OWH VCMP: Day 1

Hi everyone,

Isn't OWH's card-making party great fun?!  Thanks to our hostesses for such creative challenges and such nice sample cards.

Here are cards for the first 3 challenges:

Challenge 1: A Card with a Scripture Verse or an Inspirational Message

Bo Bunny Snowfall; computer-generated font; border punch and circle templates; Stickles

This challenge was brought to us by the wonderful folks at ODBD.  :)

Challenge 2: A Recipe Card

In this case, the recipe was to make a card with 1 image, 2 papers, and 3 words. 

Jillibean Dutch Mustard Soup, Distress Ink Core Paper; sentiment from Whipper Snapper Designs, stamped and heat embossed with  Distress Ink Dusty Concord; border punch; s.e.i Happy Day die-cut adhered with pop dots

Hope I didn't cheat using the solid color cardstock. Oh, well, it's the thought that counts -- right?

The scan seems to have distorted the color of the cupcake. It actually goes really well with the paper -- much better than it appears here.

Challenge 3: Make a non-Christmas Snowflake Card

Moxxie Winterland, stash cardstock; snowflake punches, border punch; Stickles

I was so happy when I saw this challenge because I picked up luxurious paper at Scrapbook Art this week and have been really excited to use it. Went with another one of the little pocket cards I love so much. (They come together so quickly and look so darned cute!)

Wish the scan would've shown the stickling on the snowflakes. It really helps pop the flakes.

Think I'll use a little darker cardstock for the top for my next batch of Moxxie Winterland cards.

Challenge 4: Triple Stamping Techniques

stash cardstock; Hero Arts stamp in Stampin' Up Bordering Blue and Classic Navy; tulle; Midnight Blue Stickles

This technique was too pretty to not try. But, I changed it up just a bit. I decided to actually stamp three times -- applying the ghosting (first generation, second generation, third generation) technique in last week's Tuesday Tutorial.  The center of the snowflake in the bottom left corner was stamped in a darker blue, popped using several layers of cardstock, and stickled in the middle. I'm toying with adding some Icicle Stickles -- either to just the bottom left snowflake or to a few other snowflakes as well. 

What a cool effect. And, definitely something I would never have come up with on my own. Very cool, indeed!

 

Parting Thoughts

My how my stack for OWH has grown!  :)

Can't wait to see what Day 2 holds!

Until then, happy scrappin'!

Three's the Charm

Hi everyone,

Hope it's been a good weekend. I have three cards to share.

Before that, I'm happy to say that sandybear76 is the winner of the $25 gift card. Congrats, Sandy! Please e-mail me about which card you'd prefer. (Actually, if you'd like a gift certificate from Scrapbook Art instead, I think we can work something out. :)

Card 1: OWH Sketch #133

Paper: We R Memory Keepers (Red, White and Blue), Creative Memories?, stash cardstock; gems; star punches

What a great sketch!  This was an Any Hero card that came together pretty quickly.

 

Card 2: OWH Midweek Throwdown -- Cards for Kids

My Momenta  gel stickers, which were a great garage sale find

I almost feel guilty about posting this one because these stickers are just so darn cute that the card practically made itself. This week's challenge asked for a card for a child. I found these great gel stickers at a scrapbook garage sale and had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use some of them. :)  To bring them together on the card -- and to pop them off the cardstock -- I matted them on white cardstock. Finally, I added a white liner on the inside.

Card 3: CFC65 -- Square Cards

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty and stash cardstock; Paper Inspirations Hero stamp, embossed in Distress Ink Vintage Photo; Cuttlebug embossing folder; garage sale brads; Stickles

This week's CAS-ual Friday challenge was to make a square card. I almost passed since OWH asks for A2 cards. Then, I remembered Sandy saying that square cards could make wonderful Any Hero cards. And, I finally had a chance to use my newest stamp. :)

Parting Thoughts

 Chances are I'll be publishing a few Stars and Stamps post in the next month or so. Other than that, I'm not sure how much blogging I'll have a chance to do. Sounds like work's going to be even crazier the next few months -- and I didn't think that was even possible.

So, I'll still be checking challenges and making cards, but I'm sad to say my blogging and posting opportunities are going to be rather limited.

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

OWH Sketch #129

Hi, everyone,

Two posts in one day. (Wow!) So, I'll make this a quick one.

Turns out it was a great day to scrap -- really overcast in the morning, hot in the afternoon, humid all day.

This week's Any Hero Card was inspired by OWH Sketch #129.

• My one variation from the sketch was going with the same background for both the left and right sides. I loved Donna's monochromatic color variations on her sample cards. But, in the end, it just felt right for the background to be kraft with navy accents on both sides to really bring out the sentiment on this patriotic card.
• The sentiment was heat embossed using Distress Ink and clear embossing powder. I just love how you can do that with the Distress Ink!

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty, Ranger Core, Bazzill watermelon; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Distress Ink (Vintage Photo); Stickles, jute, garage sale brad

Parting Thought

Hope everyone has a great week!  Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Monday Musings

Hi, everyone,

Boy, it was gorgeous here yesterday -- simply gorgeous!  Hope everyone had a chance to get outside for a little while this past weekend.

Saturday's Crop 

What a fun time on Saturday at the all-day crop!  What can be more fun than cropping with my best friend and other scrappers?! As if that wasn't enough, there was a make-and-take, a raffle, a book signing, and a garage sale!  More on the book signing on Friday. But, as far as the garage sale went, I found lots of goodies -- including 2 new pads of 12 by 12 Core paper, 2 new Distress Ink pads, lots of kid-themed stickers and chipboard embellishments, and some "new" ribbons and gems. :)  

I spent my day putting together some Dad My Hero cards and working on general sentiment cards for OWH's Muscle Card Challenge for Father's Day. The first 3 cards were made from Kaiser's Hippy Girl collection, the fourth from Kaiser's Lush collection. (Again, I apologize for those annoying shadows that appear when I scan cards with dimensional elements.)

simple

a little more adornment -- This one includes a few gems bought at the crop garage sale. :)

even more adornment -- Butterflies made with Martha Stewart's punch-around-the page and popped up with 3-D dots.

Adorned with "lush" flocked paper and pearls.

CAS-ual Fridays: CFC48

This week's challenge was to make a card using complementary colors. As I always do when I visit other sites, I started thinking about a possible OWH card. So, I decided to make the card below -- a card similar to a Father's Day card I made for our dads last year -- and reminiscent of OWH's necktie card.

Ranger Core Paper

To make a similar card last year, I sketched the design on an A2 envelope and then made templates for the shirt "halves", collar, and tie from an old gift box. (Luckily, I still had the design and templates.) When piecing together the shirt, I sanded the collars so that they would stand out but still be in the same color family.

Parting Thoughts

Kudos to everyone who participated in this weekend's Make Em Laugh blog hop featuring so many of OWH's wonderful vendor partners. Your creations were amazing!  Sorry I didn't have a chance to devote much time to this hop.

Plans for the week include finishing up cards from Saturday's crop -- adding a little glue and a few embellishments, doing some Stickling. My goal is to have cards ready to stamp, tuck, and box up Muscle Challenge cards next weekend. :) Once crop cards are done, I'll turn my thoughts to this week's sketch.

Hope everyone has a wonderfully creative week. Happy scrappin'!

Monday Musings -- Another Early Edition

Hi, everyone,

Hope it's been a good weekend for you. The weather is absolutely gorgeous here -- just a tad on the chilly side, but the sun is shining and the windows are open. :)

I'm hoping to work on a design later today for that "My Dad, My Hero" card idea that's been rolling around in my head. But, for now, I have 2 cards to share. So, I thought I'd go ahead and post a little early. If this becomes a habit, I might have to think of a name other than Monday Musings. :)

OWH Sketch #115

Donna is the sample maker for this week's sketch cards -- and they are so cute. I just love the patriotic one! Nice work, Donna!

The card below is this week's Any Hero card. Again, I inked up the inside of the embossing folder. I love the texture and extra dimension that this technique gives. 

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty, Bazzill Watermelon; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Stickles; Stampin' Up Night of Navy ink

This sketch might make for a great "My Dad, My Hero" card. And, I'll have plenty of patriotic paper to choose from when those Bo Bunny 6 by 6 Liberty pads arrive. Looks like I've got a little designing to do...

CFC46: Name That Tune

This week's CAS-ual Fridays blog challenge  is to create a card inspired by a song. After a little pondering -- and some internet searching -- I decided upon Love is in the Air. A pair of head-over-heals-in-love butterflies immediately came to mind. :)

The next decision was to find just the right paper with just the right color combination. The key palette ingredients were a blue background (so these little butterflies could dance romantically through the sky), a coordinating pattern fit for the lady, and a second coordinating pattern fit for the gent. This BasicGrey paper that I found in that unexpected Tuesday Morning spree a few weeks ago fit the bill perfectly. Finally, the inspirational song title (printed in graceful Lucida Handwriting), parallel flight paths that included hearts and loops, and some champagne-colored heart gems provided the finishing touches.

Paper: BasicGrey Granola 12 by 12 pad; Butterflies: Martha Stewart Punch around the Page; 

computer-generated font; mini champagne-colored, heart-shaped gems

I  debated about adding black rhinestones to ground the corners, but decided against it. It would be a shame if anything took away from the gems on the butterflies themselves. 


Love is definitely in the air for these little creatures. :)

Parting Thoughts

Those of you who show your cards to hubbies might get a chuckle out of this glimpse into my world. Hubby said that as he was driving home from Spring Break he realized he'd gone a whole week without hearing anything about cards, squares, triangles.... (Sound like anyone you know?) I just had to laugh -- and told him that his confession was blog-worthy!

My goal for the week is to have a "My Dad, My Hero" card to show on Friday. Until then...

Have a great week!  And, happy scrappin'!

Friday Night Writes

Hi, all,

Hope everyone's had a great week. It's been a week of being a bachelorette for me -- really quiet around here and just a little strange.

It's also been a week of card-making firsts -- three to be exact!

First #1: Stamping on Ribbon

I've been tweaking a 2012 birthday card -- to give to friends during the year and to sell at the annual McGraw-Hill Holiday Craft Show. This year's design features a cupcake and the sentiment "Make a Wish".

Lo and behold, I came across the most adorable "make a wish" stamp -- which got me to wondering if I could stamp a sentiment on a ribbon.

So, while I was working on Father's Day cards with that adorable Bo Bunny Konstrukt paper, I pulled out a "Thinking of You" stamp and a white ribbon. I was actually quite pleased with the results.

Sentiment Stamped on Ribbon
Paper: Bo Bunny Konstrukt
Kaiser rhinestones
Ink: StazOn jet black

While the stamping turned out very nicely, I'm not loving the glue dots peeking through the ribbon. So, this card still needs a little work before it gets my OWH stamp of approval. Any suggestions about the adhesive issue here?

First #2: A Cool Distress Background

I'm sure anyone taking Tim Holtz's online card class has just been amazed by the whole experience. What a talent! 



Since I don't have many Distress Inks, no stains, no markers -- yes, I know, woe is me -- I haven't tried many of the homework assignments. But, I did have just what I needed for Day 7's homework. And, the result was spectacular! There is no way to describe how gorgeous this background is. When the sun shines on it, it shimmers and glistens just like newly fallen snow. It is just so pretty!

 

Tim's Rusted Enamel Technique: Tattered Rose, Antique Linen and Vintage Photo inks
Clear Embossing Powder; Paper: Ranger Distress Core Paper
Stamp: Whipper Snapper; Punch: EK Success
Cupcake: hand-drawn, hand-cut, scored, and highlighted with metallic pens

I embossed the sentiment before creating the background. I'm going to try creating the background before embossing on my next card -- just to see what difference it might make. Any advice or suggestions?

A pink/rose cupcake on blue background probably would've made more sense. But, there isn't any blue Distress Ink in my stash... at least, not yet! :)

Nonetheless, this design feels like it's getting close to being just right... And, this card's going to a friend at work who, ironically enough, gave up cupcakes -- actually all sweets -- for Lent. :)



First #3: Iris Folding

Last night, my LSS (Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center, OH) had an iris folding class. And, it was a wonderful experience!  Let me start by saying that if you've been interested in trying iris folding but have been a little put off by how intricate the cards appear, go for it!  The results are gorgeous and the technique is surprisingly easy.

Iris Folding



Iris Folding

Time for a big shout-out to the class teacher Alexandra Kimball. She was so kind, so patient, and such a great teacher. Thanks so much, Alexandra!  (Turns out the Stickles worked just fine!)

Parting Thoughts

So, it's been quite a week -- a wonderful week of card-making adventures!  And, I still have 3 more Tim classes to attend. :)

Not quite sure how many cards will be made this weekend. My men are returning home from a Spring Break trip. And, I'm sooooo excited to see them! :)

As always, thanks for stopping by. Happy scrappin' and have a nice weekend!

Monday Musings: The Early Edition

Hi,

Since my men are gone, I'm a little ahead of schedule. (Boy, not too often we get to say that, huh?!) So, why not post a little ahead of schedule?

OWH Sketch #114

Another Sketch, Another Any Hero Card! This week's sketch calls for the background rectangle to be divided into two sections. I considered a couple of options before deciding upon a more subtle approach. 

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty, Bazzill admiral, BasicGrey kraft
Cuttlebug embossing folder, red and blue Stickles

I was really struggling with the square until I added the layer of kraft. The navy by itself was just too strong. I'm thinking navy behind the embossed kraft would have made the card even stronger. But, not too bad -- and I'm thinking of tweaking this a little to make a few "My Dad, My Hero" cards.

I'm really liking this Liberty paper. I picked up a few 12 by 12 sheets recently and found out there is a 6 by 6 pad. My LSS wasn't able to order it since it was last year's collection. Luckily, I found it online at ODBD. So, a few pads of this great paper is headed my way!

OWH's Father's Day Challenge

Looks like we rocked the Mother's Day card challenge. So, we're moving on to a Father's Day card challenge. (It's still not too late to send in a few "Love You, Mom cards.)

I was able to carve out a significant amount of card-making time yesterday. And, cards for dads were my number one priority! All of the following cards were made from Kaiser's Konstrukt 6 by 6 pad.



Kaiser Konstrukt paper, Zip'eMate letters

Kaiser Konstrukt paper, Zip'eMate letters, Kaiser rhinestones
small rectangle: crimped and inked

Kaiser Konstrukt paper, Zip'eMate letters
Sentiment: Jillian Vance Celebrate Dad stamp set
(Sorry about the scanning distortion on this one.)

Wish that the scanned images did  better justice to these. Cards with "bumps" don't tend to scan as well... Hope the designs come across anyway.

CFC45

This week's CAS-ual Friday challenge is to make a card using pastels and black. The card below was also made from Kaiser's Konstrukt paper.

Kaiser Konstrukt, American Crafts black cardstock
Kaiser rhinestones, Celebrate It ribbon, Fiskars border punch
Butterflies are tri-layered: bottom, purple; middle: black, top, polka dot.
(Another disappointing scan. The shadow takes away from the prettiness of the card.)

Designers always tell us to not be afraid of black. (I sure remember hearing that a lot on Trading Spaces!) Yet, there's a natural tendency to stay away from it. So, I'm really glad I gave this a try -- I love the way this card turned out!  :)

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to get a few more cards made today. But, my first goal is to catch up on Tim's Thursday and Friday online classes.

Thanks for stopping by!  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'!

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'!