June ODBD challenge

It's the second-to-last June ODBD challenge for Operation Write Home, so I had to join in, especially because it was for Missing You cards.  I wanted to make this one masculine, so I used the Deer stamp and papers that have been patiently waiting for me to use them.  Here's what I came up with:

 

The stamp is from Stamps of Life and those are thin buttons - no thick ones for OWH!  I'm also entering this into the Words 2 Scrap By June challenge - It's a Man's World . 

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your weekend was a nice one!

Happy New Year!

I'm enjoying a long weekend to start 2015, fitting in some organizing time, as well as crafting.  One of my monthly goals is to join in the Our Daily Bread challenge at Operation Write Home.  Lately, I've been one of the last card makers to get my card in, so in January, I'm going to be one of the first!

 

Our challenge is to make an AnyHero card.  I looked through my stash of cards and realized that I had no Thank You cards!  Horrors!  I decided not to go with a red/white/blue theme and made this funky card:

Yeah - it's got that 70's vibe, right?  I'm thinking it will be the bright spot in some hero's day when they read it.

 

I made another thank you card with a newer trend on it for this month's You choose the words challenge at Words Scrap By.  I recently joined Instagram, so I get the hashtag craziness, but I had a hard time coming up with just one word to use on a card, so I went with "Thx":

I wanted a masculine card, so I kept it simple and added a few Pearl Pen dots.  The images for both cards today were made using my Silhouette.  I use my Silhouette so much that it needs a new blade and I'm going to take the plunge and switch that out today.

 

The football playoffs are starting today and I'm cheering for the Carolina Panthers! 

 

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by! 



ODBD Dec 2014 challenge

Hello friends!  I wanted to add my card to the monthly Our Daily Bread Designs challenge for OWH  .  I love using primary colors on cards, so it was easy for me to create a card that met the criteria and what better way than using crayons?  The sentiment is a digital one from Birdie Brown with Doodlebug papers:

 

I was delighted to see that I won a Doodle Pantry coupon from our last sketch challenge!  Yippee!  I do love their designs and will have no problem using that coupon up.  Thanks Doodle Pantry!

 

Santa gifted me a new laptop and I've been busy getting it set up and it's now ready to go, so I'll be able to get back into more crafty fun!  I've had a great holiday and am reluctant to go back to work tomorrow, so I'm going to get some cards done tonight.  I wish I could stay home next week too!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

OWH Red Friday Bloghop

Operation Write Home is hosting a Red Friday bloghop and since I had a bit of extra time, I joined in.  Laura Bassen's card over at Doublestick Heaven below inspired me to pull out my Distress Inks and play.  Here's her card and my four (!) cards that I made:

I didn't have the stencil she used, so I made my own.  I cut a heart with my Silhouette and then overlaid another stencil on top.  My first card used the Tim Holtz Doily stencil:

Card #2 used the Tim Holtz Dot Fade stencil:

Card #3 used the Tim Holtz Stripes stencil:

Card #4 used a stencil I made on my Silhouette:

Other details:

Sentiment is from the Silhouette store: #6818

Distress Inks: Seedless Preserves, Salty Ocean, Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, Worn Lipstick

I'm also adding one of these cards to this month's ODBD challenge at OWH, which is Hearts.  

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you can find some time to create today!

OWH October ODBD challenge

I'm so glad that Sandy Allnock from Operation Write Home reminded us that there's still time to get our entries in for the October Our Daily Bread challenge.  This month, we were challenged to make snowflake non-Christmas cards.  My father has a birthday in January, so I made him a snowflake easel birthday card, using a file from Bird's cards (here):

The card base is Bazzill paper and the snowflake is from the DCWV glitzy paper.  Even though this card is intended for a man, I still think you can use glitz!

I'm hoping that we can get up to 50 entries for this month so ODBD will pay to ship two boxes of cards to our soldiers!

Thanks for stopping by!

World Card making day celebration for OWH

Happy WCMD!  Although the need for cards for Operation Write Home  has dwindled, we still have our celebrations to enjoy and today is one of them.  We've been challenged to make Love cards and since I just snagged the Simon Says Stamp Furry Friends stamp, I used it to make my card:

The two cats resemble my fur babies - one is gray and the other is a calico.  I created the background with shaving cream and ink - so fun!  Here's a tutorial - Shaving cream - if you're interested.

I can't wait to hop through the blogs and see all the creativity!  Thanks for stopping by! 

Sep ODBD challenge for OWH

I just realized that September is almost done and I haven't made a card for the monthly ODBD challenge (here)!  I made the background angled piece with embossing paste and Distress Inks and kept it simple with a small stamp by Hero Arts:

I had a masculine look in mind for this card and I hope that's what it looks like.  After my card, we're only 4 more entries away from 50 cards.  I sure hope we can get to that number so ODBD will donate shipping for 2 boxes!  Thank you ODBD!

And thanks for stopping by!

OWH Memorial Day 2014 + blog candy

Welcome to the 2014 OWH Memorial Day blog hop!  This is a great time to get inspired by many talented card makers and learn about OWH.  I made an Any Hero card, which is given directly to a service member.  I used sketch #215 (see why this is  my favorite sketch  and download my cutting formula) for my card:

Paper is October Afternoon Sasparilla.

I'm giving away stamps and paper to a lucky commenter.  I'll draw names on Sunday, May 25 at 7 pm EST and send you an email. Here's my goodies to send out:

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!

OWH Memorial Day Bloghop 2014

Happy NSD!

For the first time in years, I'm not at a crop on National Scrapbook Day.  I can still join in the fun and be a rebel by making cards today, though.  I made two for a couple of challenges.

Paula "broke" into the OWH site and challenged us to be a Rebel with a cause  today and make a card for one of the categories in need.  I made a Miss You themed card:

The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Year Round set.  This card is definitely a scrap card and it's something I make when I'm at the end of a 6x6 pad and all I've got left are strips.  I cut them into various widths and stick them onto a piece of paper, then trim it down to the size I want.  

My next card fits two challenges.  The first is the May ODBD  challenge, which is embossing.  I used a free SVG file from Short N Scrappy ( clock ) to cut out my main image.  Then I embossed it with antique gold embossing powder to give it an aged look:

The papers are from Tim Holtz.  This card also fits into this week's Cardz 4 Guyz challenge - Time.   

It's great to see everyone's cards today and I hope to see you all tomorrow for the weekly OWH sketch!

It's Card Bowl weekend!

OWH planned a fun weekend full of challenges in honor of the Super Bowl and calling it Card Bowl 2014 .  Although my team (Carolina Panthers) lost out weeks ago, I still enjoy watching the game and the commercials.

 

Our first challenge: make a masculine card using the colors of the Broncos or the Seahawks.  I made a football card and used the Blue/Orange Broncos for the sentiment:

 

Nothing like putting a Southern "Hey" on the card, right?

 

Our second challenge is the monthly ODBD challenge, which is to use brown.  I used the new Hero Arts Lil Hoot stamp set for this card:

 

I love that sentiment! 

 

Our third challenge is Sketch #210

 

 

and my card:

 

My card doesn't follow the sketch exactly because I had a hard time finding elements to fit the layout exactly.  I just made it work with what I had.  Nautical cards are always a good masculine fit.  The background paper is SEI Corrine.

 

I watched the Super Bowl - congrats to the Seahawks!  Now I'll have to wait six months for another football season.  Good thing the Olympics will keep me occupied for a while! 

 

 



Top 13 in 2013





It's time for the OWH Top 13 bloghop!
I've learned so much in 2013 as a cardmaker - from online card classes and OWH, to card bloggers everywhere.  I've picked 13 cards from this year where I used a technique that was new to me.  I added a link that either inspired me or explains the technique, in case you're interested.

 

#1 - Partial embossing  

Stamp TV - Partial Embossing



 

#2 - Creating a strong focal point (Bootcamp lesson)

OWH Feb 2013 bootcamp lesson

 

#3 - Using 12x12 paper to make several cards at once

Disappearing act

 

#4 - Copic coloring

Copic coloring

 

#5 - Creating a shabby chic style card

CASE'd the style here: Leas Cupcakes

#6 - Making my own diecuts for a misted background
Diecuts with misting 



#7 - Layering elements on a card
Layering tips


#8 - Window card
A Blog Named Hero - Window card


#9 - Making one layer cards (still scares me!)

Kristina Werner - one layer card

 

#10 - Using a photo on a card

Julie's photo challenge

 

#11 - Coloring with a die

OWH ICP

 

#12 - Negative/Positive die cut

Hero Arts Negative Positive technique

 

#13 - Plaid stamping

Laura Bassen plaid stamping

 

Come on and hop along with us at Operation Write Home and show us your Top 13 cards!

 

Have a great New Year's day!

 

 



A pack of penguins!

I planned on scrapbooking today, but then I read about the call for penguin cards at OWH and got totally sidetracked.  I used the Beach Penguins cutting file from My Scrap Chick and made these cards.  Each one's different, so I'm hoping that helps fill the specific penguin request:

 

It's fun to see the different penguins everyone's making!  It's time to get back to home life for tonight and enjoy Christmas Eve with my family. 

I hope you have a lovely holiday!



December ODBD challenge

I've been in kind of a rut for card inspiration and was happy to see that the ODBD challenge for December is masculine cards .  I reached for some Tim Holtz stamps for inspiration and his Distress crackle paint.  I crackled a tag, then distressed it with Vintage Photo and Walnut stain inks.

 

I stamped on top of the "crackled" (is that a word?) paper with the map, plane, and compass.  The sentiment is from the Hero Arts OWH All the Time stamp set, which I just bought.  I kept to browns, blues, and neutral colors to keep it masculine too.

 

I hope I can also fit in some more challenges this week - they always help kick start my mojo.

 

Have a nice day - and stay warm!



1 sentiment - 3 sketches

I took a blogging break during marching band, but the season is now over and I've got time to craft.  Yay!  I've got stamps that are new to me and can't wait to break them out of their wrapping.

 

 The November ODBD challenge is to make love/Valentine's Day cards and I used a sentiment from the PaperTrey Ink We go together set.  After embossing the sentiment three times, I challenged myself to make three cards with different OWH sketches using the same black/tan papers.  Here's what I came up with:

 

Card #1 - OWH sketch #77

 

 

Card #2 - OWH sketch #83:

 

Card #3 - OWH sketch #184:

 

Since my sentiment was a circle, I searched for sketches with circles. It was fun!  Although I enjoy the OWH Unboxing videos that show talented ladies making multiples of one card, I get easily bored doing that, so this was a good alternative for me.

 

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!