Holy Guacamole - FMS 731

Donna Mikasa is the host for the Clean Team at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  It's her first time hosting, and she's come up with a fun clean and simple sketch for us to try out.  

Here's My Card:

The rectangles in the sketch were just calling out for some fun characters to liven them up.  After careful consideration, I hauled out my retired Taco Fiesta stamp set which has lots of lively images.  This card certainly isn't "clean and simple" with so much going on, but it was really fun to make!  Here's what i came up with.  

Here's the inside of the card.  I love all the images in the Taco Fiesta stamp set.  They make me smile.  Instead of using a cardstock matte for the inside I chose to add a layer of the designer paper.  There are two reasons for this.  One, the card is lighter when you use DSP for the matte so mails cheaper and two you use your designer paper instead of having it on the shelf.  

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Taco Fiesta #160732
• Stitched so Sweetly dies #159690 for rectangles (6)

Cardstock and Designer Series Paper:

• Basic White Cardstock 
• 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 for the card base
• 3 3/4" x 5" for the inside matte
• 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 piece to cut out the rectangles - cut six 
• Variety of small scraps to stamp the images on.  All images were fussy cut because I don't own the dies for this set.  Cutting and colouring is very relaxing. 
• Misty Moonlight 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" for matte layer on card front 
• Painted Illusions Designer Series Paper #167977
• Cut two mattes 5 1/4" x 4" - front and inside.  This 12 x 12   paper pack was the February Product of the Month and I've found it works as a background for so many of my projects.   

Ink and Blends:

• Basic Black Hybrid ink (NEW)
• Blends:  Granny Apple Green, Old Olive, Parakeet Party, Daffodil Delight, Timid Tiger, Crumb Cake, Smokey Slate, Poppy Parade, Summer Splash, SU500 brown

Accessories: 

• Adhesive Backed Shiny Sequins in Yellow
• Dimensionals 

I had a lot of fun stamping and colouring all these little characters.  I can't wait to see the reaction when my friend opens this fun birthday card.  What about you, do you like it?  If so drop me a comment.  I'd love to hear what your favourite taco character is.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Storybook Easter Card using FMS#729

Oh wow, next Friday is Good Friday and the beginning of the Easter long weekend. I’m surprised how quickly this holiday arrived. So, I’m shifting focus and will spend some time crafting Easter cards for my family and friends. I’m starting by using this Freshly Made  Sketch #729 as the template for the cards I intend to make. 

Here's My Card: 

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Storybook Friends #164668
• Storybook Garden Patch #164663
• Storybook Dies #164666
• Easter stamp sentiment unknown brand 

Cardstock and DSP: 

• Cajon Craze matte 5 1/4" x 4"
• Scrap for oval 
• Basic White 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" for cardbase 
• Basic White  4" x 5" for white oval
• Basic White 3 3/4" x 5" for inside matte
• DSP Storybook Friends Ephemera - bunny and wheelbarrow
• DSP Timeless Plaid front matte 5 1/4" x 4" x 2 front and inside and 1" x 5 1/4" strip for the front matte

Ink:

• Momento Black ink 
• Secret Sea
• Blends for picture - Light and Dark - Smokey Slate, Timid Tiger, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Granny Apple Green, Crumb Cake, SU500 

Accessories:  

• Dimensionals
• Adhesive Backed Shiny sequins #163484 - yellow (5) 

Well what do you think?  Thanks for dropping by and visiting my card blog.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Stampin' Up Shop

Pet Sitter Thank You Card - FMS#728

Personally I'm not a big fan of circles on a card.  When I looked at the recent sketch from Freshly Made Sketches I made the proverbial big sigh, and then began thinking about the sketch objectively in terms of what I could do to make the sketch satisfying for me. 

I needed something that worked for my brain and that's the really fun part of participating in a sketch challenge.  It doesn't have to be about copying the sketch  in every single nuance or detail, but rather exploring what works and what doesn't in terms of your own creativity.  Here is the sketch: 

Freshly Made Sketch #728 

Here's My Card: 

I'm an animal lover and so are most of my friends, so I'm often called upon to create or send a card featuring dogs or cats. Stampin' Up! released two stamp bundles called Pet Love and Cutest Crew recently, and they were my inspiration for this card design.  Pet Love includes pet accessories, paw prints and heartfelt sentiments.  Cutest crew has playful pups, curious kittens and chirpy little birds. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the coordinating dies for Cutest Crew because this bundle sold out almost immediately, but the images are easy to fussy cut. 

Supplies and Instructions: 

Stamps and Dies: 

• Pet Love #166032 stamps and dies
• Cutest Crew #167146 stamps
• Stitched Shapes Dies #159183

Cardstock and DSP: 

• Basic White cardbase 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4"
  
• Basic White matte 3 3/4" x 5" for inside matte, scrap for stamping dog images and die cutting circle
  
• Lost Lagoon matte card front 4" x 5 1/4"" 
• Flirty Flamingo matte card front 3 7/8" x 5 1/8"
• Painted Illusions DSP (Product of the Month February 2026) 3 3/4" x 5"

Ink:

• Lost Lagoon
• Secret Sea 
• Stampin' Blends:  Mango Melody, Smoky Slate, Pecan Pie, Pretty in Pink, Lost Lagoon, Granny Apple Green, Timid Tiger

Accessories:  

• Dimensionals
• Adhesive Sheets 

Well what do you think.  Is this a card you would send to a dog loving friend?  Were you still able to capture the feel of the original sketch in my card.  I'm hoping you were.  If you liked my rendition, or if you want more information about how it came together, don't hesitate to drop me a comment.  I love your feedback.  

Before I go, here are a few more cards made with the Cutest Crew and Pet Love stamp sets:

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 

Happy New Home Card using FMS#727

 Freshly Made Sketch

This week's Freshly Made Sketch is a little different and gave me pause for thought.  I was really bothered by all the blank space until I came up with an idea for a housewarming card I was planning to make.  

The half arch reminded me of a baseboard mouse hole for some reason and since I'd just purchased the Pet Love stamp set that has the cutest little mouse die in it, I was inspired to put together a monochromatic happy new home card using the mouse house concept  I hope you like it. 

Here's My Card:

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Pet Love #166031 - mouse die cut 2, small heart
• Everyday Arches dies #164629 2 smallest dies 
• Handsomely Suited #154444 stitched placket die for the baseboard trim
• Family and Friends stamp set #148598 for sentiment "A Warm Welcome"

Cardstock and DSP:

• Card Base in basic white - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4"
• Basic White for card matte inside 3 7/8" x 5" 
• Basic white scraps for larger of two arches, baseboard and heart
• Soft Succulent (R) for matte on front 4 1/8" x 5 3/8", cut a second matte for inside of card 4" x 5 1/4", scraps for two mice and small arched door 
• Soft Skye Designer Series Paper (R) - 3 7/8" x 5" for front matte and strip for inside 3/4" x 5" 

Ink:

• Soft Succulent 

Accessories: 

• Dimensionals 

I hope you enjoyed today's card.  It's a little different but a fun way to blend old and new products. I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Soccer Anyone?

Here's this week's sketch hosted by Jen M.  at Freshly Made Sketches #721.  I wasn't able to post my card for the actual challenge because of time constraints however I decided to go ahead and post it, because we can never have too many masculine card ideas.  

Here's My Card: 

I really liked the clean and simple lines of this sketch and decided it would be a perfect layout for a masculine card. The designer paper and stamps are from a suite that will be released in Stampin' Ups! Online Exclusives in March called "A Wonderful Match".  

While soccer has been around for a long time, in the past ten years it has become one of the top sports in Canada for youth and adults and is even outpacing hockey as our national sport.  It's so popular that its anticipated that tickets for the FIFA World Cup 26 soccer games in Vancouver this summer will be sold out immediately upon release.  

The sentiments for this card could be altered for any male occasion such as soccer celebrations, birthdays, congratulations and so forth so I've left the inside blank for now. 

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• A Wonderful Match Photopolymer Stamp Set #167517 (not available until March 2026) 
• Stitched circles dies (R)

Cardstock and Designer Papers:

• Basic White 5" x 10" scored at 5" for the card base
• Basic White 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" for inside matte scrap for sentiment
• "A Wonderful Match" 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 circle cut from ephemera pictures
• "A Wonderful Match" DSP black and white design cut 2 pieces 4 3/4"x 4 3/4" for  front and inside mattes.
• "A Wonderful Match" green and white DSP 1 3/4" x 4 3/4"  and 1 1/4" x 4 3/4" for inside strip 

Ink:  

• Momento Black 

Accessories:  

• Dimensionals
• Wonderful Stars Puffy Stickers (not available until March) 

I hope you like this masculine card and are as excited as I am about this stamp set and coordinating products.  It will be available the first of March when the Online Exclusives are released.    

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak CDN Stampin' Up Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 online shop 

Branching Out Masculine Birthday Card

Freshly Made Sketches #718 - designed by Amy, is the first sketch of this popular sketch challenge site for the New Year.  It's so clean and sleek, I found it frightening, however decided to dive in an see what I could come up with.  Here's their sketch which closes on  January 12th in the afternoon.

Here's My Card:

Because this sketch was intimidating to me because of its simplicity and clean and simple lines, I didn't want to overthink what to make.  I decided to look through stamp sets I'd purchased at the end of the year but not used, for inspiration. Here is my card:

This 18 piece photopolymer stamp set with 10 coordinating dies is called Branching Out.  I bought it as a bundle because I'd ran across a Christmas card I wanted to recreate.  Unfortunately I didn't have much time to play with it.

Now that I'm giving this set a try, I'm pretty excited.  It's going to be one of those sets with a lot of potential and can be used way beyond the holiday season.  It would be great for fall/winter masculine cards, sympathy and friendship cards to name a few. This particular card is in celebration of one of my guy friends who has a birthday coming up the end of January.   I hope he likes it. 

See those tiny little pine cones they are cut out with one of the coordinating die cuts and then sponged with a dauber to add some depth and detail. It was a great way to use up some Pecan Pie paper scraps.

Supplies and Instructions: 

Stamps and Dies:

• Branching out Bundle for pine branches, pine cones - stamped and die cut, and sentiments inside and front cover 

Card Stock and Designer Paper: 

• Pecan Pie for card Base 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4"
• Early Espresso matte 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" and strip 1/4" x 5" for edge along DSP
• Sahara Sand (R) 5 1/4" x 4" - cut two one for front and one for inside mattes
• Country Bird House Designer Series Paper 

Ink: 

• Shaded Spruce
• Early Espresso
• Pecan Pie
• Pebbled Path 

Accessories: 

• Gold Self Adhesive Sequins 

I'm so excited I finally used the Branching Out bundle to make this card.  It's inspired me to explore more ways to use it.  I hope you liked this card and my take on the FMS 718 challenge.  I'd welcome your comments and or questions regarding how this card came together.  Thanks and see you again.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 online shop 

Click here to see the Jan to April Spring Catalogue

Click here to see January Product of the Month 

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Cozy Christmas Paper Pumpkin Alternative

Hi everyone and welcome back.  After recently returning from holidays, I've been wanting to create a few more Christmas cards to have on hand.  

I decided to interpret the clean and simple sketch from  Freshly Made Sketches #715. Michelle F. is the sketch designer and she says although this sketch would work well as a wreath, the circle is open to interpretation. With that, I changed my interpretation of the circle to a classic Christmas ornament.  Hope you like it. 

Here's My Card: 

I had a few supplies left from my October Paper Pumpkin kit called Cozy Christmas so I made an alternative card using them.  For the matte layer I cut an envelope from the kit in half and cut a 5 1/4" x 4" matte.  The sentiment "Deck the Halls" is from the Greetings For You Mix and Match ephemera pack #166208.  The beautiful red self-adhesive sequins are from the Cozy Christmas kit.  

The inside has a 5 1/4" x 4" real red cardstock matte layer and a basic white layer that measures 5" x 3 3/4"  The sentiment is stamped in Real Red ink and is from a retired Stampin' Up! stamp set called More Merry Wishes.  I added some Garden Green star images using a stamp from the coordinating Cozy Christmas stamp set.  

Well that's it for today's card.  I want to thank you for stopping by and checking it out.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my online shop 

Words of Encouragement - FMS Challenge #708

Freshly Made Sketches #708:

The wonderfully talented Jen T is the hostess for this week's wonderfully basic card sketch on Freshly Made Sketches.  Make sure you check out her own card design, it's stunning!  Also, why don't you play along.  Don't be intimidated by the blank canvas and simple design.  You  can choose any element to replace the circle and make it your own.  

 Here's My Card: 

Clean and simple cards are one of the biggest challenges I face as a papercrafter.  I never know when is enough or if I've done too little on my card designs.  After I finished this card I thought I could have possibly done more by dry embossing the white matte after I stamped the sentiment on it.  However, I didn't because I was concerned it would affect the lettering.  Oh well.  

I love the floral wreath die cut on this card.  Its a bigger image than I was going to use however it worked out well on the card. I die cut the image from a piece of Meandering Meadow Designer paper and then used the cut piece that was left, as a matte.  This combination of matte and design compliments each other quite effectively without having to do blending or other means of adding colour and design.  

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Encircled in Natures stamps and dies #163623

Cardstock and DSP:

• Basic White card base - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" 
• Balmy Blue matte  5 1/4" x 4 1/4" 
• Meandering Meadow DSP matte 5" x 3 3/4" - die cut taken from the center of this piece before adhering
• Basic White matter 4 3/4" x 3 3/4" 

Ink and Blends:

• Misty Moonlight

Accessories:  

• Adhesive Backed Shiny Sequins #163484 

Well that's it for this challenge.  I'd love to hear your comments.  Do you use designer paper for mattes?  What are your thoughts? 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Store