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Twenty-four Years

Twenty-four Years published on 2 Comments on Twenty-four Years

“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.”
—Sandy Dahl, wife of United Flight 93 Captain Jason Dahl

I started with this same quote last year but, honestly, it holds so true that it bears repeating. And yet, here we are. Everywhere around us, words of hate, actions of hate, finding ways to push other down instead of lifting them up. As I pondered how to approach this post, I find myself overwhelmed by the fear that we have totally failed. Those passengers and crew on United Flight 93 knew what had happened to the other planes. They knew that a target was set on a critical landmark. They banded together and said not on my watch. They didn’t ask who was an immigrant; they didn’t care about the color of skin; they didn’t care if someone was LGBTQ+. They chose to do whatever it took to try to stop the evil and it took all of them. They knew that they would likely die but chose to save others with their sacrifice. They counted on us to make it worth it. Have we?

As always for this anniversary, I focused on blue. The blue of the sky that day, United blue. The butterfly is from All Things New by Honey Bee Stamps and the background is Vintage Floral. The arch dies are from Spellbinders. The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches designed by the incomparable Karren Johnson.

I have written my thoughts and memories for many years now. This is likely the last blog post for a 9/11 anniversary but I will say that it is these posts that have make me hold onto the blog for as long as I have. If you care to read:  9th Anniversary, 10th Anniversary, 11th Anniversary, 12th Anniversary, 13th Anniversary, 14th Anniversary, 15th Anniversary, 18th Anniversary and 19th Anniversary, 20th Anniversary, 21st Anniversary, 22nd Anniversary and 23rd Anniversary.

As I wake up tomorrow on a new day, I will be grateful for the lives and examples of the crews, the passengers and all those at the WTC and Pentagon that were lost on 9/11. I will mourn what could have been for them. I will try to find joy and beauty in everyone – and that is without qualifier. I wish for us all a world where each of us will do the same and choose to be worthy.

In memory of:

United 93:  Jason Dahl, LeRoy Homer Jr., Lorraine Bay, Sandra Bradshaw, Wanda Green, CeeCee Lyles, Deborah Welsh

United 175:  Victor Saracini, Michael Horrocks, Robert Fangman, Amy Jarret, Amy King, Kathryn Laborie, Alfred Marchand, Michael Tarrou, Alicia Titus, Marianne McFarlane, Jesus Sanchez

American 11:  John Ogonowski, Thomas McGuinness, Barbara Arestegui, Jeffrey Collman, Sara Low, Karen Martin, Kathleen Nicosia, Betty Ong, Jean D. Roger, Dianne Snyder, Madeline Sweeney

American 77:  Charles Burlingame III, David Charlebois, Michele Heidenberger, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, Renee May

Freshly Made Sketches #702

Freshly Made Sketches #702 published on 5 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #702

I have mentioned before that I’m likely going to be transitioning away from this blog. I’m getting closer to that point but don’t want to lose any of you in the process, if possible. A quick post with my card for today’s Freshly Made Sketches. You can find the details over on Instagram (link here: jentimko) or on Facebook (link here: Stampin’ on the Fly with Jen Timko)

I’d love to have you join me there! Have a wonderful rest of your week!

Freshly Made Sketches #701

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Keeping this quick today. After a big week of celebrating we are onwards with our sketches for Freshly Made Sketches. This one is courtesy of our intrepid hiker/adventurer, Jen Brum.

When I saw the sketch I immediately saw these trees from Gina K Designs July Release – O Christmas Tree. All I had to do was an assembly line. I stamped the three and then also stamped one of the sentiments from the same set. I broke the sentiment apart when I cut it out using a sentiment die set (I actually stamped two so that I could cut without worrying about spacing).

I thought I’d go a little non-traditional by using pink gems instead of a classic red and I love the effect. And sorry…my colors in my editing are not quite true…sigh… Some photo days are just like that. In any case, it took longer for me to get photos than it did to make it. I love solid images like this for just that reason.

Hope you enjoy this card and that you will come over to join us as well. I’m trying to get back to a bit more stamping. Summer has ended here and the boys are moved back into their respective places. Wishing you a great week and see you soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #700

Freshly Made Sketches #700 published on 9 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #700

What a fun week we have over at Freshly Made Sketches this week! We are celebrating 14 years of sketch challenges and inspiration. Incredible! What is more incredible is that we still have two of the original design team members on the team and our team has such longevity as players too. You can see not only our takes on the sketch this week but each DT member posted their very first card made for the challenge.

In my case, I was a player in challenge #1 and became a DT member at #4. I’m so grateful to the FMS family and while I love the cards, I REALLY love the people.

I was feeling a bit in the fall state of mind when I was creating this and pulled out some favorites from Honey Bee Stamps. I love inking up these leaves and the sunflower and had fun doing that. I found a patterned paper that matched the greens and thought that would be nice for the squares. I added a little bit of Distress Ink to give them more of the fall look.

I thought this sentiment was perfect for the sketch but also for my birthday stash. I used a new to me die set from Gina K Designs for the stitched square and the bigger square – Master Layouts #3. Finally a few neutral pearls to finish.

I hope you will come over and create with us this week. We love being a part of your crafting inspiration and we always find such joy in seeing what you create!

Freshly Made Sketches #699

Freshly Made Sketches #699 published on 3 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #699

Happy middle of the week! Hope your August is going well. We have a great new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week courtesy of designer Verena Shapiro. I’m not sure I kept to the intent but when I saw the circle, my first thought was this washi tape bouquet.

I already had this cut out so all I had to do was pick a sentiment and a background. I chose the gold embossing to match the gold in the washi tape. I thought the Rustic Brick Embossing Folder added nice texture.

I popped up layers with foam tape to give a bit more dimension and then added some Champagne Clear Drops with go well with the gold. Start to finish, about 30 minutes. Which was about as much time as I had. Washi tape and already cut elements for the win!

Thanks for stopping by today. And in case you didn’t notice, next week is one of those “big number” weeks for the challenge. We are planning a little trip down memory lane. Hope you will join us this week and come over to see us next week too.

Freshly Made Sketches #697

Freshly Made Sketches #697 published on 3 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #697

We have a fabulous sketch by the wonderful Linda Callahan this week for Freshly Made Sketches. I will admit that when I tried to make this using the sketch literally, I was a bit stumped. But then….

I realized I could use some fun elements for the layers and borders. An idea was formed! I pulled out the retiring Horizon Slimline Borders dies and use them to create a scene (the fence, the grass and the clouds). How easy is that? I colored the cut pieces by brushing on Distress Oxide Inks. Then I pulled out the retiring Little Birdies stamps and dies for these sweet images. Aren’t they adorable?

I colored those using Copic Markers and found some colors to coordinate with the borders. Easy and fun! Finally a sentiment…hmmm…straight to my go-to Mini Messages on that!

I hope you enjoy this fun little scene and will come over to join us at the challenge. Thanks so much for stopping in today. Wishing you a beautiful day!

Freshly Made Sketches #695

Freshly Made Sketches #695 published on 6 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #695

Happy middle of July! It seems to have been quite the summer for weather and I hope that you and your loved ones are safe from the impacts. I know that out in the flying world, it seems crazier than ever. I always find summer a bit chaotic for crafting…kind of thought that would be over once my boys were older. But no, apparently not. In any case, I am excited to share a card with you today. Two reasons: first, I’m the sketch designer for Freshly Made Sketches and second, a new release from Spellbinders that I get to share.

Just look at this cuteness! So the name of this die set from Spellbinders is Christmas Rocking Chair and it has all these fun little elements. And yet, you are saying…um, Jennifer, there is no rocking chair. Well, there is kind of a rocking chair. I only used part of it to create this little stool. I had all the other parts ready to go but the size of this worked so well for what I had in my head that I just decided to go rogue. I really like how it gives this option too. Great for tags. Plus, all the little elements can be used individually too.

I cut all the pieces out of white card stock to start. Mostly so I could get a look at how they worked and the scale. I inked most of them up with Distress Inks. For the soles of the boots, the straps and the lighting pieces on the tree, I cut from black card stock. For the pail, I had a matte silver metal stock in my stash and I used some gold for the buckles. I thought making a shaker would be fun and chose to use vellum for a frosty look. The panel behind was inked with Distress Inks and just added the sequins for a bit of movement. My sentiment is from Honey Bee Stamps but if you are shopping at Spellbinders, there is a massive sale, including on some holiday items. My order is somewhere with UPS…intended for this card…and maybe one day it will arrive. So much for the best laid plans.

I hope you will enjoy this sketch and have a moment to join in. I tried to keep it basic. I chose an arch instead of the oval and you can choose any shape you want! Thanks so much for stopping in and also for your thoughts on my blog from last post. Hope you have a great week!

Freshly Made Sketches #693

Freshly Made Sketches #693 published on 7 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #693

Hello friends! Glad you stopped by today I’m happy to share a card for Freshly Made Sketches but first…a question for you. Recently I asked you all about the links at the bottom of my posts and was grateful for your thoughts. But now, I’m considering saying goodbye to this blog. I know, for some, you do not do social media and this is the way you see what I create. But truthfully, I’m not even sure you are seeing my posts. My mail service has started charging fees and I cannot tell if you are still getting my posts or for how long you will. (Note: If you see this in an email, I’d appreciate you letting me know) The blog as I have it set up cost more than I can ever make in running it. I pay for the domain, the access to WordPress and the layers of security. Nostalgia has been the only real reason to hold on with 15 years of cards, thoughts and sharing. But it seems blogs are going away as a whole. Before I just cut it off, I’d like to hear your thoughts to make sure I’m not missing something. Will you please drop me a comment or note to let me know what you think? Thank you!

Now on to my card for this week. The lovely Amy O’Neill is our designer this week and came up with one that is super clever. I immediately thought it might be fun to use die cuts so that is the direction I took.

I started with the Lovely Layers: Spring Greenery and Lovely Layers: Dianthus dies from Honey Bee Stamps. Using the Bitty Bunny Blending Brushes from The Rabbit Hole Designs, I inked them up with Distress Inks in a multitude of colors. My lighting on these photos is kind of meh but the greens have more variety in person (thunderstorms rolled in and I had to rely on my craft room lights instead of daylight).

I didn’t want to cover up all the inking so opted for a vellum piece and added a sentiment on top. That allowed me to have attachment points under the sentiment that remain invisible. With the size of the elements, I didn’t want to have to cut them down so I made a 5″x7″ card instead. Kind of fun to work with the bigger space. I did some embossing in the background with the Sandie’s Garden folder and inked the edges just a bit for contrast. A few pearls and done!

Thanks again for stopping in today. I appreciate all of you so much! As I figure out what to do with this blog, just know that I want to maximize the making and sharing part while minimizing the admin and cost part. Hope you have a lovely week!

Freshly Made Sketches #691

Freshly Made Sketches #691 published on 4 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #691

Our sketch designer at Freshly Made Sketches this week is our newest team member, Michele Ferguson, with her first sketch! And, no surprise, she has knocked it out of the park! I think it will be wildly popular this week.

At first I didn’t think I was going to have time to play (only two days off between trips) but with a sketch this great, I had tons of ideas in my head. I may have deviated a little from her intention but I really wanted to play with my new Lovely Layers: Butterflies dies from Honey Bee Stamps. I am completely in love with them! I cut them out of Distress Heavystock paper for easy ink blending and colored them using Distress Inks and Bitty Bunny Blending Brushes.

I was aiming at a rainbow vibe so I just decided what order I wanted the butterflies in and got to blending. You can see all the colors listed in my link below. Once I was done with the wings, I debated for a bit on what color to make their bodies. I opted to use my Copics in T1 and T2 for a pale neutral that was easy to do. I chose the Quilted A2 Coverplate to add a little interest and picked a sentiment from the new Always and Forever stamp set (both Honey Bee Stamps).

I hope you will come over and join us this week. If you are out traveling, keep an eye out for me. I think I’ll be at most of United’s major airports at some point this week. Have a great week and see you soon!

Freshly Made Sketches #690

Freshly Made Sketches #690 published on 3 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #690

We have a great sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches! Our amazing Karren Johnson has given us some great options and I knew just what I wanted to do.

I had a birthday card that I needed to make for one of my boys and he loves foxes. Naturally, I pulled out my Fall Foxes from The Rabbit Hole Designs and got to coloring. Even though it says fall foxes, I colored him as a spring fox. I love him! To shop for him and other cute things from The Rabbit Hole Designs, just click the link to the store above or you can use discount code on their site: STAMPINONTHEFLY

I chose a woodgrain background from Honey Bee Stamps and found a scrap of green paper that matched the leaves to help with the sketch. The sentiment is from the Mini Messages: Birthday set. But what you can’t see in the photo is that the fox is up on a mini action wobbler. These little gadgets are so fun!!

You can see the video here: Fox Wobble Card

And here is the sketch for your reference:

Thanks so much for stopping in today. Hope you like this and will come over to join us too! See you soon!

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