8 Packages Tied Up in a Bow

Hi, everyone. Happy weekend!

The card below was inspired by this week's OWH Midweek Throwdown to make a masculine birthday card and CAS-ual Fridays' challenge to make a card featuring eight of something -- in this case, 8 birthday packages all tied up in a bow.

DCWV Natural matstack with foil
Paper Smooches twine
Paper Studio brads

Pretty pleased with the way this one turned out. Really love all the textures with the foil in the paper, the twine, and the brads. Hope it will brighten the day of one of a troop's loved one.

Parting Thoughts

Will try to make some time to write about this week's craft show. And, then there's a post-craft-show craft room that needs some cleaning up. :)

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

SU Word Window Punches...

... They're not just not for polar bear arms anymore!

Hi, everyone. Hope the work week is off to a good start.

Okay, so I was making some polar bear cards for a couple of upcoming craft shows. I was in quick need of a word window punch. My fabulous Stampin' Up! demonstrator Bernadette offered to loan me hers. And, it seemed only right to purchase one from her -- although I was so polar-beared out that I couldn't even think about punching out any more bear legs anytime soon. :)

Imagine my surprise when I looked at my new punch and saw.... birthday candles. Yep, little tiny birthday candles!  :)

Distress Ink core, candles lightly sanded; Bazzill brown
Stampin' Up! word window punch; EK leaf punch
computer-generated sentiment (Andy) on watercolor paper
Creative Memories corner rounder; Fiskars scissors

I trimmed the tops of the candles with the Fiskars scissors, and I used a piece of removable tape to line up the bottoms of the candles.

Parting Thoughts

Had to smile when Jen said that she'd take a beach vacation over card making. So, what does that say about me that I worked on craft show polar bear cards in the evenings? Thanks to Donna and Paula for 'fessing up to remembering that "Less Filling, Tastes Great" commercial.

Speaking of that commercial... Eons ago -- back when my brother and I still rode roller coasters, we were waiting for a ride to begin on the Racer, which was a two track coaster that ran racing roller coasters. My brother looked over at the other track of riders and hollered, "Less filling!" Their response... nothing but blank stares. I laughed so hard. My brother, as I recall, was not quite as amused. Must say it was one of those classic family memories.  :)

Nearing the home stretch on craft show cards. I'm looking forward to checking the last cards off my list for several reasons, one of which is getting back in the swing for OWH. Need to make this month's ODBD card and want to try that scratch-off card in today's tutorial.

And, can't wait for my father-in-law's 90th birthday festivities to begin!

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Happy Birthday to Hubby

Hi, everyone.

Hubby's celebrating a birthday in a few days. So, I took advantage of a little alone time to make a card for him. Since he's a no-frills kind of guy, I made a no-frills card. I didn't even put one brad on the card, which was really hard for me not to do!

Distress Ink core paper, lightly sanded
EK leaf and hole punches
(And, that's all folks! As no frills as possible.)

To make the flames, I punched out a tiny leaf from an EK punch, scanned the punched-out leaf, pasted and enlarged the image into a Word doc, printed the enlarged image, and used the enlarged image to trace the leaf and cut out some flames on the card.

The orange candles are actually two-layered, with the flame placed between the layers. In addition, I trimmed the tops of the candles with a pair of Fiskars paper edges to give the look of melted wax.

Lastly, I added the three tiny circles at the bottom to reinforce the yellow of the flames. I stuck to my guns to make this a no-brad/gem/embellishment card for my no-frills guy. :) 

Parting Thoughts 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Sweet Birthday Wishes

Hi, everyone.

Today's card is for a friend who lost her husband to cancer a couple of months ago. It's sure to be a tough day for her. So, I wanted to send her a card that wasn't overly celebratory, but... just something sweet to let her know she was being thought of on her special day. Hope this card will do that.

bubble wrap background, heat embossed with clear powder and inked with Distress Ink
Really Reasonable Ribbon ribbon-of-the-month ribbon
Inkadinkado sentiment, heat embossed in Distress Ink
Distress Ink core paper; Stampin Up! cupcake punch
Creative Memories corner rounder
Zots 3D glue dots, Glossy Accents

I'm kind of ambivalent about this little card. At times I really like it; at other times, well....

Please click here to see original post.

One thing I do love is the background. The polka dots were created using the same technique that was used on The Sky's the Limit card at the right. I then inked the background in Distress Ink tattered rose.

I also like the ribbon itself. I placed a narrow strip of tattered rose under the ribbon so that it coordinated with the background and the sentiment paper. As it turns out, this is one of the elements about which I am ambivalent. I like the effect of the ribbon and paper, but am wondering if I should have chosen a contrasting color of paper. But, then again, I was trying for sweet and not jubilant...

Speaking of the ribbon, it is from Really Reasonable Ribbon -- one of the ribbons in the June Ribbon of the Month pack. The ribbon on the card is so pretty -- and I so love this company!

Another element I went back and forth on was the color of paper to use for the icing. I wanted it to pop, but not pop too much. It actually blends in much better on the card itself than it appears to blend on the screen. I think the color is Distress Ink barn door.

Two other quick notes: I rounded alternating corners because of the arcs of the cupcake icing and the straight lines of the cupcake base. Lastly, the sentiment was from a birthday set of Inkadinkado stamps that was $2 at a garage sale. :)

Parting Thoughts

It's a really rainy day here. Sounds like a perfect day to go to an afternoon movie and make some cards in the evening. :)

Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend.

As always, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Recipe for a Happy Birthday

Hi, everyone.

Maybe it's because hubby and I both have July birthdays... But, for some reason, I've been motivated to make some birthday cards. Hubby would actually like me to try a couple of craft shows this year. So, I'm trying to get a little jump on craft-show cardmaking. :)

ODBD background stamp; Distress Ink core papers and ink
Stampin' Up! cupcake punch; Fiskars border punch
original sentiment, computer-generated as a table in Word (Lucida Handwriting)

I'm actually making an assortment of these in various color combinations -- mainly as a matter of necessity based on the current availability of Distress Ink papers and coordinating inks in the menopause room.

The background for the card above is from Our Daily Bread Design, a wonderful supporter of OWH. This stamp was part of a blog candy prize. The minute I saw it on the ODBD Web site, I knew I wanted to use it as the background for some recipe cards.

Please click here to read original post.

But, that meant coming up with the recipe itself. So, I went online and checked out some recipe card sentiments. Next, I did some
word smithing of my own and came up with the recipe shown -- with special inspiration from similar verses at Zazzle.com from Scribble Kitty. I used a table in a Word doc, with some cute bullets, to help with formatting, alignment, and so on.

My first attempt included some lace. (Interestingly enough, hubby didn't care much for the lace.) There are also some glue dots in the original -- and a hand-written, less sophisticated recipe. I decided to change things up a little to make cards that were a little more craft show friendly -- cards that a craft show customer could drop in regular mail without worrying about bumps and or thickness.

Parting Thoughts

Hoping to knock out a few more of these birthday cards. All is cut out -- but there is still some assembly required.

Thanks for stopping and a happy scrappin'!

Birthday Sweets for a Saturday Morning

Morning, all!

A rare Saturday morning post for a card too sweet not to share. :)

Our Daily Bread Designs gingham background stamp in Distress Ink Dusty Concord
Distress Ink core paper; handmade recipe card written in Distress Ink chipped sapphire and ballpoint black
Stampin' Up! cupcake punch; blog candy lace

What makes this card even sweeter is that several components were blog candy: the fabulous ODBD stamp and the pretty, pretty lace. When I saw the gingham stamp, I thought it would be so cute with the little cupcake punch, and the lace at the top of the card reminds me of a kitchen window valance.

Think this little card might be hand-delivered with a gourmet cupcake to a friend celebrating a summer birthday. Still working on the inside sentiment, but thinking it will go something like the following, which was inspired by similar verses at Zazzle.com from Scribble Kitty.

Turn over 1 calendar page,
Mix with some good friends,
Sprinkle with a few presents, and
Top it off with a cupcake.

Not really sure is this is an entirely CAS-like card. But, it's definitely a birthday card. And, I love the combination of colors and the texture the lace adds. So,  I think I'll link it for this week's CAS-ual Fridays birthday card challenge.

Parting Thoughts

 Our Daily Bread Designs is a wonderful company from my own home state of Ohio that makes wonderful stamps, with a focus on spiritual and religious themes. It is also a wonderfully generous company that is a longtime friend and supporter of Operation Write Home. If  you love stamps and haven't checked out the site, it would be well worth your while to take a look.

Hope to check in with you later this weekend with an Any Hero card. Until then, happy scrappin'!

CAS-ual Birthday Cards for Every Member of the Family

Hi, everyone!

The CAS-ual Fridays challenge for the next two weeks is birthday themed to celebrate Michele's birthday. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to play with some new toys: a cupcake punch and sponge daubers from Stampin' Up! and Nestabilities scallop dies from Spellbinders.

Two Cards in One?
For supplies, please see cards below.

The card at the right was my first attempt. All in all, it's good a little card. Hubby liked it with the exception of the candle on the cupcake. However, there was something about it that was bothering me. Then came my epiphany: This card was two cards in one. Both the circles and the cupcake were whimsical, but the circles felt more abstract and dreamy than the cupcake.

So, I made two cards, each inspired by the disparate images of the first card.

For Mom or Big Sis

watercolor paper washed in watered-down Warm White acrylic; Bazzill black
circles: Distress Ink peeled paint, dusty concord, and tumbled glass, sponged on using SU daubers
circle and hole punches from EK and Marvy
Mark Richards rhinestones

I apologize that this is such a rudimentary image. (There were lots of technical difficulties -- really struggled to get a photo that did justice to the colors.) Regardless, I LOVE this card -- love, love, love it. This is up there with one of my all-time favorites.

Bernadette Kirk taught the technique of punching out templates and using the templates to sponge on images at a recent Stampin' Up class. Think I'm going to be using this idea lots more. Thanks, Bernadette!

For Little Sis

watercolor paper washed in watered-down Warm Water acrylic; pattern: Distress Ink Scattered Straw on bubblewrap
Distress Ink core paper; Stampin' Up! cupcake punch and Tangerine Tango ribbon;
Recollections  stickers; Spellbinders Nestabilities scallops, EK hole punch

This just feels like a bright, cheery,  fun card perfect for the little girl in the family.

For Dad or Brother

After experimenting with sponging on Distress Inks, I decided to try it out with the SU honeycomb embossing folder and went with a masculine palette. For this card, I embossed an index card and cut out hexagons to create sponging templates.

Stampin' Up! (Sizzix) embossing folder, heat embossed with Distress Ink black soot
cardstock: Bazzill black; AC white, sponged in antique linen
hexagons sponged in Distress Ink (vintage photo, antique linen, tumbled glass, peeled paint, dusty concord)
computer-generated sentiment (Mistral)

Not a  bad first effort. Think this could take on lots of different looks with different palettes and fonts.

Parting Thought

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

For Family, Friends, and OWH

Hi, everyone!

I have 3 cards to share: a 13th birthday card for my nephew, a thank you card for a friend, and a miss you card for OWH.

For My Nephew

Question: Okay, so what kind of card do you make for a nephew turning 13?

Answer: Do an online search and find a great idea at Cafe Press and make it your own with some fabulous Mama-Razzi paper.

I'm pretty excited about the way this one turned out! Love the layout. Love the colors. Think it's both age and gender appropriate.  Hope nephew feels the same.   :)

Bo Bunny Mama-Razzi; cardstock: AC Neutrals, Bazzill, Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co
computer-generated sentiment washed in Fawn acrylic
Queen & Co. crystals; 3D dots; Zig Pure Brown pen

For a Friend

A friend at work was cleaning out her craft room and found two packages of Spellbinder Nestabilities scallop dies. And, it way my lucky day! So, it seemed only fitting to make a card for her using these new dies. Something tells me I'm really going to get a lot of use out of these scallops.

MME Moments; Spellbinder Nestabilities; sentiment in Stampin' Up! Night of Navy
Mark Richards crystals; Creative Memories corner rounder; 3D glue dots; Marvy circle punch

For OWH

This week's OWH Midweek Throwdown is to make cards featuring insects. My thoughts went immediately to this pad of paper -- the same paper used in the previous card.

Nothing groundbreaking here. Wish the ribbon showed up a little better. But, all in all, not a bad little card.

MME Moments, Distress Ink core paper; Spellbinder Nestabilities; sentiment in Stampin' Up! Night of Navy
Martha Stewart butterfly punches; Celebrate It! ribbon
Queen & Co and Mark Richards pearls; Creative Memories corner rounder; 3D glue dots; Marvy circle punch
Dixie's famous ribbon technique

Parting Thoughts

 Wow!  Three cards in one night!  Can you tell work has slowed down just a tad?!  :)

As always, thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

A Perfect Pair

What's a perfect pair, you ask? A great OWH Sketch and a couple of good college basketball games! Who could ask for more to craft away a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon? Throw in a long walk on a sunny day... Seriously, who could ask for more?  :)

And, it's always interesting to me how some sketches come so easily and others not so much. Luckily, this was an easy one for me. :)

Card 1: Pop, Poppa, Daddy, Dad

dp: Moxxie Father; cardstock: Distress Ink core, inked with Distress Ink Vintage Photo
PSX Creative Characters in Adirondack espresso
Celebrate It! jute twine; pop up dots
Creative Memories square punches

Looking at all of the green and brown paper left in my Distress Ink core pad, looks like I need to make a few more of these masculine cards. :)

Card 2 -- Today's Any Hero Card: Red, White, and Sparkly

dp & chipboard letters (with baked-in glitter) Bo Bunny Liberty
cardstock: Bazzill Admiral, Distress Ink core

These chipboard letters are really thick. So, they seemed like the perfect embellishment for an Any Hero card.

Card 3: Hello, Cupcake!

dp: Imaginisce Hello, Cupcake!; cardstock: Distress Ink core; ivory rickrack
Cuttlebug ef; cupcakes fussy cut from coordinating 12 by 12 paper

Since there are several April birthdays on our calendar, I made a second one of these for a friend.

Parting Thoughts

My last post featured a card with one of those adorable kid quotes. Sharon commented that she uses those sentiments on the inside of cards and had never thought of using it for color blocking on the front of a card. That's really interesting since I seldom stamp sentiments on the inside of cards. Most of my cards are sent to Operation Write Home. So, I leave the inside of them blank so troops can write notes to loved ones back home. What a great idea to use these stamps as inside sentiments for cards made for my family and friends. Thanks, Sharon!

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

Paper, Tools & Techniques... Oh, My!

Hi everyone,

Excited about this weekend's OWH Virtual Cardmaking Party? I know I am.

Erika's Zig Zag (aka Chevron) Challenge

star paper, chevron paper, word search: We R Memory Keepers Red, White & Blue
cardstock: red: Bazzill watermelon, blue: ???; stars: Recollections brads
techniques: crimping, fussy cutting

This challenge inspired me to use one of those patterns and one of those small embellishments in the paper pad that hadn't initially called to me. Thanks, Erika!

Thinking this is a card that might appeal to a pre-teen.

Misty's All Creatures Great and Small Challenge

paper: Core-indinations Vintage collections; butterfly: K & Company adhesive chipboard
embellishments: Queen & Co and Mark Richards pearls; flea market & scrap ribbon by/from ???
technique: embossing with Sizzix folder; tools: Creative Memories cutting system, corner rounder

I can never resist the opportunity to make a butterfly card. Misty's challenge gave me the perfect reason to use this adorable butterfly chipboard sticker. Thanks, Misty!

It seems like a daddy might be sending these butterfly kisses to his little princess. :)

Beth's Selective Embossing Challenge 

green/gray paper: Distress Ink core, black: Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co, brown: AC;
embellishments: garage sale brads;
techniques: selective embossing with Tim Holtz folder; heat embossing with Distress Ink Black Soot and clear powder;
inking in Distress Ink Black Soot, Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Stampin' Up! Bravo Burgandy, Stampin' Up! Going Gray
sentiment: Jillian Vance; adhesive: 3D glue dots

Oh my gosh -- I've seen this technique used on cards and wondered how it was done!  Thank you, Beth, for sharing this with us! 

One note about the card: I originally placed brads at the center of the gears, but felt the gears were starting to look more like flowers. So, I added additional brads -- going for a few clusters of 3 -- to bring back the "manliness" feel of the card. Hubby said it was "nice", which is pretty high praise from Mr. Stoic. :)

Yvonne's Things with Wings Challenge 

Summer Rule No. 7 tag: My Mind's Eye garage-sale bargain
blue paper: Distress Ink core; brown and green paper: Core-dinations Vintage core
circle and hole punches, sanded for distressed effect
inking in Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Distress Ink Peeled Paint, and Distress Ink Tumbled Glass

paper: BasicGrey inked in Distress Ink Vintage Photo and Distress Ink Antique Linen
Martha Stewart butterfly punches; Creative Memories cutting system
Queen & Company and Mark Richards Pearl; Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder

It's ironic I have two cards for this challenge because I really do not have many winged things in my stash upstairs -- a fact hubby would find rather unbelievable! Thanks, Yvonne, for helping me spread my wings for this challenge. 

What I really like about the first of these cards is that it's a change of pace for me. I've had this adorable tag, which was 10 cents at a garage sale, for several years. Guess it was waiting for just the right challenge to come along! I also like how the sanded circles mimic the circles on the tag.

The second card is more of a typical card for me, although I don't often emboss patterned paper. Hubby preferred this one. :)

Leslie's Disappearing Act Challenge

paper: Moxxie Father 12x12 and AC Neutrals cardstock 8x8; Cuttlebug ef
sentiment: Stamper's Best heat embossed with Distess Ink Vintage Photo
star punches: The Paper Studio and Fiskars; garage sale brad
inking in Distress Ink Vintage Photo and Close to My Heart Desert Sand

 

What a great challenge!  I never would've thought about getting 6 cards from one 12 by 12 sheet. And, I seldom make multiples.

However, confession is good for the soul. I had to cheat a little on this one. The only 8.5 by 11 cardstock I have is Bazzill Admiral and Watermelon -- to go with my cherished Bo Bunny Liberty paper. But, I went with the spirit of the challenge and made 6 cards from this one 12 by 12 sheet of Moxxie paper. :)

Oh, my sentiment strips are not the specified dimensions for the designated sketch... and I moved the sketch embellishments. It just felt right to place the stars on the right side to balance out the vertical strips.

OWH Sketch #160 

dp and star sticker: Bo Bunny Liberty; cardstock: Bazzill Admiral and Watermelon
star brads: Recollections

Love the sketch!  This week's Any Hero card really came together quickly once I decided upon the dp for the background. Decided against the sentiment rectangle after placing the star on the white paper.

Can't get enough of these cute little star brads I found on sale at Michael's this past week. Just wish the center part of my card didn't look like it's sliding downhill. Why don't these things ever look so obvious on the card? :(

Linda's Things with Wheels Challenge 

cardstock: AC; computer-generated sentiment
tools: Creative Memories cutting system, hole punch

Okay, I have so few wheel-related items in my stash. But, I found stickers from long ago. So, I went online, did a search of truck birthday parties, and came up with the idea of yellow and black diagonals. Various party sentiments provided a spark of inspiration and the card text was born. Kind of stumbled on the gray and orange papers through experimentation. Finally, I decided to go with just black punched holes to kid-friendly focal accents. 

Thanks, Linda, for inspiring me to create my own wheek-related background to go with my few stickers. :)

Jen's Caffeine Challenge 

DCWV Sweet matstack; SEI Happy Day die cut accent
stash ribbon (with cute polka dots); Mark Richards crystal sticker pearls
tools: Creative Memories cutting system, Fiskars border bunch
technique: inking edges in Close to My Heart Desert Sand

Jen, you had me at chocolate. Thanks for hosting!  :)

For those new to OWH, the glitter on this card is okay. Papers with baked-in glitter, like some DCWV and SEI lines, are okay to use. The "Can I scrape it off?" test is a good test to use. 

Sharon's All White & Cream and Kaylee's Glitter-Free Glitz and Glam Challenges

White & Cream cardstock: AC; Cuttlebug ef
embellishements: Queen & Co and Mark Richards pearls, cream tulle

I never, ever would have thought of doing a 3-layered card in all white or cream. And the results are so elegantly CAS. I'm really loving this monochromatic look. (Wouldn't this make a beautiful wedding card?)

For Sharon's challenge, the layers are: bottom embossed white base, cream rectangle, and a white rectangle with a scored border. I went with pearled butterflies and tulle for the embellishments.

After I embossed the butterflies, I thought about adding a tiny pearl for every embossed dot -- channeling my inner Sandy, I suppose! This seemed like a perfect way to incorporate Kaylee's glam challenge. While it makes for an interesting effect, I'm thinking all the pearls might be too much to send in the mail. So, I'm thinking of replacing the top butterflies before I mail this to Kris -- maybe going with just a few pearls in the center of each butterfly.

Thanks to both Sharon and Kaylee for hosting such creative challenges.

Donna's Washi Tape Challenge 

Making Memories Packing Tape; Core-dinations core paper
computer-generated sentiment; garage sale brads
technique: sanding

I seem to be saying this a lot during this card-making party, but I did not have any  washi tape in the menopause (aka craft) room -- mainly because I had no idea what to do with it. However, I did have some garage-sale packing tape that I had not yet opened. So, in the spirit of the challenge, I went with that.

After seeing Donna's great sample card and the wonderful linked cards, it looks like I'm headed to my LSS to pick up some washi tape. Thanks, Donna, for showing some of the cool things that can be done with a little tape!

Parting Thoughts

Wow! That was so much fun! With the recent demands of work, it'd been a long time since I've had a couple of days to devote to cardmaking. So glad I was able to do that this weekend.  :)

Thanks to OWH's very own Allison for organizing our party and to all of the cardmakers who hosted challenges. And, thanks to all of you who visited and/or left comments.

Looks like it's time for Design Boot Camp. It appears Paula has a focal point lesson for us!  

Happy scrappin'!