Hitting the Slopes with AHSC#697

September has arrived in a flash and we've already cleaned up all our potted plants to get ready for the change of seasons. I don't know whether to be excited or sad as it really feels like the end of summer passed us by.  The days are getting shorter and the leaves are already changing color, so overnight it seems we've shifted into Fall.  This is actually my favourite time of year so I'm looking forward to all things this month has to offer.

Here is this week's sketch challenge at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge

Here's My Card:

Since I've been talking about Fall and winter, I decided to shift gears away from flowers and make a masculine monochromatic birthday card for an extra special guy who loves all things winter and outdoor sports.  My card features a new online exclusive stamp set called "Hitting the Slopes" and will be perfect for his November birthday.  

The 11 piece Hitting the Slopes stamp set doesn't have matching dies however the images are extremely easy to fussy-cut and the sentiments can be die cut or punched using other products.  Here's what I came up with for this challenge : 

I used the new incolour Hydrangea Hue along with Basic White cardstock and ink to create this monochromatic card.  Although I had difficulty capturing the true colours in these photos the rich tones of the Hydrangea Hue help to balance out the additional colours.  I wanted a sense of movement on this card front, so along with the skiers sailing down the slopes, I cut all the mattes with the retired Stampin' Up! Deckled Rectangle dies for a fun effect. 

I didn't have a winter themed designer paper to go with this stamp set so I created my own by stamping the stamp from the set with the small skiers in Hydrangea Hue.  Such an easy way to liven up the matte. 

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For the inside I combined sentiment stamps from All About Birthdays and Penguin Place for my messaging and the small snowflake from the Penguin Place stamp set in the corner.  After this  photo was taken I actually did some blending over the snowflakes with light balmy blue.   

For the lower corner focal I punched two small circles in Secret Sea and Basic White cardstock for the base and then layered the helmet, boot and gloves from the Hitting the Slopes stamp set, creating raised layers with dimensionals.  

There's a little bit of shine in the focal created with sequins and by using Nuvo drops to make the mask look like glass and the detail on the boots stand out like shiny plastic.  

Supplies and Instructions:  

Stamps and Dies: 

• Hitting the Slopes #168341- Skiers, sentiment "Have an Epic Birthday", snowboard and focal images. 
• Penguin Place (R) - Sentiment "To the Coolest Friend Ever", Snowflakes
• All About Birthdays (R) - Sentiment "Wishing You the Happiest Birthday Ever"
• Deckled Rectangles (R) 
• Note to alter the sentiment "Have an Epic Birthday"  simply block the word or remove ink from "birthday" before stamping.  Then replace it with another sentiment such as  "Day", "Christmas", "Holiday" etc., so you can get a broader range of occasions.  

Cardstock:

• Basic White:
• 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" for card base
• 4 5/8" x 3 1/2" matte stamped with skiers from Hitting the Slopes stamp in Hydrangea Hue
• 5" x 3 3/4" matte for inside of card
• Scraps for stamping focal point and snowboard images  and punching out 1" circle 
• Hydrangea Hue 
• 5" x 3 3/4" and 3 7/8" x 2 5/8" mattes for front  and 5 1/4" x 4" matte for inside card 
• Secret Sea:
• 1 1/2" x  1 1/2" scrap for  focal 1 1/4' circle punch 

Ink and Blends: 

• Tuxedo Momento Black ink for all stamped images
• Secret Sea for sentiments front and inside 
• Blends:  Boho Blue, Secret Sea, Balmy Blue, Smokey Slate

Accessories: 

• Dimensionals
• Opalescent Sequins blue hue 
• Nuvo Drops for goggle mask and buckles on boots

Thanks for dropping by today and checking out my submission for this weeks Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  Appr4ciated.  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 

A Little Christmas card - FMS #751

Welcome to my blog. This summer in Canada has been quite intense. The heat remains widespread throughout the country, and although we're moving towards Fall and the temperatures have dropped to a more manageable level, wildfires continue to burn. The Interior of our province has suffered significant damage from these fires, with many losses occurring over the past six weeks and there are 200 fires still burning in BC this morning.  

A huge thank you to all the first responders and volunteers who are tirelessly working to protect and assist the region during this difficult time.  And, my deepest sympathies go out to the farmers, Indigenous communities, and other landowners not only in our province but also in other provinces across the country who have lost their homes, livelihoods, and treasured memories due to the recent fires.

I've missed out on the past few week's of sketch challenges on the Freshly Made Sketches challenge site because I've been busy making custom cards and haven't had time to participate. This week I'm all caught up and thought I'd try this one out. Sketch #751 is hosted by Michelle and digitalized by Brandi from the Freshly Made Sketches’ incredibly talented design team.

Here's My Card:

I've jumped right into Christmas with this card using one of the new sets featured in Stampin' Up!s soon to be released September to December 2026 catalogue.  This card basically features the beautiful papers from the "A Little Christmas" 12 x 12" papers.  I know I'm going to have fun playing with this suite. 

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Stylish Shapes Dies #159183 - squares 2 3/4" 2 5/8", 1 1/2" and 1"
• Christmas Mice Stamps #168415 (NEW) - Sentiment stamps - "Happy Holidays" and "Sending Little Moments of Joy"

Cardstock and Designer Series Papers (DSP):

• Very Vanilla
• 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 scored at 4 1/4" for base 
• 3 3/4" x 5" for inside matte
• 1" x 1" piece for sentiment square on front 
• Cherry Cobbler
• 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" matte for front
• 3" x 3" to cut out 2 5/8" x 2 5/8" matte for front of
• 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" scrap to cut out 1" square for sentiment on front 
• 5 1/4" x 4" matte for inside card 
• Peaceful Pine (New Incolour) 
• 2" x 2" scrap to cut out 1 3/4" x 1 3/4" matte for focal on front 
• Designer Series Paper
• 5 1/4" x 4" plaid matte for front of card and 3 3/4" x 1/2" strip for bottom of inside Vanilla matte.
• 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" piece of Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler Bow Dsp to cut out front matte for focal to 2 5/8" x 2 5/8"

In this photo you can see the beautiful stitched square die cuts from the Stylish Shapes Dies that layer so perfectly.  I can't live without these dies they are ultimately my favourite go to die cut collection.

Also you can see the sweet little Christmas Berries I've added for some additional Christmas cheer.  I know I'm going to have to order a couple of these embellishment packages before they are sold out.  

Ink and Blends:

• Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: 

• Dimensionals
• Adhesive Backed Christmas Berries #168549 (NEW)

Thanks for taking the time to check out this week's card entry for Freshly Made Sketches.  Make sure you take a look at all the beautiful cards from the design team and participants for this challenge on the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge blog.   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 

Pssst.......... Just a reminder: 
Today is the last day for this Product of the Month DSP as well as Last Chance Products promotions and the Cardstock and Designer Series Promotions.   

August Product of the Month (POM) - Yours for $7.00 with purchase of $100 CDN (not including promotions, coupons, tax and shipping) 

Last Chance Products Sale August 4 to 31st, 2026

August 4th to 31st Cardstock and Designer Paper Sale 

The September to  December Catalogue is available
for ordering on September 4th, 2026

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 

Masculine Birthday - Fishing AHSC#691

 

My morning started off wonderfully when I saw that my entry for last week's challenge was selected as one of the Top 3. That truly made me happy. Congratulations also go to Birgit for her amazing baby card that I would love to CASE, and to Patti from PS Paper Crafts for her impressive masculine card. I really admired both of their creations.

Now, the AHSC challenge is underway from today until Sunday, July 26th. If you want to join in or simply want to view the Design Team and participants' cards for AHSC #691, click on the link. Exciting!

Here's My Card:

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Gone Fishing #161535(R) Stamps - Lures and water
• Perennial Postage #161607 - white postage stamp pieces - cut four
• Rolling Waves - sentiments "Happy Birthday"and "Hoping your Day is Perfect"
• Best Catch #148598 - Fisherman and Hat
• Delightful Wishes Die #164707 - sentiment layer 

Cardstock and Designer Series Paper:

• Basic White 
• 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 Basic White cardbase scored at 4 1/4"
• 5 x 3 3/4" matte for inside card 
• Postage stamp pieces cut 4 from scrap
• Misty Moonlight 
• 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" matte for front layer
• 5 1/4" x 4" matte for inside layer 
• 1 1/2" x 2 3/8" rectangles to matte postage stamp layers cut four 
• Designer Papers: 
• Let's Go Fishing DSP # 161534 4 x 5 1/4" waves for front matte, ephemera
• Waterside Retreat DSP #167920 - fish ephemera 

Ink:

• Misty Moonlight
• Real Red
• Pecan Pie blend
• Cajun Craze
• Wink of Stella for fish

Accessories:

• Brass Dragonflies - Stampin' Up!
• Dimensionals 

Thanks for dropping by my blog today and checking out my sketch submission.  I hope you found it inspiring and that you want to try out this sketch yourself.  Let me know if you're starting to play along with these sketch challenges,  I'd love to know.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Love Birds Anniversary Card #AHSC690

What a busy weekend.  We had our annual summer garage sale at our housing complex and the whole week was taken up with prepping.  I intended to hold my sale on my driveway, but woke up to heavy rain for the day, so had to go to plan B and hold it in my garage.  All in all a good day, but I was too tired to  finish my card for the sketch challenge.  

Here's this week's fun sketch from the Design Team at Atlantic Heart's Sketch Challenge site.  There's lots going on in this sketch, so if you're unsure how to approach it, make sure you take  a look at the AHSC Design Team's card samples.  They're super inspiring and fun! 

Here's My Card:

Since I seem to constantly need anniversary cards, I decided to create one using a designer paper called Flight and Airy that was part of a Sale-A-Bration release in 2021. This great sketch from AHSC allowed me to showcase the papers, mattes and focal piece in a unique way. 

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Cheers & Sips (R) #165588 -sentiment It's Your Day
• Sunset Coastal # 167775 - sentiments Happy Anniversary and Wishing you a Lifetime of Joy
• Stylish Shapes Dies #159183

Cardstock and Designer Series Paper (DSP):

• Cardbase Bubble Bath 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scraps for three 11/4" x 1 1/4" squares, 1 3/4" circle and 1 3/8" x 7/8" rectangle for sentiment matte. 
• Boho Blue (R) matte for front 4" x 5 1/4", inside matte 5 3/8" x 4 1/8", and three 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" squares for dsp. 
• Scraps of Whisper White for circle and tag on card front, 3 3/4" x 5" matte for inside card. 
• Flight and Airy Designer Paper, 6 1" x 1" squares, birds and flowers from DSP for decoration. A piece of dsp measuring 3 3/4 x 5" was flipped to Pecan Pie design side to provide some contrast between the Boho Blue and Bubble Bath cardstocks.   

Ink:

• Misty Moonlight 
• Bubble Bath (for decorative mask design on white stitched circle). 

Accessories:  

• Basic Pattern Decorative Mask 2020/21
• Sequins:  Pinks self adhesive sequins

I'm not really into a lot of fiddling and I have to be honest with layering the squares, measuring their distance when mounting and adding pieces of ephemera, I found this card quite fiddly.  That being said it was worth it to see the finished card.  

Thanks for checking out my rendition of this challenge and I hope you were able to play along this week.  It's such a cool sketch!   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 

Top Three For AHSC#689 Challenge.... Woo Hoo!

It's super nice to be acknowledged.  I just learned that I was amongst the top three for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge last week for this card:

You can't wipe the smile off my face.  A huge thanks to the AHSC Design Team who left me lots of encouragement with their awesome comments and congrats to Vicki Burdick and Joanne James who were the other two picks.  Awesome cards ladies!  This was such a fun and easy card to make! 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up Demo Since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop