For Family, Friends, and OWH

Hi, everyone!

I have 3 cards to share: a 13th birthday card for my nephew, a thank you card for a friend, and a miss you card for OWH.

For My Nephew

Question: Okay, so what kind of card do you make for a nephew turning 13?

Answer: Do an online search and find a great idea at Cafe Press and make it your own with some fabulous Mama-Razzi paper.

I'm pretty excited about the way this one turned out! Love the layout. Love the colors. Think it's both age and gender appropriate.  Hope nephew feels the same.   :)

Bo Bunny Mama-Razzi; cardstock: AC Neutrals, Bazzill, Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co
computer-generated sentiment washed in Fawn acrylic
Queen & Co. crystals; 3D dots; Zig Pure Brown pen

For a Friend

A friend at work was cleaning out her craft room and found two packages of Spellbinder Nestabilities scallop dies. And, it way my lucky day! So, it seemed only fitting to make a card for her using these new dies. Something tells me I'm really going to get a lot of use out of these scallops.

MME Moments; Spellbinder Nestabilities; sentiment in Stampin' Up! Night of Navy
Mark Richards crystals; Creative Memories corner rounder; 3D glue dots; Marvy circle punch

For OWH

This week's OWH Midweek Throwdown is to make cards featuring insects. My thoughts went immediately to this pad of paper -- the same paper used in the previous card.

Nothing groundbreaking here. Wish the ribbon showed up a little better. But, all in all, not a bad little card.

MME Moments, Distress Ink core paper; Spellbinder Nestabilities; sentiment in Stampin' Up! Night of Navy
Martha Stewart butterfly punches; Celebrate It! ribbon
Queen & Co and Mark Richards pearls; Creative Memories corner rounder; 3D glue dots; Marvy circle punch
Dixie's famous ribbon technique

Parting Thoughts

 Wow!  Three cards in one night!  Can you tell work has slowed down just a tad?!  :)

As always, thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

Three Star-Studded Tributes for Dad

Hi, everyone.

First of all, and most importantly, my thoughts and prayers to anyone affected by today's incident at the Boston Marathon. What a scary world this can be...

OWH Design Bootcamp: Odd Numbers

On my recent road trip, I had a little Father's Day paper, some Distress Ink core, a few Father's Day stamps, and a couple of star punches. Each of the cards below were made during my trip. And, each of the following cards were made with some basic design elements in mind: 1) strong focal points, 2) the rule of thirds, and 3) odd numbers of elements.

Having an odd number of items is something I consciously do on almost every card. It's gotten to the point where hubby says, "No, you can't have two of those. It's gotta be an odd number." 

Moxxie VIP Father's Day dp; Distress Ink core
EK hole punch; Paper Studio star punch
Stamper's Best sentiment stamped in Stampin' Up! Night of Navy

Moxxie VIP Father's Day dp; Distress Ink core
EK hole punch; Paper Studio star punch

Moxxie VIP Father's Day dp; Distress Ink core
EK hole punch; Paper Studio star punch

The last two cards were inspired in part by a sketch on page 78 of Leisure Arts' Card Sketches for Paper Crafters.

Parting Thoughts

Take care. Be safe. Hug your loved ones.

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'!

A Sparkling Smile

Hi, everyone! Happy Weekend!

This week's Cas-ual Fridays challenge is to create a card with a little sparkle. The card below was partially inspired by a card I made for
OWH Midweek Throwdown ombre color challenge a few weeks ago. For the card at the right, I painted the background in various shades of Desert Turquoise acrylic, darkening it with Midnight Blue and lightening it with Light Ivory.

I actually have a ton of acrylics from tole painting days. The card at the right was my first serious attempt at incorporating acrylics with cardmaking. For today's card, I wanted more of a watercolor effect -- and thought orange would go well with the sentiment. So, I opted for watered-down acrylic blends of Tangerine with Burnt Orange and Light Ivory.

background: watered-down Tangerine, Burnt Orange, and Light Ivory acrylics on watercolor paper
sentiment in Stampin' Up! Island Indigo; Distress Ink core paper;
garage sale embellishments, including Mark Richards crystals

I'm really pleased with these acrylic looks. Going to have play around a little more with this idea.  :)

Parting Thoughts

Gotta finish up those SuperDAD cards to get them to OWH before the April 30 deadline. That is at the very top of my crafting to do list! (Seems like I have a serious blue theme going on here!)

As always, thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

A Sophisticated Token of Appreciation

Hi, everyone!

This week's OWH Midweek Challenge is a color challenge -- making a card in our own favorite colors. Sounds like a great challenge, right? So, what about those of us who are fickle in our color palettes -- changing with the seasons?

However, I am always drawn to a classical black, brown, and cream palette. And, I have a love of rich turquoise/teal papers. Then came the epiphany that my new favorite paper collection has all of these! So, Bo Bunny Mama-razzi it is! When Sandy mentioned a need for Miss You and Thank You cards... Well, the card below was born. :)

Bo Bunny Mama-razzi, Bazzill black; Mark Richards crystals; sentiment stamped in StazOn jet black

The design is pretty simple, but seems to work well with the background pattern. I'm really pleased with the way the black separates the patterns and pops the colors.

 

Parting Thoughts

Have a great Friday. Looking forward to a telecommuting workday tomorrow. :)

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

SuperDAD

Hi, everyone!

Hope you had a chance to check out Operation Write Home's masculine card tutorials this past weekend. Lots of great ideas and inspiration!

I've been toying with the idea of a SuperDAD version of last month's Supermom card. So, this week I finalized the text, printed the bases and Starbursts, cut out the card front cardstock, and fussy cut the starbursts. A sample card is shown below. One down, only fifteen more to go!

cardstock: blue from Bazzill and yellow from AC -- I think
computer-generated font in Comic Sans; EK hole punch

I don't typically include a sentiment on the inside to leave as much writing room as possible. However, to make a bolder statement with the card front, the rest of the text is printed on the inside back of the card.

Inside Sentiment:
Faster than a 4G network
Stronger than sticks of dynamite
Able to alter actions with a single glare
Promoting truth, justice, and the American way

The inside sentiment was another collaboration with hubby! Hope there are some comic book fans who will enjoy receiving these cards.   :)

Parting Thoughts

Two posts in one night -- and a weekday night, to boot!

Happy scrappin'!

Bee Happy

Hi, everyone.

I'm not much of a punny cardmaker -- not that I don't admire my fellow cardmakers who do such adorable punny cards.

However, when I read this month's ODBD challenge to make cards featuring things that fly, my new honeycomb embossing folder arrived, and I found a cute little honeybee template online... Well, I just couldn't resist.

Stampin' Up! embossing folder, heat embossed with Distress Ink Vintage Photo; online bee template
Stampin' Up! oval punches and black brads; Marvy circle punch
most papers: Distress Ink core; black: Bazzill; cream behind sentiment: stash ???
computer-generated sentiment (Arial black) and basic Word shapes
crimped strip, inked with Close to My Heart Desert Sand and Distress Ink Antique Linen
wings lightly painted with watered-down Honey Brown and Light Ivory acrylics

To achieve the embossed effect of the honeycomb, I rubbed the inside of the top of the folder with Distress Ink, applied clear embossing powder, and heat embossed. Although I chose not to distress the Distress Ink gold paper itself, I still decided to use it because the color is so rich.


I ran into serious technical difficulties when printing out the sentiment -- trying to run a remnant piece of sanded core paper through our printer. One of the following things is evidently true.

A) Our printer does not like tiny pieces of paper.
B) Our printer does not like sanded core paper.
C) Our printer does not like tiny pieces of sanded core paper.

But, I fear the answer might be: D) All of the Above.

So, for the sake of family harmony, I think I'll abstain from trying to print on any of these papers for future projects. :)

Here's hoping a little one will "bee happy" to receive this card from mommy or daddy.

Parting Thoughts

I'm always amazed when basic shapes are combined to make cute little critters.

As always, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

2 for 1: 2 cards for 1 sketch

Hi, everyone! Happy Sunday! Hope your weather is as glorious as ours. Maybe spring will actually come after all. :)

OWH Sketch #167 is perfect for those strong patterns. I used it to make a couple of cards from patterns that would've typically proved problematic for me. But, before I get to today's cards, I have to share the funniest conversation with hubby.

"Yar, Piglet?" said Book 

Earlier this weekend, I posted the card at the right for  this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge. When I showed it to hubby, he said it was kind of hard to read. I agreed, saying that the sentiment didn't print exactly on the part of the paper that I had hoped. His reply was that the placement of the sentiment wasn't the problem. The problem was the font itself. Then he proceeded to read the following, in a pirate-inspired voice.

"Book," whispered Piglet.

"Yar, Piglet?" said Book.

At that point, I laughed so hard that it was nearly a Depends moment!  I so love that man!  :)

Card 1: Patriotic Beads

dp: We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue; aqua and white cardstock: AC; red cardstock: Bazzill Admiral
punches: Fiskars and Paper Studio; stash ribbon; pearl: Mark Richards
Creative Memories circle cutting system

For today's Any Hero card, I stuck to the sketch pretty closely. Because of the pattern in the paper, I decided to leave off the strip on the right. In addition, I slightly repositioned the placement of the circle.

Wish the ribbon showed up a little better. It has white polka dots on the white ribbon -- which seemed a good match for the beads in the paper. I placed a strip of white cardstock under the ribbon to keep the print from showing through the ribbon itself. 

Card 2: Here's Looking at You, Dad!

As you see, I was a bit little more liberal in my interpretation of the sketch for this card, making the card a horizontal one and moving both the strip and the circle. Again, this was a great sketch for a paper with a large pattern. Still loving the Bo Bunny Mama-razzi paper!

Bo Bunny Mama-razzi; black cardstock: Cardstock Paper Warehouse; white cardstock: AC
sentiment: computer-generated  in Baskerville Old Face; Mark Richards gems
strip with crimped and inked in StazOn jet black
Creative Memories circle cutting system

Parting Thoughts

Pleasantly surprised by the amount of cardmaking that happened this weekend! We'll see what the week holds.

Played around a little with layout gadgets this weekend. Like the results. But, still working on figuring out the badge thing.

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

"Pooh," whispered Piglet... -- UPDATED

Hi, everyone.

This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge is to make a card that uses chevrons and flowers. Talk about a challenge! My craft room is about as chevron-free as a craft room can possibly be. :(

Then I remembered the gorgeous Mama-razzi Bo Bunny paper pad I just picked up at my favorite LSS, Scrapbook Art.

After I decided on the paper, I thought this might be the perfect time to use a favorite quote from A. A. Milne. I bought a little Hallmark knickknack with this saying years and years ago. Every time I see it, I think of my dear, dear friend Linda. Linda and I met during our first teaching assignments and we've been friends for over 30 years. She was the matron of honor at our wedding. And, no matter how long it's been since we've talked -- or how how far away she's moved, we're always there for each other. Now that I think about it, it's really appropriate that I'm writing this on her birthday. [Hmmm... The only question is which of us is Pooh and which is Piglet. Linda's actually a huge Tigger fan!]

dp: Bo Bunny Mama-razzi, edges washed in watered-down Americana Light Buttermilk acrylic
ivory Prima flowers painted in watered down Americana Light Buttermilk and Fawn acrylics
Mark Richards' and Queen & Co.'s pearls painted in watered-down Light Buttermilk
computer-generated sentiment: Mistral, 16 point, charcoal gray RGB (8, 8, 8)
Creative Memories circle/oval cutting system
PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR UPDATED CARD!

•  My first step was to print the sentiment on a piece of 6 by 6 paper. One of the changes I would make is to lower the placement of the sentiment just a little so it fits more on the lighter part of the paper. But, I'm still mastering that skill. Better luck next time!
• The edges of the background paper were painted in watered-down acrylics. Think I've found a great way to get that antique look in any color I want. :)
• The chevrons were fussy cut from a piece of the Bo Bunny paper.
• Two flowers were painted in acrylics. The top flower is Fawn with Light Buttermilk accents. The bottom flower is a Light Buttermilk/Fawn mix, while its edges are dabbed in Fawn.
• The flower's center pearl, and the 3 tiny pearls in the top left, are painted in Light Buttermilk. 
•  Elements were placed touching one another, keeping in mind the rule of thirds, to create a strong focal point.
• Finally the oval was placed so that the pattern aligned with the pattern of the background pattern.

What most excites me about this card is how the painted flower and pearls turned out. I have a huge collection of acrylics from my tole painting class days. It's fabulous to know I can make these embellishments any color that I want them to be!

Happy birthday, Linda!  Looks like I have next year's card already done. :)

Updated Card

Since first posting this card, I added a few more embellishments: three tiny pearls at the bottom of the sentiment oval and two leaves to the left side of the flower. 

• The added pearls were also painted with Light Buttermilk. 
• The leaves were hand cut from Distress Ink core paper. Veins were hand drawn using a Zig pure brown pen, and they were painted with watered-down Americana Red Violet and Americana Celery Green acrylics.

I'm really liking the look of the leaves. And, the three pearls in the oval nicely ground the sentiment. But, I think they're responsible for the shadow in the scanned image.

Parting Thoughts

Headed over to Operation Write Home and check out their Spring Training Tutorial Day for making masculine cards.

As always, thanks for stopping. Happy weekend and happy scrappin'!

A Tag for Dad -- UPDATED

Hi, everyone.

Hope the week is going well.

The card below is for today's Midweek Throwdown challenge to make a card featuring a tag and some twine. It's actually one of the cards I made when I was offline last week. Great timing for the MWT!

Moxxie VIP Father, Distress Ink core; Celebrate It! jute twine
EK border and hole punches

Sounds like OWH needs some Miss You cards. Maybe I can make one of those tonight.

Update

Got that Miss You card made after all. Nothing groundbreaking here -- just a card that could be sent to/from a man or woman. I've seen this sentiment a number of times on other cards and thought it would work well here. Thanks to fellow card-makers for this idea.

dp: Momenta; tan cardstock: AC Neutrals
gray cardstock: Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co., other cardstock: stash from ???
Celebrate It jute twine; 3D dots
sentiment: computer-generated in Arial; 20 pt; R: 43, G: 68, B 149

Parting Thoughts

Again, many thanks to those who have complimented the bubble wrap background. Lee Mae, the rock guitar card using three Distress Ink colors that you posted a couple of weeks ago was actually one of the inspirations for that tutorial. :)

As always, thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!