Friday Night Writes

Hi, everyone,

Hope it's been a good week for you. The week's been good around here. 

Thanks to those all who visited this blog during the past week. Special thanks to those who left comments -- including Linda, who may have solved my penguin-in-a-tree conundrum. And, I need to thank Paula for her blog support. (Paula, crossing my fingers that this post publishes as scheduled!)

Good News... Bad News

Work is going really well. The good news is that I am working on a project that I really enjoy. However, it's a project that's pretty mentally draining. Normally, I use card-making as a nice, change-of-pace, re-charging diversion. But, I have to confess that I've pretty much vegged -- or, on one or two nights, done a little "home" work...

... which brings us to the bad news. I only have one card to share -- and not even one of the cards I had planned to make.

A Colleague's "Going Away"/Congrats Card

One of my favorite team members has accepted a position with another department. It's a good move for him -- one that involves a promotion and a raise in pay. But, we have been cubicle neighbors for the last couple of years and I will miss him terribly.

So, I made the card below to wish him well in his new position -- hoping that this new position is the admission ticket to the career adventure he's been hoping to find.

Kaiser Up, Up, and Away paper and embellishments

OWH's Wonderful Partners

During National Scrapbooking Weekend, Marianne linked "sister cards" for my OWH patriotic challenge. And, I was so taken by the sentiment on one of her cards, that I just had to have that stamp set to use on future Any Hero cards.

I immediately went to Stamper's Best and placed my order. I have to tell you the customer service was amazing. I can't believe how quickly my order was processed -- and how quickly it arrived at the house!

This is the third OWH sponsor with whom I've done business. I've also ordered from ODBD and Heinrich's. Each time, the service has been amazing  -- just amazing!

So, this is a big shout-out to these wonderful folks! I highly recommend purchasing products from OWH's fabulous partners.

Parting Thoughts

I have to get those retirement party, graduation, and 95th birthday cards made this weekend. The celebrations are next weekend! So, wish me luck!

Oh, and hubby and I have our second must-do garage sale tomorrow. So, wish me double luck. There's no telling what we might find. :)

Have a great weekend!  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!

Rebels with a Cause: Making Patriotic Cards

Hi, everyone,

Welcome to Stop #7 on OWH's Card-Making Party Blog Hop in honor of National Scrapbooking Weekend! If you've arrived here via other means and would like to check out the other stops on the hop, visit Stars and Stamps.

To view all stops on the hop, visit Stars and Stamps.

When Sandy e-mailed the blog hop theme was being rebellious because we are rebels who scrap cards instead of scrapbook pages, a twist on the James Dean classic movie Rebel without a Cause immediately came to mind. I suggested a blog stop entitled Rebels with a Cause, with this stop's cause being making patriotic cards.

This Stop's Challenge: Patriotic "Sister Cards"

So, my challenge is to make two patriotic cards -- one Any Hero card and one blank card to be sent back home. And, I'm asking that the cards be "sister cards".

What are sister cards, you ask? Okay, sister cards  is a totally made-up phrase -- at least as far as I know. But, for this purpose, sister cards are two cards that are similar in design and/or inspiration, but still different in their own way.

Sample Cards

For my sample cards, the inspiration was old-fashioned, patriotic bunting. I've wanted to make some bunting cards for awhile now but hadn't taken the time to play with the idea until now.

For extra texture and dimension, I embossed and inked the gray paper from DCWV. (Didn't this gray make a great neutral? The red, white, and blue just pop! Here's hoping that at least one of these counts for Allison's blue and gray challenge!) In addition, I crimped the watermelon cardstock on the blank card and scored it on the second card. Finally, I used just a touch of Stickles for the star centers on both cards and on the USA on the first card for a little extra oomph. :)

BLANK CARD: Paper: Bazzill admiral and watermelon, K&Company Americana mat pad, DCWV Christmas & Winter Combo; Stickles; funky fiber

ANY HERO: Paper: Bazzill admiral and watermelon, K&Company Americana mat pad, DCWV Christmas & Winter Combo; Stickles; baker's twine

So, I hope these sample cards give you an idea of what I mean by "sister cards". And, for information and ideas about what to write in an Any Hero card, click here.

Blog Candy

Is there candy, you ask? Why, yes, there is!  And what better candy for a patriotic challenge than a brand spanking new 6 by 6 pad of Bo Bunny Liberty paper. (Those of you who visit regularly know how much I love my Bo Bunny!)  One lucky card-maker will receive this wonderful paper pad from my own personal stash. :)

To qualify for the Bo Bunny raffle:

• Link one card for 1 "ticket". 
• Link its sister card for 2 additional "tickets".

The winner will be announced on May 11 in Friday Night Writes.

Ready, Set, Scrap!

Thanks for stopping! I can't wait to see your patriotic "sister cards"!  (Remember, that any cards that specifically refer to the 4th of July should be in shippers' hands by the end of the month.)

And, don't forget there's one more stop on this weekend's hop! 

'