Lil Monster

Hi, everyone!

Isn't it interesting how the excitement about something keeps you up late and gets you up early? I'm so very excited about my brother's family's visit that I had trouble falling asleep -- and even more trouble getting back to sleep!

The other thing that had my motor running was the desire to ink up some new stamps. The Paper Smooches blog candy from OWH's Memorial Day blog hop came this week. (The delay was totally mine, by the way. Once I finally decided on what to get, the package arrived within days! Kim was fabulous!!! Thanks, Kim.) I also wanted to ink up some newly purchased Stampin' Up! stamps.

So, as it turned out, I've had time to sneak in one last card before the visit begins. :)  The card below is for this month's OWH Design Bootcamp on repetition -- and variation -- and a strong focal point.

Lil Monster

Paper Smooches Alphadot stamp set and natural ribbons; 
Stampin' Up! Build a Monster stamp set
Cosmo Cricket Matilda dp; Distress Ink core paper;
Distress Ink black soot, heat embossed with clear powder
EK border punch; Zots 3D glue dots, Zig 2 Way Glue

A description of the thought process behind this card's design follows:

• The first decision was to make three lil monsters in the same shape and same color, but varied in features. There is also a slight variation in the sanding of the left and right monsters, while keeping the center monster at 100% saturation.
• The second decision was in paper selection. I didn't have any space- or monster-related dp in my stash. But, then I remembered the Matilda halloween collection had some really fun colors and patterns. Looking at the patterns I had left from the pad -- and the complementary cardstock papers in my stash, I decided to go with the orange/gold/purple plaid. The plaid seemed playful, gender neutral, and unexpected. Two other important considerations: the plaid was non-Halloween'ish and it "popped" the lil monsters.
• I repeated the monster's purple in the background of the top portion of the card and around the paper and sentiment on the bottom portion of the card. 
• A pair of natural ribbons were placed behind the monsters to connect them and make a stronger focal point without adding an additional color or pattern. I also liked the extra texture the ribbon brought to the card.
• To adhere the monsters, I used 2 Way glue on their main bodies and glue dots on their eye and leg appendages. They have to be pretty secure for little hands. :)
• This fun font from Paper Smooches was just right for these little guys. It is stamped on the reverse side of a Distress Ink core green that matched a green used in other papers in the dp collection. I chose to not heat emboss -- deciding to use that little extra shimmer for just the monsters.
• So, you'd think I would be done. Not so fast... The top corners felt like they needed something, but I never put brads or gems on kid cards. And, then I saw the cute little trio of dots in the Stampin' Up! monster set. I stamped those in the corners, heat embossing so that they would pop off the plaid paper.

Here's hoping a hero's little one will smile when receiving these little guys in the mail.

Parting Thoughts

Wow, this post got a little longer than I expected. Sorry about that! (Can you tell I'm really psyched about my brother's visit?!)

Thanks to Paula for these Design Bootcamps. They are great!

Another huge thanks to Paper Smooches for all they do for OWH. For my blog candy, I ordered three sets that would address some OWH needs: a fun alphabet, the Teen Scene images, and the Bee Mine set (to go with a honeycomb embossing folder.) Kim, the stamps are fabulous and you totally rock!

Speaking of that honeycomb folder,  a big thanks also goes to Bernadette, a central Ohio Stampin' Up! demonstrator. My stamping is getting better thanks to her help. If only I could say the same about my checking account....

Have a great weekend! REALLY looking forward to celebrating Father's Day with both dads and my brother and his family.

Thanks for stoppin' and 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'!

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'!

Friday Night Writes

Hi, everyone,

First, a HUGE thank you to all for your support of OWH's "sister cards" challenge. I so appreciated your visits to the blog post, your comments and -- most of all -- the cards you made for our heroes. All the cards were so well done. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And the Bo Bunny Liberty Blog Candy Goes to....

Margaret G, which is extra appropriate since Margaret made the sample card for this week's Midweek Throwdown challenge involving patriotic cards. Margaret, thanks again for playing along in our challenge! Please e-mail your shipping information to me at cards.by.sybrina@gmail.com to receive your prize.  :)

OWH VCMP Die Cut Challenge -- Take Two

Remember when I said I wasn't pleased with the flip flop card. I think I said it wasn't quite done. 

Thanks to Kathryn and Sarah for comments that inspired a few significant changes. Kathryn complimented the detail on my cards, like the heat embossed flip flop imprint. That made me realize that the lack of detail on the flip flops themselves was exactly what was bothering me. Sarah suggested the addition of a little gem. I really liked this idea -- and started thinking about what other details could/should be added.

So, the following changes were made to the flip flops. And, what a difference a few details can make!

• Light yellow pastel  highlights were added to the inside.
•  Dark blue/brown shading was added to the outer edge.
• Stickles were added to the thong portions.
• Tiny blue gems topped off the thongs.

And this creature says/does...?

  

Okay, I will tell you the specifics of the conversation I had with hubby about the card -- or, more accurately, the beginnings of a card -- shown below in Monday Musings. 

Before that, my questions for you are:

•  What would the little "creature" shown below say or do? 
• And where in the world is "Waldo"?

 Parting Thoughts

Thanks again to everyone for such a nice response to the OWH "sister cards" challenge. :)  :)   :)

Not quite sure what I'm going to work on this weekend. I certainly hope to make an Any Hero card using this Sunday's sketch. I still need to make (or choose) a card for this month's ODBD challenge for OWH. And, then there are still a few unfinished VCMP challenges, a Midweek Throwdown, a scrap tutorial... 

So little time, so many possibilities. :)

Happy scrappin' to all!