Thanks!

Hi, everyone.

A quick post for an Any Hero card inspired by OWH Sketch #178.

dp: We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue
cardstock: Bazzill admiral and watermelon, AC (aqua color), Distress Ink core antique linen
sentiment in Stampin' Up! Night of Navy; Recollections brad
Paper Studio star punch

Other than omitting the third vertical rectangle, I stayed pretty true to the sketch. This is another one of those sheets in this dp collection that I struggle with using -- and ended up cutting it down quite a bit and rotating it for this card. So, the busy-iness of the dp seemed to call for one less layer than on the original sketch.

Parting Thoughts

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and have a good work week.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Red, White, Blue, and Kraft

Hi, everyone.

Trying my best to make and post cards between family get-togethers and excursions. So many fun things to do, so little time. :)

The Any Hero card below was made for OWH Sketch #177.

We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue dp
tan cardstock: Distress Ink core; turquoise cardstock: AC
all other cardstock: Bazzill, including admiral and watermelon
Sizzix embossing folder; Stampin' Up! neutral brads
Fiskars and Paper Studio star punches, EK hole punch
Glossy Accents; Zots 3D glue dots

As you can see, I rotated the sketch 90 degrees. This was originally done to use a horizontal sentiment. After I chose not to use a sentiment, the dp was already taped down -- taped down REALLY well. Since I liked the vertical direction of the pattern, I chose to stay with the rotated orientation.

The other change was in the placement of the blue banner and white rectangle. It just felt right to center these when I was playing with final placements.

This was the second card on which I have used Glossy Accents -- using them to adhere and coat the three punched out circles for the centers of the stars. Still need some serious practice with this product, but I like the end results.Any imperfections/flaws are the sole responsibility of the user, not the product. :)

At first, I thought the layout seemed a little busier than my typical choices. However, I think the solid colors -- and use of stars instead of a sentiment -- helped give the card more of a CAS feel.

Parting Thoughts

Gotta go!  Time for another fun family function. :)

Have a great week! Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

A Seven Star Tribute

Hi, everyone!

Today's OWH Sketch was inspired by a card made by Jean E. of Garden Grove, CA. Jean made so many beautiful cards for OWH. Please click here to read more about this wonderful lady. The Any Hero card below is made in Jean's memory.

We R Memory Keepers Red, White, & Blue
cardstock: AC white, blue, rusty red; Bazzill background blue; ??? background black
Recollections brads; 3 D glue dots

The dp is one of those busier sheets that I typically struggle with using. So, I kept the rest of the card really simple with solid color cardstock and simple brads. It's hard to imagine a card without any Distress Ink inks or core paper -- or stamped images. But, here it is.

It seemed a little odd to use black on the card, but the dp wasn't popping quite enough against the red base.Now, I'm thinking that maybe I should have put some black behind the 4 red/blue squares.

I'm also thinking these 4 squares should be a little to the right of where they're placed. But, the brads go through the squares and white strip -- and the white strip is adhered with six 3D glue dots. So, that white strip and 4 squares aren't moving anywhere. :)

I also wish the color of the blue cardstock appeared truer to its actual color. It is far closer to the blue in the dp than it appears here.

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to work on a Father's Day card this afternoon.

Have a great week!  Thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

Herringbone, Stars, and Brads; Oh, My!

Hi, everyone.

Hope the weekend is going well. It's a rainy day here -- a perfect day for a little cardmaking followed by curling up with a good book. :)

This week's Any Hero card was inspired by OWH Sketch #170.

We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue; cardstock: blue, white, AC; red, Bazzill watermelon; dark blue, ???
star brads: Recollections; star punches: Fiskars, The Paper Studio; hole punch: EK
technique: fussy cutting of herringbone from 6 by 6 sheet

I really like the pairing of the bold pattern with the smaller star pattern, the repitition of stars, and the aqua blue used for the base and the background of the center rectangle.

I struggled with the small, horizontal strip on the sketch, not wanting to introduce a third pattern and not having quite the right ribbon. So, I opted for leaving the strip off the card. I also slightly adjusted the placement of the three brads. Other than that, I felt like it was pretty close to the sketch -- definitely in keeping with the spirit of it.

A Question from Hubby

Hubby wants to know if my fellow cardmakers show EVERY SINGLE CARD to their hubbies. In addition, do my fellow cardmakers show EVERY SINGLE CHANGE to EVERY SINGLE CARD to their hubbies? (His words exactly, down to the caps!)

He is soooo funny -- and apparently a little exasperated that he's been asked to look at cards on several different occasions this weekend for a combined total of about 5 minutes. Although, I've been informed that this weekend was an atypically slow weekend; I only made one card last night since I watched a 3 1/2-hour movie on TCM sans multi-tasking. (Sadly, there's not a cable hook-up in the menopause room.)

The funniest part of all of this to me is that he really seems to think it matters -- or that his feigned protestations will put an end to his "suffering". LOL!    :)

Parting Thoughts

I've got one or two mini chores to finish before curling up with that book.

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

A Patriotic Thanks!

Hi everyone,

Isn't interesting how sometimes cards come so quickly and other times not so quickly? Well, this week's OWH sketch came together quickly for me, resulting in the Any Hero card below. :)

Paper: dp: We R Memory Keepers Red, White, & Blue; light blue: Distress Ink core; other cardstock: AC or Bazzill
Baker's Twine: The Twinery; Mark Richards crystal stickers
Sentiment stamped in Distress Ink black soot, embossed with clear powder
Punches: The Paper Studio and Fiskars

I find myself struggling with pairing the patterns in this dp collection -- and struggling with the larger patterns in the pad. Using the larger pattern as the background, paired with solid cardstock, seemed to work well for this sketch.

Parting Thoughts

I am so excited about OWH Design Boot Camp, aren't you? Paula's first post about color theory was jam-packed full of great information. And, the individual comments she's leaving on blogs are much appreciated.  If you  haven't checked this out yet,  you really should!

Resolution Update: It's been nice to visit other blogs and reconnect with some OWH friends. The craft room is ready for the next round of card-making. Now all I need to do is make a Midweek Throwdown challenge card using this sketch.

Hope everyone has a great week.  We're reaching the biggest milestone of an unbelievably intense project at work this week. It will be such a HUGE accomplishment -- and big relief!

Thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

Stars, Elmo, and Christmas Trees

Hi everyone,

First of all, thanks to everyone who commented on the birthday candle card and Any Hero card. If it weren't for wanting to honor copyright laws, I'd publish the inspiration card for last post's birthday card. The Leisure Arts book Card Sketches for Paper Crafters is carried by Archivers -- or can be purchased at Amazon  -- if you're interested in checking it out. 

It's been a busy weekend. But, I still managed to carve out a little crafting time this weekend. :)

So, what do stars, Elmo, and Christmas trees have in common? They've all been the focus of this weekend's crafting activity!

Card 1: Your Courage Inspires Me

The first card is an Any Hero card inspired by this week's OWH sketch and this week's Midweek Throwdown challenge to make a card in red, white, and blue.

                                              

Paper: We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue; AC blue cardstock; Bazzill watermelon cardstock
Sentiment: Stamper's Best in Distress Ink Vintage Photo
Tools and Techniques: star punch, heat embossing with clear powder

As with most of my Any Hero cards, I rotated the sketch to make a  horizontal card.

Card 2: Elmo

The inspirations for this shaped card were: 1) a similar card posted by Sandy a few months ago and 2) this week's Casual Friday challenge to create a card with something torn.

Paper: AC Cardstock
Techniques: tearing paper
Tools: Creative Memory circle, circle punches, corner rounder

This was actually pretty quick to do. Elmo's face is a solid piece of cardstock covered by strips of torn paper.

Next time, I'm going to try and use smaller strips -- maybe quilling papers. And, I think I will fan the strips out in a circular pattern around the nose area and vary the strip lengths a little bit more.

It's also worth mentioning that the white circles are 4-plyed so that  they won't bend easily while in transit -- or while in the hands of a little one. :)

All in all, I was pretty pleased with the way this little guy turned out. :)

Card 3: Season's Greetings

The last card is part of a set I'm making for next month's craft fair.

Paper: Authentique, AC black cardstock
Sentiment: Hero Arts in Distress Ink Black Soot; Gems: Core-dinations Nightfall
Tree: Hero Arts in clear powder using VersaMark
Tools and Techniques: border punch, heat embossing 

 Parting Thoughts

I'm hoping to get a few more Season's Greetings card done tonight. We'll see...

Have a great week. Thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

2 for 1

Hi everyone,

A quick post to share two cards inspired by this week's OWH sketch.

                   

Card #1: A Birthday Card

This first card is pretty true to the sketch, following a 90 degree rotation.

Paper: My Mind's Eye, stash cardstock
Sentiment from Whipper Snapper, heat embossed in Distress Ink Vintage Photo
Techniques: Leisure Arts candle idea described in last post
Tool: hole punch

I initially used a AAA battery to roll the candles -- and found the technique worked well with designer paper, but not heavier cardstock. However, the candles seemed too thick for OWH. So, I went with the "smashed" versions instead.

Card 2: An Any Hero card

I was a little more liberal in my interpretation of the sketch for this one.

Paper: We R Memory Keepers, BasicGrey kraft, miscellaneous cardstock
Tools: ek success and the Paper Studio star punches; crimper, distresser, hole punch
Embellishment: strands of jute

The background paper is one that I really struggle with in this Red, White & Blue collection because it is such a strong image. After layering the red and white-starred paper, it felt okay pairing these two patterns together. And, I think it helps that the stars were punched from the same cardstock as the cream layer behind the red and white-starred paper.

Parting Thoughts

Hubby wasn't a huge fan of either card. They were both too busy for his taste. They are actually a little on the busy side for me, too -- just a little out of my normal comfort zone. But, I think they work. 

Have a great week. Thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

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'!

A Star-Filled Tribute

Hi everyone,

A quick post of an Any Hero card inspired by this week's OWH Sketch, Sketch #143.

Paper: We R Memory Keeper Red, White & Blue
Punch: the Paper Studio
sSentiment: heat embossed in Distress Ink Black Soot

When I saw the sketch, I immediately thought of rows of stars.  However, as you can see, the sketch calls for five 0.5-inch rows. Since my smaller star punch was a little wider than that, I went with 3 rows. In addition, I rotated the sketch to go with a pre-written Any Hero card message.

A trick I recently learned -- that everyone else probably already knows :) -- is to cut the small strips and adhere them to the card before cutting them to the "correct" length. This was certainly  much easier than my previous strategy of trying to measure first and then adhere.

Oh, and one more thing, I placed the center star in each row first. Then, I placed the far left and right stars. Lastly, I placed the second and fourth stars -- "eyeballing" them between the end and middle stars.

A simple, but heartfelt, card that I hope will convey gratitude and appreciation to a hero.

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to get to work on a project for the upcoming Craft Show.

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

OWH Sketch #141: Patriotic Gratitude

Hi everyone,

Actually had a chance to make a card after all! The following is an Any Hero card inspired by this Sunday's OWH sketch.

We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue (patterned) , Bo Bunny Liberty (solid navy), Bazzill watermelon; Hero Arts sentiment in Close to My Heart Night of Navy; Fiskars and the Paper Studio star punches; crimper

 Parting Thought

I recently received a comment asking about crimping. I'm actually using just a garage sale find paper crimper that doesn't even have a company name it. If  you're interested in learning more about using a crimper, click here to see a short video -- to which I have no affiliation whatsoever. :)

Gotta run. Have a great week!

And, thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

OWH Sketch #140

Hi everyone,

It's always great fun when one of the OWH blog team members contacts you about helping out with a challenge. So, I really enjoyed making a couple of sample cards for this week's sketch.

Sample Cards

Because of the month-long Birthday Bash, it's taken awhile for this sketch to post. So, the cards below were actually made during a summer trip to the beach and mailed awhile ago. 

We R Memory Keepers Down the Boardwalk collection; pop up dots for "Notes" rectangle

Bo Bunny Liberty; jute; punched-out stars, heat embossed with clear powder; pop up dots for middle star

I have to admit that I initially struggled with how to use the two vertical strips. When making sample cards for Julie, I stick exactly to the sketch -- which, as many of you know, can be a challenge for me. :)  But, I think these turned out okay.

In addition, I used a few of my favorite techniques on the patriotic card:

• heat embossing with clear powder to give the stars a little shine, and
• pairing jute with navy for an unexpected texture.  
  
  
   Inside Surprises
  
  

  Finally, there were a few cards in one of the OWH blog hops that had "surprises" on the inside. This seemed like a nice touch. So, I added simple surprises to the inside of each of these cards.
  
  
  
  
  Parting Thoughts

Can't wait to see what you do with these three rectangles!

On another note, kudos to Jeri and her amazing Scrapbook Art OWH team for a wonderful card-making birthday bash! A grand total of 1424 cards were assembled today! The ATG guns were ablazing! I think I went through 5 or 6 rolls of ATG tape myself. :)  More details to follow.

As always, hanks for stopping by and for supporting OWH. Happy scrappin'!

OWH Sketch #138

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone's had a nice weekend. The weather here has been amazing -- two Chamber of Commerce days as hubby likes to say. :)

I have two cards to share, both of which were inspired by this week's sketch.

Card 1: A Christmas Card

Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co. cardstock; stamps: Hero Arts snowflake and $ sentiment; sentiment in Stampin' Up! Night of Navy; clear embossing powder

The card is far more striking than what you see here. Clear snowflakes have also been heat-embossed on the white cardstock. I wish they would have shown up better.

Actually, I was so pleased by the elegant look of the blue-on-blue and white-on-white embossing, I decided against adding a snowman to the design as originally planned and went with just the sentiment.

And, this pack of cardstock is so pretty. The papers have really nice textures. It's not mu usual Bazzill. Instead, it's a pack I picked up at a great price at Tuesday Morning. I wasn't sure how nice it would be, but I wouldn't think twice about buying it again. If you see it, consider giving it a try. :)

Card 2: An Any Hero Card

We R Memory Keepers Red, White and Blue, black cardstock; Paper Inspirations sentiment in Distress Ink Black Soot; gems

In addition to being inspired by this week's OWH  sketch, this card drew inspiration from this week's Midweek Throwdown to make an Any Hero card and from this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge to make a card using black, white, and one other color.

Parting Thought: A Card-Making Party for OWH  :)

If you live within traveling distance to central Ohio -- and  you're free on September 29th -- there's a birthday bash card-making party going on at Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center. Click here for details.

If you can make it, I know they'd love to have you. The more the merrier! I definitely have it circled on my calendar.

Thanks for visiting and 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'!

The Word of the Day is "Pocket"

Hi everyone,

Thanks to all of you for your response to Making a Difference.

I have three pocket-related things to share today.

A Pocketful of Well Wishes Cards

The following 3 cards were all made for family and friends using a sketch from a fabulous card-making book. Really, this book is so wonderful I literally squealed with delight when it arrived in the mail -- much to hubby's surprise! :) 

Aside from the gem on the first card and the tulle on the second card, all three cards were made entirely from garage sale finds (a pile of Stampin' Up two-sided dp, prima flowers, brads, ribbons) and menopause room stash (cardstock))!

The first card most closely follows the sketch on page 180. However, it doesn't quite fit in an A2 envelope and requires hand delivery. So, I modified the design for cards requiring envelopes.

Ashley's Pocketful of Talent

Surf's Up! was inspired by one of Ashley's monthly sketches.

We R Memory Keeper's Down the Boardwalk collection; gems

For my card, I focused on the center part of the left side of the sketch.  I love this paper collection and thought the colors could work well going into late summer/early fall.

A Little Extra Pocket Cash

A big thing happened in my little blog world this week. The 25th follower joined Scrapping with Purpose! To celebrate, I'm raffling off a $25 gift card.

So what do you need to do to qualify, you ask? Two simple things:

• Be a follower by noon on Saturday, August 11.
• Leave a comment letting me know whether you would like a card to Michael's or JoAnn's.

In appreciation of those of you who have been following up until now, followers as of August 6 who leave a comment will receive two raffle entries.  

While I haven't been the best blog follower/commenter as of late, I really appreciate those of you who have made this a regular stop.

Parting Thoughts

The good news is that they really like me at work. The bad news is they really like me at work.

My most recent project, which has been a red-hot frying pan, is winding down. But, I found out today that my next project will find me jumping into an even hotter skillet!

Not only do I think blog posts are going to be fewer and fewer, I fear that card-making may also be far more limited than I would like -- especially thinking about the upcoming push to make cards for our heroes.

Hoping I'm wrong, but not counting on it.


As always, thanks for visiting. I'll be looking for comments from followers by August 11.

Until my next post, happy scrappin'!

3 for 1

Hi, everyone,

Another quick post. I have 3 cards inspired by this week's OWH sketch to share. (Boy, wouldn't it be nice if I could make 3 cards for every sketch!)

Card 1: An Encouraging Card for OWH

The first card is doing double duty since it also meets the encouragement theme in last Wednesday's Midweek Throwdown. I was pretty true to the sketch. (Shocking, I know!) My only change was putting the larger rectangle on the bottom.

Paper: We R Memory Keepers Down the Boardwalk; heat embossed sentiment in Distress Ink Black Soot; hand-drawn "stitching"; stash metallic "flowers"

Three points worth noting:

• I stamped the sentiments in reverse order as they appear on the card -- using ghost images to go from light to darker to darkest.
• In addition to heat embossing the last "smile", I heat embossed that rectangle's edges.
• The color of the metallic flowers are much closer to the vertical strip's color than they appear. (Honest, they are!)

Card 2: A Birthday Card for Dad

I made similar decisions (ghosted and embossed sentiments, the placement of the larger rectangle on the bottom) to create this sketch-inspired birthday card for my dad. One additional change was using the vertical strip to create a candle. Another change was triple matting the last sentiment for some extra pizazz. :)

Card Base and Patterned Paper: DCWV Natural collection; cardstock from stash pile; heat embossing with Distress Ink

Card 3: An Any Hero Card

Aside from rotating the sketch for my pre-written Any Hero note, this card is actually true to the sketch! The paper selection came easily, as did the sentiment. But, I really struggled with what to do with the top portion of the darker blue rectangle. That "space" seemed lots bigger and emptier when the sketch was rotated.

We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue; Stamper's Best sentiment in Distress Ink stash Vintage Photo; stash: cardstock and ribbon

Parting Thoughts

I keep thinking this is going to be the week when things slow down at work. (Busy is good, crazy's a whole other matter!) So, I'm really glad I was able to get these 3 cards made and posted in time for the two OWH challenges. :)

As always, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Go World! Go Team USA!!!

OWH Sketch #130

Hi everyone,

The card below is for last Sunday's OWH sketch. Better late than never. :)

Paper: We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue, Bazzill watermelon, silvery stash paper; star punches; rhinestones

Since I was designing for the front of a pre-written Any Hero card, I rotated the sketch to make a horizontal card. Other than that, I was pretty true to the sketch.

•  For the top banner, I cut out 2-inch circles, that were then cut in half, since I didn't half quite the right sized scallop tool.
• I punched stars through the red and blue patterned paper and placed watermelon cardstock underneath to form the bottom stars. 
• Then I added a punched out silver star on top of the punched out star in the center. 
• Finally, rhinestones were added to all 5 stars as a common, unifying element.

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

An Any Hero Card for the Fourth

Hi, everyone,

On this special day, I used OWH Sketch #127 as the inspiration to make an Any Hero card to honor one of our troops and his/her loved one.

Paper: We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Boom, Bazzill cardstock; Stamper's Best sentiment;  Embellishments: Baker's Twine, garage sale brad from the girls' paperie by Margie

While I wish this card were a little fancier, the sentiment and enclosed message are heartfelt.

My thanks and appreciation go out to our troops and military families for their service and sacrifice as we celebrate our nation's freedom. Wishing everyone a safe Fourth of July holiday.

Did Someone Say Fireworks?

Hi, everyone,

A quick post to share a card for Ashley's July sketch. For my card, I focused on the middle part of Ashley's sketch.

       

We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue; Stickles; heat embossing with Versamark and clear powder

• I layered 3 pieces of paper for the background paper.
• In place of the 4 x 3 photos, I stamped using VersaMark, heat embossed using clear embossing powder, and cut out two firecrackers. (The stamp is from a Making Memories set purchased at a garage sale!) 
• The lighter sections of the fireworks were a happy accident.I was tracing around the sections with a white gel pen when I smeared a little of the ink. So, I wondered what would happen if I purposely smeared the ink. When I liked the end result, I repeated the process with the second firecracker. A happy accident, indeed! I really like the subtle striping that the smearing created.
  
• For the 4 x 6 photo, I cut out text and an image from papers in the pad. I also cut out part of a pennant from one of the other papers for the circle and plume above the second 4 x 3 photo.
• I cut a border, fussy cutting along the arced edge, for the borders separating the middle and bottom parts of the sketch.
• For two finishing touches, I adhered elements (the left firecracker, the round image on the far right, the bottom border) with pop up glue dots and added crystal Stickles (the firecracker bursts, the stars in the pennant, the stars and firecrackers in the circular element, the stars in the center strip of the border) for a little shimmer.

Hubby commented that this is a little busier than my typical card and I have to agree. But, the card's elements seem to have a nice balance and I kind of like the way it turned out. I hope one of our heroes will be pleased to receive it.

Parting Thoughts

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fun, patriotic, and safe Fourth of July holiday. And, happy scrappin!

Monday Musings

Hi, everyone,

Hope you all had a great weekend. For us, it was a nice blend of getting things done around the house, relaxing at the neighborhood pool, and making (or commenting on, in hubby's case) cards.

In Honor of Dee: Delicate Wings of Hope and Tranquility

Dee was an OWH Board Member who has been involved with OWH since the beginning. (She's made over 12,000 beautiful cards for OWH!) Sadly, Dee just resigned her board position due to her battle with cancer. 

Sandy originally asked us to make two cards -- one for Dee and one in honor of Dee. Sadly, Dee has taken a turn for the worse and has been hospitalized. So, we have been asked to leave comments here rather than sending cards.

The two cards below are the cards I was planning to send to and for Dee. Instead, I will be sending them in my next OWH shipment. 

webster's pages In Love collection; Martha Stewart butterfly and EK Success border punches; gray cardstock; pearl embellishments

webster's pages In Love collection; S.E.I. Moonrise embellishments; Hero Arts Hero Hues; border punch

I used a trifold for both cards -- with the intention of writing a note to Dee. What I love about the trifold is that it provides more room for heroes to write their notes home. The drawback is that I can only get one card per sheet.

OWH Sketch #125

This week's sketch inspired the Any Hero card below.

                                  

We R Memory Keepers Red, White, & Blue

While I really like the patterns in this pad of paper, I still feel as though the cards I've made using the paper are far busier than my typical style. Adding the sentiment and big star at the top really helped a lot. So, I'm okay with the final look, but still trying to wrap my brain around my un-CAS-like creations. :)

For Dad, with Love

Since making holiday cards for OWH, I' find myself thinking the holiday is already passed -- like when I see Valentine's Day things in the store and think but we've already had Valentine' Day. [Does that happen to anyone else? :)]

Such was the case with Father's Day. I was upstairs making cards this weekend and realized I still needed to make a card for my dad. (No, I haven't forgotten about my father-in-law. Hubby had already taken care of a card and gift for his dad.) So, the card below is for my dad -- and more in my typical CAS-style. Our dads prefer simple to fussy. :)

Kaiser Konstrukt collection;Gillian Vance sentiment;  handmade screw/bolt  heads and nuts

I tried to create some screw/bolt heads and nuts. The ridges for the screw heads were created by scoring punched-out circles and pressing the folded edges into a Versmark pad. Each nut was created by punching out circles, drawing segments to divide the circles into sixths, drawing segments along the edge of each sixth section, cutting along the edge segments, and punching a small circle in the center.

Glad I remembered -- and hope Dad likes his card. :)  Looking forward to having both dads out next Sunday.

Parting Thoughts

Immediate plans for the week are to get my current stash of OWH cards ready to send.  I want to get those in the mail in the next week or so.

On a different note, I need to take a hiatus from Friday Night Writes and Monday Musings for a couple of weeks or so. There's nothing wrong. But, work is going to be crazy busy -- probably so until mid August. 

I'm going to make cards whenever I have a chance. And, I hope to make an occasional post. But, unfortunately, publishing regular posts and making/posting cards for specific challenges won't be happening.  :(

As always, thanks for stopping by. Your visits and comments are truly appreciated. 

Happy scrappin' to all!

Monday Musings

Hi, everyone,

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

The good news is that the weather was gorgeous here these last couple of days. The bad news is that makes it kind of tough to stay inside and work on cards. But, I managed to get a couple of cards made anywhere -- 6 to be exact!  Here's some information on 3 of the cards.

OWH Sketch #124: Red, White, and Boom

 I love the simplicity of this week's sketch.

                                 

As always, I used it as the inspiration for an Any Hero card. For the card below, I rotated the sketch to make a horizontal card. And, I changed things up a bit going away from my usual Bo Bunny Liberty and SignifyPink Pages of Honor papers. Shocking, I know!

Paper: We R Memory Makers Red, White, & Blue collection; Stickles; garage sale funky fiber

Ever since I picked up this pack of paper, I've wanted to play with the fireworks pattern. This week's sketch seemed like the perfect opportunity! I used some crystal, candy cane, and midnight blue Stickles to pop the fireworks. I eventually decided to go with this blue fiber although it wasn't my first -- or for that matter, second choice. But, my first choice was glittery adornment that reminded me of razor-thin Easter-basket grass. So, I was really concerned that it wouldn't get the OWH glitter-free seal of approval. This ribbon doesn't carry through the fireworks idea, but I know it's a safer bet.

A Greeting from Three Amigos and A World of Thanks

A manager at work is celebrating the big 6-0 this week. So, our team is having each person give her a gift every 60 minutes. What better gift than a handmade card for Janet -- and a set of handmade cards for her to give to her family and friends?

While I didn't think I could get 60 cards made by this Thursday --LOL -- I did think I could put together a pack of 6 cards (one for each decade) by then. I finished the final two today! So, Janet will be receiving  a "thinking of you" card, a "hi" card, two thank you cards, a Bo Bunny Father Time card, and a birthday card. I won't bore you with all six! Instead, I've chosen two card to share.

Materials: A Mash-Up of garage sale finds, craft store clearance items, and Tuesday Morning finds!

What I LOVE the very most about A Greeting from Three Amigos is that it truly was a coming together of lots of finds. It is the first card that I've created from so many different sources! The stamps I used for the sentiment and the ghost image flowers in the top right corner, and the Distress Inks used to stamp the sentiment and flowers, are the only "full-priced" materials in this card. :)

Materials include:

• Studio G clearance paper flowers
• garage sale Studio 18 rhinestones
• garage sale Making Memories foam flower stamp
• Tuesday Morning American Craft stamp marker
• garage sale Gartner Studios card base and coordinating envelope

Techniques include:

• Using ghost images for the flowers in the top right corner
• Wiping ink from the bottom of the left and right stems so that the stems faded into the bottom of the card
• Adding lines and a flower to the inside of the card  :)

Three additional thoughts:

• I decided against embossing and/or adorning the sentiment on the bottom right. While I initially entertained both ideas, I decided to not do anything that might take away from the flowers
• After looking at the card when I was finally done, I realized that the flowers looked like they were waving a leaf to say "hello" themselves. Silly, I know... but I thought it anyway!
• Think I'm going to post this for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge to use a little bling.

S.E. I. Moonrise paper and embellishments, card stock from stash

The paper for A World of Thanks is the same collection that I used for the use something you've been hoarding challenge OWH's VCMP challenge. (Remember the paper I was saving for my nephews' weddings? Yep, that collection!)

Parting Thoughts

Hope everyone has a great week! 

Not quite sure what work holds this week. Last week was pretty crazy -- and I think it's going to be that way for awhile. (I'm just hoping Janet likes her gift.) So, I'm not sure if I'll get any other cards made or not...

Until Friday, thanks for visiting and happy scrappin!