Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge

I have 2 different cards for OWH sketch #142.  I've been busy making a lot of Christmas cards so I can get my box mailed out and I liked this sketch and wanted to get it in. 

This card uses HOTP Winter Delights paper pack - I really like the soft colors with the pop of red.  I have 3 ribbons across the top: white grosgrain is topped with a plastic mesh, sparkly ribbon (nothing rubs off) and then teal baker's twine.  I bought all the ribbons from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  I also used Zing embossing powder and Candi.  Stamp is HOTP.

The second card has a very different look to it.  These papers are from Christmas Splendor paper pack also from HOTP.  I picked these papers to enter the Paper Wishes Message Board October Color Challenge of red and brown.  I matted all the papers with ivory cardstock from Winart and ivory ribbon from RRR.  I added Zva Creative champagne bling to this card and backed the sentiment with gold mirror paper.

If you've never checked out Really Reasonable Ribbon, I recommend you do so.  They have a great selection and their customer service is terrific.  I've made several orders and each time the estimated shipping has been high and the difference was refunded to me - pretty unusual since most places have flat rate shipping that often seems a tad high.

Thanks for stopping by; as always I'd love to read whatever you want to write!

Fun with Templates!

I recently received my October Paper Wishes Template Personal Shopper.  This month the template was the Christmas Gift Card Holder, because I subscribe to the Personal Shopper program, I get the template, papers and a newsletter with sample projects and instructions. 

 There was also a recent webisode which demo'ed the template and had more samples.  Because most of the cards I make are for Operation Write Home, I had to downsize the cards so they would be A2 size.  I made the mitten, snowman and tree as the gift card holders, but I also wanted to expand their use.  This is a card I made using the mitten:

I also played with the mitten template and was able to make a mitten shaped card:

The Stickles really sparkled in person.  For both cards, I cased the HOTP design - I would never have put blue snowflake paper with green plaid, but they look great together.




There was quite a bit of paper left over when I was done, so I decided to play with another template I just got the Christmas Iris Folding Template.  I made the snowflake using 3 different snowflake papers by HOTP and a scrap piece of white glitter paper for the iris.  This ended up being a 6x6 card; I framed the snowflake with paper cut from Spellbinder's dies added white, then blue ribbon on the bottom.  The sentiment is a sticker.  As a final touch, I sprayed the whole thing with Crafter's Companion Spray and Sparkle Silver; it added a wonderful touch to the finished card!

 As always, thanks for stopping by!

Operation Write Home World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop

 

Welcome, welcome, welcome!  I am very excited to have you stop by as part of the OWH blog hop.  This hop is a little different - I won't be linking you to anyone else but you can click the badge above to go back to the OWH page for more great Christmas cards.

The wonderful folks at OWH wanted us to tell our readers why we make cards for the troops.  For me, that is easy - I've been a deployed troop (actually, Sailor) away from my husband and 4 kids and know how important it is to have contact with home and to remember all the special days in a family's life.  OWH is a great way to help others who go into harm's way keep their families' close.

 Please consider helping by making cards or making a donation at the OWH website to help with postage.  I am busy making Christmas cards that have to be to the shipper by Halloween!

This is a simple shaker card using a Heartfelt Creations stamp and coordinating die.  It was actually very quick and easy to do and has a lot of shine without glitter.

Thanks for stopping by, I'd love it if you left comments!

I'm back and with my first tutorial

Sorry it has been so long.  My illnesses and life make everything a challenge!  Not that anyone else has a challenging life LOL.

Today I will be showing how to make a triangle or "tee pee" card.  I first learned how to do this at my friend's LSS, Inspired Designs.  It is a very simple card to make.  Since this is my first tut, any and all constructive feedback is more than welcome!

Supplies needed:
Patterned paper - I used Winter Delights from HOTP
Cardstock - my PP is lightweight so I needed cardstock for a base layer so the card would stand.
1 sheet green glitter paper
1 small piece of hook and loop tape
Embellishments as desired.

1.  Cut 3 each of 4x4" cardstock and 3 5/8x 3 5/8" PP 

2.  I also cut 3 4x4" of green glitter cardstock.  Using my cutter I cut a 1/2" border all around.  This is an optional step, but I usually cut out the centers of my layers and put the rest in my scraps folder.

3.  Assemble the 3 layers as shown.  The 3 completed pieces need to be scored on the diagonal.  I use a MS score board and you can see the line I drew with a Sharpie down the 6" channel.  I use this to line up my papers for diagonal scoring - it makes it quick and easy for me.

4.  Put one piece face down on your work surface with the diagonal placed vertically and apply tape where shown.  I used score tape so you could see.  Normally I would use my ATG; just make sure the adhesive is strong.

5.  Attach the other 2 pieces as shown.  It is important to line up the pieces and insure the diagonal lines are going in the right direction.  In the photo I have made the diagonal lines black and inked the edges red for clarity.  Make sure you butt the 2nd and 3rd pieces up to the score line of your first piece.

6.  The assembled pieces should look like this:

7.  Apply the hook and loop tape.  Keep the tape together and apply one side to the upper left hand corner on the back of your card (hard to see in the photo).  Fold the card into place and adhere the second piece of tape on the right front of the card as shown.  If you kept the tape together it will match up perfectly.

8.  The completed, standing card.

To embellish the card I used HOTP pointsettias and a red gem brad from my stash.  The sentiment is HOTP embossed with Judikins white EP.  I used Nellie's eastern rectangle to cut the sentiment and glitter paper, layered them and adhered with foam tape.

To mail:  unhook the tape and fold the card flat - it will fit into a 5x6 1/2" envelope.

Thanks for stopping by - and remember I love comments!

Christmas Cards All Year Round Challenge

Christmas Cards All Year Round Challenge for August is to make cards with snowflakes. I've already posted one card here and these cards are the other four to be eligible for the prize!





Papers are from DCWV, label is a Nestabilities and the stamp and the glitter domes are from HOTP. I edged the card with a Krylon Silver leafing pen. I'm still getting used to the idea that black can be a Christmas color!









This is a simple card that looks much better "in-person". Papers are again DCWV and I added Stickles in the center of the snowflakes.










For this card all products are from HOTP. Looking at it now, it seems I forgot to crop it - Sorry!
















Last, but not least is another card using HOTP products. I'm having a hard time with pictures of cards that have shiny elements like the "glassine envelope" on this card. I've put on my Christmas wishlist a new camera, I'll have to wait and see if Santa thinks I'm a good girl. LOL



All of these cards are in the Operation Write Home box! I'm going to have to start making some for my friends and family...

Again, thanks for stopping by! Hope the rest of your weekend is terrific.

365 Cards Challenge

365 Cards Day 160 challenge was to make a card with the following recipe:

5x5 Card
2 3x3 patterned papers
Sentiment
2 images (stamped, fussy cut, digi, whatever)
2 Buttons
4 Blossoms

I seem to be late to a lot of challenges as this site added a new element to the card design each day and I got in on the last day. Anyway, here's my interpretation of the recipe:
The papers are DCWV, the trees and sentiment are a new set by Fancy Pants Design I just got and the pointsettias are Making Memories which I have had in my stash for a while. They are almost gone which makes me sad. I colored the trees with Smooch - it's hard to see, but it gives a wonderful shimmer.

Thanks for looking!

Mid Week Throwdown - Operation Write Home

My second challenge entry today is the Mid Week Throwdown for OWH. The challenge was Christmas in July. Again the papers are DCWV, the stamp is from HOTP. I colored the reindeer with Copics, but the rest is my new Smooch! Let me know what you think!

Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge #27

I'm definitely coming late to the party, but I recently discovered Operation Write Home which is a group of crafters who make cards to send to deployed troops from all services to facilitate keeping in touch with friends and family. I think this is just AWESOME! When I was deployed, we didn't have this, but it would have been terrific if we had. We did get "any soldier/sailor" letters which were always a lot of fun to read.

Anyway, this is the sketch created by Martha, her blog is: Peachy Papercrafting.

And this is my version of the sketch:
The papers are DCWV, Bazzill cardstock and stamps from HOTP. I just got Smooch and I highlighted the tree with it - I'm already in love with Smooch! I have 10 colors and may just have to paint my dog, Nugget.

If you haven't already, please check out Operation Write Home and if you can help out with this wonderful effort - go for it!

I am thrilled to have gained new followers in the last week! Thank you so much! As always, thanks for coming by and I look forward to your comments.

Christmas in July Challenges

Another down day at home but more time to play! Mary from Purrfect Sentiments always tells me I should join more challenges, so here is another. PaperCutz Challenge this week was a Christmas card using no red or green. Fussy and Fancy and No Time To Stamp were general Christmas in July themes. Here is my entry. The paper is from DCWV, and the adorable penguin stamp set is Be Naughty from Firecracker Designs . I double stamped the snowballs, used foam tape for added dimension and Twinklette pens to give the penguin and the large snowflake some shine!

Christmas time

Well, Christmas is fast approaching - after 47 of them, you would think I would catch on that it happens every year at this time! I have been busy making cards and some gifts. This first card was for the monthly swap at the Paper Wishes message board. These papers are from their Christmas Busy Scrapper's solution book. I love the oomph teabag folding gives to a card. It is a fun card because of the gate folding and the top flap.





I made these two star boxes -the first shaped objects I've worked on. They were easy in my mind while I was planning them, but not so easy to actually make. However, I do think the finished products are cute. Again the papers are from Paper Wishes.


I'm behind on my scrap booking, I haven't done a page in months. Scrapping came before card making, but cards are definitely quicker! I'm going to make a New Year's resolution to do at least 5 pages a month. I don't want it to become a chore, but I think I need to build the time into my schedule so I'll be able to work on those projects. One of my boy's brought his girlfriend home from college for Thanksgiving and it was really fun to pull out one of the completed albums and show her (and embarrass him - but that's what moms are for :)).

Life has been challenging in general the last month as well. My father died on "black Friday" and his passing brought up a lot of family issues to work through. My husband recently lost his job and with it our health insurance! So, I'm trying to add more time to my work as a clinical social worker, but that is pretty tough due to some physical limitations. I keep on telling myself we'll get through all of this - and I know my family and me will. All of life's challenges give me a great reason to work on my crafts though because it is such a great stress reliever