Woolly Sheep and Paper Pumpkin Hooray for Birthdays!

Happy August! Another summer month has passed, and now we’re marking August 1st, a statutory holiday established in 1974 to honour the province’s pioneers. Many families take advantage of the long weekend to go camping or visit national parks for some outdoor fun. 

Unfortunately, this year there are more than 100 active forest fires, and WestJet, one of the major airlines, is facing a nationwide strike by its flight attendants. 

It's supposed to rain heavily today, so I'm choosing to travel to my craft room and enjoy the weekend making some cards.  Happy BC Day!   

This week I'm entering my card challenge in both the Freshly Made Sketches #747 and the AAA Card Challenge #320. I hope you'll play along with me.

I usually don’t participate in more than one challenge, but this week I chose to try something different. I had already started creating my card for the FMS challenge when I came across  a new site to me, called the AAA Card Challenge blog.  Their challenge was to create a card with design that started with the letter "S". Since I was already using the Woolly "Sheep" set and sheep was on the suggestion list, so it was an easy decision to play along.  And that’s how we ended up here.

Here Is My Card:

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Die Sets:

• July 2026 Paper Pumpkin Kit - Hooray for Birthdays! 
• Woolly Friends #16688 (R) 
• All About Birthdays (R) - inside sentiment 
• Stylish Shape Dies #159183

Cardstock and Designer Paper:

• Card base and Inside Matte - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" for base and 5" x 3 3/4" for inside matte.
• Scraps were used to punch out the 1 1/4" circles and for stamping the sheep heads.  They were stamped twice, once on the circle and then a second head was stamped for each of the five circles, fussy cut and adhered with dimensionals to give some depth.  Leftover scraps were used for the bows and sheep bells that were added adhered to the first image, before the dimensional raised heads were added.  
• Hydrangea Hue (new incolour) mattes were cut for the front and inside that measured 5 1/4" x 4".
• Designer Paper for final front matte is from the Paper Pumpkin Kit.  I cut a piece of the blue plaid cardstock down to 5"  x 3 3/4" 

Inks and Blends:

• Momento Black ink was used to stamp the sheep 
• Hydrangea Hue ink was used for the "birthday wishes" and "wishing you the HAPPIEST birthday yet" sentiments on the front and inside design.
• Old Olive ink was used for the grass on inside design 
• Pretty in Pink, Daffodil Delight light and dark stamping blends were used to highlight the sheep ears, cheeks and Copic soft gray was used to outline the sheep. 

Accessories: 

• Dimensionals were used to pop up the flowers and sheep heads on the card front.
• Die cut self-adhesive black plastic "happy" sentiment is from the Paper Pumpkin kit, along with the floral images and leaves.

Thanks for dropping by to check out this sketch and my interpretation. Let me know if you played along with the challenge or how you like my card. I'm always appreciative and interested to know what you think.

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Football Fan Masculine Birthday - FMS#743

 Here is this week's Freshly Made Sketch Challenge hosted by Judy. I was a little unsure how I wanted to use this sketch when I first looked at it.  I decided it had a masculine feel to it, and so began to think about masculine themes for a birthday card.  

My 18 year old nephew is in college sports and plays a variety of them including soccer, football and lacrosse.  Since I just recently purchased a new online exclusive stamp set called "Football Fan", I decided to incorporate it into my design.  Here's the sketch: 

Here's My Card:

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

Masculine stamps featuring realistic images don't come around very often, so when they do, I make sure to grab them quickly before they're gone. The Football Fan stamp set falls into this category. Although it's a standalone set without matching dies or papers, it's definitely one to keep.

This 12-piece photopolymer stamp set produces crisp, clear images that work well as either backgrounds or focal points, and all the images can be easily cut out with precise scissors. The sentiments included are also excellent and can be stamped and cut out using any dies or punches you have available.

Cardstock and Designer Paper:

I'm attempting to use up papers from my collection, but unfortunately, I've lost track of some of the paper pack names. This applies to these papers as well. Initially, I was searching for color combinations that would represent football themes, but when I came across this black and vanilla monochromatic designer paper, I thought it was perfect. It resembled old newsprint and was ideal for achieving the look I wanted.

I used Basic Black for the 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 card base and Very Vanilla mats measuring 4" x 5 1/4" for both the front and inside of the card. Smaller Basic Black mats were used for the two pillars, which measure 1 1/4" x 4", as well as for the sentiment base.

For the #1 Fan focal point, I used a stitched circle from the Stylish Designs die set.

After cutting out the football player, I glued the image onto a piece of Basic Black and then re-cut the image. I believe this additional layer added depth and helped anchor the image to the background.

Inks and Blends:

• Momento Black Ink

Accessories:

• Dimensionals

Thanks for visiting my blog and checking out this FMS challenge card. I hope my version or those of the Design Team inspire you to try your hand at sketch challenges. If so, I'd love to see what you made.

Until next time..............

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT!
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Welcome Baby Card - Wooly Friends

This week's Freshly Made Sketches #741 by Narelle features three rectangles on a plain base.  This design leaves a lot of room open for interpretation.  The rectangles could be replaced with any kind of shape or image, just as long as there are three.  

There's still time to participate, so why don't you check out the FMS blog and then give it a whirl.   I'd love to see what your creativity brings to the table.  

Here's My Card: 

For today's welcome baby card I chose to stamp three sheep from the Wooly Friends stamp set by Stampin' Up!  They were too chubby to fit on a rectangle so I used the Stylish Details Dies to cut out three squares from Pool Party card stock.  The squares measure 1 7/8 X 1 7/8", and worked out well for the sketch design.  

The sheep are coloured with Pool Party and Pretty in Pink Stampin' Blends.  The heads were elevated with dimensionals to give more of a 3-D look.  A few random glittery blue sequins were added for some sparkle.  

The cardbase is Basic White followed by a Pool Party matte.  The Designer Paper for the top matte is from the Boardwalk Suite.  It was the perfect background for the sheep squares.  

I haven't completed the inside of the card yet, as I'm look for the perfect "EWE" saying for a new baby.  

Okay that's it for this week's card challenge, and I hope  you find it as adorable as I do.  There's just something so cute and appealing about these sheep.  Keeping the background and layout simple doesn't detract from the sheep themselves and they're sure to get a few awwws along the way.  Cheers, until next time.............

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my shop 24/7

FIFA Fever Hits Vancouver - FMS#740

Freshly Made Sketches #740 is hosted by Michele Ferguson this week.  The challenge runs from June 10th to  3pm EST on Monday June 15th.   I hope you'll try out this sketch, and have some fun making your "scene".

Here's My Card: 

FIFA World Cup of Soccer fever has officially arrived in Vancouver, BC and the weekend was packed with soccer fandom. There are soccer related theme parties happening everywhere, and that inspired me to designed a simple soccer themed card that could be used as a thank you to the hosts, or as a note card relating to this special occasion. 

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Match Day stamp and Dies
• Fun In the Sun - Feb 2023 Paper Pumpkin Kit
• Curvy Dies #154319

Cardstock and Designer Papers:

• 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 Basic White card base scored at 4 1/4" 
• 3 3/4" x 5" matte for front.  Use Pool Party and blender brush for sky and stamp on sun.
• 4 " x 5 1/4" Basic White matte for inside
• 2" x 2" Basic White for Soccer Ball
• 3 7/8" x 5" Basic Black matte for card front
• 2"  x 2" Basic Black scrap for soccer ball die cut 
• Garden Green - 2 pieces of scrap for top and bottom slopes width 4 1/4" height 3".  Cut away excess once glued to the
• Granny Apple Green scrap for layered slop 2 pieces. Stamp sentiment from Match Game in Momento Black on slope 

Ink and Blends:

• Pool Party
• Momento Black 

Accessories: 

• Dimensionals. 

Thank you for dropping by to check out this week's project.  I hope you liked it, and would absolutely love it if you dropped me a comment.  If you haven't visited the Freshly Made Sketches website to check out everyone else's cards, here's the link to do so:  Freshly Made Sketches #740.  

Until next time..........

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up Demo since 2006

Click here to check out my 24/7 Online Shop and see what's new! 

Aviator Birthday Masculine Card FMS#739

This week's Freshly Made Sketch #739 features three circles for the focal point, but these images could be just as easily be blocks, triangles, or other images.  That's the beauty of doing a sketch challenge.  I hope you'll join me and play along this week.  Check out the design team and participants samples.  There's such a variety of styles.  Here's the sketch: 

Here's My Card:

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Perennial Birthday #145757 - Happy Birthday 
• A Good Man # 149270 - It's Your Day stamp
• See You Later #133533 Birthday Sentiment for inside card 
• Stitched Circle Dies for focal circles  

Card stock and Designer Papers:

• Smokey Slate card base 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 14" with top fold
• Smokey Slate scraps for 1 34" circles for focal 
• Cut two Basic White mattes measuring 5 1/4" x 4" for front and inside panels
• Mossey Meadow scraps for focal 
• Take to the Sky DSP #163436 for 2" x 5 1/4" for front and 1" by 5 1/4" for inside of card. 

Ink:

• Mossey Meadow
• Smokey Slate 

Accessories:

• Dimensionals 
• Silver Sticky Strip lines for card front

I hope you enjoyed my challenge card this week.  Let me know if you played along.  That would be so exciting and I'd love to see your card.  

Until next time..........

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demonstrator since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Soccer Match FMS#735 Challenge

Kim's card sketch this week on Freshly Made Sketches #735 may leave your knees clacking together, but don't be afraid it's actually a great sketch to play with.  

Here's My Card:

As much as I don't like working with square cards, I enjoyed making this one.  

Before cutting my designer paper, I used photocopy paper to cut out a template to make sure my measurements worked.  Here's my take on the sketch:

Supplies and Instructions 

Stamps and Dies:

• Best Catch SU#148598 - "Its Your Day"
• Match Day Dies and Stamps

Cardstock and Designer Paper (DSP):

• Basic White 5 1/2" x 9 1/2" scored at 5" for card base 
•  Scrap Basic White for sentiment and circle for soccer ball
• Basic Black 4 3/8" x 5 1/8" for matte  and scrap for soccer ball
• Basic Black  Cut four 1" squares for card design cut one square in half
• A Wonderful Match DSP #167515 - cut 3 granny green 1" squares and 3 and a half squares with soccer ball design
• Silver scrap for trophy

When you look at my measurements you will note that I didn't make a square card.  It didn't look right and so I cut down the white margin on the right hand side.  The finished card actually measures 4 5/8" x 5 1/2".  It will require a custom made envelope but that's easy to do with my envelope maker.  

Ink and Blends:

• Momento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: 

• Dimensionals 
• Basic D hatch marked embossing folder for the White last matte on the card front.  It helped to tie it all together. 

Thanks for visiting my blog today, and if you left a comment on my submission to Freshly Made Sketches sketch challenge thanks so much!  Getting validation from fellow card makers and paper crafters is like adding jet fuel to an airplane...........it keeps you soaring!  Cheers until next time..........

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit  my On-line Shop 

Paper Pumpkin Lakeside Retreat Masculine Cards - FMS#734

I've really been enjoying creating with the Lakeside Resort April 2026 Paper Pumpkin kit.  Such beautiful papers and I really like the subtle hue.  This kit leans heavily towards masculine cards with a Father's Day theme and nature images.  Although the theme and contents of this kit appear masculine, in this day and age they with the exception of some of the stamps could work easily for any occasion card or gender. 

When Stampin' Up!s latest catalogue is released tomorrow, it includes a stamp suite or bundle called Waterside Resort that coordinates beautifully with the Lakeside Resort kit.  With their mix and match capability these two products provide a whole host of other possibilities for outdoor themed masculine cards. 

I'm using the Freshly Made Sketches #734 hosted by Jen M.challenge sketch for today's card. Some of the examples from the Design Team and participants are literally out  of this world.  There are some excellent samples on the blog from the Design Team if you're looking for inspiration.  

Here's My Card:

This card layout could work for a birthday or special event like Father's Day.  I'm in love with Secret Sea which is the dark blue cardstock I've used.  It's so dark and accents the Balmy Blue so well.  

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Relaxing Waterside #167922 - sentiments
• Lakeside Retreat - papers and ephemera
• All About Birthdays -stamp birthday sentiment inside card
• Sun Rise Sailing SU#165491 stamp and dies for sailboat 

Cardstock and Designer Paper:

• Basic White cardstock for base 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4"
• Basic White for inside matte 4" x 3 3/4" and a 2" by 3 1/2" piece for the sail boat
• Secret Sea 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" for front matte, 2" x 4 1/2" for front color block which has been embossed. A small scrap strip for the sentiment.
• Balmy Blue 5 1/4" x 4" for front matte.  Embossed with Scripty Embossing Folder by SU. 

Ink:

• Secret Sea
• Balmy Blue 
• Pecan Pie 

Accessories: 

• Corner Rounder Punch
• Classic Label punch
• Scripty Embossing Folder 
• Blue self-adhesive sequins 
• Dimensionals for sailboat. 

This card came together fairly quickly once I decided on colours and theme.  Before I go here are  some more Alternative Paper Pumpkin - Lakeside and Waterside Resort cards I've made.  

Have a good week everyone and thanks for dropping by.  I hope these cards give you some fresh ideas and enjoyment.   Until next sketch...........

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop!

Masculine Birthday - Going Fishing FMS #733

Some thrilling news for everyone eagerly awaiting the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue; it’s coming soon! If you’re on my mailing list, you should be getting yours this week. Stampin’ Up!, always evolving and updating, has revamped their catalogue format, so don’t be surprised when you get the latest edition. It contains only 87 pages, unlike their usual 180+.  The new catalogue goes live on May 5th, 2026.

For this weeks Freshly Made Sketch hosted by Jen T.

HERE'S MY CARD:   

Today's masculine birthday card uses products from the April Paper Pumpkin kit called Lakeside Retreat, and a coordinating suite in the new catalogue called Waterside Retreat.  I've also used one of the exciting new incolours called Peaceful Pine.  Enjoy! 

I wasn’t satisfied with the simple Misty Moonlight matting on both sides of the DSP—it seemed too plain. So, after attaching the striped designer paper to the matte, I used my ball stylus to draw lines every 1/4" across the surface of the cardstock and paper. It was a small change, but I felt it brought more texture and vibrancy to the card front. I also made an error when measuring the designer paper and cut it half an inch too short. Fixing it was straightforward: I cut a matching strip measuring 1/2" by 4 1/4" and glued it underneath the paper matte, making sure the stripes lined up perfectly. I think it’s a convincing fix and not very noticeable. Let me know if you like this effect or would consider using it on your own card.

While applying a touch of Wink of Stella to the two fish on this card, I accidentally sprayed it over the front of the card. Oops! I cleaned up the mess a bit and then allowed it to dry. Everything turned out fine; there’s just a slight sparkle on the striped paper, but it still suits a guy card.

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Lakeside Retreat Stamp set
• Perennial Birthday - inside sentiment

Cardstock and DSP:

• Basic White 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" for the card base, scored at 4 1/4"
• Basic White 5" x 3 3/4" for inside matte
• Misty Moonlight 5 1/4" x 4" for matte on card front 
• 3 1/8" x 1 7/8" matte for picture
• DSP from Lakeside Retreat Paper Pumpkin kit
• 4 3/8" x 4" matte for card front
• Ephemera from Lakeside Retreat and Waterside Retreat DSP

Ink:

• Peaceful Pine (new 2026/27 Incolor Stampin' Up!)
• Wink of Stella for the fish

Thanks for visiting my blog and for taking a look at my rendering of the  FMS #738.  Please let me know your thoughts on this card, I'd love to hear from you. 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop