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'!

Memorial Day BlogHop 2013

Hi everyone!

Welcome to a stop on Operation Write Home's 2013 Memorial Day BlogHop!

To return to the top of the hop, please click here.

Operation Write Home is a wonderful organization of cardmakers who make greeting cards for deployed troops to send home to family and friends. Each Memorial Day weekend, OWH sponsors a bloghop full of ideas and inspiration.

The theme for this year's bloghop is thank you cards -- using OWH sketches. The card below is a thank you card for one of our troops to send to a loved one. The card at the right is an Any Hero card.

OWH Sketch #74
Distress Ink core paper
computer-generated background and sentiment (Mistral)
Paper Studio antique brads
the Ribbon Boutique natural jute

 Blog Candy

Blog Candy
Tim Holtz Alterations
Texture Fades
Airmail & Compass Set

Is there blog candy? Why, yes there is!  Since these two cards have a bit of an international/travel feel, I thought travel-themed candy would be appropriate.

If you'd like to be entered in the drawing for the candy at the right, please do the following:

• Leave a comment about a recent gesture of thoughtfulness that meant the world to you by midnight Monday Pacific Time.
• Include your e-mail address written in the form cards[dot]by[dot]sybrina[at]gmail[dot]com.

Parting Thought

Thanks for stopping and happy hoppin'!

God Bless You for Serving

Two posts in one day -- woot! woot!

The Any Hero card below was inspired by OWH Sketch #173.

Stamper's Best sentiment, heat embossed in Distress Ink black soot
Distress Ink core paper, green and black paper embossed with Sizzix folder
Paper Studio star punch; Stampin' Up neutral brads

For a change, I was pretty true to the sketch -- adding a few brads on the left and shifting the focal point rectangle a little to the right.

I went with black brads in the lower rectangle to balance the star(s), and add just a little more interest to the card, without detracting from the sentiment. And, the brad in the stars is much closer to the sentiment paper than it appears on screen.

A second source of inspiration was seeing Sandy's recently-posted Any Hero cards in non-traditional palettes.

Parting Thoughts

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. We're headed to my father-in-law's for dinner.

As always, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Thinking of You, Jane

Hi everyone.

Another short post -- this one in memory of longtime OWH cardmaker, Jane E. of Garden Grove, California. Sandy asked that we remember Jane by CASE-ing one of her beautiful cards.

Jillibean Dutch Mustard; Distress Ink core
sentiment in Adirondack espresso
Martha Stewart punch
Hero Arts Hues

It was an honor to remember Jane in this special way. Thanks, Jane, for all you did for OWH.

You Make America Proud

Hi everyone!

Today's Any Hero card was inspired by OWH Sketch #168.

Bo Bunny Liberty, Bazzill Admiral and Watermelon, Distress Ink core embossed with Sizzix folder
OWH digi washed in watered-down Fawn acrylic
stars: punched with Marvy punch, embossed with Studio 18 crystals

Decided to add a little tint to the sentiment when the white seemed too harsh. Since the sentiment ended up being a different size than the sketch, I added the three stars to the left. I'm not entirely happy with the crystals. They're a little more yellow that what they looked on the sheet. Thinking about replacing the stars so they are embellished with metallic brads instead. But, also wondering if I shouldn't just leave well enough alone. Hmmm....

Parting Thoughts

Finished SuperDAD cards yesterday. Will be packing up a box for OWH this week. :)

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

Feeling Blue?

Hi everyone,

A quick post for today's Ombre Midweek Throwdown. I also tried to keep in mind this month's Design Bootcamp focus on the rule of thirds.

acrylic-painted background: Desert Turquoise, Light Ivory, Midnight Blue
sentiment from Inkadinkado's Kid Quotes, heat embossed in Distress Ink black soot
paper: Distress Ink core paper, black Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co., white AC
Queen & Co. rhinestones

Before scrapbooking/card-making and after cross-stitching, I took classes on tole painting. (Does that make me a serial crafter, as Bobbi likes to say?) And, I've been looking for ways to incorporate painting in my card-making. Today's challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity to do just that!

The middle painted strip is Desert Turquoise. The strips on the left and right are blends of Desert Turquoise with Midnight Blue and Light Ivory, respectively. I must admit that I really like the way this technique turned out. :)

The sentiment background is also slightly ombre, with the bottom layer being a sanded version of the orange layer.

Parting Thoughts

When I asked hubby to take a look -- or in hubby speak, "if he was ready for an eye-rolling moment" -- I told him the challenge was an ombre one. His loving response was, "Is that hombre with an H?" He's a funny one, he is. :)

Okay, I really do think this is my last card post for a week or so. Think the schedule is going to require that I be semi-offline these next few days. But, this challenge was too much of a temptation to pass up. Jan, thanks so much for such a fun challenge!

So, have a great end-of-the-week and weekend. Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'