I am so Grateful for you...CASEing my friend Debbie C.

I have another CASE (Copy And Share Everything) to share with you today.  My Facebook friend, who incidentally lives in the same county as I do although we have not yet met face to face, Debbie C. inspired me to make this card:

I came across this single 8.5 x 11 sheet of patterned paper in my stash and knew immediately that I needed to find a sketch that would highlight it, not hide it.  Debbie's card (see below) gave me the perfect sketch. Thanks Deb!

Debbie doesn't have a blog but you can see more of her creations on her Flicker page here.

OWH Sketch #154 - Casing Kristie M.

Today's card was inspired by Kristie M. of The best things in life are Pink.  Kristie is a magician with a 6x6 pad of paper and I am very grateful for the inspiration I have gleaned from her tutorial on the S&S blog (which you can enjoy here.)

This particular 6x6 pad I purchased over the internet and have found it particularly challenging to work with.  However, I am happy with this card and make 8 similar cards as well.  I am sorry to say I was unable to "stick it out" and use up the entire pad like Kristie would have done.  But, on the upside, I resisted the temptation to pitch the rest in File 13 and have set it aside for another day.

Here is OWH Sketch #154 - I obviously did not follow the measurements or add all of the layers but worked with the general idea mostly because the size of the sentiment was already determined and was so big it would have swallowed up the smaller squares.

To see Kristie's card(s) just click on the blog link above in the first sentence.

Thanks for stopping by, would love to hear what YOU think of this crazy/loud paper!

I'm Back....with OWH Sketch #218

I'm back....and can't believe it has been 10 months since my last post!  I won't bore you with the details, let it suffice to say that I am happily stamping again.  My love and support for Operation Write Home is as strong as ever but I have been serving more "behind the scenes" as the new Treasurer rather than out front making and posting cards.  I hope to have found a new balance and to get back to creating cards for our heroes again.

Enough about me....lets' see some cards!

This card was inspired by OWH Sketch #218.

Here is the sketch:

The really fun thing about this card is that I have had this paper for several years.  I only had the one 12 x 12 sheet but with this sketch I was able to make 9 identical cards (that I will be assembling in a few weeks at the Cozy Crop House!)

I will be back with more....I am on a roll!

OWH Sketch 175

Today has been a very productive and yet a very unusual day.  I am excited and thankful for both!  God is working in our lives and it is so exciting!

On my way home from work I was pondering this week's sketch and I suddenly realized that I had everything I needed already out on my desk!  Love when that happens!  So, as soon as I could I sat down and put this card together:

 

I used this wonderful FREEBIE from Paula S. at Handmade by Paula.  I had downloaded and printed six of these pages earlier this week, cut them out last night, and then left them alone to figure out what to do with them later...and here it is!  The card stock is SU! Night of Navy although it looks more black in the photo.  The "brads" are faux, made with a standard whole punch and Glossy Accents.  The buttons are die cuts from My Favorite Things with a piece of navy hemp for the tie (also SU!)

Here is  OWH Sketch #175 that I used for inspiration:

Thanks for stopping by - let me know what you think.

OWH Sketch #174 - SU Feeling Sentimental

Today's card share is featuring the Stampin' Up! set Feeling Sentimental, patterned paper by My Mind's Eye, and Operation Write Home Sketch #174

My One Sheet Wonder - 13 Cards!

The "One Sheet Wonder" technique is a fantastic tool for card makers like me.  I very seldom ever (almost never) make just one card a certain design.  I am a duplicator, mostly because the creative process is the hard part for me but seeing the results of my labors is the satisfying part.

The template I used was created by Seongsook and was featured as this past week's Tuesday Tutorial on the OWH Stars & Stamps Blog.  If you would like a download of the template you  can find it here at Seongsook's Creations. 
 
Here are a few of my favorites close up:

Gotta run, work awaits.  Thanks for stopping by, please let me know which is your personal favorite!

OWH Memorial Day Bloghop

 

Welcome!  Thank you for joining in on the Annual Memorial Day Bloghop with Operation Write Home!  It is my honor today to thank the families of our nation's fallen heroes and remember the many lives that have been given to ensure freedom not only in America but around the world.

My card features the Doodle Pantry Patriotic Eagle set, pre-colored version used here, including the background paper.  I accented the eye with Glossy Accents and used black card stock and a regular whole punch and Glossy Accents for the faux brads.
 
The sketch I used, very loosely I admit, was #74.  I obviously flipped it horizontally and changed the circle to a square because it seemed to fit my image better.

 

Thank you for hopping by and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend - and do something special to honor our fallen heroes.

Click here to get back to the bloghop home page.

Doodle Pantry Jacaranda with OWH Sketch #166

Hi there!  Today's card share features the newly released digital set by Doodle Pantry called Jacaranda - this is the pre-colored version and I love the colors!  The patterned paper is also a part of the set and they match beautifully.

 

The layout began with Operation Write Home Sketch #166 and evolved into this.  I did make a card that followed the Sketch much closer but I'm not in love with it so we'll just stick with this version, shall we?  But, just to be fair...here is the sketch:

 

 

I guess if you flip the sketch vertically it may qualify....?  Ah, close enough.

 

OWH MWT - So Sentimental

Here is another card for the OWH MWT - So Sentimental.

For this card I used up a bunch of 1/4 inch strips of patterned paper (from Doodle Pantry Pearfect Wormy that is free with purchase this month) and card stock with a technique  called "Scrappy Backgrounds" that you can find here.  The sentiment is a stamp that I picked up at JoAnn's.

OWH Midweek Throwdown - So Sentimental

Hello there!  It has been a good week at my craft desk - the mojo is flowing and I am having a blast!
 
Todays card share is in response to the OWH Midweek Throwdown So Sentimental (use a sentiment as the focal point.)  I love this technique so this challenge was a real mojo booster for me. 

While looking through some pre-printed sentiments in my stash I came across this wonderful digital sentiment by Paula S. called "Love You Daisies." You can download this wonderful sentiment FREE from her website here.    The card stock is Stampin' Up! Summer Sun  which I dry embossed with my Cuttlebug.  Check out the silver brads...colored black with a Sharpie marker!  Bam!
 
I am sad to say I have used my very last sheet of Summer Sun but I did it making six of these cards for my OWH box and that makes it A-OK.
 
Thanks for stopping in.  I would love if you would take a second and say hello in the comment section and make my day!

Love Ewe - OWH Sketch #172

I have new phrase to share with you today.  A phrase that I have made up but makes total sense to me.  Let's see who else can identify...the phrase for today is "Card Maker Euphoria: that wonderful wonderful moment when you realize that you love everything about the card that you have just made."  Ever felt that way?  I do every once in a while and today was one of those moments.  Happy, happy, happy!

The inspiration for this card came from OWH Sketch #172 (shown below).  The focal image is a digi that I just purchased from Bugaboo Stamps (you can find it here) and the sentiment I printed from Doodle Pantry Moo Sheep.  By the way (insert drum-roll here)  I COLORED this one!  Ha! No, really, I did!  I used Stampin' Up! markers, nothing fancy but I colored!

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you like my card and have enjoyed my giddy sense of humor!  If you are not a fan of coloring I suggest you check out Bugaboo Stamps and look for images that you only need to add a touch of color to bring them to life.  Worked for me!

OWH Midweek Throwdown - His & Hers Cards

This week's Midweek Throwdown is to make 2 cards - one for a guy and one for a gal - using the same card layout.

 

 

 

For these cards I used the newly release digitally colored set from Doodle Pantry called
Pearfect  Wormy - which is FREE with any purchase until the end of May!  The sentiment and patterned papers are included with the set as well as the outlined image (for those of you who enjoy coloring) and several more sentiments.

OWH VCMP - Romantic Card

This challenge has been presented by our fearless leader Sandy Allnock at "i can't stop embellishing"  The challenge: make a romantic card using a technique tutorial from OWH. 

As I scrolled through the various technique tutorials a card that I have long admired caught my eye and suddenly I realized that I finally had the stamp that I needed to CASE that card!  Yay!

The tutorial, called Embossed Flower Card, was shared by one of my very favorite card makers, Pam T. of Airbornewife's Stamping Spot.  Although I didn't have any fabric flowers to use I did have a flower punch and it worked just fine.  I liked the final card so much that I prepared a kit of 12 cards for my trip to Cozy Crop House next May.

Want to join in on the fun? Here is a link to the Master Thread. You can join in on any of the challenges at any time and in no particular order.  Cool, huh?  So what are you waiting for?  Go STAMP!  Can't wait to see YOUR creations!

OWH VCMP - Kid's Cards Using a Sketch

The second challenge has been presented by Paula at Handmade by Paula to make a card for a child (kid) using any sketch of your choice.  I love making cards for kids and have been looking forward to using this adorable image by Laurie at Doodle Pantry Digital Images. It is an "old" set that has been digitally colored and newly released. 

I was really excited when I printed the Birthday Birdie pre-colored image because the colors Laurie used worked perfectly with Stampin' Up! Tempting Turquoise and Rich Razzleberry (which I just restocked a few weeks ago!) The TT squares were in my scrap bin just waiting for a home and I love how the embossed circles fit right in with the patterned paper (which is included in the set by the way.)

I knew right away that I would use an OWH sketch (which can be found here) and scrolled through my OWH Sketches file looking for one with a circle as the focal image for my Birthday Birdie.  Sketch #152 fit the bill perfectly.

 

Want to join in on the fun? Here is a link to the Master Thread. Can't wait to see YOUR creations!

OWH VCMP - ODBD "Missing You"

This first challenge was a lot of fun for me - and I am off to a great start!

The challenge has been presented by Our Daily Bread Designs which is a HUGE supporter of Operation Write Home and we truly appreciate them.   The challenge details are located HERE calling for cards with the "Missing You" theme.

Want to join in on the fun?  Here is a link to the Master Thread.  Can't wait to see YOUR creations!

Virtual Card Making Party (VCMP) this weekend with Operation Write Home!

Operation Write Home is hosting a Virtual Card Making Party this weekend.  Today is "National Scrapbooking Day" and we like to REBEL and make cards for our troops instead!  Everyone is welcome to join in on the fun!

What is a VCMP? It is where a bunch of us get together "virtually" and make cards for our heroes using themes and challenges that are presented by various OWH bloggers throughout the weekend. Then we post our creations and link them up to the challenger's blog and then visit each other's blogs to see what they created using the same theme and leave them some words of encouragement.   Sounds fun, right? It is! So head on over and check it out and join in the fun! Here is the Master Thread with OWH.

OWH MWT Using Sketch #162

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  It has been quite a while since I have taken the time to post due to a crazy busy April.  We decided to list our house four weeks ago and have had 3 offers, two that backed out, and now a purchase agreement that has been in the works for 2 weeks with a home inspection and an appraisal and we are now waiting for a closing date.  What a whirlwind!  I have to be honest, I am very surprised but very excited at the same time.

With all that said I sincerely hope to be able to keep up with my card making and post as much as possible.  This is me being optimistic!  :)

Today's card share is for the OWH MWT challenge.  This week's theme is "Thank You" cards for our heroes to write home on.  I am working on my 2012 resolution to use all of the OWH sketches and my 2013 resolution to use my patterned paper stash up.  This card does both, yay me!  I used Sketch #162 and really like it.

 

 

Doodle Pantry Watermelon Ants with OWH Sketch #160

Welcome to April everybody!  Hooray!  April marks the beginning of the best months of the year to me.  The snow is GONE and the temperature is rising - I live in Michigan so anything above 40 degrees is a happy day for us! 
 
Today is New Release Day over at Doodle Pantry with 6 new digital sets being introduced and all are adorable.  My card(s) today feature the new Watermelon Ants set.  I have used the digitally colored version, of course, but the outline version is included in the set for those who enjoy the coloring.

 

 



 Aren't these ants adorable?  My personal favorite is the one at the bottom with his head stuck right into the watermelon, sheer joy.  The checkered paper is part of the set, along with two others, plus several sentiments and another colored version with yellow watermelon - you gotta see it!

The second card uses the OWH Sketch #160 shown below.  The top card just kind of evolved on it's own.

 I ended up making 15 cards like these for my Operation Write Home box - using all of the patterned paper that I had printed.  Not bad for a days worth of card making.  ;)