White on White on White on White

Hi, everyone.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. Ours was very nice -- having our dads over for dinner and watching a little football. We had a quiet, peaceful, relaxing day.

Now for my card for this week's Midweek Throwdown color challenge -- a card I almost didn't make. The challenge is to make a white on white card. I was going to pass because I honestly didn't think I had a single sheet of nice white paper in my stash following the OWH and craft show Christmas card holiday rushes. But, as I was cleaning out the craft room -- which is a disaster because of those same holiday rushes, I came across some lovely Stampin' Up! paper that I purchased years ago at a garage sale. So, I used pieces of four sheets of lovely, textured paper for the card below.

Stampin' Up! paper; Martha Stewart punches
white tulle; Queen & Co pearls; white gel pen antennae

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'! Thanks, Allison, for a great challenge.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the holiday weekend.

A Question or Two for fellow Craft Show Vendors

Hi, everyone.

First of all, many thanks to those of you who left comments for Christmases of Days Gone By. And, it was so great to see fellow card makers from Curtain Call. It was my first time to visit the Curtain Call blog, and I have a feeling it isn't going to be my last.

Craft Show Follow-Up

Okay, so last Wednesday was the craft show at work, selling handmade cards to raise money for my OWH hobby. (Or, maybe I should say obsession.)  :)

I think I did a little better than last year, but not as well as my first year. The quality has certainly improved as my card making skills have gotten better, and I received tons of compliments. In spite of new-and-improved designs, I'm still charging the same amount -- $4 each or 3 for $10 -- which seems reasonable. 
 
But, it's starting to feel like more and more folks are leaning more towards photo cards than traditional holiday cards. Seems like Shutterfly and Vista Print are everywhere. Interestingly enough, a coworker told me that mine was the only real Christmas card she received last year, with everyone else sending photo cards.

So, for those of you who sell, or have sold, cards at craft shows:

• Have you noticed a decrease in the number of people who purchase cards?
• Is there a paper craft that sells better -- maybe like gift tags?

Hubby and I are selling at one more show in December. We'll see how that goes. Most importantly, I'm spreading the word about OWH to lots and lots of people!!!!

Nonetheless, I'd really like to maximize profits... So, I'm open to suggestions. :)

Parting Thoughts

Thanks again for the lovely feedback about Christmases of Days Gone By. Now back to that slightly-less-messy craft room.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

8 Packages Tied Up in a Bow

Hi, everyone. Happy weekend!

The card below was inspired by this week's OWH Midweek Throwdown to make a masculine birthday card and CAS-ual Fridays' challenge to make a card featuring eight of something -- in this case, 8 birthday packages all tied up in a bow.

DCWV Natural matstack with foil
Paper Smooches twine
Paper Studio brads

Pretty pleased with the way this one turned out. Really love all the textures with the foil in the paper, the twine, and the brads. Hope it will brighten the day of one of a troop's loved one.

Parting Thoughts

Will try to make some time to write about this week's craft show. And, then there's a post-craft-show craft room that needs some cleaning up. :)

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Christmases of Days Gone By

Hi, everyone.

Boy, what a difference a day makes. Hope everyone is safe and sound following yesterday's weather.

The card below is inspired by two separate posts: this month's OWH Design Bootcamp lesson from Paula about using texture and this week's CAS-ual Fridays and Curtain Call's combined challenge. (Luckily, this digital camera pic turned out much better than my last few efforts! Maybe there's hope for me yet...)

Distress Ink core, Bo Bunny Father Christmas, Bazzill or AC cardstock
Stampin' Up! stamp and punch
dry embossing with Cuttlebug folder
heat embossing with Inkadinkado gold powder
Martha Stewart branch punch; Creative Memories oval cutting system
Really Reasonable Ribbon lace; Paper Studio brads
Tombow foam adheaives

The CAS-ual Fridays inspiration photo reminded me of a Currier and Ives or Norman Rockwell Christmas. So, it just felt right to pull out my remaining Bo Bunny Father Christmas papers and new Stampin' Up! old-fashioned ornament stamp set to create this holiday card.

Love the richness of the colors, the simplicity of the design, and all of the texture. (I know there's a  lot of tactile texture, not so sure about the visual texture.)

This card is going to OWH to send some holiday cheer to one of our deployed troops.

Parting Thoughts

Thanks again, Paula, for another wonderful Design Bootcamp. Your posts have been fabulous!

Looking forward to Wednesday's craft show at work. Hoping for lots of sales. After all,  girl's gotta do something to support her card-making hobby...   :)

Have a great rest of the week. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Snowflakes in Purple and Silver

Hi, everyone!

Loved, loved, loved today's OWH CAS sketch, which inspired the Any Hero Christmas card shown below. Still missing our printer/scanner, which means fumbling around with the focus on our digital camera. So, I apologize in advance for the fuzziness of the pic.

Distress Ink core and Recollections papers
SU sentiment; Recolrection snowflake punch
Creative Memories square punches
sentiment and snowflakes heat embossed in Stampdendous silver tinsel
Paper Studio brads

Other than a slight adjustment in the size of the squares, I think I was pretty true to the sketch this time around. Shocking, I know! But, I do love the simplicity of this sketch -- and think it might become a go-to favorite for a lot of cards... Valentine hearts, spring butterfies, summer seashells, fall leaves...

Parting Thoughts

Think weather's supposed to get kind of dicey, so I'm going to sign off. Hope all of you in the Chicago area are safe and sound.

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

Say It with Butterflies

Hi, everyone. Happy Saturday!

Just finished the last set of Craft Show cards. Wanted to include a few non-holiday cards. So, the last cards are versatile feminine offerings that are sentiment free and could be used for a variety of occasions.



Distress Ink core paper embossed with Sizzix folder
OWH fundraising ribbon
Martha Stewart butterfly punches with Paper Studio brads


I like the softer, muted palette, and I really like all the texture in this card. The ribbon is just plain yummy. The butterflies have just the right amount of detail -- with just a touch of bling. (These brads are itty, bitty -- in case craft show shoppers want to be able to drop these cards in the mail.) And, I'm really pleased with the placement of the ribbon and butterflies.

Sorry about the crooked image. Our desktop is in for some maintenance, so the printer/scanner is not an option. And, actually, a scanned image would have produced some shadows. However, I'm still working on this digital camera thing. :)

Parting Thoughts

Okay, the craft room is in serious need of cleaning/organizing after being besieged by this whirlwind called a craft show. After that, hoping to work on an Any Hero card and a CAS-ual Friday card inspired by tomorrow's sketch and this week's new challenge, respectively.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Happy Birthday, Princess

Happy Friday, everyone!

Trying to get a few more cards for Wednesday's Craft Show -- mixing in a few general sentiment cards with all those holiday cards. The card below is my latest attempt at a non-glitter princess card. (Trying to keep a glitter-free card-making space.)

Recollections dp; AC and Bazzill cardstock; watercolor paper
computer-generated sentiment (Lucida Handwriting)
Martha Stewart punches and gem; flea market ribbon
Inside Sentiment: May All Your Dreams Come True

Okay, just a few sentiment-free butterfly cards to go. :)

Thanks for stopping. Happy scrappin'! And, have a great weekend!

Bee Mine -- Take 2

Hi, everyone.

This week's OWH Midweek Throwdown is to make a card using dry embossing. Just loved Carols' sample card.

As for my contribution... Sounded like another great opportunity to stamp some little bees.

Distress Ink core, embossed with Sizzix/SU embossing folder
Paper Smooches images stamped in Distress Ink

Inside of Card

waterfall card

These three panels on the front, and the inside sentiment, make up the four panels on this waterfall card from the other day.

And, I don't usually include onside sentiments for OWH cards. But, these little bees really needed a little extra pizzazz on the inside. :)

I'm really liking the concept of the card, but am not so happy with the dimensions of the panels on the front. Think I may give this another try using two circles and an oval...

Parting Thoughts

Another short and sweet post. Still trying to recover from last week's festivities. And, gotta make some card bases for next week's craft show and e-mail a friend about a possible December Girl Get-Together.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Bee Mine

Hi, everyone.

For those of us who make cards for Operation Write Home, Veteran's Day is bittersweet. A heartfelt thanks to those who have served and sacrificed for our country.

This month's Our Daily Bread Design OWH challenge is to make a love card. Yes, while the rest of the world is thinking turkey and pumpkin pie, OWHers are thinking Valentine's Day cards for our troops.

Paper Smooches stamp set, heat embossed in Distress Inks
Distress Ink core paper, embossed with Sizzix folder

The card above was inspired by a technique learned in one of Bernadette's Stampin' Up! classes -- making a waterfall card. Honestly, my brain is too fried from today at work to even begin to try and explain the card. But, if you're interested in learning more about waterfall cards, a quick Google search will turn up some videos. :)

The images below show the panels that pulling on the tab will reveal.

Since this card is going to a troop to write home to a loved one, I wanted to include a little writing room. The image below shows the back of the card.

What's not to love about a card that combines Paper Smooches stamps, Distress Ink core paper, Distress Inks, and embossing?!

Think CAS-ual Fridays has an embossing challenge going on -- and Paper Smooches has a guest designer challenge. If so, this little card might just end up on both of those sites.

Parting Thoughts

So glad I was able to get a card made for the ODBD challenge. Would hate to miss that.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Any Hero Whimsical Christmas Card

Hi everyone,

Today's Any Hero Christmas card was inspired by today's OWH Sketch, October's Really Reasonable Ribbon club assortment of non-traditional holiday color ribbons, and a previouly-published whimsical tree card.

AC cardstock; Really Reasonable Ribbon (October club sampler)
EK hole punch; the Paper Studio star punch

Still have to write a note inside this one. I am very excited that the back in stamped with my new personalized OWH stamp from RubberStamps.com!

Not quite sure what's up with the scanner these days. The green on this card isn't nearly as neon as it appears here...

Parting Thought

Have a good week. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Holiday Wishes for Our Troops

Hi, everyone.

This week's OWH Midweek Throwdown is to make an Any Hero Christmas Card or two. And, last night was Bernadette's Christmas Card class. Perfect timing!

All Stampin' Up! products

In the class we made 15 cards, 3 each of 5 designs. A pennant card and the card shown above were my two favorites. Since the card above is the "sturdier" of the two, it will most likely be the safer bet to make it across the miles safe and sound. So, at least one of these -- and probably all three -- will become Any Hero cards. :)

I loved the message shown in the blog post. So, I think I will tweak it just a little to write inside this little card.

Parting Thoughts

Thanks again, Bernadette, for another fun evening.

The 90th birthday celebration for my father-in-law continues this afternoon with an open house being hosted by a neighbor.

Think that's it for now. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Your Thoughtfulness Meant the World

Hi, everyone.

This card has been rattling around in my brain for such a long time. I just never had quite the right tools or skills to make it a reality. And, then I saw the new Stampin' Up! World Background Map stamp in this year's catalog!

But, then there were a couple of delays in getting the new stamp. So, the card still had a little more time to rattle around. Finally, the stamp arrived, the ideas came together, and the card below was born.  :)

Stampin' Up! World Map background stamp
stamped image on watercolor paper in jet black StazOn
map image washed in watered Honey Brown and Cape Cod acrylics
map and scroll edges inked in Distress Ink wild honey with SU sponge dauber
map edges distressed with Ranger distress tool
scroll: computer-generated with Word shapes and Old English font
background paper: Distress Ink core
American Craft premium ribbon, garage sale brads
Inside Sentiment: Your Thoughtfulness Meant the World to Me

Making a few more of these for the craft show. And, think this one might just be Pin-worthy! Can't wait to show it to my fellow Stampin' Up! partners in crime and our SU instructor at our Christmas Card-Making Party on Friday.

Parting Thoughts

Can't wait for tomorrow -- my father-in-law's 90th birthday dinner. His sister and brother-in-law came in tonight from Alabama. And, friends and neighbors seem really excited. Should be a special night for a remarkable man.  :)

SU Word Window Punches...

... They're not just not for polar bear arms anymore!

Hi, everyone. Hope the work week is off to a good start.

Okay, so I was making some polar bear cards for a couple of upcoming craft shows. I was in quick need of a word window punch. My fabulous Stampin' Up! demonstrator Bernadette offered to loan me hers. And, it seemed only right to purchase one from her -- although I was so polar-beared out that I couldn't even think about punching out any more bear legs anytime soon. :)

Imagine my surprise when I looked at my new punch and saw.... birthday candles. Yep, little tiny birthday candles!  :)

Distress Ink core, candles lightly sanded; Bazzill brown
Stampin' Up! word window punch; EK leaf punch
computer-generated sentiment (Andy) on watercolor paper
Creative Memories corner rounder; Fiskars scissors

I trimmed the tops of the candles with the Fiskars scissors, and I used a piece of removable tape to line up the bottoms of the candles.

Parting Thoughts

Had to smile when Jen said that she'd take a beach vacation over card making. So, what does that say about me that I worked on craft show polar bear cards in the evenings? Thanks to Donna and Paula for 'fessing up to remembering that "Less Filling, Tastes Great" commercial.

Speaking of that commercial... Eons ago -- back when my brother and I still rode roller coasters, we were waiting for a ride to begin on the Racer, which was a two track coaster that ran racing roller coasters. My brother looked over at the other track of riders and hollered, "Less filling!" Their response... nothing but blank stares. I laughed so hard. My brother, as I recall, was not quite as amused. Must say it was one of those classic family memories.  :)

Nearing the home stretch on craft show cards. I'm looking forward to checking the last cards off my list for several reasons, one of which is getting back in the swing for OWH. Need to make this month's ODBD card and want to try that scratch-off card in today's tutorial.

And, can't wait for my father-in-law's 90th birthday festivities to begin!

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Fewer Layers, More Texture...

Hi, everyone.

When I was trying to think of a name for today's card, and a  title for today's post, a line from an old commercial came to mind. Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers, "Less Filling, Tastes Great".

So, for today's Any Hero card, I tried to make up for a lack of layers by adding a bit more texture. As with most of my Any Hero cards, the card below was inspired by this week's OWH Sunday Sketch.

Bo Bunny Anthem, Recollections jute, Distress Ink core paper
sentiment heat embossed in Distress Ink walnut stain on watercolor paper

garage sale brads

I rotated the sketch to go with a horizontal sentiment. And, since I was going with fewer layers, I cut the backgound dp to maximize the paper embellishment on the right.  

Parting Thoughts 

Sorry I've been so sporadic with posts lately -- but it's been for lots of good reasons. The months of October and November have brought lots of fun family-related events/activities. Let's see there was a beach getaway followed by a family reunion. This week, there will be 3 separate events celebrating my father-in-law's 90th birthday. When you add these to making some cards for upcoming craft shows and our typical day-to-day activities. Well, let's just say we've been rather busy -- and quite merry.  :)

As always, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'! And, have a great week!