Let's Celebrate 5 Years of Coloring Pages!

Hi everyone!

A quick post to tell you about a celebration going on at Elizabeth O. Dulemba's site. Elizabeth is an author and illustrator of children's books. For five years now, she has been posting adorable, downloadable coloring pages on her Website.

To see my first little cupcake card, please click here.

Elizabeth and I first "chatted" last year when I contacted her about using one of her adorable cupcake images on Operation Write Home birthday cards. It turns out Elizabeth is a huge fan of Operation Write Home and was thrilled to know her image would be appearing on cards for our troops and their loved ones. All she asked was that she be credited for the image.

So, I made several cards using Elizabeth's artwork. (The little card at the right was actually one of my favorite cards of 2012.) These cupcake cards were my first real card coloring -- and they were colored with acrylics, to boot. More importantly, I loved the chance to get to know Elizabeth.

So, if you're in the need of some digis for OWH cards, or for your kids, or your grandkids, please check out Elizabeth's adorable images. :)

Parting Thoughts

Think I'm going to need to get outside this evening. It's so pretty here today. :)

As always, thanks for stopping. Happy scrappin'! And, Happy 5th Birthday to Elizabeth's coloring pages.

Monday Musings

Hi, everyone,

Thankfully the past weekend was much calmer than the end of the week. This allowed for time to make cards and watch basketball -- often at the same time!

OWH Sketch #113

Isn't it interesting how some cards are born so quickly -- almost effortlessly? Guess this week's sketch was really lucky #13 because this was one of those times.

The sketch inspired the Any Hero Card below. To use the digi sentiment, I rotated the design to make a horizontal card -- and I tweaked the smaller rectangular strip just a tad.

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty collection, BasicGrey kraft, Bazzill Watermelon and Admiral;
Fabric: leftover blue mesh, Canvas Corp burlap sheet jute; OWH digi

I was thrilled with the texture and dimension added by the mesh and jute!  :)

CFC44

This week's CAS-ual Friday challenge is to make a card with a pattern, an image, and a sentiment. And, I think this little lion card below fits the bill.

• Pattern: Croc Embossing
• Image: Paper-Pieced Lion
• Sentiment: "Have a ROARing Good Day!"



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

The idea for this card first came when I was in need of an animal to make a kiddie card for OWH's Virtual Card-Making Party. After a little searching, I came across an adorable lion pattern at DLTK. And, if I do say so myself, a ROARing cute lion was born.  :)

One Last Cupcake

Remember that adorable cupcake illustration by Elizabeth O. Dulemba? Well, it turned out that I printed and colored a 6-pack of those, the last of which was used on the card below.  This card will be going to a colleague who has become a treasured mentor.

Paper: ???? -- from my leftover stash -- and wish there were more of the gingham print
Acrylics: Cranberry Wine/Midnight Blue, Golden Straw/Russet, Moroccan Red, Light Ivory
Scalloped Circle: White Bazzill Chipboard, painted with Cranberry Wine
Accents: Pinkish/Purple Gems and Metallic Penned-Sprinkles

 A Thank You for a Friend

On Friday, I mentioned that a friend at work had a surprised me with a great display rack to use for my card-making endeavors. As a little thank you, I put together a packet of cards for her.

5 handmade cards, "wrapped" in tulle

The finishing touch: A tag-like thank you card tucked inside its own envelope



In the pack, I included the following cards: a masculine thank you, a romantic vintage,  a primary-colored ABC, a "Kind Words Can Conquer", and a feminine pink/cream/black animal print. Seemed like a nice variety.

The tulle bow made for the perfect "wrapping". And, the thank you tag, which was made by mixing and matching assorted leftovers/garage sale finds, topped it all off very nicely. :)  She was definitely surprised -- but probably not as surprised as I was last week!

 

Parting Thoughts

Time to link up some cards.  :)

Have a great week!  Happy scrappin'!

Monday Musings

Hi, everyone,

With all the good college basketball on television this past weekend -- and the next couple of weekends, it's a good thing there's a little tv in my craft room!  :)

ODBD March Challenge

The good folks at ODBD host a monthly challenge for OWH.  This month's challenge comes in the form of a tic-tac-toe board. I chose right-side down (stripes, embossing, ribbon). And, I must admit this challenge ended up being a little tougher than I thought it would be.

The embossed stars were created by inking the embossing folder.
Then, the rows of stars were cut out. (It was actually a little like playing with paper dolls.
The biggest challenge was putting adhesive on the back without breaking a string of stars.)
Stars were adhered to navy ribbon atop admiral Bazzill cardstock.
Finally, a touch of silver Stickles was added to each star's center for a little glimmer.

OWH Sketch Challenge #112

This Sunday's sketch featured an oval atop a rectangle. The first card is rather unusual for me -- a literal interpretation of the sketch! :)

The second card is a little bit more liberal interpretation. And, it is this week's Any Hero card.

Cardstock and Embellishment: Jillibean Soup's Blossom Soup collection;
Sheer ribbon, icicle Stickles, and gems were added for a little sparkle.



Paper: Bo Bunny's Liberty collection, Bazzill Admiral and Watermelon cardstock;
Sentiment: We R Memory Keepers, Old Glory Acrylic Stamp Set



Cupcakes, Anyone???



I loved Elizabeth O. Dulemba's Coloring Page Tuesday digi cupcake so much that I used it to make a few more cards. Think these will go to a few girlfriends with April birthdays. :)

Tuesday Morning

The good news and the bad news is that I had a chance to stop in Tuesday Morning on Saturday morning.

Good News: They had lots of good scrapbooking stuff...

[Bad News: They had lots of good scrapbooking stuff...  :)]

I think it was Kathryn who mentioned picking up some goodies at Tuesday Morning. So, I had a few extra minutes and thought I'd check it out. I must say I am really glad I did because I found:

• several sets of AC stamp pens,
• AC metallic pens,
• several packs of 12 by 12 paper -- including BasicGrey dp,
• and a cute pink and cream rolling tote that will be perfect for transporting card-making supplies to crops and on vacation.

Great buys... just a little more than I had planned on an impulsive stop. :)

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to get some cards made this week -- but I really do need to start reading my book club's current selection. (Think I'm supposed to be scheduling a meeting in the next week or so for our discussion.  Hmmm....)

Have a good week!  Thanks for stoppin by and happy scrappin'!

Friday Night Writes

Hi, Everyone,

Thought I'd publish a quick post before the Buckeyes hit the court in the Big Ten Tournament.  Hope everyone had a great week.  Thanks to everyone who left such kind comments on my blog.

Half and Half OWH Challenge





I mailed my box of half Mother's Day and half general sentiment card challenge to Kris yesterday afternoon -- wanting them to get there in plenty of time for the March 15 deadline.  Almost all of the 40 cards have appeared in previous posts.

A few more of Elizabeth Dulemba's delightful cupcakes made it into the box -- and there will be a few other cupcakes in my next shipment. :)

Kudos to Kathryn

I was feeling pretty good about getting this second shipment of the year in the mail. Last year, not counting the GVD cardmaking party cards, I sent 96 cards to OWH. This year, the count is up to 80 -- plus 10 Any Hero cards!  I know our focus is not supposed to be quantity. But, it's great to be able to send as many cards as possible.

And, then I read Kathryn's post -- sending hundreds of blank cards and hundreds of Any Hero notes. Wow!!!  Well done, Kathryn!

I'm still feeling good -- but not quite as good as Kathryn must be feeling. :)

A New Twist on an Old Favorite

Okay, so I was doing a little mindless channel surfing and came upon a shopping network craft supplies show. While I was resisting the temptation to order those blasted gel pens and telling myself that my Zip'E Mate is just fine for my purposes, I stuck around and watched the Cuttlebug sales pitch. And, then came the "Why didn't I think of that?" moment!

The spokesperson suggested inking an embossing folder before running paper through the machine. So, that's exactly what I did to create the Any Hero card below.

Bazzill cardstock: Watermelon and Admiral
(which are perfect complements for Bo Bunny's Liberty line)
Folder: Cuttlebug; Ink: Stampin' Up Night of Navy
OWH digi, red Stickles for a touch of glimmer

I thought clean-up could be a real mess. But, since the ink is water-based, the folder rinsed clean in a flash.

Hubby seemed to really like this one. I'm going to try to use a similar effect for this month's ODBD challenge.

Speaking of challenges, think I'm going to venture out a little and post this card for this week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays. Posting to a site other than OWH's Stars and Stripes is a first for me. Must say it's kind of scary...

And, speaking of digis...

The digi in the card above is one of my absolute favorite sentiments to use. Does anyone have a good source for other digital sentiments? Of course, free digis are the best digis of all!

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to get a start on Box #3 this weekend with an ODBD card and a couple more cupcake birthday cards.

Happy scrappin'!  

Monday Musings

Hi, everyone,

Welcome to the second edition of Monday Musings.

OWH's Midweek Challenge

I must admit I was less than thrilled when I saw this week's challenge.

• The only digi that I've used is OWH's "Thank You, Hero; You Make America Proud" sentiment,
• I own no copics, and
• I can't begin to come close to the amazing coloring that I see on fellow cardmaker's works of art.

But, I thought what the heck and found an adorable cupcake at Elizabeth Dulemba's site -- one of her Coloring Page Tuesday creations. I e-mailed Elizabeth and found out that she's a huge supporter of OWH -- and is even featured on the OWH site. All she asks is that we give credit where credit's due with a copyright line created especially for OWH use.

Illustration by Elizabeth Dulemba
Background Paper: Paper Pizazz (that I've had at least a decade)
Image printed on watercolor paper and colored with watered down acrylics,
and embellished with gold metallic gel pen

So, the coloring is certainly not to the quality of my fellow OWHers. But, I'm pretty pleased with this first effort -- which is a good thing since I have 5 more colored cupcakes ready to go. :)

OWH Sketch #111

This week's sketch challenge has inspired 1 Any Hero card and 2 OWH cards -- and that's just for starters. All three cards have a patriotic flavor as they were made from Bo Bunny's Liberty line. 

 

Embossed, with embossing brushed lightly shaded with ink
and embellished with gold stickles



Embossed, with embossing brushed lightly shaded with ink
and embellished with blue stickles

  

Bo Bunny Paper enhanced with BasicGrey Kraft



And, I'm hoping one of these 3 cards will meet the March ODBD challenge.

This Week's Goal

I'm hoping to finish up those 5 cupcake cards and get a package in the mail to Kris by the weekend. That half Mother's Day/half general sentiment cards challenge seems to be approaching a little too quickly!

Have a great week!  Happy scrappin'!