Monday Musings

Hi all,

I'm thrilled to say it's been a perfect blend of time with hubby, time with family, time outside relaxing, time inside doing household chores -- and time making cards! It's great to have several cards to share. But first...

Scrapping with Purpose's Blogversary

Last Armed Forces Day was the date of our McGraw-Hill Global Volunteer Day event, during which McGraw-Hill employees partnered with the staff and customers of Scrapbook Art to make cards for Operation Write Home. One thousand, seven hundred, ninety-three cards to be exact!

My first blog post, which was to share our event with "the world", was on May 23, 2011. So, if you have started visiting the blog since then -- or would like to take a trip down memory lane, please check out the first couple of posts.

Speaking of GVD...

McGraw-Hill is in the process of separating into two companies, McGraw-Hill Financials and McGraw-Hill Education. While May has traditionally been the month during which Global Volunteer event were held, plans are to hold events later in the year. I'll be sure to let everyone know as soon as GVD 2012 has been the go-ahead and we have a firm date with Scrapbook Art.

Armed Forces Day 2012

Since I was not participating in a local card-making event to commemorate the day, I was thrilled that OWH was joining forces with Stamper's Best to have a blog skip of its own. :)  The sentiment on the Any Hero card below was made using my new set of Stamper's Best stamps and a slightly-modified OWH Sketch #122.

Paper: SignifyPink Pages of Honor, Bazzill admiral; inkded Cuttlebug embossing folder; brads

One More Patriotic Card

The following card started as a vertical card that was to be based on Mojo 240. The admiral base and jute strip came immediately. But, then I just couldn't get the rest to work out. The card started feeling like nothing more than disparate elements that had no connection to one another. I knew the sketch was going to be a challenge because it was more complex than my usual style, but I really wanted to give it a try. So, I set the card aside for a couple of days. When I came back to it, I decided to totally change direction -- going completely away from the original sketch. While it's nothing like the sketch for Mojo 240, I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. (And, it received hubby's stamp of approval!)

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty and Bazzill admiral; sentiment stamped in Distress Ink Barn Door Red; baker's twine and gems

  

Cards for Family and Friends

Whew!  I made a card for my great aunt's 95th birthday, a retirement card for a friend, and a graduation card for the friend's daughter. 

The birthday card was based on the card I posted for OWH's VCMP -- same paper, same design. The only difference was that I chose not to heat emboss using Versamark and clear powder. The other two cards came together pretty quickly.

Paper: Kaiser Up, Up and Away, Ranger Core; gems

Paper: ???; Gibson Greetings sticker, Kaiser rhinestones, blue gem to hold the tassel

 

I have to say I love this graduation card. The daughter's school colors are gold and black, so the scrap paper worked out perfectly. The design seems so simple, yet is so effective. (Think I'm going to make a similar card in red and black with a similar sticker and accents of blue for the daughter of my father-in-law's neighbors. These neighbors, including the kids, have been so wonderful to my father-in-law that we want to something for their daughter.

Parting Thoughts

The garage sale was fun, with perfect weather. I made a few purchases -- a couple of books for the pool, some plastic storage, and some watercolor paints. But, there weren't any too-good-to-be-true, just-what-I-was-looking-for finds this time around.

I'll be working on a couple of cards for OWH's Memorial Day blog hop. More to come. :)

                          

Thanks for stopping by. As always, happy scrappin'!