Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Happy Halloween!


I waited to post this card until my sister got the real thing (she's my most loyal reader, but should have gotten her snail mail by now )!  I actually hadn't planned on making any seasonal cards this October since I still have leftovers from previous Halloweens (they're fun to make, but how many people do you really send them to?)!  When my Mom said she was sending us cards for the holiday, I decided to combine some leftover images I had on hand with a freshly-stamped spider and some paper piecing to create what I hope is a different card from what I sent last year!  Trick or Treat?  Either way, it's the thought that counts!

Supplies:  Stampendous Spider Corn, Stampin' Up Ballet Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White and Basic Black cardstock and markers, greeting and background spiders were stamped images I had in my Halloween stash from years ago, Glossy Accents and Color Spritzer.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Scalloped Christmas Tree







Please forgive my slightly crooked photo!  I saw two cute ideas for Christmas trees on an Operation Write Home tutorial and both were pretty easy to do, but I like this one best.  I simply cut and stamped several scalloped circles, brushing the edges with Illuminate (an iridescent ink that doesn't show up well in this photo but gives a slightly "frosty" look in person) and then laid out and adhered the branches. 

The other tutorial on the website looks more complicated since it involves some origami-like folds, but it really wasn't as hard as I expected. 

Supplies:  Heidi grace designs "Jolly and Bright" patterned paper, a star brad from Recollections which I inked with Versamark and dipped in gold embossing powder, then added some crystal Stickles to make it shine,  Paper Studio wood grain embossing folder for the tree trunk, Spellbinders Nestabilities petite ovals, Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi and Early Espresso cardstock, Illuminate ink, Definitely Decorative Pines stamp set and subtle candy dots for the ornaments. 

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Paint Swatch Card






I saw this Paint Swatch card challenge on the Operation Write Home website several weeks ago, but didn't have occasion to go to the hardware store (as suggested) to get the necessary paint swatches.   It only dawned on me recently that I could pick up paint swatches at Walmart where I shop weekly (and often more than once a week)!  I picked up several Glidden paint swatches in color families that appealed to me and put this one to use with the help of my Cricut machine for the die cut greeting and a butterfly stamp which I attempted to color in an ombre fashion to coordinate with the overall effect!

Supplies:  Cricut Calligraphy Collection cartridge (2" letters), Paper Studio Butterflies embossing folder, Stampin' Up Papillon Potpourri butterfly, black pigment ink (embossed), Marina Mist and Bashful Blue cardstock & satin ribbon.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Stars and Stripes


I made an "Any Hero" card for this blog hop, something I want to do more of in the future, to say "thank you" to our American soldiers serving overseas.

 I based my design on OWH Sketch Challenge # 184  (turned sideways).



Supplies:  Paper Studio Outline Stars pattern paper and A2 Stripes embossing folder, PaperTrey Ink Happy Harlequin stamp set, Stampin' Up Night of Navy, Naturals White cardstock, Because I Care sentiment, Night of Navy ink and Finishing Touches Edgelits, a scrap of red paper and Recollections star-shaped brads. 

Happy World Card Making Day, everyone! 

Enjoy the blog hop, here's another link to head you back to the main site.  Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, October 4, 2013

Any Hero preview

I'm really looking forward to World Card Making Day,, October 5th!  

I created five different cards from one 12 x 12 sheet this past week before deciding which one to highlight for tomorrow's  OWH WCMD blog hop extravaganza.  It was hard to decide which sketch challenge turned out best, so I've decided to post a runner-up as a preview today.






This card was inspired by OWH sketch challenge #171.  

It could be used by a soldier writing home from his/her deployment, but in addition to sending blank cards, Operation Write Home also likes to send our troops what they call "Any Hero" mail:  cards written to encourage American men and women serving overseas.  Can you imagine that some soldiers don't get much if any mail from home?  I know I feel like Charlie Brown on days I go to the mailbox and find it empty, but with all the junk mail and bills, that's a rare occurence.  In Kabul or Baghdad it must happen all too often.  So, if you'd like to help, write a soldier an uplifting note and let them know the sacrifice they're making is appreciated.

 Tune in tomorrow for details on a similar card from a different sketch!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Cool Thanks


I'm generally not one to brag (except about my kids, perhaps), so I'm not saying that this card is "cool" as in "hip", but penguins just convey a sense of cool naturally, don't they?  I don't particularly like cold weather, ice or snow, but I love penguins and the slight chill in our morning air reminded me that it's time to get these wintry stamps out (even if I have done lots of birds lately) . . .



I used one of my favorite penguin stamps to create this Thank you note based on OWH sketch 161.  It took some patience, stamping the penguin image repeatedly to create this paper-pieced penguin (say that five times fast!), but when you love something, you're willing to go the extra mile, right?  :)

Supplies:  Magenta penguin with gift stamp, Marvy snowflake punch, Spare Parts mini brads, Spellbinders Nestabiities Petite Ovals, glue dots to make the package stand out and Stampin' Up white embossing powder, sentiment, Basic Black, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight cardstock (sponged lightly with Peach Parfait), Seasonal Borders (mini), and Northern Flurry embossing folder.