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 -- An Early Edition

Hi, everyone,

Thanks to everyone who visited this last week. Extra thanks to those leaving such kind comments.

Hope everyone had a chance to get outside this weekend. Yesterday was a rainy, kind-of-raw day here. But, today's been gorgeous!

Yesterday's weather was perfect for tinkering with this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge. And, in spite of today's beautiful weather, I managed to squeeze in an OWH card.  :)

Card #1: OWH Sketch #119

Sketch #119 was the inspiration for the Any Hero below. Of course, I turned the sketch horizontally. I swear that one of those circles is is 2.5 inches in diameter! (And, what would I ever do without my Creative Memories circle and oval cutting system?)

Papers: Bo Bunny Liberty, Bazzill Admiral and Watermelon, BasicGrey kraft; jute and blue mesh; border punch

I played a little with the layering of the papers for the circles before deciding on this combination. Other than that, this card came pretty easily. The criss-cross patterns of the jute, mesh, and kraft paper really seemed to work well together.(Sadly, it;s about the last of my blue mesh.)

Card #2: CFC50

This week's challenge is a spring-inspired challenge to make cards featuring flowers or trees. Since I'd been wanting to try out a technique shared by a Stampin' Up! consultant at the recent Pizazz It! scrapbooking event, I was pretty excited to work on a flower card. And, I must say, I'm really pleased with the way the card below turned out!

card base and sentiment oval: core paper; Punches: Stampin' Up!: all else: garage sale finds

Stampin' Up Technique: Secure end of twine/floss with tape at back of flower; loop twine/floss across diameter of flower, moving around the circumference of the flower, and taping the end of the floss to the back of the flower to secure it. The consultant used baker's twine in her demo, but the lighter weight of the floss seemed a better match for the delicacy of this paper.

There are three things that I love about this card:

• The way the embellishments came together so nicely. And, the fiber I used for the stem has a natural fraying element to it, which made for a perfect leaf. :)
• The image was taken with our new digital camera. I decided to forgo the usual scanning because I knew the shadows would not do justice to this little flower.
• Most of the elements were made from garage sale finds: the funky fiber, the buttons, and the lovely Stampin' Up! paper. 

The one thing I don't like is that the card is probably a little too delicate and a little too thick to send to OWH. Feels like mail fail. Guess it'll just have to go to a friend who is need of a smile. :)

Speaking of Garage Sales...

  

Yesterday was the first garage sale of the season for hubby and me.

• The good news: I always enjoy spending the day with hubby.
• The bad news: The sale itself was disappointing -- aside from a couple of cute magnet stocking stuffers.

But while I had my camera out to photograph Sure to Bring a Smile, I took a couple of photos of some of my best scrapbooking/card-making garage sale finds.

 

A great cabinet that holds brads, gems, buttons, Distress and Alcohol Inks and their applicators. The little clown is a souvenir from a visit to FAO Schwarz in NYC 30 years ago -- and is a constant reminder to be as creative as possible!

Not quite sure what the original owners used this for, but it's been a CD holder and is now a card organizer. Years of tole painting classes came in handy when I changed its appearance to better fit the room's decor.

a wonderful cutting board and the book full of dies that came with my $25 Zip'e Mate

 

a pair of chairs that came painted white with butcher-board-like seats that matched perfectly with the room decor

A fabulous find! A drawer for punches, another for stamps... The top actually folds down (to make a changing table), which I originally used to layout 12 by 12 pages. However, the baskets from Pottery Barn fit the space so perfectly it's as if they came together. So, the baskets now hold stamp pads, pens, rulers, etc. I painted the drawer fronts and sides to better fit the room decor, but the base color was already white.

So, what are your favorite garage sale finds?  I'd love to hear about them!

Parting Thoughts

Not quite sure what the week holds card-making wise. I still have a couple of Tim Holtz's classes to watch. And, I'd like to try to use up some scraps with last Monday's {Mojo}Mondays challenge.

 

Have a great week and happy scrappin'!

Friday Night Writes

Hey, everybody,

It was a pretty good week around here. Hope that you can say the same.

Tonight, I have 4 cards to share.

Card #1: OWH's Midweek Challenge

This week's challenge was to make a sweet summertime card for our heroes to send home. The card below was one of the last ones that made it in my box sent to Kris this week. And, those of you who visit regularly might recognize it as the card inspired by one of Ashley Rock's designs.

Jillibean Soup Watermelon Gazpacho Collection; Core Paper Flower Power collection

Card #2: {Mojo}Monday Sketch 238

I loved this week's {Mojo}Monday sketch. Isn't it interesting how the cards for some sketches come so easily?

In her post, Teresa Kline writes that this was a great sketch to use up scraps. And, I can think of some scraps that I will be using to make some really cute cards using this sketch. 

However, what first came to my mind was cutting a 3 inch by 4 inch section of some adorable toy-themed paper into 12 1-inch squares. A few stickers from one of my crop garage sale stash made for some cute embellishments. The only thing I struggled with at all was the tag part of the design. But, I think I worked that out, too, after a couple of tries. A funky fiber provided the final touch for the sketch's tag.

Paper: Crate Paper Toy Box collection; Stickers: Stickabilities by Paper Studio

 I really want to make more kid cards for OWH. And, this little card is the first of my next shipment! 

BTW  It would be interesting to get a little feedback on this card as it wasn't one of hubby's favorite. He just didn't get it.  Oh, well...   :) 

Cards #3 and #4

What these two cards have in common is that they were both made for friends. Card #3 was made for a friend at work who is leaving Ohio and headed back to her hometown state.  I'd actually made this card awhile ago -- and really liked it -- but didn't think there was enough room for a hero's handwritten message because the top of the card is only about 3 inches wide. (Sorry about the irritating shadow in the bottom third of this scanned image.)

Materials: if only I knew/remembered  : (

Since spring reminds me of rebirth and new beginnings, it seemed perfect for Anne as she embarks on a new adventure.

Card #4 was the top of my to-do list this week -- a sympathy card for family friends who just said good-bye to their beloved family dog, Duke. 

Paper: Provo Craft Paws-itive Thinking collection, core paper, miscellaneous card stock; Embellishment: The Paper Company Paws and Claws matteboard stickers; Sentiment: Jillian Vance, stamped in StazOn jet black

I think I'm headed in the right direction. I don't want it to be too frilly or whimsical. On the other hand, I don't want it to be too maudlin. But, the card doesn't feel quite yet finished. Maybe some Versamark paw prints... Hmmm... Any suggestions? 

Parting Thoughts

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Christmas in April and May for hubby and me -- aka garage sale season. There are really only 2 sales we try to hit every spring. And, the first of these is tomorrow! :)

So, what are your favorite garage sale craft finds? I'll share a few of mine on Monday.

Until then, happy weekend and happy scrappin'! 

Friday Night Writes

Hi, everyone,

Hope it's been a good week for all of you.

More about last Saturday's Crop

On Monday, I mentioned I would give a little more information about one of the event's at last Saturday's crop.

Ashley and Tiffany are two of my favorite people from Pizazz It! days. They are both up-and-coming graphic designers -- and they have collaborated on an initial book of sketches. And, at the crop, they held a book signing. :) 

To check out their blogs, click here for Ashley's blog and click here for Tiffany's blog.  

One more thing about last weekend's activities, I took some time this week to finish up a few cards from Saturday. This week's sketch at {Mojo}Mondays was a loose inspiration for the first two cards below. All three cards were made from Kaiser's Lush collection. 

Kaiser Lush collection

Kaiser Lush collection

Kaiser Lush collection, with a cut-out flocked flower from one of these pretty papers

For all three cards, I had already punched the borders and adhered the base paper and bottom strip paper. So, I didn't really have the real estate on the first two to add the banner strip on the bottom right of the {Mojo}Monday sketch.

While it would have been possible to go with something other than circles for the four featured elements, I really thought circles would work well with my background paper. However, I decided to go with an odd number of featured circles on both cards.

OWH Sketch #117

Okay, talk about loose interpretations...  I even considered not posting the card below for this week's Sunday sketch. I swear that I started off with every intention of being true to the sketch -- other than making it a horizontal card to go with my pre-written Any Hero card bases.

Bo Bunny Liberty collection

• For the background, I cut out the middle of a 6 by 6 paper and then positioned the top over the bottom. I adhered the top to two other rectangular papers so that it would be a little thicker than the bottom. So far, so good!
• Then, I played with circles -- and rectangles with rounded corners -- before deciding that the sentiment really need to be on rectangular paper.
• Next, I tried the sentiment behind a ribbon -- as shown on the sketch -- but no sale.
• Finally, I tried putting the sentiment in the center, but it really felt like it should go in the bottom right corner to balance out the flag's field of stars.

So, forgive me if I've posted an "illegal" card. In my defense, the sketch was the original inspiration. And, I am pretty pleased with the end result. Hope the hero who receives it will be, too. :)

CAS-ual Fridays

Remember all the wonderful challenges from the OWH Virtual Card Making Party during cruise week? Well, this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge brought back memories of one of my favorite cards. So, I think I'm going to post Beach Currency at CAS-ual Fridays.

This was the first card to have die cuts made from my garage sale Zip'e Mate!

Parting Thoughts

Just a couple more cards to make before I mail my Muscle Card challenge package to Kris. :)

Have a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by -- and happy scrappin'!



Friday Night Writes

Hi, everyone,

Thanks to everyone who left comments about last Monday's cards. The font change on Dad my hero and the layering on last week's Any Hero card seemed to be fan favorites.


And thanks to everyone who wished me well at tomorrow's crop. Your comments helped remind me to focus on treasuring the time spent with friends -- and not sweating the housework part quite so much. :)

About this time last year, a favorite LSS was forced out of business when the landlord choose to enter a new lease agreement with a national chain instead of renewing its lease with an established small, local business. Tomorrow's crop is a time for employees and customers of Pizazz It! to reconnect! I'm even more excited because my dearest friend in all the world is coming in tonight for a day and a half of gabbing, eating, shopping, and cropping. Who could ask for anything more?!!!

Again, thanks to everyone who reminded me to see the forest, and not focus on the trees. :)

{Mojo}Mondays

Several of you have mentioned {MojoMondays}, so I decided to pay the site a visit and try my hand at this week's sketch.

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty, BasicGrey kraft; Medallion: Bazzill painted with Midnight Blue acrylic; Fiber: garage sale Funky Fiber find

 

A special welcome to those of you visiting from the {Mojo}Mondays site. If you're wondering why this card that looks like a hybrid of Father's Day and The Fourth of July, that's exactly what I wanted to create. My goal was to make a Father's Day card for a patriotic dad. :)

About 95% of my cards are made for Operation Write Home, a non-profit that makes cards for troops deployed over seas to send to loved ones back home. If you haven't heard of this wonderful group and might be interested in helping out, please take a minute to visit this site.

Two Cards fit for Puzzle Lovers

Have any of you ever used the puzzle maker at discoveryeducation.com.? Those of you who are teachers may have already heard of this great little tool. I've actually used it to make cards.The first card below is a sample of Father's Day cards I made for OWH last year.The second card is one of two Valentine's Day cards I made for nephews aged 10 and 11.

After using puzzlemaker.com to create the puzzle, I used some word processing magic to provide the solutions. Another option would be to provide clues and have a crossword-puzzle-loving dad fill in the squares himself. :)

In this case, I left it as a puzzle for the boys to do. I went with red, black, and white -- and "V-Day" text -- to not be too girly to get from their aunt and uncle.

There are lots more puzzle options at this great site. If you're into puzzles -- or know someone who is -- have fun checking it out!

Parting Thoughts

It's getting close to my friend Linda's arrival time. So, I'll sign off for now.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!  Happy scrappin'!