OWH Sketch #140

Hi everyone,

It's always great fun when one of the OWH blog team members contacts you about helping out with a challenge. So, I really enjoyed making a couple of sample cards for this week's sketch.

Sample Cards

Because of the month-long Birthday Bash, it's taken awhile for this sketch to post. So, the cards below were actually made during a summer trip to the beach and mailed awhile ago. 

We R Memory Keepers Down the Boardwalk collection; pop up dots for "Notes" rectangle

Bo Bunny Liberty; jute; punched-out stars, heat embossed with clear powder; pop up dots for middle star

I have to admit that I initially struggled with how to use the two vertical strips. When making sample cards for Julie, I stick exactly to the sketch -- which, as many of you know, can be a challenge for me. :)  But, I think these turned out okay.

In addition, I used a few of my favorite techniques on the patriotic card:

• heat embossing with clear powder to give the stars a little shine, and
• pairing jute with navy for an unexpected texture.  
  
  
   Inside Surprises
  
  

  Finally, there were a few cards in one of the OWH blog hops that had "surprises" on the inside. This seemed like a nice touch. So, I added simple surprises to the inside of each of these cards.
  
  
  
  
  Parting Thoughts

Can't wait to see what you do with these three rectangles!

On another note, kudos to Jeri and her amazing Scrapbook Art OWH team for a wonderful card-making birthday bash! A grand total of 1424 cards were assembled today! The ATG guns were ablazing! I think I went through 5 or 6 rolls of ATG tape myself. :)  More details to follow.

As always, hanks for stopping by and for supporting OWH. Happy scrappin'!

Season's Greetings

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone's had a good weekend.

I met a friend for a day of talking, eating, and shopping -- probably in that order -- yesterday and picked up a couple of yummy 6 by 6 pads of Christmas paper. Put one of those pads to use on the card below.

Authentique Festive; Hero Arts stamp, heat embossed in Distress Ink Vintage Photo; corner rounder, hole and ek border punches

Why is it that my cuts and paper placements always look so much straighter in my craft (aka menopause) room than on this computer monitor screen? Hmmm...

Anyway, love that the paper is two-sided. Love the designs in the collection. Thought the font of this sentiment felt right with the old-fashioned feel of the paper. And, I was pleased with the look achieved by applying  just a touch of Distress Ink to the top edge of the plaid paper.

I used OWH Sketch 139 for the design. (Since I don't have any brace/bracket dies, I went with a corner rounder for the top paper.) Also, I went with the red and green palette for this week's Midweek Throwdown Challenge.

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to make an Any Hero card using Sketch #139 this week. [In January, I resolved to make an Any Hero card for any OWH sketch I used during the year. Not quite as ambitious as Kathryn's resolution. But, a resolution I still want to keep. :) ]

And, I'm really looking forward to the card-making party at Scrapbook Art this coming Saturday. If you're interested in joining us and need some info, please click here.

OWH Sketch #138

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone's had a nice weekend. The weather here has been amazing -- two Chamber of Commerce days as hubby likes to say. :)

I have two cards to share, both of which were inspired by this week's sketch.

Card 1: A Christmas Card

Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co. cardstock; stamps: Hero Arts snowflake and $ sentiment; sentiment in Stampin' Up! Night of Navy; clear embossing powder

The card is far more striking than what you see here. Clear snowflakes have also been heat-embossed on the white cardstock. I wish they would have shown up better.

Actually, I was so pleased by the elegant look of the blue-on-blue and white-on-white embossing, I decided against adding a snowman to the design as originally planned and went with just the sentiment.

And, this pack of cardstock is so pretty. The papers have really nice textures. It's not mu usual Bazzill. Instead, it's a pack I picked up at a great price at Tuesday Morning. I wasn't sure how nice it would be, but I wouldn't think twice about buying it again. If you see it, consider giving it a try. :)

Card 2: An Any Hero Card

We R Memory Keepers Red, White and Blue, black cardstock; Paper Inspirations sentiment in Distress Ink Black Soot; gems

In addition to being inspired by this week's OWH  sketch, this card drew inspiration from this week's Midweek Throwdown to make an Any Hero card and from this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge to make a card using black, white, and one other color.

Parting Thought: A Card-Making Party for OWH  :)

If you live within traveling distance to central Ohio -- and  you're free on September 29th -- there's a birthday bash card-making party going on at Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center. Click here for details.

If you can make it, I know they'd love to have you. The more the merrier! I definitely have it circled on my calendar.

Thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

OWH Challenge Cards

Hi everyone,

The day's checklist is going well:

• Walk off [some of yesterday's] Calories -- check!
• Watch football -- check!
• Read outside -- check!
• Make a few cards -- check!

So, I have cards to share for both the Sunday Sketch and Midweek Throwdown.

OWH Sketch #137

Two of the following card were made: one Any Hero Christmas and one blank card for our troops.

Moxxie Winterland, Bazzill cardstock, AC Cardstock Christmas; Sizzix embossing folder; border punch; ribbon, gems

  

OWH Midweek Throwdown

This week's challenge is to make a kid card with scallops. I've been waiting for just the right challenge to use some of these garage-sale-find chipboard stickers. And, after selecting the focus chipboard sticker and complementary papers, the card pretty much made itself.  :)

DCWV Stack 6, Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co.; K & Company Wild Saffron chipboard stickers

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to make a few holiday cards this week. Have a great week!

As always, thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!

OWH VCMP Follow-up: Blog Candy Winner and Holiday Card Directions

Hi everyone,

A HUGE THANK YOU  to everyone who made holiday cards during OWH's VCMP. Our heroes and their loved ones will surely appreciate them.

As promised, the following post provides shares the techniques and decisions involved in the making of Frosty's Lil Friend and Three Times the Greenery. But first, a drum roll please....

And, the blog candy goes to...

Ann M. Congratulations, Ann!  Please send me a street address or P.O. Box to which I can send the Stampendous stamp set. 

And, I'd love to know where you found this sentiment. It is perfect for OWH holiday cards.

Thanks again to everyone who played along. What a great group of cards -- don't think I could choose a favorite if I had to...  :)

Frosty's Lil Friend

• Frosty's Lil Friend  started with a post-it note sketch. [Okay, actually two sketches when the first looked more like a bird than a snowman. :) ]

 

 

• I chose the stash papers I wanted to use -- and made sure I had enough of each type to complete the card. (Trust me, I've learned this lesson the hard way!) Then I made sure I had just the right fiber and floss to coordinate with the papers.
• I used a Creative Memories circle to draw the biggest circle possible on a folded 4.25-by-5.5 inch card base.
• Next, I free-handed a top hat and the beginnings of the snowman's body on the card base. Then I cut along the outline through both layers of the card.
•  I cut out the head and snowman body separately from the first paper, using the card outline as my templates. (You could cut out one solid shape, but I chose to go with a separate head for more of a 3-D look.)
• To make the hat, I heat embossed the second paper using clear powder to add a little extra sheen and texture. Then, I used the card outline as a template to cut out the top hat. Once again, I made the decision to make this element out of two separate pieces.
• The nose, which is "two-ply",  was cut from the AC cardstock.
• Darker pastels were used to shade the left side of the face, under the head, and the left and bottom of the nose. A lighter pastel was used to highlight the right side of the face.
• The buttons were "dressed" and the fiber was attached.
• Before adhering the buttons and nose, each element was placed on the card to get just the right placement before applying the glue dots and tape. 
• Finally, I used Martha Stewart's branch punch from a third s.e.i. paper to add a little interest to the hat.

Three Times the Greenery

First, a brief history. I met Ashley when she was working at her mom's LSS Pizazz It! She makes great designs for scrapbook pages, from which I make cards. Three Times the Greenery was inspired by the sketch below.

 

• Once I chose to use Bo Bunny's Father Christmas paper, I decided to use three punched-out trees for the three "photos".
• The green circle was cut from the same paper as the trees to help "pop" the trees. 
• I heat embossed a swirl design on the circle to add a little interest to the circle and to better connect it with the swirls in the base paper. So that the embossed circle wouldn't have a greater importance than the trees, I heat embossed the tree paper before punching out the trees.
• Then, I put reddish paper behind several elements, including around the light green rectangle in order to provide a visual break between it and the green circle.
• Border punching the left side of the red rectangle was the last step before adhering the elements. (Trees have a second layer of trees underneath them.)

 This week's  CAS-ual Friday's Challenge is to make a card featuring embossing -- dry, heat or both. Think I'll post Three Times the Greenery. Even though it has several different elements, it still feels CAS-like to me in its focal point. And, I really do love the way this one turned out.

Parting Thoughts

Such a pretty day here and so many things to do: walking off yesterday's family reunion Calories, watching a pro football game or two -- especially my favorite team who's on at 1:00, reading on the front porch, and making OWH cards. Hope I manage to get them all in. :)

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!

Magical Christmas Trees

Hi everyone,

The sample snowman card I made for OWH's VCMP was made from s.e.i.'s Kris Kringle line from a few years ago.  After "rediscovering" this paper -- and its coordinating embellishments -- to make the sample card, I couldn't help but make a few other cards from it.

And, I loved one of last night's creations so much, I just had to share it with you.  :)

s.e.i. Kris Kringle, Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co. black cardstock; Queen & Co. rhinestones

I wish the scan captured the beauty of this paper. (The trees have shiny, glossy accents and the striped paper includes gold foil stripes.) I had just two tiny strips of the tree paper left. The trees were too pretty to not use, but so small I feared they would get lost on a card. I also had just a few sheets of the striped paper. For some reason, I was inspired to put them together, grounding them with the black cardstock. And, voila, magic! 

I think I'm going to use my last strip of trees and green striped paper to make a similar card for a dear, dear friend.


That's it -- just one very pretty card to share.

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!

CFC 68: A Back to School Card

Hi everyone,

Wow!  What a fun weekend making cards for OWH's Birthday Bash!  It's been really overcast here this weekend.  Normally, that would bum me out.  But, it was a great excuse to make cards for some fun challenges for a wonderful cause. :)

CFC 68: A Back to School Card

It's been awhile since I've made a card for CAS-ual Fridays.  It was good having a chance to do that this 3-day weekend.

Since OWH doesn't have much of a demand for back-to-school -- and that deadline has passed, I went for something more generic.  The following card isn't nearly as fancy or creative as the sample cards posted for this challenge.  But, I wanted to create a colorful, fun card a hero could send back home to a little one.  With that in mind, I think this little card is a success.

red cardstock: AC Christmas; all other paper: a garage-sale find of unknown origin; stash letter stickers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parting Thoughts

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful VCMP. Your Christmas challenge cards are amazing. Your comments, visits, and support are most appreciated. Stay tuned for the blog candy winner -- and for information on my sample cards.

Hoping for a calmer week at work to be able to make cards in the evening.

Have a great week!  Thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

OWH VCMP: Day 2 -- UPDATED

Hi everyone,

I have so loved this year's challenges. They've inspired me to get out papers and tools that have been sitting around for awhile. :)

Challenge 6: Sunday Sketch and Use a Punch Combo Challenge

This challenge was a great excuse to use more of that yummy Moxxie paper!

Moxxie and stash cardstock; snowflake punch; Stickles; ribbon

Challenge 8: A Sports-Related Card

Hubby used to coach high school basketball. And, I had high hopes of making a wonderful scrapbook of his seasons. A decade later, those papers and die-cuts still sit idle in the closet. Sounds like its time to put them to another good use -- especially that amazing basketball leather-like "paper".   :)

BTW  Hubby suggested the sentiment at the bottom of the card.

The Paper Company, ???, stash carsdstock; Creative Letters (Chunky); border punch; computer-generated font

Challenge 9: Putting a Neglected Tool to Use

In this case, the snowman punch was purchased at a garage sale. A set of oval punches were ordered from a Stampin' Up! rep. Neither the snowman or oval had yet to be used. So glad that this challenge changed that!

Still not completely satisfied with the card below. I feel like it needs something else. Just not sure what that it is... And, I might need to go back and "fix" the little hats...

Jillibean Christmas Eve Chowder; AC Christmas; border, oval, and snowman punches; ric-rac; hand-drawn embellishments

Added a few gems since the first publishing the post. What do you think?  Better, or does it still need something?

Challenge 10: A Card Representing Your State

What an interesting idea!  I'm a born-and-raised a Buckeye. I've lived in Central Ohio my entire life. 

So, what does Ohio mean to me? At first, two thoughts came to mind:

• OH-IO: It is football season, after all!  But, I've never been a full-time OSU student.
• "Hi" and "Hello": Say what you will about our great state, it is one friendly place to live. But, this wouldn't be unique to just Ohio.

Then an old advertising slogan/campaign to me: "Ohio: The Heart of It All". Naturally, I had to go with scarlet and gray colors, non-OSU grad or not. :)

Reminisce Be Mine, shiny gray stash cardstock from ???, Cardstock Warehouse Paper black cardstock (a Tuesday Morning bargain); ek punch; Queen & Co rhinestones; computer-generated font; crimping tool

Ohio is definitely the heart of my world: hubby, home, family, friends. Yet, this would make for a wonderful love note from a hero to the heart of his/her world back home. :)

Parting Thoughts

Thanks to Allison for organizing this wonderful party. Thanks to our hostesses for some great challenges that really got those creative juices flowing.

And, thanks to everyone who played along with the Christmas is for Kids challenge. I'll announce the winner of my blog candy next Sunday.

As always, thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!

OWH VCMP: Christmas is for Kids

Welcome party-goers! Happy Birthday, OWH!

Please click here to return to the Master Thread.

Snowmen and Christmas trees...   It must be time to make holiday cards!

The theme of this stop is "Christmas is for Kids -- Big and Small". The challenge is to make two Christmas cards -- an Any Hero Christmas card and a Christmas card for one of our heroes to send to a child.

So, I have two cards to share with you. While the cards are very different, they have a couple of things in common. Each card was inspired by a fellow card-maker/designer. Each card was made from stash 6-by-6 designer paper that I've had for awhile. And, each card was made using one of my favorite techniques, heat embossing with clear powder.

For a Child: Frosty's Lil Friend

Frosty's Lil Friend was inspired by Kathryn's adorable Santa card and by the all of the cute "shape" cards in one of my favorite craft books of all time. Thanks, Kathryn, and thanks, Leisure Arts!

Paper: s.e.i. Kris Kringle collection; AC Christmas collection cardstock; garage sale fiber, buttons "dressed" with DMC floss

For a Hero: Three Times the Greenery

Three Times the Pine was inspired by Ashley's September scrapbook layout design. Thanks, Ashley! 

Bo Bunny Father Christmas collection, stash cardstock; Hampton Arts stamp; heat embossing with clear powder; various "cutting" tools

Blog Candy

By Stampendous!

Is there blog candy you ask? Yes, there is!

I stopped by to see Terri at Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center, OH. I was hoping to find some cute kid-Christmas-card-related item to offer and picked up the stamp set shown at the right. Bet one lucky card maker is gonna make some adorable kid cards with this stamp set!

 To qualify for the random drawing, link at least one Christmas card for a hero or a child by 11:00 A.M. EST, Sunday, September 9. Followers who link a card will receive an extra e-ticket in this raffle.

Parting Thoughts

Can't wait to see all the holiday cards for our heroes and the little ones in their lives. :)  In a couple of days, I'll post details (techniques used, decisions made) about the cards shown above.

Special thanks to Allison for organizing this year's Birthday Bash VCMP!

Finally, merry card-makin' to all and to all a good time!

OWH VCMP: Day 1

Hi everyone,

Isn't OWH's card-making party great fun?!  Thanks to our hostesses for such creative challenges and such nice sample cards.

Here are cards for the first 3 challenges:

Challenge 1: A Card with a Scripture Verse or an Inspirational Message

Bo Bunny Snowfall; computer-generated font; border punch and circle templates; Stickles

This challenge was brought to us by the wonderful folks at ODBD.  :)

Challenge 2: A Recipe Card

In this case, the recipe was to make a card with 1 image, 2 papers, and 3 words. 

Jillibean Dutch Mustard Soup, Distress Ink Core Paper; sentiment from Whipper Snapper Designs, stamped and heat embossed with  Distress Ink Dusty Concord; border punch; s.e.i Happy Day die-cut adhered with pop dots

Hope I didn't cheat using the solid color cardstock. Oh, well, it's the thought that counts -- right?

The scan seems to have distorted the color of the cupcake. It actually goes really well with the paper -- much better than it appears here.

Challenge 3: Make a non-Christmas Snowflake Card

Moxxie Winterland, stash cardstock; snowflake punches, border punch; Stickles

I was so happy when I saw this challenge because I picked up luxurious paper at Scrapbook Art this week and have been really excited to use it. Went with another one of the little pocket cards I love so much. (They come together so quickly and look so darned cute!)

Wish the scan would've shown the stickling on the snowflakes. It really helps pop the flakes.

Think I'll use a little darker cardstock for the top for my next batch of Moxxie Winterland cards.

Challenge 4: Triple Stamping Techniques

stash cardstock; Hero Arts stamp in Stampin' Up Bordering Blue and Classic Navy; tulle; Midnight Blue Stickles

This technique was too pretty to not try. But, I changed it up just a bit. I decided to actually stamp three times -- applying the ghosting (first generation, second generation, third generation) technique in last week's Tuesday Tutorial.  The center of the snowflake in the bottom left corner was stamped in a darker blue, popped using several layers of cardstock, and stickled in the middle. I'm toying with adding some Icicle Stickles -- either to just the bottom left snowflake or to a few other snowflakes as well. 

What a cool effect. And, definitely something I would never have come up with on my own. Very cool, indeed!

 

Parting Thoughts

My how my stack for OWH has grown!  :)

Can't wait to see what Day 2 holds!

Until then, happy scrappin'!