Category Archives: By Theme – Christmas Cards

Freshly Made Sketches #501

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It was so good to see so many people play along with our fabulous challenge at Freshly Made Sketches last week. I hope you were one of the many winners who managed to snag one of our generous prizes! This week our sketch has been designed by the uber talented Kim Singdahlsen. Here’s her cool sketch:

I am on a roll with creating Christmas cards. Hard not to when I’ve received my new goodies from the Stampin’ Up! July – December 2021 Mini Catalogue.

The stamp set I’ve featured on my card is called the Frosted Gingerbread Stamp Set. I’ve stamped the baubles from this stamp set in Sahara Sand, Blackberry Bliss and Pool Party Inks. I fussy cut each of these baubles out and layered them on my card with Dimensionals.

The designer series paper I’ve used in the background is from the Tidings Of Christmas Designer Series Paper pack. I’ve added Blackberry Bliss Cardstock layers to make the baubles pop. The sentiment I’ve used is also from the Frosted Gingerbread Stamp Set as it fit the size of the sentiment panel in the sketch. Three Basic Rhinestones were added to each of the baubles because every Christmas card should have bling. 🙂

Here’s the card I created:

The team at Freshly Made Sketches have created wonderful cards using Kim’s sketch. Head over to Freshly Made Sketches and see what they’ve created.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle

Freshly Made Sketches #500

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Welcome to our sketch #500 celebration at Freshly Made Sketches!  This milestone sketch challenge has been designed by the amazing Linda Callahan. Linda is not only talented in card making but she creates fab sketches too!

Our crafting community is incredibly generous and we are so happy some of our favorite companies are helping us mark this milestone.  It is hard to believe that when Lesley started this challenge, we would still be going strong 10 years later.  And that, our friends, is because of YOU.  Our players inspire us week in and week out with your creative takes on our designs.  We are thrilled to be able to reward you with some fabulous prizes!  After you take in the team’s take on Linda’s sketch, you can find all the details below.  


Also, some of the team members are giving away their own prizes as part of the celebration.  Those will be listed on our personal blogs along with the details to win!  Please hop through our links to see our own thoughts on this celebration and to say hi!

My stamp set of choice is the Christmas Season Stamp Set. The pine cones have been cut out with the matching Seasonal Layers Dies. I’ve gone with a new-to-me colour combination for the stamping – Blackberry Bliss, Gray Granite and Evening Evergreen. Even though Blackberry Bliss is an unusual colour for pine cones, I think it works quite well. The base colour of the two-step stamping is stamped in Gray Granite Ink and the second part of the stamping is stamped with Blackberry Bliss Ink.

The leaves have been stamped in Evening Evergreen Ink. Even though there are matching dies, I have fussy cut the leaves out because I like a really fine line around the image.

My card base for once is not Basic White Cardstock! I have gone with Blackberry Bliss Cardstock, then a Gray Granite piece mats the Basic White Cardstock. On this Basic White Cardstock, I added a strip of subtle DSP. It’s from the Peaceful Place Designer Series Paper pack.

The sentiment that I added to my card is from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set. It was the perfect fit for the sketch and I didn’t want to overpower the pine cones with a large sentiment. Three Basic Rhinestones finished off my card.

Our winners of these prizes will be randomly chosen from those who join the gallery this week.  Once chosen, we will contact you via the information you give in the link tool and post here on the blog.  You will have 5 days to respond or we will choose a different recipient.  So make sure you come back next week to check!

We are so grateful to these amazing sponsors for their support and generosity!  

We have a few simple rules to keep things fun and fair for all of our players:

  • Please use any crafting product you would like to use.
  • Feel free to combine our challenge with up to THREE other challenges, except for another sketch challenge.
  • Please add a DIRECT link to your blog or other online gallery when adding your card to the link below.  If linking to a public gallery, use keyword FMS500.
  • Include our challenge sketch and a link back to Freshly Made Sketches on your post.
  • Have fun!

This challenge will end at 3:00 EDT time on Monday, August 30th.  On Tuesday, we will announce the winner of this week’s challenge who will be known as the “Queen or King of Clean”.  The team will choose other gallery favorites to be known as a “Perfect Princess or Prince”.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle

Just Add Ink #568

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The Just Add Ink team have a new challenge for you to play along with. This week is a sketch challenge. Take a look at this weeks sketch:

I flipped the sketch as it worked best for my layering. I’ve stamped up a star image from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set in Highland Heather Ink. I then cut the image out with the Christmas Trimmings Dies. I also cut the Smoky Slate, Basic White & Gorgeous Grape Cardstock stars. The sentiment I’ve added to my card is from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set. This was punched with the Label Me Fancy Punch.

I added White Bakers Twine bow and looped the ends around the cardstock. The background was given flicks of Smoky Slate Blends – this was flicked on to the cardstock with the nib of the blend in the lid – gently so that it didn’t ruin the tip.Three silver Metallic Pearls finished off the card.

The team at Just Add Ink have created awesome and all very different cards using the sketch. Head over to the challenge for inspiration and to link up your card. We would love it if you could play along.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle

Just Add Ink #562

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There’s a new challenge to play along with at Just Add Ink. This week is inspiration picture week. Take a look at the festive pic we have for you. You can either choose to go with Christmas or just use the colours to create your projects.

I went with a Christmas card. I seem to be on a roll with them at the moment.

The stamp set I’ve featured on my card is called Poinsettia Petals. The matching Poinsettia Dies make light work of this card. The images have been coloured with a mix of Real Real and Cherry Cobbler Blends. I coloured the leaves with the Soft Succulent Blends and the little stems of nuts with Soft Suede Blends.

I embossed the background piece of Crumb Cake Cardstock with the Tasteful Texture Embossing Folder and quickly roughed up the edges of it with my finger. I wanted to add some more interest to the card – because why not? – so I added some retired ribbon and stapled the end before pulling the ribbon end apart to give it a vintage-y kind of feel. Three Gold Metallic Pearls finished off the card.

The team at Just Add Ink have created wonderful cards that will inspire you. Head over to the challenge and see what they’ve created.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle

Freshly Made Sketches #493

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There’s a new sketch to play along with at Freshly Made Sketches. This week our sketch designer is the wonderfully talented Karren Johnson.

I’m continuing with Christmas cards for no other reason than the stamp set was still sitting on my desk from last week. I have just realised that I have used the same colours as the sketch! Didn’t even realise until I started writing this post.

The Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set and matching Christmas Trimmings Dies were used to create this card. The stars are stamps in Bermuda Bay and Smoky Slate Inks. The die cut star was made with the large star die and Rich Razzleberry Cardstock. I added some Bermuda Bay leafy die cuts to my cluster of stars. The sentiment I’ve added is from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set.

I added some detail to the background by brushing Pool Party Ink over the Basic Pattern Decorative Masks with the Blending Brush. Because I had a strip of Metallic Mesh Ribbon laying on my desk, I decided to add that too. Three Silver Metallic Pearls finished off the card.

The team at Freshly Made Sketches have created amazing cards with this weeks sketch. Make sure you pop over to the challenge and see what they’ve created.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle

Freshly Made Sketches #492

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We have a new sketch for you to play along with at Freshly Made Sketches and it’s a fabulous one, designed by Cecile Ribon!

I decided to flip the sketch as it worked best for my Gold Foil leaf die cut. This leaf has been cut the with the Artistic Dies. I wanted to use my Tidings and Trimmings Stamp Set again, so I combined the leaf with star and Christmas stocking images. They have been lightly coloured with the Soft Succulent Blends.

To tie in the Soft Succulent to the rest of the card, I matted an embossed piece of Basic White Cardstock with Soft Succulent Cardstock. The embossing folder I used is called the Tasteful Texture 3D Embossing Folder.

I added a light washed background behind the layered images by colouring some Basic White Cardstock with the Light Sea Foam Blend. The sentiment I added is also from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set. One Gold Metallic Pearl finished off the right amount of blingy-ness that I wanted.

The team at Freshly Made Sketches has created wonderful cards. Head over to Freshly Made Sketches and see what they’ve created.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle

Tidings & Trimmings

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I think it’s time to start on Christmas projects. I’ve been hanging to play with one of my new bundles – Tidings & Trimmings Bundle. In this bundle there’s a fabulous stamp set with various images and sentiments that really appealed to me.

There are so many dies in this bundle that layer really well together. There’s also a good mix of stars and leafy die cuts that, if I could, I would’ve tried to fit them all on this card.

To start this card I took a Blending Brush and Fresh Freesia Ink and added some colour to the background. I cut the various stars with Fresh Freesia and Smoky Slate Cardstock. I took a leafy die and cut a Smoky Slate leaf die cut.

I then stamped the stocking image from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set and inked it up with Black Memento Ink. I added some colour to the stocking with the Fresh Freesia Blends. I stamped the sentiment in Black Memento Ink and used a Layering Circles Die to cut it out.

I took three Silver Metallic Pearls and placed them on my card around the collection of images. To add a little something extra, I cut a piece of Metallic Mesh Ribbon and added it under the sentiment. It didn’t show up very well in the photo, but it’s there.

Pretty happy with myself that I’ve now made a start for the festive season!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle

Just Add Ink #533

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There’s a new challenge at Just Add Ink. This week our challenge for you is to:

The card I’m sharing has been created with a stamp set starting with the letter S – it’s called Snow Wonder. This set has wonderful vintage-y artwork that I adore. The snowman I’ve used as a focal point on my card has been given some colour with my Smoky Slate and Highland Heather Blends. The trees that I’ve added behind him are also from the Snow Wonder Stamp Set. These trees have been stamped on Whisper White Cardstock with Garden Green Ink. The sentiment that I have used is also from the Snow Wonder Stamp Set – this sentiment has been stamped in Black Memento Ink.

The Whisper White Cardstock in the background has been coloured with my Light Soft Sea Foam Blend to create a waterwashed effect. This has been layered over a piece of DSP from the Classic Christmas Designer Series Paper pack.

I added a Crumb Cake diecut and a special delivery image that I had lying on my desk. The image is from the Posted For You Stamp Set and the diecut is cut with my Snow Time Dies.

To finish off my card, I added three Metallic Pearls and some Gold Twine.

The thing I love about these challenges, is seeing how everyone’s take on these challenges, is so very different. To see what the team have created, pop over to Just Add Ink and take a look.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle

Freshly Made Sketches #463

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Welcome to my blog and the newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. Our sketch designer this week is the fabulously talented Amy O’Neill! Amy’s cards are always so recognisable and a real stand out, as are her sketches!

I love layers! I’ve added probs one or two too many, but I just couldn’t help myself – soz Amy! The die cut sentiment I’ve added is created with the Joy Dies. The word “Bright” is made from Cherry Cobbler Cardstock and I used a matching die and Whisper White Cardstock to create a base for it. The “Merry And” sentiments are from the matching stamp set to the dies is from the Peace and Joy Stamp Set. The sentiment has been layered over a Forever Gold Laser-Cut Specialty Paper diecut – these leafy diecuts give a perfect elegant touch to any card.

The strips of DSP I’ve added to my card are from the Classic Christmas 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper pack. To finish off my card I added some gold twine from the ForeverGreenery Trim Combo Pack.

The girls at Freshly Made Sketches have made wonderful cards using Amy’s sketch. Pop over to the challenge and see what they’ve created.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle

Freshly Made Sketches #462

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It’s time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. This week our sketch has been designed by me! I took inspiration for my sketch from the stickies icon on my computer.

I’m continuing to create Christmas cards as I don’t know how many more I need to make and also because I am loving the festive sets I have and want to get the most use out of them.

I had the Posted For You Bundle sitting on my desk so I’ve used the postage stamp image and the Rectangular Postage Stamp Punch to add some layers to my card. The sentiment on my card and bow I’ve added are from the Gift Wrapped Stamp Set. The leafy diecut has been cut with my Forever Flourishing Dies. I added a piece of Braided Linen Trim to match the Crumb Cake Cardstock under the leafy diecut. To add more texture, I embossed a piece of Whisper White Cardstock with my Subtle 3D Embossing Folder added it to my card base.

The team at Freshly Made Sketches have created gorgeous cards that make my sketch look good! Pop over to the challenge and see what they’ve created.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Narelle