A Break

Dear Followers,

As you may have noticed,  I have not posted here on my blog since last November. I thought that I was going to just take my "annual" holiday break and be back at the first of the year. However, I have decided that I need to take more of a break.

Things have been a bit topsy turvy in my household for the past year. I have struggled to keep up with my crafting while dealing with the family and work. I think, for the most part, I have managed to at least get a Tuesday Morning Sketches DT card made once a week, but it has been a struggle at times. I have not really been enjoying my crafts, so it has been more of an obligation than a pleasure.

I have decided that I need a bit more of a break. I have stepped down from the Tuesday Morning Sketches core DT. I have volunteered to continue to manage the TMS FaceBook page, so I'm not completely disappearing, but will not have the pressure of making a card for the team.

I am hoping and praying that my life with mellow out and straighten up again in 2019 and that my Mojo will once again lead me into the craft areas that I have so enjoyed in the past. In the mean time, I hope that you continue to create beautiful things, and that you will share them with Tuesday Morning Sketches -- or just, once in a while, with me (smile). 

I really appreciate all of you who have followed my blog over the past decade. In turn, I follow many of your blogs, and you have been an inspiration to me as much as I hope I've been to you.

Until the Todd Muses return, be happy, be crafty, and be blessed.

Jenée

Happy Birthday Ostrich

Sorry, I'm late again. I had the surgery on my other eye on Monday, and this one was a little tougher. A different type stint was inserted in this eye and required a bit more invasive procedure, so I'm still quite swollen.

Having problems seeing the screen, so am definitely typing in the dark, but didn't want to be any later with this week's card than I already am. 

The sketch shows staples used in the ribbon strip across the top. However, that little element can be changed up a bit (use your imagination) as shown with the DT samples. Some have used staples, one has used Baker's twine, I think one has used buttons. I have used gems. I also didn't use ribbon, but rather a piece of strip that came off the paper I used for the background. It already had the scallops printed, with the solid, so I just measured a piece and used it. I added the two gems instead of the staples.

My image (as are so many of mine lately) is a colored clip art that I have collected over the years. I LUV the little ostrich with her horn-rimmed glasses. I added some small gems to each side of her glasses. She is a glitzy kind of gal, so needed the added bling!

That's basically all I had to do to create this adorable birthday card. Base card, pattern paper, image and some bling. There you go! Think I will be using this sketch (with variations on the gems) whenever I need a quick but cute card. It was just too, too easy and fun to make!

Autumn Thyme

Good morning. This is Thanksgiving week here in the USA. Our neighbors to the north, Canada, have already celebrated their thanksgiving -- they are smart and do it earlier so it doesn't get lost or overlooked by the Christmas season.

I have used the Thanksgiving/harvest theme with my little card. The base card is a light tan with a layer of green topped off with three lovely fall colored papers. The three papers each have a subtle monochromatic pattern embedded in it (you can see the pattern in the left paper, but the photo isn't showing the other two very well).

I matted my oval cut clip art with a green oval and added an orange ribbon and two little resin leaves. 

Despite the many different elements in this card, it went together quickly. I can definitely see this sketch being used for so many different themes (holidays, birthdays, get well, thinking of you). The little bow and flower can be switched out in so many different ways to compliment your theme and/or image. Let your imagination go wild (smile)!

Have a great week, and I hope that those of you here in the US will have a blessed Thanksgiving with good food, good friends and family, and lots of good laughter. God bless.

Happy Holidays

Hi everyone. I am not going to be posting much about how I made my card. I have had the first of two eye surgeries so am having some problems seeing. This is our TMS for this week. It is super easy to make although my "square" isn't quite as diamond shaped as the picture (or as shown by the other DT members). I think it still captures the essence of the sketch. 

Please take a few minutes to visit the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog for more samples of this sketch. 

Have fun seeing what you can do with this unique look and then show us, at Tuesday Morning Sketches, what you did.

Snowman Merry Christmas

I cannot believe how quickly the weeks are going by. It is the start of all the year end holiday season. Halloween is only two days away, and then before we know it, Thanksgiving will be over and Christmas well be in full swing (unless you are one of my followers to the north who has already celebrated Thanksgiving or from across the pond where Thanksgiving isn't celebrated at all). 

This week's sketch is really a nice one. Here it is:

It was really fun seeing how each member of the design team used this sketch. It never ceases to amaze me just how different each of our cards turn out each week. Even when they are similar (like last week when several of us used a snowflake theme), they always look so different.

I didn't plan on making my Christmas cards this year. The pressure I place on myself each year to make enough cards to send out just adds unnecessary stress to the holidays. I always tell myself I am going to take a couple weeks in the summer and just make all the cards then, but it doesn't seem to happen that way. However, when I saw this week's sketch, the snowman and snowflakes just seemed to be the right combination.

I have used a white card base (5 x 7"), and I've used a pattern paper from We Are 3 digital designs. It has been a little while since I've used a We Are 3 digital paper so I felt it was about time I pull a little weight and actually do a card with some digital paper. This piece is from a 4-paper set called "Howdy." 

The snowman is from a clip art file. I think it may have been a Provo Craft design, but I am not sure, so don't quote me. The image is actually a full snowman, but I needed the circle shape, so I have eliminated the lower part of the guy's body.

The patterned paper from which I cut the red dotty circle is by Michael's Crafts. It was from one of their yearly Christmas 8.5 x 11" paper packs (purchased last year). The two fish tail banners are cut from solid blue and solid white using a Memory Crafts die. I stamped the sentiment onto the white fishtail using a stamp from My Perfect Expression using SU's Real Red ink.

I punched two large snowflakes and three smaller one (Martha Stewart punches) and placed them around the bottom right portion of the circles. I then spread Stickles on top of the snowflakes to add some shimmer (sorry you cannot see that in the above photo, but it is pretty -- just enough glitter without being overdone).

And speaking of snowmen (yes, I know that it is incorrect to start a sentence or a paragraph with the word and, but just overlook it this time, OK?), check out the darling prize that some lucky winner will get to receive this week. Are you ready? Here it is:

Is that embossing folder cute or what? Just remember to make a card using this week's sketch and post it to the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog to have a chance to win that adorable prize. 

A Wish For You

Tuesdays keep coming around way too fast! This week we have a beautiful sketch for you at Tuesday Morning Sketches. With several layers and elements, this sketch works up quite lovely. I started with another beautiful print from Heartfelt Creations, and matched my papers to the colors in the print.

I started with a 5 x 7" burgundy card turned horizontal. I then a piece of pink stripe paper in my scrap bag that was a lovely compliment to the basket of petunias in the print. I used one of my lovely dies to cut the scalloped edge to the pink piece. I matched the green in the leaves with a piece of green scrap for my horizontal band, and I punched the tiny tags from scraps of Heartfelt Creations paper (from the same pad as the oval image).

After assembling the card, I added pearls to the "hole" in the tags and attached a sentiment (from the Heartfelt Creations pad) with a pearl on each side of the sentiment.

I hope you like our sketch and will play along with us this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches.

Happy crafting!

Christmas Snowflakes

This week's sketch is a bit different and at first may seem a bit challenging. However, it isn't as daunting as you may first think. Let me show you the sketch and then break it down for you a little so that you will see just how easy it really is. Here is the sketch:

You will notice that my card is not a literal version of the sketch. In place of the paisley shapes, I've substituted snowflakes. After I created my card, I learned that one of the other DT members had also used snowflakes in place of the paisley shapes. Two of the DT members used actual paisley shapes, and one of us very creatively used leaf sprigs. The point I am making is that you can take creative liberties with this sketch and use a variety of shapes in place of the paisley shapes. You may use leaves, flowers, stars, hearts, or even tea cups -- in other words, you are only limited by your own creativity and imagination.

I used a white 5 x 7" card base. I placed a piece of red snowflake paper, from an Imaginations Christmas pad, on top of the card base. The snowflakes are a combination of two different type pre-cut snowflakes that I got in packages from Michael's Crafts several years ago. The dimensional one is plastic whereas the flat ones are a silky type material. Since they were larger than the paisley images on the sketch, I only used four of them. The sentiment is from a card kit that I bought 7-8 years ago.

This was one very quick and easy card. The paper and the pre-made embellishments made quick work of this card. However, I think you will find that whatever theme you pick, this sketch is going to work up quickly. You really need to run over to the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog and have a look at what the other team members have created!!

If you still need more incentive to play along with us this week, here is a look at the super prize that some lucky person is going to win:

Show us what you come up with and post it to the TMS blog to have a chance to win that lovely stamp set!