OWH Sketch #168

This year, OWH has been collecting sketches from its cardmakers by way of finding great cards on their blogs and asking permission to turn them into sketches.  Cora made the cards that inspired today's Sketch #168.

Paper by KI Memories (Pet Shop), Stamp by SU (Much Appreciated, 2005)

I made a slight change to the size so that the patterned paper was 3x3 instead of 3x3.25.  I wanted to use up some patterned 12x12 papers and not have left over scraps.  I cut up three whole sheets plus a partial sheet I had left from another project.  I made 28 of these cards with various patterns. 

This sketch was fun, easy, and used up paper- a trifecta!  I'll be making a lot more of these, I'm sure.  

This was also a great start to my next OWH box.  Last night, I packed up a box that I'll send on Tuesday.  It has 311 cards and 96 Any Hero notes written by my students.   

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 340 blank and 140 AnyHero (as of 1/7/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

More from the 6x6 paper pad

I spent a few quick minutes in the craft room tonight to make some more cards from my 6x6 paper pad that I started working on over the weekend.

This time, I chose OWH Sketch #67.  It's a simple sketch with two papers, a ribbon, and a tag.  It would actually make a good kit card, I think.

I made 5 with different paper combinations.  All use the same ric rac by Wrights and the same SU stamp from Too Terrific Tags.  I colored the tags with Copics and attached them with brads from my stash that I believe are from Fiskars. 

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Snowman Thanks

I based this card off OWH Sketch #37.   If you try the sketch yourself, please note that the vertical strip is marked 2.5" wide but I found that it looked better much narrower (as it's pictured in the sketch), so I changed it to 1.25" wide. 

This was one of those cards where I got 80% finished and couldn't figure out what to do to finish the card.  I picked the papers, cut the background and strips, stamped the sentiment, and could not decide on an image.  I finally found this snowman from Unity that I'd never inked up.  It was part of a grab bag that I got in the spring so I don't know what it's called. 

I used random supplies from my stash to make 18 kits of this card for my party.  That brings my total to 201 including my samples.  I actually have 18 different designs ready, too! 

Papers: K&Co (floral), Fiskars (pink vines), Making Memories (blue), stash (ivory)
Punch: Tonic
Stamps: Unity (snowman- unknown name), Heidi Swapp (thank you)
Coloring: Copics
Sketch: OWH #37
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Patriotic card kit

Cindy posted that she was looking for ideas for easy card kits for teen boys to put together.  This idea immediately came to mind because it's very hard to do badly and it leaves some room for individual choice. 

First, punch/cut a bunch of stars in coordinating papers.   
I used Graphic 45 A Proper Gentleman papers with Sizzix stars dies and EK success star punches.
Second, glue the stars to background card stock, trimming off any excess that hangs over the edges.  
Kraft looked great with my papers.
Third, emboss the entire card front.
I used The Paper Studio's star folder.
Fourth, add a tag with a sentiment.    
Sentiment by Inkadinkado.  Punch by EK Success (punched twice to achieve the size shown)

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Patriot Day- Remembering 9.11.01

Here are a few patriotic cards I made this week to commemorate 9.11.01.

This card is based off the sketch that Sandy offered up today on the May Arts blog.  

Stamps: Amuse
Papers: K&Co Americana matstack

Brads: Making Memories
Punch: EK Success 3/4" circle
Coloring: Copics

Other: 1960s Singer for sewing

 This card is a kit for my party at the end of the month.  It should be simple enough for anyone to assemble! 

Stamp: ki memories
Ink: Tim Holtz Fired Brick 

Punches: EK Success 3" star and Ek Success for American Girls star border punch
Patterned Paper: DCWV Indian Summer Stack
Cardstock: stash/Tuesday Morning sale

I'm excited that my OWH box is almost full.  The bottom of the large flat rate box is just about stuffed from two rows of cards.  Another 40 or so will fill in the space on top!  I should be able to mail the box before the end of the month.  :)
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

FWF Friday the 13th

Howdy!  Happy Friday the 13th.  I hope you're having a lucky day!

Friday means Friends with Flair, so here's a little Unity to share!  I've been having fun recently with these scrappy quilt backgrounds.  They're easy and a fun way to use some patterns that might be hard to use on a card in larger pieces.  

Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Eco Chic flower and a freebie sentiment)
Papers: DCWV Fall and Halloween Stack 2011, cardstock from stash
Embellishments: MM eyelets
Tools: Crimper, eyelet setter
Coloring: Copics
Other: Curvy rectangles are cut with a Cricut and were received in a swap.  Thanks, Laura! 
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Awash in Washi

I'm always late on the bandwagon for any trend, though I may have succeeded in not being the last person on the face of the planet to use washi.

A few people were posting about the Target washi on the OWH FB page and since I made several more cards with it yesterday, I thought I'd post the group of them here.  The red, green, and blue packs are currently available and contain 4 rolls for $4. The yellow/orange pack has been discontinued but I was lucky enough to happen upon it at a Goodwill store quite by accident. 

The things I like most about washi are that it's quick to use and very easy to remedy a mistake because you can peel it up and reposition it.  These cards took less than 10 minutes each on average. 

This one is my entry for Unity's opportunity challenge to use bright colors.  :)

This card uses the Studio G paper tape available at Walmart for 97 cents a roll.  I don't like it as well as Target's, but I have it, so I should use it!  The designs are cool, but it's just not as nice to work with. 

I hope you can spend a few dollars on a few rolls of washi and have some fun!  If you would like to see other cards I've posted using washi, click the label "washi" at the bottom of this post. 
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 620 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 4/24)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695
Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Dollar Tree inspiration

I was cruising around the Dollar Tree today and I took a stroll down the aisle of patriotic things to see if there was anything I could use on a card.  I've bought wide patriotic ribbon there before to use for AnyHero cards.  Unfortunately, the ribbon they had this time was contaminated with glitter and that's not good for our heroes' safety. 

I did spot a bag of these maze games in a bag of 8 for $1.  They're definitely too thick for letter mail, but I thought they would be cool on AnyHero cards.   I don't know if I can send them to OWH or not because of copyright rules, so once I check on that, I'll write them up.  My box is getting fuller and fuller and I need to make sure I include 5% or more hero mail for the next challenge.  I'm a bit behind in writing it, but I figured these cards would be a good start.  If I can't use them for Hero Mail, I'll swap out the sentiment for a 4th of July one and send them to my own friends.  In padded envelopes.  :)

Star stamps: SU
Sentiment: Amuse Studios
Cardstock: from stash
Maze: from Dollar Tree

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 620 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 4/24)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695
Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Thank you!

This week's OWH Midweek Throwdown is to make a card with a "thanks" theme.  I used a Karen Foster rub-on as my sentiment.  The embellishment is felt ribbon from Target (found in the giftwrap section at Christmas time) studded with brads by Making Memories.

Thank you, blog readers, for your continual kind words when you leave comments.  You often are a big bright spot in my day, even if we've never met. 

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 620 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 4/24)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695
Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

OWH Sketch 70

 Hi there.  Time for another OWH Sketch.  This is number 70.  I'm getting through them pretty well at this point with over 100 completed this year.  I would love to be caught up by the time summer vacation rolls around, if not sooner.  That way, I can work through them again!

I love these papers from MME.  I've said it already, but I've been having such fun with them over the past few days.  The papers look especially good with distressing, I think.  The sentiment is from Unity and was my freebie when I placed an order during their warehouse sale last month. 

I'm entering this card in Unity's May Challenge to use stripes.  :) 
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 620 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 4/24)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695 Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

OWH Sketch #90

I got home to triple trouble in my mailbox on Monday: Copics, my Lawn Fawn prize from the OWH Make 'Em Laugh Bloghop, and a prize from Sassy that I won in the Perfect Sentiments National Scrapbooking Day Bloghop.  Is it my lucky week or what?  Needless to say, I had to spend a little time in the craft room that evening to play with something new.

This card is my version of OWH Sketch #90, made with papers from My Mind's Eye that Sassy sent me.  These papers are such great colors and patterns for masculine cards.  :)  I colored these brads with my Copics so the blue would match a bit better  The stamp is by Hampton Arts.  

Thanks, Sassy!  I had a lot of fun playing with these new papers.  Lots more to come, I'm sure! 
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 620 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 4/24)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695
Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Another "almost" sketch

 

Here's another "almost" sketch for you.  I started off with the burgundy paper as my background.  I knew it needed very little embellishment because it was interesting paper that I didn't want to hide.  I saw that Sketch #85 was designed to let the patterned paper show, so I went with it.  But the banner didn't look right where it was meant to go and I was too lazy to get up to use my Cuttlebug, so I wanted to stick with an oval punch.  I rotated the card, slid the banner piece to the plain part of the patterned paper, added a rub-on, and called it Sketch #85.  Inspiration is what counts, right?    

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 620 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 4/24)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695 Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Purple flower thank you

I got some purple markers and decided to try them out on this card.  While purple is my favorite color, I have a hard time using it in my crafts because I think the different shades of purple are hard to coordinate.

I colored the flower stamp (a very old one from Dollar Tree), stamped the sentiment (Hampton Arts), and added bling.  While the bling appears blue, it is actually purple.  The fancy cut is a Cricut cut from a swap.   I layered the green paper (K & Co) with the purple cardstock (Recollections), punched the top edge with a Fiskars punch, and wove hem tape in for my bow. 

Thanks for visiting!  
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 620 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 4/24)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695 Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Sybrina's Challenge- "Sister" patriotic cards

Sybrina challenged us to make two patriotic cards.  She dubbed these "sister" cards.  One should be an AnyHero card and the other should be for the heroes to write home on.  I used K & Co papers for both of my cards.  I love this series of papers and embellishments and stocked up sufficiently last summer so I should be able to make cards like these for a while.

I also used "sister" sketches #74 and #75 on these cards.   "Thank you" is from a Hampton Arts set.  "America" is from an Amuse set I won on OWHtv. 
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 620 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 4/24)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695 Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.

Swap card #1 and OWH Sketch #116

A FB group I belong to called "Scrap to Treasure" often has a swap (or two or three) going for paper crafting goodies.  I've never played along with any until I decided to host my own patterned paper swap.  Who doesn't have too much paper?  And who doesn't like getting some new papers to play with?  It seemed like a great plan.

I have several kits from the swap and I grabbed one at random tonight as my challenge.  This kit is from Sandi.  It included all the papers you see except the black cardstock.  The blue and blue circles are from the same two-sided sheet of paper.   I added the brads as well.  I loved the papers in this kit.  I would love to have Sandi pick my papers all the time- these went together so well but I don't think I would have put them together on my own! 

This is also my contribution for Sketch #116.  I've been behind for the past two months or so on getting the weekly sketches done.  I must get back on track!  This weekend, I'm going to make sure to do the sketch before church. 


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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 302 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 3/4)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Faux Leather Tutorial

I gave the Faux Leather Tutorial Kris offered a try this week.  I like the look, but I'm wondering if I did something wrong.  When I heat embossed the sheet, the tape curled up in some places.  Did anyone else have this problem?  I wonder if I need to use a better brand of tape.  What I used was from a discount store. 

 

I used Martha Stewart copper ink for the background, random cardstock for the solid colors.  Stamps by Studio G and ki memories.  Border punch by Fiskars.

I'm sending this card to thank a couple for their hospitality recently.  I think I'll make some of these for Father's Day with a different image and sentiment. 

CASE of Jennifer McGuire's blog skip card

OWH hosted a CAS skip today and Jennifer McGuire of Hero Arts was one of the bloggers. Her card inspired a lot of CASE action on the OWH FB page and I decided to join in the fun. I love the "graph paper" background that she used. I don't have any and didn't think my school graph paper would be an appropriate substitute, so I used this blue checked paper by Pebbles, Inc. The other papers are from the same line.

The stamp is from Hampton Arts clear stamps "Mom and Dad" set. The corner punch and label punch are both by EK Success. The snap is by Making Memories.


Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: none thus far, but my box is filling up nicely!
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Making Memories Thanks

I made a pair of these quick cards with Making Memories patterned papers, Offray ribbon, and a SU stamp. The shippers always need more thank you cards!



Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: none thus far, but my box is filling up nicely!
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Hambo Hoedown #42

Here's Hambo's little digi- Wee Henry with Turkey! He was a freebie for those of us who played along in last week's challenge. I just got this one in on time. I forgot about it yesterday when I was crafting and saw the digis today and knew I had to get cracking so as to keep up and not miss a week! I paired the digi up with some DCWV cardstock and patterned paper and some We R Memory Keepers twine. It's a simple card, in keeping with my usual style. :)

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 10/20/11): 1642

Veterans' Day 2011

Today is Veterans' Day and across the USA, people are commemorating the bravery and sacrifice made by our nation's veterans. In that spirit, I wanted to share a card I made this evening.


I used the bargello technique to make the background of the card. (I could swear that I first saw this on OWH Stars and Stamps but I cannot find the post! I seem to remember a card with a blue background and a fish focal as the focal point.)

Anyway, all the patterned papers and the flag embellishment are from the K&Co Americana line. I love that line! I removed the back layer of foam from the flag and layered it on black so it would stand out more against the patterned papers. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up All Natural (long ago retired) and the die cut is a scallop circle nestability from Spellbinders.

Happy Veterans' Day!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 10/20/11): 1642