OWH Principals of Design FREE Online Seminar

The instructor for this series of free seminars sponsored by OWH, holds a B.F.A. from Parson's School of Design, New York. She has 25 years design experience and works as a Sr. Graphic Designer for a small Connecticut printer. Her freelance work includes public service campaigns for a wide variety of national organizations including the American Heart Association, NFL and National Parks Foundation. Check out what Paula has to share and participate please!!

The series begins today, January 29th but is totally self-guided so you can start at anytime. I'll add photos of my attempt to this posting on Sunday. Please check back to see more and go check out OWH if you're not familiar. This is a wonderful, worthy organization all cardmakers can love!

Mojo Monday #159 Challenge

Just when I thought all my mojo was gone along comes a fun challenge sketch to get the creative energy flowing! I decided this sketch lent itself well to cards I wanted to make for OWH so I went to town and made 6. I think they turned out pretty nice and might make a great Valentine card too.

Here's the cool Mojo Monday sketch:

For my interpretation of the sketch I used my paper stash to make a double-layer diecut label from the Cricut Storybook cartridge. Bo Bunny Double Dot ribbon conceals the "seam" on the 2 patterned papers which are layered with harlequin check on a 5.5" x 4.25" black card base which was lined with white paper (since the troops don't have white pens.) The red diecut "love note" comes from the Wild Card cart. I stamped the back in white with the OWH logo. The flowers are generic mulberry flowers and ones I diecut with the Cricut Wild Card, self-adhesive Button-Ups make fun centers. Best of all...everything used came from my stash so no shopping required!

Hurry over to Mojo Monday's blog...this is a weekly challenge where you can enter more than one card. Entries must be in by Sunday. The prize is a set of Verve stamps. Have fun!

I wish I could find a partner to share a case of A2 size white envelopes because the $10.99 Staples charges for a measly 100 is a budget buster when one can get 1000 for about $29.00 from the OWH source! Email me if anyone nearby would like to share a case.

Flutter By Weds. Challenge #123 and Copic Creations #35

Click images to enlarge.

This week's theme is all things winged at the Flutter By challenge blog...how fun and "Shading" at Copic Creations! In the spirit of the upcoming Fall season I decided to make a Halloween card and just had to continue using my new Charlotte by Kraftin Kimmie...who by the way, has no wings! No problemo...I just sketched and colored a pair with Copics to make her a cute little winged Halloween creature. This easel card has glittery Stickles outlining the sentiment on the easel card base and on the bat-like wings. I colored the image completely with Copic markers, pop-dotted the ghoulish little girl. This one is a challenge to color both because I used a lot of black coloring technique and the delicate features make bleeding a problem. Next, I plan to try another technique! The background fence is a Magnolia Tilda stamp on Bazzill cardstock, DP paper is a Halloween fav of mine by MME. A few black & grey Prima flowers and black diecuts with buttons & a Recollections metal embellie finish things off nicely.

I'll enter this on Copic Creations latest challenge which is "shading". Please notice how my coloring improved from the earlier Charlotte below (and don't forget to click the images for a larger look.) I don't have many Copics yet but am adding all the time and hope this card works well since it's sponsored by Kraftin Kimmie...my favorite new stamps!! I sure would like to win more, wouldn't you? Hurry over...they're picking the winner for this one on 10/1/10.

My recipe for this little ghoul's complextion is: Copic G50, G63, E50, YR16 (blush)...I just loved experimenting with this look! For the black and shading I used C1, C3, & N7.

7 Kids Challenge #4

**If you're looking in from Copic Creations...I apologize for the goof on my listing. I wasn't happy with the coloring on this card so I made another with you in mind. Please see the real entry for challenge #35 here: Copic Creations Challenge #35 Card.

This challenge was a ball and my first time using my Kraftin' Kimmie Charlotte stamp and an older Magnolia scary fence which I stamped twice on the moon background. You'll notice I rotated my version of the sketch to better work with my design!

My Charlotte easel card is sewn with lots of distressed layers.
I colored Charlotte in Halloween colors with a deadly pale skin tone with green undertones! Eyes & buttons were coated with clear gloss and a tiny bow was added for fun. The Halloween Spooktacular ticket was created by me too!

Hurry over to the 7 Kids Kollege Fund blog to snag a copy of this cool Suzanne Dean sketch and enter your card! My Fall card will be posted under this entry very soon.

Entries will be accepted until Sept. 28th for a cool $20.00 gift cert. to 7 Kids...one of my favs!

To show you how few Copics I used: skin - G20, E50; YR16, clothing - C1, C3, N7, Y21, YR16, YR04, .03 Copic liner (socks). I'm ordering more Copics soon!!

Prickley Pear Rubberstamps

Blogger is misbehaving today so this is my second composition about the terrific things going on at Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. There's a blog hop and new release party with chances to win some pretty amazing blog candy. I entered to win an ornament set with clearstamps and a die...a coordinated set! There's also a trees set of stamps & die...these coordinated set can't be believed and must look at their store here.

I got my OWH stamp yesterday and can mark the back of the cards now! Halloween cards need to arrive by September 20 to make it to our troops for Halloween. In the meantime, I'm keeping fingers crossed for a win and am heading back to my desk to work on more Halloween cards for Operation Write Home.

Flutter By Birthday Greetings & Challenge #120!

HUGE birthday greetings to Danni at Flutter By Wednesday!! Danni's birthday blog candy is unbelievable so be sure to check it out.

My contribution is a surprise pop-up card. Photo 1 shows it closed, the others show it opened, which is done by pulling out the bow-tied tag:


This was a lot of fun and a feat of engineering that I am not accustomed to in cardmaking. I made it from a fun tutorial at Split Coast Stampers. The papers are from K & Co. with 2 vintage Wordsworth clear stamps, the inside greeting is by TPC. I haven't figured out yet how to get a good impression from TPC stamps. I paper pieced the cupcake bottom with Copic markers for the top. A scrap of irridescent blue ribbon was added to the pull-out tag at the top, a few pearls & a mulberry flower with Sultan center by Prima finish things of nicely. My card is a mirror image of the sketch below because of the orientation of the cupcake stamp!

Here's a peek at the cool sketch by Mercy Kerin provided by Flutter By for this special weekly challenge.

* Free Digis for OWH *

Wow...the good things keep coming from OWH! Today, I've been blogging around looking at the cards of others who donate to this worthy organization and came across a link for free digis to use on your OWH cards. Be sure to check out the OWH website free digi page and print yourself some art and get coloring for a good cause!

Friends, email me if you want help!

Happy Friday the 13th!!!

Time to get started on my stash of Christmas cards...I love to make cards but am horrible about getting around to mailing. This year the goal is to make one special card for each of my close family members...we'll see if I succeed!!

Please stop by the first entry for today's twosome of challenges...you can visit All That Scraps. Click the link above to head to ATS, entries due by Tues., 8/17 at 10 p.m.

My easel card was made with vintage, distressed layers of Cosmos Cricket papers, plus a circle of MME thrown in for good measure. It has a wreath of diecut gingerbread men from Cricut's Joy of Christmas cartridge and peppermints stamped from a Sassafrass Lass clear stamp. Punched hearts were added to the gingerbread men. The sentiment is by Martha Stewart. I added a brown dotted ribbon from my stash and popped dotted Magnolia's Cowberry Muffin Tilda to the side of the wreath. Tilda was handcolored with Copic markers. A little Stickles was added to her wings for bling!

My second entry goes for the first time to Scapgirl-Angie for her red/brown easel card challenge. Brown & red is one of my favorite Christmas color combos because it reminds me so much of baking so I just had to play along on this fun challenge. I have done a number of "Baking Memories" scrapbook layouts through the years using the same color scheme and will try to post photos of one soon...better yet, maybe I'll make a new one.

This card is destined for my special little granddaugther, Robin!