can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann 

Regal Colors with SNSS

Hello All and Happy December!

The first of the month always means a new challenge at The Rainbow Card Challenge.  This month it is all about a rainbow of colors, a regal rainbow, that is.

I have been working on some Christmas Thank You designs and this fabulous treeline stamp from Sweet n Sassy Stamps set, Thrill of Hope, made for a elegant yet CAS design.  

This was easy to do with the help of my MISTI.   I simply inked up a portion of the stamp, spritzed the stamp with water and then stamped onto watercolor paper.  I repeated this process, changing colors as I went along the length of the stamp.  The MISTI gave me perfect placement every time. 
I added a pretty thank you, from the So Thankful Stamp Set. 
If you love the idea of making monochromatic cards, The Rainbow Card Challenge is having a DT call!  Simply add 'DT' to your name when you play along in the challenge. 

Thanks for stopping by all and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann