Blog Candy Winner!

Hello all!  Thank you for all of your wonderful comments on my CAS post for the Operation Write Home Blog Skip.  Over the course of 3 days we had over 650 visits to the post and 69 comments!  Lots of wonderful inspiration and exposure for OWH!

I have used random.org to select a winner for my blog candy....the number 40 was chosen and that means Robin of Paper Pizazz Creations by Robin is the winner.  Robin please email me at loliver5667 (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address!   

Congratulations Robin!

OWH Stars & Stamps CAS (Clean and Simple) Blog Skip

Welcome to the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps CAS Blog Skip.  If you have come from Kate's blog "Hello From Kate" then you are in the right place.  If you just happened along and would like to start the skip at the beginning just click here and you will be transported to the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog.

I have been attracted to the Clean and Simple style of card making for a long time and I love to browse through blogs and galleries of CAS cards for inspiration and relaxation as well.  Although I have never been what I call a "fru-fru" stamper I have only just recently embraced the CAS style and am really enjoying the results.

The inspiration for this card came from Heather T. whose card was recently featured on the "Less is More" blog (one of my CAS favorites) and can be viewed here.  The sponged and stamped focal point is totally cased but there was no way I could make it look as nice as Heather's so I ended up cutting the square out and  mounting it on black card stock cut just slightly larger to act as a frame.  The sponging was done on white card stock with Stampin' Up! Not Quite Navy ink and then I stamped 3 of the Pocket Silhouettes stamps in black Stazon ink and the 4th in Old Olive.  The sentiment is from a Stampin' Up! set called Sweet Little Sentiments and is stamped with black Stazon ink.

Of course I can never make just ONE of any card that I really like so I went ahead and made another card adding a little more bling - although I still classify it as CAS.  The sentiment is stamped in Not Quite Navy and is from a sympathy set by Gina K Designs.  The card is basically the same design so I thought I would just share a close up of the sentiment and bling.

Thank you for skipping by my blog - I hope you have been able to find some inspiration and will go out and give the CAS style a try for yourself.  The next stop is at "Handmade by Julie" where I am sure you will want to stick around for awhile!

Oopsie!  I almost forgot BLOG CANDY!  Please leave a comment below and on Monday, August 22, I will select a random winner to receive 6 sponged and stamped squares similar to the ones used on these cards.

My Heart Bee-longs to You - Encore Presentation

Stamps R Us is having an Encore Presentation challenge  - which means we are to re-post (but not back link) one of your favorite cards.  My blog is fairly new (only 9 months old) so it didn't take long to scroll through my old posts.  

When I saw this card I just had to smile.    I remember the day I made this card for Operation Write Home.  I was thrilled to have found these cute little bees to go with this sentiment that I had been given by a friend.  The funny thing is I liked this card so much that I haven't used this combo since out of fear that I will be disappointed...how silly is that?  Maybe now that I have admitted it I can get over it and use them again!

Love Cards for Operation Write Home

As many of you know I spend alot of time on the Operation Write Home Facebook fan page and today our fearless leader, Sandy, put out a call for Love and Missing You cards.  I have a large flat rate box 3/4 full of cards and will be sure to focus on these types of cards for the remaining 1/4.  I have already included several cards that fit this theme and thought I would share them with you.


These two cards are admittedly similar but just different enough that I wanted to share them both with you.  You probably recognize the designer paper from Stampin' Up! The sentiment is from a Verve set called Just For You.
 
The solid/dotted circle is a stamp that is included in the same set and fits perfectly with my Nestabilites. While cutting all of the circles and scallops I discovered that I could put the circle die inside the scallop die (on the very vanilla card stock) and cut both with one swipe through the Cuttlebug. Sounds silly but I was thrilled! So, to encourage others to save time and money I quickly took a few shots to share this idea with you and posted them at the bottom of this post. (If this is no big revelation to you as it was to me I give you permisssion to go ahead and roll your eyes. 

This next card origins remain a mystery to me.  I made it a few weeks ago in response to a sketch challenge using a free digital image but unfortunately I can't remember where either one came from.  I apologize for that.  If you recognize either of them please let me know so I can give proper credit.

Edit:  The sentiment is by Ginger at Ginger's House.  Thank you Pat K. for the reminder!

And finally, this last card came about to use up some scraps. The circle sentiment is from Create With TLC. I made two similar cards using two other circle sentiments as well.  It came up with this design on my own.  The black strip is actually satin ribbon although it is hard to tell from this photo.  The patterned paper was left over from another project and was purchase from JAS on clearance for ten cents.

If you have any questions on any of these cards just leave it in the comment section and I will answer as quickly as possible. Thanks for stopping by...I hope to have given you some inspiration to make some "love" cards for YOUR next OWH box!

Here is the mini pictoral:

Dog Gone It Anyway...

This card came together today exactly as I had envisioned it - and that doesn't happen very often, let me tell ya!  I was able to spend some time surfing my favorite challenges today and actually went to the designing table (aka dinningroom table) with a plan!  Love it when that happens!

The image and sentiment are from Bugaboo Stamps - I was fortunate enough to have snagged it when it was a weekly freebie and he has just been hanging out waiting to be set free.  I printed him with MS Word and set it up so I could print 4 on a page.  I colored him with Stampin' Up! markers in Bliss Blue, Blush Blossom, and Creamy Caramel.  The frame outline I drew by hand just using a ruler and a black gel pen.

This little guy will be included in my next box for Operation Write Home and can be used for so many "occassions" such as belated birthday, miss you, sorry, or any other events that our hero may have wished he/she could have been home for.  He was made specifically for the MWT at the Stars & Stamps blog where we making cards featuring the wonderful canine in honor of our very own mascot Pvt. Ciara.  Congrats Ciara!

So glad you could stop in for a visit!  Happy stamping!

Challenges:
S & S Midweek Throwdown: Canines
SCS Clean And Simple: Belated Birthday

Keep Your Chin Up Friend

Hello Friends!  This little cutie is a from a pre-colored set called Turtle Trio at Doodle Pantry.   One of the things I love about Doodle Pantry is that their pre-colored sets come with matching patterned papers - making it so easy to put together a well coordinated card.

I used Stampin' Up cardstock, Garden Green for the base and Green Galore for the  Cuttlebug embossed center strip.  The brads are faux using white card stock and Glossy Accents.  I cut out the image and scallop using my Cuttlebug and Nesties and lightly sponged Garden Green around the image to soften the edges.

This card will be included with my next Operation Write Home box but was made for two challenges that The Doodle Pantry is sponsoring this week - Craft Your Passion and Stamping Sisters in Christ.  The Doodle Pantry will have some new releases on August 5th and wouldn't it be fun to win a gift certificate (or two) just in time for the new release?  It would make my day for sure!

Thanks for stopping by....please leave me some love if you have a minute :)