Keep the Sticker Creativity Going!

I thought today I would keep the sticker momentum from a week of SRM Stickers going.  I have lots of extra stickers from mini album kits and scrapbook kits that I've done over the years, but I never think to use them.  Here's one that's leftover from a Bazzill Lickety Slip Christmas album I made last year.  I love this Bazzill Christmas paper because the color combinations were out of the ordinary with pinks and turquoise thrown in with the traditional reds and greens!  Everything on the card is Bazzill, and I used Stars & Stamps Sketch #12.  Are you still trying to use all of the sketches this year?  I am!  I'm not sure I'm going to make it, but I sure am having fun trying!

SRM Stickers Day 7 - OWH Birthday Bash

Boohoo!  Today is the last day of the OWH Birthday Bash.  I hope you had as much fun as I did!  We are closing out the Birthday Bash month with a Blog Skip using SRM Stickers on Christmas cards.  Be sure to leave a comment on the blogs along the way because there is blog candy that will be given away.  The deadline to leave comments for blog candy is midnight on Tuesday, October 2 and the winners will be announced on Thursday, October 4.  Here's the order, in case you get lost!

Stars and Stamps
Barb
Jan
Yolanda
Nancy
Paula
Allison <---- YOU ARE HERE!
Julie
Sandy

Don't forget that Christmas cards are due to your Operation Write Home shipper by October 10 if they are not stamped and tucked and by October 31 if you've done the stamping and tucking for them.  Don't be late or they won't get sent to the troops until next year!

Here's my Blog Skip card.  I used SRM Stickers, patterned paper from Canvas Corp. and Stars & Stamps sketch #9.  It's always helpful to rely on a sketch when using stickers in order to avoid the dreaded sticker sneeze!

NOW, HEAD TO JULIE'S BLOG NEXT!

SRM Stickers Day 6 - OWH Birthday Bash

It's Day 6 of SRM Stickers Week and nearly the end of the big OWH Birthday Bash - what a fun month this was!  Today, I have a very simple card to thank you for visiting my blog and participating in all of the fun.  This is my mom's favorite color combo (bright pink and black), so I made this with her in mind.  Thanks, Mom!

It's hard to see in the photo, but I used the SU! Stripes embossing folder on the bottom half of the card below the ribbon.

Card Supplies:
sentiment sticker - SRM Stickers
embossing folder - SU! Stripes
pink cardstock - Stampin' Up!
ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon

SRM Stickers Day 5 - MY Birthday!

Not only is it Day 5 of SRM Stickers Week, but even more importantly, TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY - Woohoo!  Oh my, that puts me one more year closer to the big 5-0....what better reason to celebrate with a cupcake!

Card Supplies:
image and sentiment - SRM Stickers
patterned paper and cardstock - Stampin' Up!
border punch - Martha Stewart
dies - Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle
sketch - OWH Stars & Stamps 119

SRM Stickers Day 4 - OWH Birthday Bash

Hello, again, and welcome to Day 4 of SRM Stickers Week!  Today is also the Midweek Throwdown Challenge at the OWH Stars and Stamps Blog.  Because it is SRM Stickers Week at the Birthday Bash, we want to see your cards that use stickers as a focal point.  The easiest way to do this (and safest way to avoid sticker "sneeze") is to follow a sketch!  I started out following a Mojo Monday sketch for this card, but it took a turn and veered off a bit.  One of the cool things about using SRM Stickers on the different colored cardstock is that the stickers are clear and allow the cardstock color to show through.

Be sure to play along with the Midweek Throwdown Challenge and visit the SRM Stickers blog!  I am also entering this card at Cat's Creations Scrapbooks blog for WOW Wednesday where YOU could win a prize for entering OR just for commenting on my blog.  Last week's WOW Wednesday winner was a commenter on MY blog!

SRM Stickers Day 3 - OWH Birthday Bash

It's already Day 3 of my SRM Stickers Week!  If you follow my blog, then you know how much I *LOVE* white on white cards.  I think they are so very elegant for any occasion.  So, here's another white on white for your enjoyment!

Card Supplies:
stickers - SRM Stickers
embossing folder - Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl
dies - Nestabilities oval and scalloped oval
ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon

SRM Stickers Day 2 - OWH Birthday Bash

Welcome back for Day 2 of SRM Stickers week!  Today, I used 3 SRM Stickers to create a bright and cheery thank you card.  Operation Write Home is always in need of thank you cards, and SRM Stickers make them so easy to make!

Card Supplies:
images/sentiment - SRM Stickers
patterned paper - American Crafts
cardstock - SU! Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise
circle punch - SU!
ribbon - from my stash
sketch - OWH Stars & Stamps 78

SRM Stickers Day 1 - OWH Birthday Bash

I hope you enjoyed last week's focus at the OWH Stars & Stamps blog on all of the wonderful Hero Arts stamps - maybe you won some blog candy and maybe you just went shopping because you couldn't wait to get your hands on all the great stamps.

Today marks the beginning of the last week of the OWH Birthday Bash Celebration.  But, never fear, because the fun never ends at Operation Write Home.  We have the World Card Making Day Bloghop to look forward to on October 6 - so hurry and sign up if you want to take part.  It's open to everyone!

Today kicks off SRM Stickers Week!

I haven't done this in a while, but I have a card for you EVERY single day this week using SRM Stickers - that just goes to show how easy and how much fun they are to use!  My favorite of the week is today's using the new sketch at Operation Write Home along with Basic Grey paper and my Big Note die.  Don't forget to play along with the sketch challenge at OWH and to join in the fun at the SRM Stickers blog!

Hero Arts - OWH Birthday Bash

I love how one stamp set can be so versatile.  If you saw my cards on Sunday and Monday this week using the Epic Love set from Hero Arts, you noticed that they were "love/miss you" cards.  Using the train image from this set and a sentiment from the Year Round Sentiments set, I created a birthday card for a hero to send home to a boy who loves trains!

Card Supplies:

image - Hero Arts Epic Love

sentiment - Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments

ink - SU! Tangerine Tango

patterned paper - We R Memory Keepers

die - SU! Top Note die

sketch - Stars & Stamps sketch 81

Doodle Pantry - Cornflower

Do you have paper that you hoard because it's just too pretty to actually cut?  HAHA, I have LOTS of paper like that - too much, in fact!  This paper from Little Yellow Bicycle is one of them.  But, this Cornflower set from Doodle Pantry is so pretty that it needed equally pretty paper to go with it, so I took the scissors to it.  The Cornflower set comes with pre-colored images as well as outlines.  This time I used my Copics to color the outline image.  My favorite images to color myself seem to be flowers.  To me, they just seem easier to color than other images.  So, if you are new to Copics, why not try some flower images - you can find plenty of choices HERE at Doodle Pantry!  And, once you've made your own card using any Doodle Pantry image, don't forget to share it HERE before September 24 to win a free digital stamp set.

I also used OWH Stars & Stamps Sketch #124 and will enter the WOW Wednesday Challenge at Cat's Creations Scrapbooks' blog.

Card Supplies:
digital image - Doodle Pantry Cornflower
patterned paper - Little Yellow Bicycle
cardstock - Stampin' Up
ribbon - from my stash

Hero Arts - OWH Birthday Bash

It's Hero Arts Week at the OWH Birthday Bash!  I used the same set as yesterday's Sunday Sketch Challenge card, but with a different sentiment from the set.  I was playing around with different colors of ink and ended up with 2 sets of stamped images, so I made two cards.  My goal was to make these cards with colors that the guys would be attracted to when choosing from the box - not too flowery.  Which do you like better?

Card Supplies:
stamps - Hero Arts Epic Love
ink - SU! gumball green and raspberry ripple
all paper - Bazzill Grandma's Feather Bed
sketch - Stars & Stamps sketch 63

Hero Arts - OWH Birthday Bash

I hope you are enjoying all of the fun associated with the Operation Write Home Birthday Bash. There are only 2 weeks left, so be sure to join in while you can! 

Today kicks off Hero Arts Week!  

Did you know that if you buy any of the SIX OWH Hero Arts stamp sets they will donate 25% of the profits to Operation Write Home?  What a great well to help defray the OWH shipping costs as we close in on the busy holiday season!  All six sets are just perfect for making cards for our deployed troops. Why?  Because Sandy designed them!  Today I'm using stamps from two different sets: Epic Love and All the Time along with today's OWH Sunday Sketch. You can play along at the OWH Stars & Stamps blog AND at the Hero Arts blog where the fun begins tomorrow!

Card Supplies:
stamps - Hero Arts
patterned paper, cardstock and ink - Stampin' Up!
ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon

Stamper's Best - OWH Birthday Bash

This week for the Operation Write Home Birthday Bash we are partnering with a variety of companies.

Today is Stamper's Best Day!  

Did you know that Stamper's Best has a whole section of their store dedicated to Operation Write Home?  They will donate $1 to Operation Write Home for every OWH designated stamp you purchase.  They have some awesome patriotic stamps and 3 new stamp sets designed by Sandy that were just released today - go check them out!  Today I'm using a Stamper's Best digi image along with a sentiment from Doodle Pantry to create this AnyHero card using red, white and blue for the Birthday Bash MWT Challenge.  I'm also entering this in Cat's Creations Scrapbooks' WOW Wednesday challenge - participate or just leave a comment on their blog to win a prize!

Card Supplies:

all papers - Authentique Glory collection

image - Stamper's Best American Soldier digi

sentiment - Doodle Pantry

ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon

sketch - S&S Sketch #59

We Shall Never Forget!

First off, I want to thank Bugaboo for creating such an amazing image to remember the events of 9-11-01.  None of us will ever forget where we were when we heard the news.  I was welcoming my students into my first period Spanish class when some of them were talking about a plane that crashed into the World Trade Towers.  I really didn't believe them!  How could something like that happen?  When the news continued to trickle in and the events of the day unfolded, it became even more unbelievable to think that our great country could be the target of such a disastrous terrorist attack.  We all take time to remember the lives lost and the efforts and sacrifices of our courageous first responders, but let us not forget them the other 364 days of the year.

I plan to send this card to our local fire department as a way to honor the memories of the firefighters and other first responders who ran towards the disaster when so many were running away!  May God bless all first responders who ignore their survival instincts to help others every day.

EDITED TO ADD:

Kaylie and I delivered the card and some of my famous peanut butter cookies to the local fire department after school today.  Kaylie asked me to bring the camera because she wanted her photo taken with the firefighters.  The two on the right in the top photo have bracelets they wear with the name of a firefighter who died on 9/11/01.  In the bottom photo they suggested she put on one of their helmets.  She's holding it because she said it's VERY heavy!  

What a great opportunity to give back to our community heroes as a way to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11!  We may have started a new Patriot's Day tradition in our home.

Card Supplies: 

pre-colored image - Bugaboo Stamps (I could not find the image in the Bugaboo store so it may have been taken down.  Perhaps they have a new one or will put this one in the store for the anniversary.)

paper - We R Memory Keepers Yankee Doodle

sketch - S&S Sketch #28

Paper Smooches - OWH Birthday Bash

This week for the Operation Write Home Birthday Bash we are partnering with a variety of companies.

Today is Paper Smooches Day!  

Did you know that if you buy the Paper Smooches stamp set called Circle of Honor, they will donate a portion of the proceeds to Operation Write Home?  And, shipping is free for this stamp.  I call that a win-win situation all around!  If you can't wait for the stamps to arrive in the mail and want to create with Paper Smooches right away, there are freebie digi stamps available on their blog.  Today I'm using a free digi image and sentiment along with today's OWH Sunday Sketch. You can play along at the OWH Stars & Stamps blog for fun AND at the Paper Smooches blog for a chance to win the Circle of Honor set!

Card Supplies:
image and sentiment - Paper Smooches
patterned paper and solid purple - Echo Park Summer Days
cardstock - stash
tools - EK Success border punch, Nestabilities circle die, googly eyes

Doodle Pantry - Nature Calls

Laurie outdid herself once again with the September new releases.  This month the Poodles of Fun set is free with a purchase until September 24, and the Mister Monkey set is free just for entering the Doodle Pantry Digital Challenge 27 which closes on September 24.  To make the deals even sweeter, Laurie is running a Labor Day sale through Sunday, September 9 - 35% off your ENTIRE purchase!  Considering how reasonably priced her sets are already, you better run and stock up NOW!

When I saw the set Nature Calls, I knew right away that I would be making a few cards with the image just so I could use all the funny sentiments. (Go take a look HERE because some are absolutely hysterical!)  At first, I was hesitant to use the toilet paper digi paper that comes with the set, but then I thought, "Hey, I'm making a card with an outhouse on it.  I might as well go all the way with this!"  LOL!!

I'm also entering this in the September SFYTT Challenge over at iheart2stamp - just 3 more to go and I will have done every sketch this year!  This will also be posted at the Cat's Creations Scrapbooks blog for WOW Wednesday - YOU could win a prize by participating or even just for commenting on their blog!

Lawn Fawn - OWH Birthday Bash

Welcome to September!  Not only is this *MY* birthday month (on the 27th), but it's my favorite charitable organization's birthday month as well.  For the entire month of September, Operation Write Home is partnering with some of their favorite companies to celebrate with lots of fun challenges.

This week is Lawn Fawn Week.  

They have some of the cutest stamps ever!  I chose to create with the Critters Ever After set because my 9-year-old daughter loves unicorns and dragons.  I figured if she loves them, then lots of our deployed troops' kids probably do, too!  This card was made using an OWH sketch made especially for this challenge.  Specials thanks to my friend Sandy Trefger for sharing her tip on getting the perfectly matched mat for your creations - I used my Copic marker to color the edges of the scalloped circle so that it was the perfect color!

Card Supplies:
stamp - Lawn Fawn Critters Ever After
patterned paper - My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Life of the Party
cardstock - Stampin' Up
ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon
tools - Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle

OWH Labor Day VCMP #10

This is the tenth and final challenge of the Operation Write Home Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party.  BOOHOO!  It was so much fun to play along and now I have lots of cards to send to my OWH Shipper.  If you missed any of the challenges, it's not too late to participate - the inlinkz will stay open for a week, but the blog candy deadlines may end earlier than that!

Our final challenge is to make a card that represents your state - how creative!  Since I live in Texas, this challenge is easy peasy.  I had so many images to choose from.  Some of the best Texas images I've ever seen can be found at Doodle Pantry - from realistic cowboy gear and longhorn cattle to fun characters like Cowboy Birdie and Quirky Armadillo to an I Love Texas bundle that includes landmarks, maps and bluebonnets.  So, if you are from Texas or live in Texas, head on over because there is a 35% off sale going on through Sunday, September 9!

For my card today, I chose to make a birthday card with the Texas-Sized Birthday pre-colored image and the digi paper from the Texas set.  I used ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon and SU! Midnight Muse cardstock.  This will come in handy with 9 September birthdays of family and friends who live in Texas!

We hope to see you at the Operation Write Home World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop on October 6! Clicking on the link will take you to the sign-up form if you are interested in participating.  If you just want to hop and admire all the creativity, there is no need to sign up - just show up!

OWH Labor Day VCMP #9

The fun continues through today! Operation Write Home is having a Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party with lots of challenges to get our creative juices flowing.  If you missed yesterday's challenges, it's not too late to participate - the inlinkz will stay open for a week, but the blog candy deadlines may end earlier than that!

Our ninth challenge of the weekend is to use a neglected tool!  It's a sad statement, but many came to mind...my Bazzill InStitchz, my We R Sew Ribbon, my ancient crimper and brayer, and all of my ink mists (too messy for my liking).  The one that won out was my Fastenator - had to have one at the time and never use it.  My friend Pam C. always makes fun of that thing and even gave me some of the "staples" that go in it one time as a joke!  So, I could make a TON more cards if the only challenge were to use a different neglected tool for each card.  How about you?  Can you list some of your neglected tools?  You may have some that I've neglected so badly that they didn't even come to mind!  LOL

Card Supplies:
Stampin' Up! - Old Olive and Melon Mambo cardstock, Melon Mambo ink, Perfect Punches stamp set, XL oval punch
Little Yellow Bicycle - Elizabeth Park collection including patterned paper and fabric bird sticker
EK Success - Fastenator and "staples"

OWH Labor Day VCMP #8

The fun continues through today! Operation Write Home is having a Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party with lots of challenges to get our creative juices flowing.  If you missed yesterday's challenges, it's not too late to participate - the inlinkz will stay open for a week, but the blog candy deadlines may end earlier than that!

Our eighth challenge of the weekend is to make a sports-inspired card!  I knew I wanted to do a card for a girl who plays soccer since my daughter plays.  I figured our heroes probably have daughters who also play soccer.  My friend Nikki from Melonheadz Illustrations drew and pre-colored this image.

Card Supplies:
pre-colored image - Melonheadz Illustrations
yellow cardstock - SU! Daffodil Delight
patterned paper - very old SandyLion from my stash
tools - Nestabilities oval

OWH Labor Day VCMP #7

The fun continues through today! Operation Write Home is having a Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party with lots of challenges to get our creative juices flowing.  If you missed yesterday's challenges, it's not too late to participate - the inlinkz will stay open for a week, but the blog candy deadlines may end earlier than that!

Our seventh challenge of the weekend is to make a Christmas card for kids - big and small!  I started out in a different direction with a Dustin Pike image of a shark wearing a Santa beard about to head down the chimney, but I couldn't make it work with any of my Christmas papers - it sure was a funny image though that any boy into sharks would love!  This is what I ended up with - what kid doesn't love bright colors and snowmen, right?!

Card Supplies:
all paper - Bazzill
stamp set - Inkadinkadoo
sketch - S&S Sketch #41

OWH Labor Day VCMP #6

The fun continues through today! Operation Write Home is having a Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party with lots of challenges to get our creative juices flowing.  If you missed yesterday's challenges, it's not too late to participate - the inlinkz will stay open for a week, but the blog candy deadlines may end earlier than that!

Our sixth challenge and first of the day is to use our punches and follow S&S Sketch #136!  I was surprised that I don't have more shaped punches - I have squares and circles and ovals and borders, but the shapes I had were mostly too big for the sketch (SU! ornament and big heart punches).  I had one that I thought would work - my SU! heart to heart punch that has 3 different small hearts on it.  I also used my favorite SU! word window and modern label punches for the sentiment.

Card Supplies:
punches - SU! heart to heart, word window and modern label
patterned paper - My Mind's Eye Love Me collection
sentiment stamp - SU! Three Little Words
bling - Mark Richards

OWH Labor Day VCMP #5

All weekend long Operation Write Home is having a Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party with lots of challenges to get our creative juices flowing.  Our fifth and final challenge of the day is to make a western or horse themed card!  I have several horse stamps and a TON of western-themed digi stamps but decided to ink up a stamp I've never used before for this challenge.  The Stars & Stamps Sketch #90 was just perfect for this long, narrow image.

Card Supplies:
stamp - Inkadinkadoo
ink - Memento
patterned paper - My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Rosy
brown cardstock - Bazzill
sketch - S&S #90

OWH Labor Day VCMP #4

All weekend long Operation Write Home is having a Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party with lots of challenges to get our creative juices flowing.  Our fourth challenge of the day is to make a card with the Triple Time Stamping Technique!  I was really excited to try this technique because I've seen it before - now I had the motivation to actually do it.  It is so easy but looks like I spent a lot of time on it!

Card Supplies:
stamp set - SU! Big Blooms
ink - SU! Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss
cardstock - SU! Tangerine Tango

Challenges Entered:
Daring Cardmakers - Focus on Flowers
Polka Doodles Challenge - Flowers

OWH Labor Day VCMP #3

All weekend long Operation Write Home is having a Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party with lots of challenges to get our creative juices flowing.  Our third challenge of the day is to use snowflakes but NOT make a Christmas card!  I borrowed this card layout from another OWH'er who makes fabulous cards - Pam T. of airborne wife's stamping spot.  I just love this sketch because the card came together without much thought at all.  It would be easy use up an entire 6X6 paper pad on just this sketch - see an OWH tutorial for that here!

Card Supplies:
word art image - Create with TLC
patterned paper and red glitter cardstock - SEI
tools - Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle, SU! Sizzix Embosslits butterfly

OWH Labor Day VCMP #2

All weekend long Operation Write Home is having a Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party with lots of challenges to get our creative juices flowing.  Our second challenge of the day is a recipe - use one image, two patterned papers and three words!  This one came together as easy as pie (HA! That's so punny!)

Card Supplies:
one image with three words - Meljen's Designs freebie
two patterned papers - My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Rosy
brown cardstock - Bazzill

Challenges Entered:
Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges - You're So Tweet (Chicks or Birdies)
The Poodles Parlour - Winged Things

OWH Labor Day VCMP #1

All weekend long Operation Write Home is having a Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party with lots of challenges to get our creative juices flowing.  It seems to be doing just that for me!  The first challenge is combined with the monthly Our Daily Bread Designs challenge - use an inspirational quote or scripture verse.  Thanks to my good friend Jan Hunnicutt and her recent post, I discovered Dee's Bugaboo Boutique which is just loaded with free scripture word art in really cute fonts.  I hope this one encourages the spouse or family member of the hero who chooses to write home on it!

Card Supplies:
word art - Dee's Bugaboo Boutique
embossing folder - Cuttlebug
ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon

Challenges Entered:
Digi Haven - Month-long Anything Goes Free Digi Challenge

Doodle Pantry - September New Release

If you are a Doodle Pantry fan, then you've got to love the first of the month because it's New Release Day!  Laurie never fails to please with some of the cutest characters around.  This month the Poodles of Fun set is free with a purchase until September 24, and the Mister Monkey set is free just for entering the Doodle Pantry Digital Challenge 27 which begins at NOON Eastern today and closes on September 24.  To make the deals even sweeter, Laurie is running a Labor Day sale from August 31 - September 9 - 35% off your ENTIRE purchase!  Considering how reasonably priced her sets are already, you better run and stock up NOW!

Because I'm from Texas and love all things western (yes, I know, what a big cliche, right?!), I chose to work with the Cowboy Gear set for release day.  This is just one of the images and sentiments from the set.  It also includes a cowboy hat, a horseshoe and a saddle along with several more sentiments.  I also used Doodle Pantry digital patterned paper from the Western Digi Paper Pack.  I colored with my Copics and added a bit of ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon's monthly club.