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'!

Romeo and Juliet...

Remember the lyrics from "Fire" by the Pointer Sisters?

Well, Romeo and Juliet,
Samson and Delilah,
Baby, you can bet,

A love they couldn't deny.

How about "Fever" by Peggy Lee, recently covered by Michael Buble?

Romeo loved Juliet
Juliet she felt the same
When he put his arms around her
He said, "Julie baby you're my flame"
Thou givest fever when we kisseth
Fever with thy flaming youth
Fever I'm on fire
Fever yea I burn forsooth

Captain Smith and Pocahontas
Had a very mad affair
When her daddy tried to kill him
She said "Daddy oh don't you dare"
"He gives me fever with his kisses"
"Fever when he holds me tight"
"Fever, I'm his missus"
"Daddy won't you treat him right?"

Well, those songs were the inspiration for the card below. Since the card was for hubby, who teaches history to high school sophomores, I decided to include a couple of historical references in addition to Romeo & Juliet and Scarlett & Rhett.

Paper: Reminisce, Fiber: EK Adornments,
white tulle, computer-generated font

Actually, the card ended up being larger (a letter size sheet of paper folded in half) and frillier that I originally planned. In spite of its frilliness, I think hubby appreciated the effort. :)

So, I'm already thinking of how this design can be tweaked for 2013 OWH Valentine's Day cards. Thinking I need to:

• include only 3 hearts on the front,
• place the larger heart on the inside of the card on the left side,
• omit the tulle -- maybe use double matting instead,
• and, of course, replace the names on the last heart with "You and Me"

Any other suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!

OWH VCMP Challenges

Hi, everyone,

If you haven't checked out the challenges posted on OWH's Stars and Stamps blog in honor of OWH's cruise, make sure you take a look. There are some great challenges -- and lots of wonderful cards that have been linked to the blog posts.

It looks like my fellow party goers are publishing separate posts for each challenge -- and I know that short posts are preferable in the blogging community. So, I apologize in advance for going with one longer post for the sake of efficiency. That being said, I have 5 cards to share. :)


Card 1: Challenge 2 (Masculine Nautical) and Challenge 6 (Sand and Sea)

Yes, I confess that I posted the following card twice because it fits both challenges perfectly. I'm telling myself I'm really not cheating because I liked this first card so much that I made 3 more -- 2 more for OWH and 1 for my brother's birthday. :)

The most exciting thing about this card is that the sand dollars were cut and embossed using a Zip'e Mate that I purchased at a scrapbook garage sale!  I'd been able to use it for embossing, but this was my first success at getting it to die cut!!!

DMC floss, garage sale brads, background paper: DCWV Travel Pack,
blue netting: your guess is as good as mine -- just a great leftover in the scrap pile,
and a Zip'E Mate!!!!

Card 2: Challenge 7 (CAS)

This card actually came together quickly, which is not always the case for me.  I was pleased that the stamped sentiment blended in so perfectly with the aged look of the printed paper.


Bo Bunny Timepiece Collection from last year: 6 x 6 pad and card-making set


Card 3: Challenge 8 (Jungle Animals -- for a kid's card)

Well, it's a good thing a couple of the other cards came together quickly, because this one did not. I didn't have one blasted jungle animal in all my stash! So, I went online and found an adorable pattern/template for a lion at DLTK's Growing Together.

The mane, face, body, and tail tip are all created from punched-out hearts. The ears and nose are also supposed to be hearts. But, since I printed the pattern at 50%, the hearts were too tiny for my liking. Hope you like this one because I'm thinking it was well worth the effort. I'm also thinking I need to make more kid cards for OWH. :)

DLTK template, EK Success 3-heart punch,
Sizzix croc embossing folder, Kaiser rhinestones,
computer-generated font,

Card 4: Cut It Out! (punches and die cuts)

I started the following card for the Hot Tropics challenge, but the orange and green butterflies just didn't look quite right. The white butterflies with a light-blue grid pattern look so much better -- even though the pattern doesn't show up very well in the JPG.

Jillibean Blossom Soup paper pad and embellishment

Card 5: Vintage

This last card also came to me very quickly. When my hubby saw it, I think he was hoping it was his Valentine card. I must admit, it probably is more suited to him than the card he will be receiving. But, since I had already written in his card, it was too late to switch. Guess it will just have to be sent to one of our troop's loved ones... Oh, darn!  :)

Once again, Bo Bunny Timepiece 6 x 6 pad and card-making set -- perfect for a vintage look

This week's VCMP was great fun!  At first I wasn't going to participate because I had planned to get a jump on Mother's Day cards. But, the variety of the challenges have resulted in a nice assortment of cards for the "other half cards" for the half Mother's Day/half other cards challenge. Nice job, OWH blog team!

Thanks for visiting! Happy scrappin'!

OWH Virtual Card-Making Party -- Birthday Card

Last year, for the McGraw-Hill Craft Show, I made a batch of Christmas and birthday cards. The birthday cards were the same basic design -- which I learned from Tiffany at Pizazz It! -- but in different color combinations. (The card on the right was my kids' birthday version.) My Christmas cards sold well -- but my birthday cards sold like hotcakes! 

I decided to do a similar thing this year -- come up with a design I could use to give to family and friends throughout the year, make for OWH, and sell at this year's craft show.

After a little tinkering, I came up with the card below. I gave it to a friend this week -- and she loved it. So, with a bit more tinkering, I think I might have my 2012 birthday card!

Bo Bunny Snowfall paper, icicle Stickles, Fiskars border punch,
EK Success and Recollections snowflake punches, EK Success leaf punch

What most excites me about this card is how I created the cupcake -- no die cuts or punches here! I trimmed the sides of a rectangle, scored the ridges, and went over the ridges with a metallic pen to form the trapezoidal cake base. For the top mound of icing, I cut 3/4 of a circle, border punched its edge, and cut along hand-drawn arcs. Mini pop dots and 3-D glue dots add a little dimension, while Stickles add a little glimmer. Applying Sandy's guidelines for mixing patterns helped tie the whole design together.

I want/need to make a Valentine's Day card for my sweetie of a husband. Then, I'll set my sights on making cards for OWH's half Mother's Day, half general sentiment challenge. A few of these birthday cards are sure to make their way into this next shipment. :)

Happy scrappin'!