Friday Night Writes

Hi, everyone,

Thanks again to everyone who visited, left comments, and/or started following Scrapping with Purpose during last weekend's OWH Memorial Day Blog Hop.  It was wonderful to see all the amazing cards that will be going to our troops and their loved ones!  :)

A special thanks to Donna for letting me know my word verification was on. Sorry about that.  I had no idea! I'm a real neophyte when it comes to this blogging stuff, but I think it's off now. If not, please let me know. :)

Work's been crazy busy. So, I only have one card to share.

CFC54: Gratitude Fit for a Man

This week's Casual Fridays challenge was to make a masculine card from designer paper. My original plan was to use Mojo Monday Sketch 243 to make the masculine thank  you card below.

Paper: Moxie VIP Father, various card stock; Sentiment: Hero Arts Gratitude; jute

• First, I decided to try the second design, but make the card rectangular to meet OWH's preference for A2 cards. 
• Recently, I've been having a love affair with deep navy and jute for my Any Hero cards. So, I chose the flip side of Moxie's VIP Father paper --thinking it would go great with a navy background and a strip of jute. 
• Then I thought the small rectangular gratitude sentiment would be perfect with the jute. That's when I made the decision to not cut out the "V". 
• That's when I decided to scrap the sketch circle and tiny square elements. Guess I just have to much CAS  in me for my own good!
• Next, I tinkered around with some card stock possibilities to pop the dp and sentiment. 
• Finally, I added the punched out circles to tie in the mustard card stock behind the dp and bring attention to the sentiment.

I was pretty pleased with the result -- and I received hubby's stamp of approval! This card should make a nice addition to my next OWH shipment!

Think I'll post this at CAS-ual Fridays and for the OWH Midweek Throwdown Thank You Card Challenge-- but, probably not Mojo Monday.  :)

Parting Thoughts

I'd like to share a concern that came from a card I started for Julie's Blog Hop Bonus Sketch.

                               

When I showed the card below to hubby, I could tell he just didn't like it all. I knew it still needed a little something else, but not to the degree I picked up on from hubby. He eventually told me about gold star moms -- military moms who have lost a son or daughter. He really didn't think the paper I was using would be appropriate for a family member to receive. 

Paper: Signify Pink's Pages of Honor :); Ribbon: the last of my gorgeous Michael's clearance ribbon :(

I immediately e-mailed Sandy to get her perspective. Sandy said that our heroes are happy to receive such nice cards and don't think about the gold star aspect. So, I'm going to add a little more oomph and write a note to one of our heroes. And, I wanted to share this concern -- and solution. :)

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

Monday Musings -- Another Early Edition

Hi, everyone,

Hope it's been a good weekend for you. The weather is absolutely gorgeous here -- just a tad on the chilly side, but the sun is shining and the windows are open. :)

I'm hoping to work on a design later today for that "My Dad, My Hero" card idea that's been rolling around in my head. But, for now, I have 2 cards to share. So, I thought I'd go ahead and post a little early. If this becomes a habit, I might have to think of a name other than Monday Musings. :)

OWH Sketch #115

Donna is the sample maker for this week's sketch cards -- and they are so cute. I just love the patriotic one! Nice work, Donna!

The card below is this week's Any Hero card. Again, I inked up the inside of the embossing folder. I love the texture and extra dimension that this technique gives. 

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty, Bazzill Watermelon; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Stickles; Stampin' Up Night of Navy ink

This sketch might make for a great "My Dad, My Hero" card. And, I'll have plenty of patriotic paper to choose from when those Bo Bunny 6 by 6 Liberty pads arrive. Looks like I've got a little designing to do...

CFC46: Name That Tune

This week's CAS-ual Fridays blog challenge  is to create a card inspired by a song. After a little pondering -- and some internet searching -- I decided upon Love is in the Air. A pair of head-over-heals-in-love butterflies immediately came to mind. :)

The next decision was to find just the right paper with just the right color combination. The key palette ingredients were a blue background (so these little butterflies could dance romantically through the sky), a coordinating pattern fit for the lady, and a second coordinating pattern fit for the gent. This BasicGrey paper that I found in that unexpected Tuesday Morning spree a few weeks ago fit the bill perfectly. Finally, the inspirational song title (printed in graceful Lucida Handwriting), parallel flight paths that included hearts and loops, and some champagne-colored heart gems provided the finishing touches.

Paper: BasicGrey Granola 12 by 12 pad; Butterflies: Martha Stewart Punch around the Page; 

computer-generated font; mini champagne-colored, heart-shaped gems

I  debated about adding black rhinestones to ground the corners, but decided against it. It would be a shame if anything took away from the gems on the butterflies themselves. 


Love is definitely in the air for these little creatures. :)

Parting Thoughts

Those of you who show your cards to hubbies might get a chuckle out of this glimpse into my world. Hubby said that as he was driving home from Spring Break he realized he'd gone a whole week without hearing anything about cards, squares, triangles.... (Sound like anyone you know?) I just had to laugh -- and told him that his confession was blog-worthy!

My goal for the week is to have a "My Dad, My Hero" card to show on Friday. Until then...

Have a great week!  And, happy scrappin'!