OWH Party @ SBA: September 2013

Hi, everyone!

It's been such a fun day! Jeri Carmichael and her merry band of card makers hosted the third annual card making party for Operation Write Home at Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center, Ohio. 

It was so much fun reconnecting with fellow OWHers. The best part was seeing so much love being put into so many holiday cards for our troops and their loved ones. :)

I'll update with card totals and other stats as soon as I get the information. One stat worth sharing is that, for the second year, a massage therapist was there to offer free massage breaks to us card makers. For now, I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Thanks to Jeri and her crew for organizing the event, to Terri and the SBA staff for their ongoing support of OWH, to all of today's volunteer cardmakers, and to Carol for her fabulous stress-relieving massages.

Holiday Cheer and Love Notes

Hi everyone,

Hope the week has gotten off to a good start for all.

Wonder if anyone else was crazy enough to go to a Toys R Us on a Saturday afternoon. Oh my... what was I thinking?! I just kept picturing a little 2 year old bpy who had asked for Legos and a Tonka truck on his McDonalds' tree ornament and somehow I managed to stay in the Christmas spirit the entire time.  :)

Now for the card-making part of this post.

OWH Sketch #150

Both of the following cards have 2 things in common. Each was inspired by this week's OWH Sketch and each was made from goodies in that fabulous Black Friday bargain bag from Scrapbook Art.

Paper, chipboard, and stickers: Bo Bunny Crazy Love

Paper, layered chipboard, stickers: Bo Bunny Liberty; cardstock: Bazzill Admiral

For Hearts and Flowers, I was pretty true to the sketch -- aside from the change to the small rectangle next to the right the oval. I've since added small strips of the brown paper at the top and bottom of the red rectangle and like the definition it gives, as well as the way the strips bring focus to the oval.

For this week's Any Hero card, I was a little looser in my interpretation -- rotating the sketch, replacing the oval with the chipboard outline of America, and foregoing the 4.25" by 4.5" inch rectangle in lieu of the pattern in the 4.25" by 5.5" background paper.

Craft Show Follow-Up

This year's craft show was lots of fun. It's always great to see the many talents of friends and colleagues. And, a little extra money for OWH supplies and donations is always a good thing. :)

Parting Thoughts

SEI paper,
Martha Stewart branch punch
miscellaneous embellishments

Some of you may remember Frosty's L'il Friend from last fall's OWH VCMP. Well, this week's challenge is to showcase something "knotty". So, I'm thinking this little guy just might make an appearance.

Hoping to get a flower card made for this month's ODBD challenge. And, then I really need to get my box of stamped-and-tucked love cards in the mail to Kris.

Have a great week!  Happy scrappin'!

Stars of Liberty, Tweet Love, and BOPPERS

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone's had a nice weekend. I've managed a nice work-life balance, which is unusual for me. :)

I have two cards and a craft show update to share.

Stars of Liberty and Tweet Love

I stopped by my favorite LSS, Scrapbook Art, to check out the Black Friday specials. And, I found a wonderful Bo Bunny package filled with Liberty, Crazy Love, and Blast Off! goodies. Often times, these grab bags have some good things, but others not so good. But, this was the perfect grab bag!  Not only was there a 6 by 6 pad of Liberty paper and embellishments, the package was also filled with tons and tons of love and kid themed papers, chipboard, brads, and transfers!!! It was the perfect package for OWH card-making!  Thanks, Terri!  :)

The cards below were made from this great find and inspired by today's Stars and Stamps sketch.

Bo Bunny Liberty paper and layered chipboard
Techniques: crimping, distressing, and inking

Bo Bunny Crazy Love paper and chipboard
Technique: crimping

The chipboard on the first card has that baked-in glitter that seems to be really, really well set. Since, it's triple layered, I thought it would be perfect for an Any Hero card. As far as the sketch is concerned, I went with the chipboard's multiple circles instead of one big one because I just couldn't resist this embellishment. :) In addition, my square is a little larger than the sketch to accommodate the chipboard.

For the second card, I cut out the square from a 12-by-12 piece of patterned paper. Since the image was soooo cute, I left off the big circle and added a few chipboard embellishments.

Craft Show Update

I'm hoping to make a few more cards during the second NFL game. But, everything is set and ready to go -- signage is made, cards are boxed up, ...

In addition to cards, I'm selling {gift} Bag Toppers, aka BOPPERS. If you want to read a little more about these, check out my last post. I'll try to blog about the process for making these adorable little guys next weekend. :)

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

3 for 1

Hi everyone,

I have three cards from one sketch to share today. But, first, a couple of thank yous.

Thank You #1

As always, recent comments from followers and visitors are truly appreciated. Special thanks to Kathryn for her reminder to make a template of the little candy corn cards before I ship them in the mail to my nephews. I would've totally forgotten to do that. :)

Thank You #2

This one's a huge shout out to the wonderful people at Oak Creek Printworks. For the second straight year, I ordered sleeves for cards I will be selling at an upcoming craft show. And, for the second straight year, I was blown away by this company in Simi Valley (Pacific Time Zone) -- totally blown away. I called Monday after work (Eastern Time Zone) and my order arrived in Wednesday's mail!  Moreover, I had a wonderful conversation with Nancy when I placed the order and the sleeves are fabulous! 

Thank you, Oak Creek Printworks -- you totally rock!!!

And now for the main attraction... Drum roll, please.  

Paper: Jillibean Dutch Mustard Soup

                                                Card #1

While Pizazz It! is no longer a brick and mortar store, it is building a nice online presence. The card at the right was made from a wonderful card kit that was put together by Tiffany, who is a former Pizazz It class teacher and a great little designer. This sketch became the inspiration for two more cards.

Card #2

I used this design to make a few holiday cards for an upcoming craft show. For the show, I try to make several different designs to appeal to a variety of potential customers. Since this design has a quilt-like feel to it, I used some old-fashioned-feel paper to make several cards like the one below.

Paper: Authentique Festive collection, AC Christmas cardstock; Emagination punch, which was a garage sale bargain  :)

Since the paper combination was a little busier than what I typically use, I decided against a sentiment. But, that's not necessarily a decision carved in stone. :)   A shout out to Lynn at Scrapbook Art's OWH Card-Making Party last month for the idea to shadow the little Christmas tree. (BTW  This little card is already inside its protective sleeve.)

Card #3

The final card is for this week's Throwdown Color Challenge to make a card with black, white, and a pop of green or red. Since I had just mailed my holiday cards to OWH, I went with red and made my first Valentine's Day card of the season -- although I must confess I went with cream and black to use paper from the yummy DCWV All Dressed Up collection. :)

DCWV All Dressed Up, AC Christmas cardstock; EK heart and Fiskars border punches; heart-shaped gems ???

The Fiskars punch was another great garage sale bargain -- which made up for the this-three-way-heart-punch-is-so-darn-cute-but-more-than-I-want-to-spend impulse buy at my LSS. :)  I was really, really pleased with the way this card turned out. It was fairly labor intensive with all the punching, but definitely worth it.

Parting Thoughts

I really need to get some things done for the craft show. And, I'm hoping to get a little time to work try out this week's Sunday sketch. But, there are a few things that need some attention before I can get to the Menopause room. 

Hope everyone has a great week!  Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!

Card-Making Parties and Midweek Challenges... Oh My!

Hi everyone,

Hope the work week got off to a good start. I have one card to share. But, first a shout-out to my favorite OWH card-makers and LSS.

The Second Annual Card-Making Party at SBA

Last year, the wonderful folks at Scrapbook Art helped organize an amazing card-making party. We were blessed to have corporate funding to help pull off the event. (To check out last year's event, click here.)

This year, these wonderful ladies weren't about to let a lack of financial funding stand in their way. Without any corporate funding, the second annual SBA card-making party resulted in 1424 card being shipped to OWH!  To see photos of this party -- along with other parties from around the country, click here. :)

Serious kudos to Jeri, her prep team, and Terri and her wonderful staff at Scrapbook Art!!!

And, now to the card portion of this post...

The following card was made for last week's Midweek Throwdown challenge, which was to use stickers. Speaking of stickers, I've learned some great tips this past week from the OWH blog team's sticker cards. Thanks to all!

Bazzill paper; Creative Imaginations Holiday Phrase stickers

I've had this sheet of stickers for so long -- think I picked it up at a garage sale. And, I really love them, but never quite got around to designing a card with them. Looks like this week's challenge solved that problem! (And, there are 34 more stickers left on this sheet!)

One of the things that I really like about these stickers is that their background is clear -- llike the SRM stickers, which I am totally going to have to check out. :)

My biggest challenge was picking out just the right color of cardstock to complement the stickers' colors.

I picked up a little trick from a PBS show called the The Spotted Canary. The host of this show, Joy, placed the bottom edges of a row of stickers on the top of a see-through ruler to help line her stickers up exactly as she wanted them. I tried that with the bottom row of stickers on this card -- and, boy, it was so much easier than my former try-peel off-try-peel off again method. :) 

Parting Thought

As always, thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week and happy scrappin'!

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'!

Friday Night Writes

Hi, all,

Hope everyone's had a great week. It's been a week of being a bachelorette for me -- really quiet around here and just a little strange.

It's also been a week of card-making firsts -- three to be exact!

First #1: Stamping on Ribbon

I've been tweaking a 2012 birthday card -- to give to friends during the year and to sell at the annual McGraw-Hill Holiday Craft Show. This year's design features a cupcake and the sentiment "Make a Wish".

Lo and behold, I came across the most adorable "make a wish" stamp -- which got me to wondering if I could stamp a sentiment on a ribbon.

So, while I was working on Father's Day cards with that adorable Bo Bunny Konstrukt paper, I pulled out a "Thinking of You" stamp and a white ribbon. I was actually quite pleased with the results.

Sentiment Stamped on Ribbon
Paper: Bo Bunny Konstrukt
Kaiser rhinestones
Ink: StazOn jet black

While the stamping turned out very nicely, I'm not loving the glue dots peeking through the ribbon. So, this card still needs a little work before it gets my OWH stamp of approval. Any suggestions about the adhesive issue here?

First #2: A Cool Distress Background

I'm sure anyone taking Tim Holtz's online card class has just been amazed by the whole experience. What a talent! 



Since I don't have many Distress Inks, no stains, no markers -- yes, I know, woe is me -- I haven't tried many of the homework assignments. But, I did have just what I needed for Day 7's homework. And, the result was spectacular! There is no way to describe how gorgeous this background is. When the sun shines on it, it shimmers and glistens just like newly fallen snow. It is just so pretty!

 

Tim's Rusted Enamel Technique: Tattered Rose, Antique Linen and Vintage Photo inks
Clear Embossing Powder; Paper: Ranger Distress Core Paper
Stamp: Whipper Snapper; Punch: EK Success
Cupcake: hand-drawn, hand-cut, scored, and highlighted with metallic pens

I embossed the sentiment before creating the background. I'm going to try creating the background before embossing on my next card -- just to see what difference it might make. Any advice or suggestions?

A pink/rose cupcake on blue background probably would've made more sense. But, there isn't any blue Distress Ink in my stash... at least, not yet! :)

Nonetheless, this design feels like it's getting close to being just right... And, this card's going to a friend at work who, ironically enough, gave up cupcakes -- actually all sweets -- for Lent. :)



First #3: Iris Folding

Last night, my LSS (Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center, OH) had an iris folding class. And, it was a wonderful experience!  Let me start by saying that if you've been interested in trying iris folding but have been a little put off by how intricate the cards appear, go for it!  The results are gorgeous and the technique is surprisingly easy.

Iris Folding



Iris Folding

Time for a big shout-out to the class teacher Alexandra Kimball. She was so kind, so patient, and such a great teacher. Thanks so much, Alexandra!  (Turns out the Stickles worked just fine!)

Parting Thoughts

So, it's been quite a week -- a wonderful week of card-making adventures!  And, I still have 3 more Tim classes to attend. :)

Not quite sure how many cards will be made this weekend. My men are returning home from a Spring Break trip. And, I'm sooooo excited to see them! :)

As always, thanks for stopping by. Happy scrappin' and have a nice weekend!

Friday Night Writes

Hi, everyone,

Hope it's been a good week. It's actually been a crazy week for us -- an unexpected family matter needing some attention. But, life's feeling a whole lot calmer now.  :)

Hooray for public WiFi access!

OWH Midweek Challenge

This week's challenge  was to make a Miss You card for our troops to send home to a loved one.

Kaiser Konstrukt Collection

One of the things that most excites me about this card is that it was the first time I used any of the letter die cuts that came with my Zip'e Mate garage sale find! The typewriter style seemed kind of nail-like and fit well with the construction theme of this amazing paper. I lightly pressed the letters into a black ink pad to better feature the letters themselves. And, while I love the patterned paper, it felt like it needed some black to ground it.

My First Dad Card of the Season

The real reason I bought that 6 by 6 pad was to make Father's Day cards to go with the adorable sentiment featured below. Hoping to crank a few more of these out in the next couple of weeks.

Paper: Kaiser Konstrukt Collection, BasicGrey Kraft
Sentiment: Gillian Vance Celebrate Dad stamp set

For a Kiddie

I found some adorable monkey paper on clearance at my LSS, Scrapbook Art. It seemed like it could make a few cute kiddie birthday cards. So, here's the first of several monkey cards to come.

Paper: Creative Imaginations, Doodlebug surprise party
Stickers: Mrs. Grossman
Font: computer-generated (Andy)

Two points worth noting: 1) This was my first time to pierce using my new Sew Easy tool. But, I chose not to use threads since this kiddie card might very well get a little extra wear and tear. 2) The glitter is really baked in well -- like with DCWV cardstock.  :)

One Friend's Trash...

Earlier this week, I was working away in my cubicle when a friend/fellow crafter/fellow OWH supporter came by bearing a gift.  She was no longer using the display rack shown below -- and knew exactly the person who could give it a good home.

Thanks so much, Mary Kate!  
Hope to have time to get together a surprise for your in-box on Monday!

For now, it has a place of honor in my craft room -- aka the menopause room. But, should we have a holiday Craft Show this year at work, it will proudly be displaying this year's card collection!

Parting Thoughts

Keeping my fingers crossed that things remain calm and I'll find some time to pull together that thank you for Mary Kate, as well as make a few cards this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy scrappin'!



HUGE Card-Making Event for OWH

Question:  How do you celebrate OWH's one millionth card?

Answer:  Host a huge card-making event to kick off the next million!

On May 21, employees of McGraw-Hill joined forces with customers of Scrapbook Art to make nearly 1800 cards for Operation Write Home during a McGraw-Hill Global Volunteer Day Event!



The Morning Shift






The Afternoon Shift

 


Our Final Total: 1775+ Cards

 
Many, many, many thanks to:

• Scrapbook Art owners Caron and Amy and staff for hosting the event,
• Scrapbook Art customers Jeri and Denise for designing and prepping gorgeous cards -- for hours and hours on end,
• McGraw-Hill volunteers and Scrapbook Art customers for assembling cards (on a gorgeous Saturday in May, I must add),
• McGraw-Hill for its generous support of our event, one of many Global Volunteer Day events occurring in 47 cities, 17 countries.

  



                                

                                        Material Prep Guru Jeri



Design Gurus Sandy and Denise



                  

        

               Store Co-Owner (and Proud Military Mom) Caron with
                   Team Leader Sybrina



It was an AMAZING day -- a day in which a global corporation joined forces with an independently-owned small business to make a difference for our troops and their loved ones.

 







My sincerest and deepest heartfelt thanks to all. You are ROCK STARS and our troops will love sending your cards to their loved ones!