Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge #75 Happy Halloween!

 
OK... I'm going to admit it... .  This was a really hard card for me.  I couldn't get my head around the stripes... .I kept picking out a pretty paper for the background and getting mad because those stripes kept covering it up.  I was up until way past midnight until I finally got a lightbulb over my head and came up with this Halloween card.  It's probably not too early to start thinking about fall and holiday cards to start making to send to the troops - especially if you're going to make a bunch like me!

I'm really happy with how this one turned out.   The bright colors and the die cut mask in glitter paper (not the kind that will flake off)  give it that perfect little shimmer for that Halloween magic.  I'm looking forward to seeing what everybody came up with!  This was a great challenge to keep me on my toes!

Supplies used:
Patterend Paper - Basic Grey
Stamp and rectange die cuts - Just Rite Stampers
Mask Die Cut:  Quickutz

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #53 - Week of June 25, 2011

I was so excited that I made it into the final 3 in the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge last week!  Thanks you for the positive response!  I've been scrapping and card making for years, but the blog is new to me and I am still learning.  I promised myself that I would be true to myself and make things that appeal to me.  I am thrilled that you like my creations and appreciate your comments encouraging me to try new things and step outside of my comfort zone.

I have to say I really love a challenge - it keeps me on my toes.  This one is the Challenge of the week from Waltzingmouse.  I really tend to be influenced by the colors of nature that surround me.  I am a gardener and my garden is in full bloom so you're probably going to see lots of colors until the seasons change. 

My daughter graduated from high school this month so I thought I would make the challenge card especially for her.  And even though she is 18 and has outgrown lots of things - like "girl's night" with mom - she is still in love with the color pink!  And even though we don't paint each others toe nails - she is still my STAR!  I hope she SHINES in college when she starts this August!

I wanted to keep the lines clean.  I embossed the star and the pennants - I think this gives the most complete ink coverage and maximum color. 

I hope you like my card!  I had lots of fun making it and I have to admit - maybe I like pink too!

Materials used:
Stamps:  Waltzingmouse Seasons of Love Tags, Bitty Banners, Gingham & Co.
Border Punch: Fiskars  Corner Punch:  Stampin Up!
Embossing Powder:  ZING Gold, Apricot, Metallic Purple - Adirondack Wild Plum
Paper:  Coordinations White Wash and Textured
Ink:  Momento Lilac Posies, Ranger / Tim Holtz Antique Linen

Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge #74

Here's the Operation Write Home Sketch  Challenge for the week!

I saw alot of feminine cards submitted on the blog page http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/
and thought I would do one for the boys!

I really like participating in the sketch challenge for three good reasons.....

1.  It gets me to try new card layouts

2.  When I'm all finished I have one more card in my box that I am filling up to send off to OWH

3.  I get to use up scraps of all that pretty paper I've been hanging on to.  The requested card size of 4.25 x 5.5 is perfect for piecing.

If I get a good response on the card I always make a few more because once it's already thought out making a few more is always easy.  And chances are good that I still have everything I exprimented with coming up with the card still scattered all around my craft room.   Sometimes it looks like a tornado went whipping through the room - my poor dog - she can always walk into the room but alot of the time she has to back out since there is no room to turn around.

I was originally going to make one for the girls and one for the guys but I am running out of time.  I was having some computer issues that ate up most of my day (been there done that right?)Hope you like this one!

Supplies Used:

Patterend Paper:  K& Co.  Addison

Stamp:  Just Rite Custom Design Cardmaking Kit

Dies:  Spellbinders Lotus Pendant, Circles

Ink:  Momento:  Rich Cocoa, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Antique Linen

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge 52 - June 18, 2011 Round Card Little Lady

This is the first time I am participating in the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge.  If you want to play along - check out the details at ........ 

http://waltzingmousesketchchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/06/challenge-52june-18-2011-year-of.html

Instructions were easy....

This week we were able to choose one of the sketches from the previous 51 and make it our own.  I chose WMSC11 because I've never made a circular card before.  I thought  this would be a fun way to try it!

I wanted to do a westen theme because I love the Back in the Saddle Set.  This is a card I would send to a girlfriend just to say hi!  Kind of a western take on the whole "hey girlfriend" thing!

I love all the little "accents" Claire has in her sets - alot of them look vintage, but to me they also have a western feel.  I chose this accent from the Vintage Labels 4 set to frame my sentiment.

A little bit of sparkle with glitter eyelets, glass beads, a silver charm and a little rhinestone were thrown in to appeal to the ladies, but I also added a little twine to keep with the western ranch theme.

I hope you like it!  I had alot of fun making it but it was a real tricksy to photograph - it kept wanting to roll away!!!!

Supplies used:

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse Back in the Saddle, accent is Waltzingmouse Vintage Labels 4 

Patterened Paper:  K&Co. Wild Saffron

Dies:  Spellbinders Grand Circles, Grand Scalloped Circles

Glitter Large Eyelets - We R Memory Keepers
Butterfly Punch:  Martha Stewart

Ink:  Momento Rich Cocoa, Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Broken China, Vintage Photo, and Antique Linen

CR84FN Challenge 32

I'm playing along this week in the CR84FN Color Challenge of Teal, Green and Yellow.  I have to admit Mona Pendleton, the owner/administrator of CR84FN and the http://cupcakescreations.blogspot.com website has had me "California Dreamin'" lately.  She posted some photos from her recent vacation and fabulous honeymoon and I couldn't help but get lost!!!  Talk about eye candy!

I got to thinking about an beach get away and before you know it this is what I had......

I tried to add a little shimmer by using glitter paper, and foil paper on the sea accents.  The rhine stones reminded me of pieces of polished sea glass, and the organza ribbon accent a nod to sea foam from the waves.

I hope you like it!

Products Used:
"Wish You Were Here" Stamp - Catslifepress.com
Martha Stewart Deco Fans Border Punch

Patterened Paper:  K& Company Abriannna  & Blue Glass Collection

Die Cuts:  SPellbinders Floral Doily Motifs, Circles,  Seashells Cuttlebug, Coral Cricut "Life's A Beach"

Ink:  Momento: Rich Cocoa,  Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink:  Broken China, Mustard Seed, Antique Linen, Crushed Olive

Waltzingmouse June Blog Hop - 4th of July

 Welcome to the June Blog Hop for Waltzingmouse Stamps!!! 

Claire is giving a hat's off salute to the good old red, white, and blue and celebrating the 4th of July All AMERICAN Style!!!!

I couldn't resist using the Vintage Banners because they remind me of a parade and all the swags that decorate front porches and floats.
Most of us will be celebrating with friends and family enjoying a parade in the morning, lunch of BBQ and Lemonade, and a trip to
the carnival and evening fireworks.

This is the perfect stamp set for any party theme.

I tried to capture the fireworks by using little glass beads on the ties, sparkly red and blue, paper, and a little extra bling of glitter in the patterened paper.  I love the vintage look of the fancy tags which tie in perfectly with the old time banners.

The actual card is made of simple kraft paper - on the inside I added a quote from the Declaration of Independence  and a Happy 4th of July sentiment.  I hope you like it!

Supplies Used:
Waltzingmouse Stamps:  Vintage Banners and Fancy Phrases
Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Collection Union Square "Favorite"
Spellbinders DIes:  Fancy Tags Two, Fancy Tags, Nested Pennants
Ink:  Momento Rhubarb Stalk, Danube Blue,  Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Antique Linen
Border Punch: Fiskars

Operation Write Home Tutorial : STARBURST

Shannan gave us a tutorial on the STARBURST pattern on the OWH Blog and I fell in love with the quilt look her card had.  It would have been really easy to copy hers because she used so many great colors and patterns that I love, but I wanted to challenge myself by making mine a little different so I came up with an "All American" theme of red, white and blue and made it an appreciation card.

What a great way to use up all those scraps of left over patterned paper that I can't bare to part with!!!  This card was alot of fun and I really like how it turned out.  I am sure I will be using this starburst pattern again and again. 

I'm still working around that no glitter policy by adding in a touch of foil on the tag to make it stand out.

Supplies used:
Patterned Paper:  K& Company, Blue denim paper Coordinations
Die:  Verve American Hero Set
Dies:  Spellbinders Nested Stars, Fancy Tags Three
Ink:  Momento Rich Cocoa, Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Fired Brick, Faded Jeans, Pumice Stone, Antique Linen

Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge #73

I wanted to play along with Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge #73.   This is a great way to experiment with a different style card and pack one more in that box I have in the corner that I am filling up with cards to ship off to OWH.  

I made a "Thinking of You" card with lots of butterflies, with a pearl and organza ribbon embellishment. Just enough to give it a little special sparkle, but not too much to make it bulky in the mail.

 I love this color blue/ turquoise with brown.  It reminds me of sand and ocean - and fun times at the beach.  I hope you like it!

Materials Used:

Patterened Paper:  K& Company WIld Saffron Collection

Stamp:  Just Rite from Custom Design Card Making Kit

Punch:  Martha Stewart Deep Edge Butterfly, Border Punch Fiskars

Die:  Petite Scalloped Circle Spellbinders

Ink:  Momento Rich Cocoa  Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Walnut, Antique Linen, and Broken China

Liebster Blog Award

A couple weeks ago I was tagged by Cyndie at http://artfulhaven.blogspot.com/ for the Liebster Blog Award. This is exciting because my blog is new and it was really nice to be noticed. 
The Liebster Blog Award was started in order to give some exposure to smaller blogs (less than 300 followers--I certainly qualify for that!).   I wanted to post a "Thank You" card for Cyndie for being so sweet!! 

I put a little crystal on the bow to add ink distressed the edges with black soot ink to add to the vintage look of the card.

Supplies Used
Stamp:  Waltzingmounse Back in the Saddle
Paper: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Collection Union Square "Home Sweet Home", Madison Avenue "Cherish" Pintuck Paper, Union Square "Perfect" Damask Print
Border Punch:  Martha Stewart
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black,  Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Black Soot

Operation Write Home Mid Week Challenge - Thanksgiving (For Waltzingmouse CASE Challenge Scroll Down)

Operation Write Home mid-week challenge was a Thanksgiving Card.  I'm new to OWH and have found it a litte difficult to keep my card size down - I'm used to a 6x6 or 5x7 card - but I am getting the hang of it!!  The second most difficult thing for me is the "no glitter" policy.  I am working around that by using paper with shimmer (like the red and gold solid paper) and foil accents (like the K&Co. leaf pattern paper in the background).  I'm still working on keeping things "low profile".  I wanted to put a bow on top, but cut back to a gold snap to keep my card flatter.

I have also set a goal to try to use material I already have on hand.  I know so many of us are "collectors" of beautiful paper, stamps and embellishments, and a new project is always a great excuse to go and buy more, but I'm really trying to be more frugal these days.  That explains the "snap" I used - if you don't have any of these in your old stash of supplies a  brad will do just as well.

Although I admit it was a little off at first to be thinking fall and Thanksgiving at the beginning of summer, it is a good way to "jump start" your holiday cards.  Fall will be here before you know it - it is nice to have a little inspiration and see what everybody is up to early this year!  I hope you like my card!

Products Used:

Patterned Paper:  K&Co.

Stamps:  Autumn Harvest by TPC Studio

Dots by Studio G

Die Cuts:  Tag:  Cuttlebug  Classic Ovals: Spellbinders

Embossing Plate:  Sizzix Lovely Flourish Textures

Ink:  Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Scattered Straw  Momento:  Potter's Clay

Ribbon:  Harvest Home Collection Michaels Stores

Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge #72

  
Operation Write Home supports our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.
Crafters of all ages and levels of experience have participated since 2007...and are on the way to a landmark one MILLION cards!  This is their weekly sketch challenge for June 5, 2011.



I started with some Paper Studio camouflage paper I bought at Hobby Lobby, and added linen print paper from K&Co.'s Boy Scouts of America Collection.   I chose the sentiment "Special Delivery" because I know that any letter from our loved ones is always welcome and a "special" treasured momento - their written words to us - something we can hold on to.  

Here's my card....
 
Products used:
Paper:  Paper Studio Camouflage, K&Co. BSA Collection Linen
Die: Quickutz
Stamp - Special Delivery Just Rite Stampers
Ink:  Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Burlap, Forest Moss - Momento Tuxedo Black

Waltzingmouse CASE (COPY AND SHARE EVERYTHING) Competition

Directions for the Waltzingmouse CASE Competition are easy.....  Find a card or project from any of the projects posted over the past few days by the WMS Design Team, CASE that project using Waltzingmouse Stamp images, and link it to the Waltzingmouse blog post. At the end of the competition, one project will be randomly selected to be highlighted with a Parade of its own on several of the Design Team blogs.

Selecting which designer you want to CASE is the hard part - there are so many great ones to choose from!!!  When I saw Tosha Leyendekker's design - I knew that was the one for me.  I love the banner and the vintage look of the design.  You can see Tosha's design at the bottom of this post.

This is my version of Tosha's design.   I gave her design a twist by adding LOTS OF COLOR to make this more festive for a PARTY invite.  I keep kicking myself for not buying the doily stamp set so I made due with a large pennant in the background.   I wanted to incorporate the emboss on vellum that Claire and many others were playing with so I embossed the large pennant in the background.

I stamped the label and "join us" sentiment in black so that it would be strong enough to stand out, and added rhinestones between each of the smaller pennants.   I hope you like the card!!  I had lots of fun making it and seeing all the different colors can't help but put me in a festive mood and  make me happy!

Products Used:
Waltzingmouse Stamps:  Vintage Lables 4, Bitty Banners, and Join Us
Paper: Echo Park  Life is Good Collection - Set The Table
Spellbinders Dies: Nested Pennants, Labels 4
Border Punch: Fiskars and EK Success
Ink:  Momento Bamboo Leaves, Tangelo, Tuxedo Black, Rose Bud, Bahama Blue, Grape Jelly, Lilac Posies  and Ranger Distress / Tim Holtz Antique Linen
Bling by Prima Flower Centers Dynasty Dk. Pink
Embossing Powder Adirondack WIld Plum



 This is Tosha's design -  very vintage and elegant.   You can visit Tosha's blog at http://stamptalkwithtosh.blogspot.com/

Number One Dog!!

We started off our summer travels early this year and went on vacation last week.  My mom, dad, and sister were so kind to watch our Inu Ichibon (Number One Dog) while we were gone.  (My dog is Japanese so we always try to sneak a little in here and there.)

It is always hard for me to leave her behind because she is my ever present shadow.  My girl is a 13 year old Akita and it is so important to me that she is with someone who loves her and will take care of her just as welll as I do. 

I made a thank you card as a small gesture of appreciation.  I hope they enjoyed her visit!

I used Basic Grey's Max & Whiskers Collection paper because I love all the little dogs all over it.  I found some neat paper at Joann's that  looked like patent leather embossed with a reptile pattern that I made the collar with.  I added a few jumbo silver eyelets and a silver buckle to make it look more realistic and give it some dimension.

I made the dog from a Quickutz die with lopsided ears, wagging tail, and added "google" eyes - I hope he makes you smile!!

Supplies Used:

Paper:  Basic Grey Max & Whiskers Collection: Toby/Max, Basic Grey Offbeat Collection Peculiar, My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Collection Madison Avenue "Cherish" Pintuck Paper

Collar Die:  Sizzix Belts & Buckles

Stamps:  Papertreyink Thank You Fillable Frame #7, Frame from Fillable Frames #4 

Tag Die:  Papertreyink

Dog Die:  Quickutz

Ribbon:  Paper Studio Ribbon Trends Dog Paw

Ink:  Momento Rhubarb Stalk, Ranger/Tim Holtz Fired Brick Distress Ink 

Happy Birthday!!

I wanted to play along with the CR84FN31 Color Challenge of pink and green - great color combination. 

My dear little sister Kathy is having a birthday soon (YES ANOTHER ONE!!! - Sorry it happens to the best of us!!!)  She is always willing to help me any time I ask.  I thought I would start playing around with Happy Birthday cards and see what I can come up with until I find just the perfect one for her.  I have until July so there is plenty of time to experiment!!!  I loved using all sorts of pink on this one.  I started out with some great paper from the Echo Park "Life is Good" collection and went from there.

Here is a close up showing the detail.  I die cut the flowers from felt  and added some bling to the centers by  Prima.
I hope you like this! Stay tuned for more birthday cards!!

Supplies Used:

Paper:  Echo Park Life is Good Collection:  Floral Dress, Simple Stripes, Set The Table

Sentiment:  Stampin Up!  Brithday Wishes

Dies:  Spellbinders Fnacy Tags Two, Spellbinders for Xyron Shapez Frame 5

Corner Punch:  Stampin Up!
Butterfly Punch:  Martha Stewart

Border Punch:  EK Success

Flower Die:  Sizzix

Flower Centers:  Prima Dynasty DK Pink

Ink:  Momento Rose Bud, Ranger / Tim Holtz Distress Lipstick and Spun Sugar