Your Thoughtfulness Meant the World

Hi, everyone.

This card has been rattling around in my brain for such a long time. I just never had quite the right tools or skills to make it a reality. And, then I saw the new Stampin' Up! World Background Map stamp in this year's catalog!

But, then there were a couple of delays in getting the new stamp. So, the card still had a little more time to rattle around. Finally, the stamp arrived, the ideas came together, and the card below was born.  :)

Stampin' Up! World Map background stamp
stamped image on watercolor paper in jet black StazOn
map image washed in watered Honey Brown and Cape Cod acrylics
map and scroll edges inked in Distress Ink wild honey with SU sponge dauber
map edges distressed with Ranger distress tool
scroll: computer-generated with Word shapes and Old English font
background paper: Distress Ink core
American Craft premium ribbon, garage sale brads
Inside Sentiment: Your Thoughtfulness Meant the World to Me

Making a few more of these for the craft show. And, think this one might just be Pin-worthy! Can't wait to show it to my fellow Stampin' Up! partners in crime and our SU instructor at our Christmas Card-Making Party on Friday.

Parting Thoughts

Can't wait for tomorrow -- my father-in-law's 90th birthday dinner. His sister and brother-in-law came in tonight from Alabama. And, friends and neighbors seem really excited. Should be a special night for a remarkable man.  :)

thank U

Hi, everyone.

Seems forever since I've posted. I've been offline for a while, and it's good to be back. Today's card is inspired by Paula's Design Bootcamp lesson on balance and this month's ODBD challenge to make a card featuring a sentiment.

Creative Memories dp from stash; Bazzill cardstock
Creative Memories letter stickers
Tattered Angels 3-in-1 alpha chips, painted in acrylic Plantation Pine

Going for some asymmetrical balance here, balancing out the word "thank" and the letter "u". Not sure if they are in completely in balance, but the end result feels visually pleasing to me. Most importantly, it received hubby's seal of approval. :)

Gotta make it short and sweet today. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

A Thank You Fit for a Man

Hi, everyone.

Today was Jan's last post as OWH's Midweek Throwdown Hostess. It's pretty appropriate that today's challenge is a thank you because that's what all of us want to say to Jan.

Since I missed out on the Facebook post about making a masculine friend card, I thought I'd make up for it making a masculine thank you card for today's challenge.

dp: Jillibean Fresh Vegetable Soup (mushroom)
cardstock: browns: AC and/or Bazzill; almond cream: Bazzill
sentiment heat embossed in Distress Ink walnut stain
recycled raffia from ??? that will pull right off

I'm working on an invitation to my father-in-law's 90th birthday party. (More on that in a future post!)  The materials for those invitations are still strewn all over our dining room table. So, I replicated the invitation fold (a 12" by 4.25" card that is scored and folded at 3.25" at either end), stamped the sentiment -- surprisingly getting a "good" stamped image on my first attempt, taped on the dp, and tied on a scrap ribbon. Voila! This had to be the quickest card I've made in a long time since all of the heavy lifting went into designing the party invitations.

Parting Thoughts

Looking forward to this weekend's VCMP.

One last shout out to Jan. Thanks, Jan! All the best in your new ventures.

Thanks Sew Much

Hi, everyone.

Two posts in one day! Gotta get most of my cardmaking in today with tomorrow's anniversary and birthday festivities. :)

The card below is for the current CAS-ual Fridays challenge to make a card featuring buttons.

Bo Bunny Mamarazzi2; Bazzill cardstock
computer-generated sentiment (Lucida Handwriting)
stitching in DMC floss 543 with Sew Easy
stash buttons adhered with Glossy Accents

This card is a real departure for me. First of all, I don't often use punny sentiments. And since most of my cards go to Operation Write Home, I don't often use thick embellishments. Finally, this is the first card on which I've done any stitching. Up until now, I've only used my Sew Easy to pierce holes for brads.

Speaking of the stitching, I made a template for the holes by running a line of holes along the edge of a ruler. I drew a pencil outline of where I wanted the stitches to be placed. Then I used the template to hand pierce holes in their designated locations.

One more thing... Bobbi mentioned that the buttons she uses on cards always remind her of her mother since her mom always found them for her at flea markets. The same thing is true for me and embroidery/cross stitch floss. One of the last gifts from my mom was a collection of all the colors of floss made by DMC. The floss on this card is from that collection. Thanks, Mom!

I'm pretty pleased with the way the card turned out. Just wish it could go to OWH. Oh well, looks like this one is going to have to be saved for a friend. :)

Lastly, my apologies to the CAS-ual Fridays team for the double link. I'm still trying to figure out this digital photography thing and came up with a much brighter image after posting the first link. The second image is a little blurrier, but the colors are so much truer to the actual card. The first image just didn't seem to do justice to this little card.

Parting Thoughts

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

A Patriotic Thanks

Hi, everyone.

First, a heartfelt thanks to everyone who responded to hubby's question. Your comments were often funny, at times wistful -- and all so very honest.

A few words about hubby. This August, we will have been married for 30  years. (It's actually amazing to see that in print!) And, he is so supportive and kind -- in spite of that stoic persona of his.

Just  a small snippet of his kindness: He was running errands earlier today -- close to our neighborhood Michael's, which is one of those places that he avoids like the plague. However, I had mentioned about wanting to pick up ATG refills. So, he raided the menopause room trashcan to find an empty pack to know what type of tape I get. Yea, he talks a good game, but he's a real sweetheart.  :)

A Patriotic Thanks

The card below was inspired by two OWH posts: today's Midweek Throwdown challenge to make a thank you card and  yesterday's Tuesday Tutorial about making a card using scraps.

Bo Bunny Liberty; tan: Distress Ink core, blue: Bazzill admiral, red: Bazzill watermelon
sentiment heat embossed in Distress Ink vintage photo; garage sale brad; 3D glue dots

Parting Thoughts

Thanks again to all for sharing your hubbies' reactions to card-sharing.

Have a good rest of the week. 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 Sophisticated Token of Appreciation

Hi, everyone!

This week's OWH Midweek Challenge is a color challenge -- making a card in our own favorite colors. Sounds like a great challenge, right? So, what about those of us who are fickle in our color palettes -- changing with the seasons?

However, I am always drawn to a classical black, brown, and cream palette. And, I have a love of rich turquoise/teal papers. Then came the epiphany that my new favorite paper collection has all of these! So, Bo Bunny Mama-razzi it is! When Sandy mentioned a need for Miss You and Thank You cards... Well, the card below was born. :)

Bo Bunny Mama-razzi, Bazzill black; Mark Richards crystals; sentiment stamped in StazOn jet black

The design is pretty simple, but seems to work well with the background pattern. I'm really pleased with the way the black separates the patterns and pops the colors.

 

Parting Thoughts

Have a great Friday. Looking forward to a telecommuting workday tomorrow. :)

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Much Obliged

Hi everyone,

As our big project at work is coming to a close, I thought I'd share a thank you card that I made for a couple of new team members to commemorate the completion of their first book.

Marsha's adorable little cowboy

The inspiration for this card came from one of Marsha's Top Ten of 2012 cards -- an adorable little cowboy that I featured in an earlier post. For reasons that will remain known only to the team, a cowboy theme was appropriate for these thank you cards. :)

I apologize in advance for not being sure of the all of the materials used. My list of supplies went missing -- and my brain's been gone for a while now!

dp: BasicGrey vanilla bean and stash; cardstock: Distress Ink core???
embellishments: garage sale brads, drug store string; tool: the Paper Studio star punch
computer-generated sentiment

I did an Internet search for cowboy lingo. The inside sentiment read, "... you did a powerful bang-up job, and we're much obliged!"

I'd love to know the color theory that makes this card work. It's definitely not monochromatic nor analagous. But, it doesn't seem to be truly complementary either.  Hmmm...

Parting Thoughts

Hope I have the stamina tonight to work on a card featuring the colors in Ohio's state flag for this week's Midweek Throwdown color challenge. But, pardners, I'm feeling mighty tired this evening. :)

Much obliged that you stopped by and wish you some powerful scrappin'!

OWH Midweek Color Challenge

Hi everyone,

A quick midweek post to share a card for this week's challenge to make a card featuring the color green.

Distress Ink core paper, inked in Distress Ink Vintage Photo and sanded
Computer-generated sentiment in Mistral font

Some of you may have seen this one beforeThis is actually v2.0 of a card I made for a CAS-ual Fridays challenge a week or two ago. Hubby suggested a gem-free version in which various words were highlighted using a different colored font.  Since it's going to my next OWH shipment, I thought I'd add it to this week's collection.

Overall, I like the results. But, I think the font on the next one needs to be a slightly different green. This font green is a slightly different shade than the green cardstock...

Parting Thoughts

If you haven't checked out cards made by Bobbi, who made this week's adorable sample card, they're definitely worth a look. I had the pleasure of meeting Bobbi at an OWH card-making party last fall. She makes some lovely cards and is a huge supporter of OWH. :)

Received a little blog candy in the mail today! More about that in an upcoming post.

Thanks for visiting and happy scrappin'!

First OWH Shipment of 2013 -- v2.0

Hi everyone,

In case you didn't know, postage rates are going up on January 27. So, Operation Write Home is sponsoring a new card challenge.

I am pleased to say I sent in my first card shipment of the year this afternoon. The box was filled with lots of kid-friendly Bo Bunny Blast Off cards along with a mixture of others, including a few spring-flower-inspired cards and a few Any Hero cards. :)

So, how do you celebrate the first shipment of the year?

By starting on shipment #2, of course!  The card below was inspired by this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge to make a thank you card -- and my love of travel.

Computer-Generated background and sentiment
Ranger core paper; miscellaneous gems

So, this is version 1.0 of a card expressing "thank you" in lots of languages. [Wish the scan had turned out better. Looks like I need to take a closer at look at Nancy's tutorial on taking better photos :).]

I'm planning on playing around with this concept a bit more, but this is the process I used for this first attempt.

• Using Mistral font and an online translator, I created several backgrounds as a Word document file. (Please e-mail me at cards[dot]by[dot]sybrina[at]gmail[dot]com if you'd like me to e-mail my Word doc files.)
•  I chose a classic black and white palette with a red accent.
• Next, I decided to use crystal gems and placed these under 3 of the words that would be among the most familiar.
• I tried several shapes and several shades of red before deciding upon the nested ovals shown, with the larger oval cut from Ranger Distress Ink core paper.  (This was one time I sure wish I had a Cricut that could make a fancier, more elegant shape.)
•  Penultimately -- following a consultation with hubby, I added a few gems around the smaller oval for a stronger connection between the background sentiments and the focal sentiment. 
• Lastly, I cleaned up my space! :)   

Don't you hate it when the men in our lives are right?

So, I showed the card above to hubby. As normal, he wasn't thrilled by the gems -- and said something about a man not being to send a card like that. 

Then he offered a couple of suggestions. 

So, an edited Word document and a couple of sheets of Ranger Core Paper later, the card below was born. As much as I hate to admit, I really do like card fit for a man. :)

Ranger Core Paper, sanded and inked with Distress Ink Vintage Photo

 

 Parting Thoughts

Hoping to try a few more versions of this multi-language thank you concept, including a suggestion or two made by hubby. Thanks for stopping by. Happy scrappin'!

Hey L'il Monster

Hi everyone,

Hope the weekend's going well.

I have three cards to share with you today. :)

Card #1: Hey L'il Monster!

This first card was inspired by 3 things:

• This week's OWH Tuesday Tutorial on Fussy Cutting,
• Adorable monster paper on clearance at Michael's, and
• the sentiment "Hey L'il Monster" from Lesiure Arts' card- making sketch book.

Paper: Recollections Monster and All Over Monster, AC Cardstock
Sentiment: computer-generated in Andy style
Techniques: heat embossing with clear powder, punching

Tools: Creative Memories cutting system, circle punches, border punch

Seriously, what was I thinking?

This card initially had a gem in place of the eyeball. It was late last night -- okay late's a relative thing since it was 10:30 on a Friday night (lol) --  and I felt like it needed something over on that side. Why not a cute little lime gem? And, then sanity returned this morning when I asked myself what I was thinking putting a swallow-able object on a child's card! Then the idea of an eyeball popped into my brain -- and I'm so glad it did. I really like the way this l'il guy turned out. :)

One thing I really like about this card is its strong focal point. What I know about graphic design could probably fit in a thimble. But, I think the fact that the eyeball connects to the sentiment and the sentiment connects to the monster is making for a great focal point.

I LOVE how the heat embossing turned out on the monster. On thinner paper, the result is usually bumpy, which is perfect for this little guy. He is shiny and bumpy -- and popping off the page. :)

The eyeball has about 4 layers of circles underneath to give it a little pop off the page. And, there are strips of cardstock under the arms and leg to reinforce them just a bit. Finally, there's a tiny little monster looking out from inside the card. :)

The best news is I have 2 more monsters I can fussy cut for 2 more cards!

Card #2: A World of Thanks

This card was inspired by this week's Midweek Throwdown Challenge to make a thank you card.

Paper: DCWV Travel Stack, miscellaneous cardstock;
Sentiments: ? stamped in Distress Ink Black Soot, computer-generated in Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold
Techniques: heat embossing, border punching, inking

 This card was a bit of a challenge.

• I wanted to make something that could go masculine. [Check]
• I wanted to use the DCWV Travel Stack to use the international stamp
  and computer sentiment [Check] but....
• I'd already used all of my favorite papers from the stack. Hmmm....

All in all, this is a good little card. It definitely has a nice physical weight to it. It's just not as shiny and attention-grabbing as the L'il Monster -- but then what could be? :)

Card 3: Snowflakes of Sympathy

This last card is for a girl at work whose mom died quite suddenly about a week ago.  It'll be 25 years next month that I lost my mom. I still remember a card received from friends the following Christmas. Actually, I have no idea what the front of the card looked like -- nor do I remember the manufacturer's stamped sentiment. But the handwritten note... well, that's another matter.

May your most treasured gift this holiday season be
your memories of Christmases past.

This is a sentiment that I have written on more cards than I care to remember throughout the years -- and the sentiment that will be shared with my colleague. I hope the design of the card below conveys the peace and comfort that Kevin and Denise's message brought to me all those years ago. Think I'll post this for CAS-ual Fridays' Winter Blues challenge.

Paper: Recollections embossed with Hero Arts snowflake stamp, AC cardstock, stash cardstock
Embellishments: white sheer ribbon, gem
Tools: Creative Memories square punches, snowflake punch

Parting Thoughts

Not quite sure I'll get to the Sunday sketch tomorrow since Craft Fair prep time is waning.

Picked up some wonderful pads of paper for next year's OWH Christmas cards. I especially love We R Memory Keepers' Winter's Frost Collection. Those papers are sure to make some beautiful cards. 

If I don't post anything else this week, have a blessed and joyous Thanksgiving celebration with family, friends, and loved ones.

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!

Friday Night Writes

Hi, everyone,

Thanks again to everyone who visited, left comments, and/or started following Scrapping with Purpose during last weekend's OWH Memorial Day Blog Hop.  It was wonderful to see all the amazing cards that will be going to our troops and their loved ones!  :)

A special thanks to Donna for letting me know my word verification was on. Sorry about that.  I had no idea! I'm a real neophyte when it comes to this blogging stuff, but I think it's off now. If not, please let me know. :)

Work's been crazy busy. So, I only have one card to share.

CFC54: Gratitude Fit for a Man

This week's Casual Fridays challenge was to make a masculine card from designer paper. My original plan was to use Mojo Monday Sketch 243 to make the masculine thank  you card below.

Paper: Moxie VIP Father, various card stock; Sentiment: Hero Arts Gratitude; jute

• First, I decided to try the second design, but make the card rectangular to meet OWH's preference for A2 cards. 
• Recently, I've been having a love affair with deep navy and jute for my Any Hero cards. So, I chose the flip side of Moxie's VIP Father paper --thinking it would go great with a navy background and a strip of jute. 
• Then I thought the small rectangular gratitude sentiment would be perfect with the jute. That's when I made the decision to not cut out the "V". 
• That's when I decided to scrap the sketch circle and tiny square elements. Guess I just have to much CAS  in me for my own good!
• Next, I tinkered around with some card stock possibilities to pop the dp and sentiment. 
• Finally, I added the punched out circles to tie in the mustard card stock behind the dp and bring attention to the sentiment.

I was pretty pleased with the result -- and I received hubby's stamp of approval! This card should make a nice addition to my next OWH shipment!

Think I'll post this at CAS-ual Fridays and for the OWH Midweek Throwdown Thank You Card Challenge-- but, probably not Mojo Monday.  :)

Parting Thoughts

I'd like to share a concern that came from a card I started for Julie's Blog Hop Bonus Sketch.

                               

When I showed the card below to hubby, I could tell he just didn't like it all. I knew it still needed a little something else, but not to the degree I picked up on from hubby. He eventually told me about gold star moms -- military moms who have lost a son or daughter. He really didn't think the paper I was using would be appropriate for a family member to receive. 

Paper: Signify Pink's Pages of Honor :); Ribbon: the last of my gorgeous Michael's clearance ribbon :(

I immediately e-mailed Sandy to get her perspective. Sandy said that our heroes are happy to receive such nice cards and don't think about the gold star aspect. So, I'm going to add a little more oomph and write a note to one of our heroes. And, I wanted to share this concern -- and solution. :)

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