Have a BEARy Merry Christmas

Hi, everyone.

I was a vendor at a local craft show today, with proceeds benefiting Operation Write Home. One of the cards for sale was the little polar cub shown below. It is a tweaking of a card I made earlier in the year. The inspirations for both cards were a tutorial for a punch polar bear and a photo of polar cubs playing in a snow/ice cave.

Distress Ink core paper, Bazzill white and black cardstock
punches: EK hole, Paper Shaper circle, Emagination tree
additonal punches: Recollections snowflake, SU word window
fussy cutting: candy cane, Santa Hat, snout
Creative Memories oval cutting system: ear
techniques: sanding, inking, paper tearing

Think I'm going to link this one for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge to make a project featuring a tree. Truth be told, the cub is the main attraction of this vignette, with the tree serving as a supporting cast member. But, I can't resist the temptation to share this little guy with fellow CAS lovers.  :)

Parting Thoughts

Now that the craft shows are over, I need to get back to those OWH cards. It's Valentine's time on the OWH calendar.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

CFC 68: A Back to School Card

Hi everyone,

Wow!  What a fun weekend making cards for OWH's Birthday Bash!  It's been really overcast here this weekend.  Normally, that would bum me out.  But, it was a great excuse to make cards for some fun challenges for a wonderful cause. :)

CFC 68: A Back to School Card

It's been awhile since I've made a card for CAS-ual Fridays.  It was good having a chance to do that this 3-day weekend.

Since OWH doesn't have much of a demand for back-to-school -- and that deadline has passed, I went for something more generic.  The following card isn't nearly as fancy or creative as the sample cards posted for this challenge.  But, I wanted to create a colorful, fun card a hero could send back home to a little one.  With that in mind, I think this little card is a success.

red cardstock: AC Christmas; all other paper: a garage-sale find of unknown origin; stash letter stickers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parting Thoughts

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful VCMP. Your Christmas challenge cards are amazing. Your comments, visits, and support are most appreciated. Stay tuned for the blog candy winner -- and for information on my sample cards.

Hoping for a calmer week at work to be able to make cards in the evening.

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

OWH VCMP: Christmas is for Kids

Welcome party-goers! Happy Birthday, OWH!

Please click here to return to the Master Thread.

Snowmen and Christmas trees...   It must be time to make holiday cards!

The theme of this stop is "Christmas is for Kids -- Big and Small". The challenge is to make two Christmas cards -- an Any Hero Christmas card and a Christmas card for one of our heroes to send to a child.

So, I have two cards to share with you. While the cards are very different, they have a couple of things in common. Each card was inspired by a fellow card-maker/designer. Each card was made from stash 6-by-6 designer paper that I've had for awhile. And, each card was made using one of my favorite techniques, heat embossing with clear powder.

For a Child: Frosty's Lil Friend

Frosty's Lil Friend was inspired by Kathryn's adorable Santa card and by the all of the cute "shape" cards in one of my favorite craft books of all time. Thanks, Kathryn, and thanks, Leisure Arts!

Paper: s.e.i. Kris Kringle collection; AC Christmas collection cardstock; garage sale fiber, buttons "dressed" with DMC floss

For a Hero: Three Times the Greenery

Three Times the Pine was inspired by Ashley's September scrapbook layout design. Thanks, Ashley! 

Bo Bunny Father Christmas collection, stash cardstock; Hampton Arts stamp; heat embossing with clear powder; various "cutting" tools

Blog Candy

By Stampendous!

Is there blog candy you ask? Yes, there is!

I stopped by to see Terri at Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center, OH. I was hoping to find some cute kid-Christmas-card-related item to offer and picked up the stamp set shown at the right. Bet one lucky card maker is gonna make some adorable kid cards with this stamp set!

 To qualify for the random drawing, link at least one Christmas card for a hero or a child by 11:00 A.M. EST, Sunday, September 9. Followers who link a card will receive an extra e-ticket in this raffle.

Parting Thoughts

Can't wait to see all the holiday cards for our heroes and the little ones in their lives. :)  In a couple of days, I'll post details (techniques used, decisions made) about the cards shown above.

Special thanks to Allison for organizing this year's Birthday Bash VCMP!

Finally, merry card-makin' to all and to all a good time!

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'!

Friday Night Writes

Hey, everybody,

It was a pretty good week around here. Hope that you can say the same.

Tonight, I have 4 cards to share.

Card #1: OWH's Midweek Challenge

This week's challenge was to make a sweet summertime card for our heroes to send home. The card below was one of the last ones that made it in my box sent to Kris this week. And, those of you who visit regularly might recognize it as the card inspired by one of Ashley Rock's designs.

Jillibean Soup Watermelon Gazpacho Collection; Core Paper Flower Power collection

Card #2: {Mojo}Monday Sketch 238

I loved this week's {Mojo}Monday sketch. Isn't it interesting how the cards for some sketches come so easily?

In her post, Teresa Kline writes that this was a great sketch to use up scraps. And, I can think of some scraps that I will be using to make some really cute cards using this sketch. 

However, what first came to my mind was cutting a 3 inch by 4 inch section of some adorable toy-themed paper into 12 1-inch squares. A few stickers from one of my crop garage sale stash made for some cute embellishments. The only thing I struggled with at all was the tag part of the design. But, I think I worked that out, too, after a couple of tries. A funky fiber provided the final touch for the sketch's tag.

Paper: Crate Paper Toy Box collection; Stickers: Stickabilities by Paper Studio

 I really want to make more kid cards for OWH. And, this little card is the first of my next shipment! 

BTW  It would be interesting to get a little feedback on this card as it wasn't one of hubby's favorite. He just didn't get it.  Oh, well...   :) 

Cards #3 and #4

What these two cards have in common is that they were both made for friends. Card #3 was made for a friend at work who is leaving Ohio and headed back to her hometown state.  I'd actually made this card awhile ago -- and really liked it -- but didn't think there was enough room for a hero's handwritten message because the top of the card is only about 3 inches wide. (Sorry about the irritating shadow in the bottom third of this scanned image.)

Materials: if only I knew/remembered  : (

Since spring reminds me of rebirth and new beginnings, it seemed perfect for Anne as she embarks on a new adventure.

Card #4 was the top of my to-do list this week -- a sympathy card for family friends who just said good-bye to their beloved family dog, Duke. 

Paper: Provo Craft Paws-itive Thinking collection, core paper, miscellaneous card stock; Embellishment: The Paper Company Paws and Claws matteboard stickers; Sentiment: Jillian Vance, stamped in StazOn jet black

I think I'm headed in the right direction. I don't want it to be too frilly or whimsical. On the other hand, I don't want it to be too maudlin. But, the card doesn't feel quite yet finished. Maybe some Versamark paw prints... Hmmm... Any suggestions? 

Parting Thoughts

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Christmas in April and May for hubby and me -- aka garage sale season. There are really only 2 sales we try to hit every spring. And, the first of these is tomorrow! :)

So, what are your favorite garage sale craft finds? I'll share a few of mine on Monday.

Until then, happy weekend and happy scrappin'!