Saturday, November 3, 2012

Hearts and Sparks for Heroes

Hi everyone,

Let me start by sending thoughts and prayers to those on the East Coast dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The images on television are unbelievable. I can't even begin to imagine what life is like for those of you dealing with such devastation and loss. My brother's family had lots and lots of rain, but only rain.

Hearts for an OWH Hero's Loved One

The card below was made for this week's OWH Midweek Throwdown and inspired by another one of Ashley's fabulous scrapbook sketches. Making cards for OWH is kind of like living in a time machine. While the rest of the world is starting to make plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, OWHers are making Valentine's Day cards.  :)

Cardstock: Core-dinations Vintage Collection
Designer Paper and Chipboard: We R Memory Keepers
Techniques: Inking (Distress Ink Tattered Rose), embossing, punching, distressing, crimping
Tools: Sizzix folders, ek punch, heart template, crimper


The left side of the sketch was used to make the card.
An embossed heart was used for the large circle;
a chipboard piece for the 4 x 4 photo;
a We R Memory Keepers paper embellishment, layered on various papers, for the 6 x 4 photo;
and a smaller heart for the "round" sketch element, nudged slightly right.

 This was the first time I've paired different embossing folders and was pretty pleased with the results. The We R Memory Keepers paper and chipboard are from the Be My Valentine collection from a few years ago.

In addition to the Midweek Throwdown, I'm going to post this card for this month's ODBD challenge to make a card dusting off a tool or technique. It had actually been awhile since I'd used my Ranger sander. Not only was it perfect to use on the embossed cardstock, but it also worked really well for distressing the chipboard.

Sparks (aka Candles) for a Family Hero

The card below is for a family hero, my father-in-law. He will be celebrating his 89th birthday on Wednesday. The inspiration for this card came from Leisure Arts great card-making book -- page 109, to be exact.  :)

Paper: Kaiser Up, Up, and Away, DCWV Christmas & Winter Combo;
wicks: dental floss; sentiment: heat embossed with Stampendous clear powder
I ADORE the simplicity of this card -- and how it can be adapted so easily to masculine/feminine, child/teen/adult, whimsical/elegant. And, who would've thought of using dental floss? Designer Beth Matson, that's who!

The candles on the Leisure Arts sample card were round, compared to my flatter candles. So, I played around with rolling paper around a AAA battery -- and was really pleased with the result. And, I will probably use contrasting ink for the sentiment on future cards, as well as vary the sentiment depending on the recipient. :)

This seems like a good fit for this week's CAS-ual Fridays' challenge to make a masculine CAS card. Also thinking of making a variety of these to give to family and friends in 2012.

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to make some more progress on craft fair projects tomorrow. And, looking forward to tomorrow morning's sketch challenge.

Thanks for visiting. Special thanks to those leaving such kind words. Happy scrappin'!


6 comments:

Erika said...

It was so creative to turn a scrapbook sketch into a card! I love your choice of colors too.

Deb said...

Love the candles! So true, this card can be made for any recepient! Thanks for joining in the fun this week at CAS-ual Fridays!

Donna Hanley said...

WOW, you've been busy and doing a fabulous job keeping up with challenges. I really like the "sparks" card. Very different and is good for anyone at any age. I will have to CASE that one for sure. Thanks for the inspiration.

Lee Mae said...

I really like the embossing on the heart and all the bright colors. I'm going to have to try some yellow for some of my Valentine's/Love cards after seeing your card!

Jan Hunnicutt said...

lol, welcome to the OWH time machine =) I know, it feels weird to be making Valentine's before Thanksgiving to me too.

Thanks for playing in our Operation Write Home Midweek Throwdown challenge this week!

Lynn said...

I love how you made the candles! Great card. Thanks so much for playing with us at CAS-ual Fridays!