Dance, Dance, Dance.....FMS201

The perfect birthday card for a soon to be three year old who just signed up for dance lessons this fall! Emma was helping my daughter answer the questions on the sign up sheet and was asked where she lived.  Her response: "I live in a party!" She sure does!  She can Shake it Off like Taylor Swift and loves to shout - "Hey Amma.....Watch me whip, watch me nae nae!"  Yes I had to google that on YouTube myself......it's not as bad as it sounds!

It's been quite the party at Freshly Made Sketches as well this past week! The gallery was fabulous and there are over 400 amazing inspirational cards there!  Our terrific sponsors handed out wonderful prizes!  Now we are headed for 300!

Our talented team member Narelle is known for her beautifully layered cards.  Her sketch this week gives us a chance to layer up! I used the set Talented Trio to create the dance studio look on my card! Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

                                              

A Fall Preview......PPA264

There's the slightest hint of fall in the air which inspired me to break out Hello Honey and Blackberry Bliss for this "slightest hint of fall" card.  The new set Lighthearted Leaves has images that work well for this time of year! I am a four seasons gal through and through and always look forward to a change in the seasons.  We went blueberry picking here the other day and walked back past the orchard checking out all the green apples......can't wait for those first crunchy Macs!

So while I wait for those Macs to ripen there is plenty of time to craft!  Hope you join us this week at Pals Paper Arts!

Celebrating 200! FMS200

 

Who knew turning 200 could be such fun?  200 sketches that is! Freshly Made Sketches is celebrating in a big way!  We have an amazing list of sponsors who have donated prizes to hand out to lucky members of our gallery! Design team members from many stamp companies have already posted to our gallery so there is lots of inspiration for you this week! I have been so fortunate to be part of this amazing design team since Lesley Croghan created it.....200 sketches ago!

Our sketch is wide open this week making it super easy for everyone to play along! I flipped it putting the bigger rectangle on top.  I used the new SU set Among the Branches and the sky line from Calling All Heroes.  The bats and sentiment are from last year's wonderful set Holiday Home.



                                               



I do hope you will join in the fun this week!  You just might win a prize from one of our terrific sponsors!  

And just in case you were wondering the "Girl Flower" did a great job at the wedding!

That was a mighty long walk across the veranda for a not yet three year old!

Stamp Review Crew: Awesomely Artistic

This stamp set has the best name because when you are not Awesomely Artistic - like me - just stamping with these images make you Awesomely Artistic right away! I used four of the stamps from this set stamping the leaves and flowers in Mint Macaron and the dragonfly in black on vellum.  I love the bit of green stripes from Pretty Petals DSP peeking through.  Some gold foil and new gold trim makes this card ready for one of your best friends!

Our Stamp Review Crew has come up with so many wonderful ways to use this set - enjoy the hop!

The amazing Wendy Weixler is up next - you will love what she creates!  If you are headed in the other direction you will be visiting our fabulous leader Tanya Boser!


 
                           


                The sweet sketch from Cas(e) This Sketch made my card come together perfectly!

                                                     
                                                       

Lots to Celebrate! FMS199

An on line friend left a comment on one of my posts recently saying that she liked how my cards reflect what's going on in my life.  I thought about her comment when I finished my card for today.  It is a bit busy and that is just how my life is these days!  

We will be celebrating at a wedding this weekend and Miss Emma is so excited to be the flower girl.......or as she says, "I'm the girl flower!"  She has been practicing but who knows what will happen on the wedding day!  In the meantime that girl flower had her first pedicure and she loved it!  Hope she doesn't stop to show everyone her new "toe paint" on the way down the aisle......

Karren Johnson my talented friend from the other hemisphere outlined a terrific sketch with lots of room for your own interpretation! I used a sentiment from Fabulous Four and balloons from a recent Paper Pumpkin kit on my card today. Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

                 

And don't forget we will be celebrating our 200th sketch next week!  It is going to be fabulous!

Thoughts of You......PPA262, SUO128

This sympathy card is headed to the wife of the principal who took a chance on a 21 year old girl fresh out of college many years ago and put her in a third grade classroom with 26 kids!  He was a great guy and because of him I had a wonderful career and made so many lifelong friends.

I have entered that era where I am losing people who have been an important part of my life.  There may be sadness but I am determined to remember things that made me smile - like the fact that our six foot four principal dressed in a gorilla suit every year on Halloween and popped in and out of classrooms to hear the kids shriek.  He was sure no one knew it was him...........really?  He was the tallest guy in the building!

Meanwhile I am still sorting through boxes of my mother's keepsakes - hard to decide what to keep and what to toss. Yesterday I found a card my dad gave her on her 65th birthday (my current age) and in it he wrote a simple four line poem before signing his name with love:

Age 65 is only a measure in time,

It's how you feel that's the bottom line.

So count your blessings and not your fears 

And you'll see how quickly age disappears.

My dad and I always did think alike.........

Pals Paper Arts has a great color combo this week......hope you play along!

SUO Challenges this week is Butterflies!

Once in a Blue Moon......FMS198

If I could send a thank you card to Mother Nature I would already have this card in the mail!  We did some Blue Moon Boatin' this week and it was spectacular!

Something else that only happens once in a blue moon will be happening soon at Freshly Made Sketches. We will celebrate our 200th sketch in grand style........we have some amazing sponsors lined up........plan to get sketchy with us!

The fabulous Cindy Lovell designed a sweet sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  I used Schoolhouse DSP and a sentiment from Tin of Cards on my thank you card - perfect for a teacher!  As a retired teacher I can tell you that I always appreciated a hand written note - especially from a student!