Sketch Challenge for Stars and Stamps Blog

Happy Wednesday.

Operation Write Home, in addition to its news blog, has a crafting blog called Stars and Stamps. The Sketch challenge for this week is #14 provided by Shirley Swoope:

I used this Sketch to make "Such a Garden Angel".

Materials List:

• Stamps: Garden Angel - Rubbernecker Stamps; If the Halo Fits Set (Sentiment) and Polka Dots & Paisley- Stampin' Up
• Burgundy CS
• Decorative Paper - Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday Collection
• Blush Blossom CS- Stampin' Up for the tags
• Offray Ribbon
• Die Cut Tags: Tags, Scallop Combo #2 from Sizzix
• Eyelet Punch - Stampin' Up
• Inks: Memento- Tuxedo Black and New Sprout; SU- Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Blush Blossom, Creamy Caramel; Marvy - Pale Violet

I stamped both Tags with the background stamp (using Blush Blossom ink)from the Polka Dots set. Then I stamped the angel in black and water colored it. I distressed the edges with New Sprout ink. Here is a detail of the tag.

Because this card will be sent to Operation Write Home, I will put a liner on the inside so that a service person can write a nice long letter to a loved one.

I Hope you are having a great day. I has been cold here. I am waiting for it to warm up a little today so I can get out there and work on the garden. Still a ton of work to do......

Karen

Even More Cards for Operation Write Home

Hi Friends,

I am posting a couple more cards from the bunch I made that went out on Friday to Operation Write Home. I have been making cards like crazy but, I think I have enough done for now. I will also be attending a card making event for OWH hosted by Suzanne Everett on May 22. We will get together and make cards to send to OWH. Should be a lot of fun! So back to the cards for today. On the first two, I used stamps from My Favorite Things. I heat embossed and watercolored the images. And then added some pretty papers. The sentiment is from Stampin'Up.

The Hey Cupcake Stamp is from Lizzie Anne Designs. I stamped it on the CS and then again on different colors of CS and cut out. Then glued it all back together on the first stamped image. Markers were used to color the sprinkles. I embossed a piece of decorative paper and used a punch on the edge.

Well, I had better get going. Lots of work around the house to get done
Have a super day!

Karen

Earth Day

Hey Friends

In honor of Earth Day I thought I would share some photos of my little chuck of the earth. Lately, I have been working on the garden spring clean up. I just started on the back yard today. I finished the front yard Tuesday. My friend, Reem and I went out and picked up some really cool garden ornaments Wednesday from J&L Statuary (Redford Twp., MI). They have such neat stuff. And they make it all themselves--Made In The USA!!!

In the garden, lots of things are really starting to grow like crazy. The hostas are really growing.

Beautiful Tulips and statue from J&L Statuary.

Pansies and bunnies (from J&L).

Look at this flower. Is it beautiful?!

More hostas.

Grape Hyacinths, lily of the valley, and hostas

Hydrangea and hosta bed, cement pineapple from J&L.

As you can see, I still have tons of work to do in the back yard. Good thing I like to garden. LOL. Hope you enjoyed a tour of my garden. I think I will add more photos as things change in the garden. Have a lovely day!

Karen

A Few More Cards for Operation Write Home

Hi Crafters,

I thought I would post a few cards from the box that I will be sending out this week to Operation Write Home. I used stamps from Endless Creations and sentiments from My Sentiments Exactly!. I also used a large scallop oval punch from Giga and my Cuttlebug to do the embossing.

The Cross Hatch Background stamp is from Sweet and Sassy Stamps.

The "I love you dearly" stamp is from Anna Griffin.

I used a Sizzix to die cut the the larger scallop oval on the card below.

The cards are all A2 size, because that is the size Operation Write Home likes best. They fit perfectly in the shipping boxes. Father's Day deadline is May 15th. There is still time to get some cards made.

So, that's about all for today. My garden Spring clean up continues and there is still lots to do!! Have a super day.

Karen

Projects from Florida Trip

Hello Friends,

Today I have photos from the Florida Trip. Chris and I had a blast hanging out with her Mom, Elaine and all the women in her stamping group. Here they all are.

Left to right: Gyda, Judie, Elaine, Chris, Katie, and Bonnie. (I am taking the picture, of course.) This bunch of girls really knows how to have fun! And, they welcomed me right into the group. What a fabulous group of ladies. I will share the projects we made. The first is a piece of wall art measuring 8" x 10" made on a canvas board. Elaine and Bonnie collaborated on this project. This piece was made with- and you won't believe it- duct tape!

Fab, right?!!! Yes, it is duct tape. The shinny kind. And, we used alcohol inks to add all that color. We all got together at Bonnie's house and made this project on Saturday. On Sunday, we all got together at Katie's house for lunch, a birthday celebration (Elaine's), and some yummy carrot cake courtesy of Bonnie. At Katie's we made two beautiful cards.

And, here is a close up of the accent:

Katie made all the sarcophagi from clay. So cool!!

Chris and I did manage to get to the pool each day - in between crafting of course. I also would like to add a big THANK YOU to Elaine and Dan for inviting me into their home and making me feel so welcome. You are a couple of sweeties!!

Well, the yard work is waiting. I have to get out and do all the Spring clean up stuff. I guess I had better get to work. Hope everyone is having a great day.

Karen

Challenge At Impression Obsession

Hi Everyone. I am back from Florida. We had such a great time, but more about that later. I will be posting photos in the next few postings. So stay tuned. But, today is challenge day over at the Impression Obsession blog. The theme is: "Your High School Colors". Now, fortunately, I do remember my school colors. They were navy and white. So here is the card I made. And, the card is called "The Mannequin Blues". I used Impression Obsession's Rose Hips from the Alesa Baker collection. The card is made and layered with Night of Navy from Stampin' Up. I used Night of Navy ink too. Then I added some white brads and a white sheer ribbon. The paper under the stamped piece was made by smearing ink on a plastic bag ( or a craft sheet if you have one) and spritzing with water. Then just rub a piece of card stock in the ink. ( This is a technique I learned from Chris' Mom, Elaine, while we were in Florida.) Well, that's about it for today. Saturday I'm off to an all day card making event with Suzanne Everett. And, that should be a blast. Keep on stampin'!!
Hope everyone is having a great day!
Karen

Operation Write Home Cards

I have been working on some more cards for Operation Write Home. Father's day deadline is May 15. There is still lots of time to make a bunch of cards for that. Today, I will post two of the cards I made for OWH. Then I will be away on a short vacation on the 9th - the 14th. I am going to Florida with my Stamping Buddie Chris. We will be hooking up with Chris' Mom and Mom's stamping buddies. Should be lots of fun!! And, I will hopefully have photos for you when I get back. I am told that Chris' Mom's stamp collection is to die for. Can't wait to check it out!!
This card was made using Very Vanilla Craft Ink (pigment). Stamp the image ( Inspired by Nature from Stampin' Up) on colored paper for the best effect. And color the image with chalks. Very Easy!

The next card was made using one of the Operation Write Home sketches. I stamped with Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up) Ink. Stamps are: Giraffe Post from Coronado Island Stamps and African Tiles from Magenta. The giraffe paper was repurposed from a gift bag.

Well, that's about it for now. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave some love (aka: a comment). Hope everyone has a great week and I'll see you when I get back from from Florida!

Karen

Happy April!! The weather here is fab. So nice and warm. All the plants are starting to poke through the ground. Today is Thursday and that means challenge day over at Impression Obsession. And the theme is Mother's Day. And, as I mentioned in my early post, I have been having fun with the "Life is Tweet" clear set. Here is the card I made for the challenge.

The card is made from Barely Banana CS (Stampin' Up). I stamped the Bird Cages on a busy decorative paper with black pigment ink. The image was embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I added a frame, some rick rack and embellishments. I stamped the sentiment with hot pink and rounded the corners. This is a pretty quick card and I made a bunch of them to give to all by buddies.

Hope your day is super,

Karen