Operation Write Home Challenge

Happy Wednesday! Thanks for all the well wishes, I am feeling MUCH more like myself today! Yahoo! What better way to get up and moving again, then to get a little creativity going? I was super excited when I saw a comment, left here on my blog, from Teresa Kline about a sketch challenge she was hosting over on the Stars and Stamps website. Not only is it a fun sketch but it is a "sketch with a purpose". The added challenge is to make some holiday cards (based on the sketch below) for deployed soldiers to send home to their loved ones through Operation Write Home. (Click on the links to learn more.)

I couldn't wait to get started creating some cards to send off. I really enjoy creating holiday cards with "non-traditional" holiday colors, I don't really know why. Maybe somewhere in my youth I had traumatic experiences of being dressed up in little red and green outfits every Christmas...maybe it was something else, who knows? I vaguely remember the outfits though, hmmm! Anyway, I went with Rich Razzleberry, Not Quite Navy, Basic Black and Brushed Silver for my combo because I thought the colors together created a very elegant look. I heat embossed both the sentiment and the snowflake image in silver to add some pop without using glitter (which is not allowed on cards for OWH). 


I really liked the simplicity of the sketch so I wanted to dress it up with a couple of simple accents. I used an embossing folder on the silver cardstock, a brad in the center of the snowflake and some silver stretch cord with some tiny beads securely knotted in. I'm not sure if the beads are okay to send or not, I will have to check on that. If not, I will whip up the rest of the cards without them, because the silver cord is still a great accent on it's own. :) 

Supply List:

(all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Four the Holidays (sentiment), Snow Burst (retired)

Ink: Versa-Mark

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Not Quite Navy, Basic Black and Brushed Silver cardstock

Accessories: snowflake embossing folder (non-SU!), Ticket Corner punch, Scallop Edge Border punch, Circle Scissor tool for 2" Razzleberry circle, 1 3/4" circle punch, 2 3/8" scalloped circle punch, silver embossing powder, jewel brad (non- SU!), beads (non-SU!)


Have a great day! 
Happy Stamping,

Happy Bird-Day!

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a terrific Tuesday, so far. I thought I would post my completed swap cards today, since I have been under the weather since yesterday and haven't been getting much done in the creative department. Blah! :(

About a month ago, I entered my first online swap. It was to use ONLY new release sets in the SU! catalog. After everyone was signed up with their stamp sets, the magic number to create was 30 cards. Why would I want to sign up for one of those 6 card swaps when I could tackle 30? (*read with semi-sarcastic undertone*)

My chosen stamp set was Aviary and let me tell you, I broke that set in pretty well with this project! 30 cards for the swap, plus a couple more for me. With this many birds, I was close to starring in a remake of an Alfred Hitchcock movie! Eeek! 

This whole endeavor took over 2 1/2 days to accomplish, but it was a fun little project. I can't wait to see what everyone else has created when the cards are returned next week. I will post some pictures!

Here is a close-up of my finished project:

Stampin' Up! Supply List:

Stamps: Aviary, Picture This (retired)

Ink: Pear Pizzaz, Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush classic ink

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush, Whisper White cardstock

Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Corner Rounder punch, Scallop Trim Border punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Two-Step XL Bird punch (leaves), Pear Pizzazz ½” Stitched Poly Ribbon, Pear Pizzazz and Daffodil Delight markers (sentiment), jewels

Have a great day! 
Thanks for stopping by,

Up, Up & Away...

Happy Sunday! Guess who ISN'T watching football today? :) Instead, I was inspired to spend a little time creating. My card was inspired by the colors at The Color Throwdown blog along with the sketch over at the Mojo Monday blog.

This color combo rocks! It is so cheerful and happy, I knew immediately that I wanted to use this fun stamp set with it. It reminds me of growing up in upstate NY and going to the Jamesville Balloon Fest. I have always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon, but my fear of heights keeps me enjoying them from the ground. When I started playing with the sketch, all I could think of was bright, sunny skies, so that's how the hot air balloon ended up flying over the little tree tops underneath it. I used the cool shadow Copic to shade in the entire sky. I am NOT an expert with Copics...although I am trying to learn how to use them for that amazing shading that I see other stampers achieve. Ahhh, maybe one day...

I couldn't decide on the sentiment, but I needed a congratulations card and "Your time to shine" seemed to fit so well. Then I kept thinking..."time to shine"..."time to shine"...and what magically appeared on the card? Crystal Effects! (Well, BLING appeared as well, but with me, that is pretty much a given! Ha Ha!) I really like the glassy look the Crystal Effects gives to any project. Just make sure it is dry before you shove your entire hand in it, like I seemed to forget today. The little clouds were just sitting off to the side of my desk drying, when I reached quickly for my paper piercer...Splat! Yay, for cutting the clouds out a total of 4 stinkin' times! Grrr...


Another hazard when using Crystal Effects is when your "uber-fluffy" kitty decides he wants to sit on your desk and "supervise" your project. Thanks, Benny Max!  

Hmmm, I was just informed by my husband that the Cowboys game is on at the same time as the season finale of two of my favorite shows. I just reminded him why we have a dvr...for his game, of course! Nice try, though! I'm thrilled it's football season again, can't you tell? :)


Have a great day!

Remember...

Today we remember all of those who lost their lives, nine short years ago, on September 11th, 2001. The world changed that day. I think everyone will always remember exactly where they were and what they were doing that morning. We will never forget all those at the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. They are hero's.


As part of my remembrance today, I wanted to take a moment and make a card to let one of my hero's know how much he means to me. That hero is my husband. I am proud of everything he, and others like him in the military do to keep our country safe. For 19 years (and counting) he has served his country. He inspires me every, single day. He truly is my hero.

I think we all know a hero. I think it is important to let them know. That is just one way we can remember.

God Bless the U.S.A.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

I got together with my pal, Dawn yesterday for one of our famous "creative days". As usual we tried to do some "double-duty" challenges to get ourselves motivated. 

The first challenge came from Pals Paper Arts:

 Aren't these colors just fabulous together?

The second challenge came from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge:

Funny part about this is, you could only enter the challenge until 10pm last night. I completely forgot, OOPS!! 

I tried to keep the card really simple and just added some simple accents to give a little flair. I used the white gel pen to add the "dots" on the scalloped border. (Thanks Dawn, for letting me use your *brand new* pen, since neither of mine would work for me, ugh!) The Square Lattice embossing folder and the Designer Series Paper play off the "textures" of the little roofs on the houses. 


I was going to stamp a different sentiment on the card, BUT I waited until the card was completely assembled before I went to add it. I was more then a little nervous of stamping it crooked, too high, or too low and ruining the card. You may be right if you guessed that I have done THAT before. Even using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to place it, I was still freaking out about it. To save myself a lot of unnecessary frustration, I just opted to break out my coveted rub-ons for the sentiment instead. For some reason, I seem to own a ridiculous amount of rub-ons and never seem to actually USE them. Hmmm...not today! Ha! I LOVE the font on this sentiment, too. It fits the whole clean and simple theme of the card.


This morning, I felt like the card needed "just one more tiny, little thing" to finish it off. So, I cut out and popped up the little cloud, instead of just leaving it stamped flat. I really like the little "shadow" it created. There you have it, a fun and happy card to welcome someone new to the neighborhood.

Stampin' Up! Supply List:

Stamps: Good Neighbors (retired, SAB)

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, So Saffron classic ink

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, So Saffron, Whisper White cardstock, Welcome Neighbor DSP pad (retired, SAB)

Accessories: Square Lattice embossing folder, Scallop Edge Border punch, Dawn's white gel pen, Dawn's Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, sentiment from Chit Chat rub-ons (retired)

Non-Stampin' Up! Supplies: green half-pearls

Have a great day! 

Going Birdy!

I feel like I have been "missing in creative action" this week, but in all reality I have been completely consumed with a huge card swap I am participating in. I have been cutting, punching, stamping, sticking and (of course) "bling"-ing these babies together for 2 1/2 days now! Whew! Looking forward to getting these little birdcages filled, so they can finally "fly-away" to their swap destination. SO ready to say "bye, bye" to these birdies! HaHa! :)

Back to work....

Pals, Paper and Pearls

"Merry" Labor Day! :)

 

This is the first week that I have participated in the Pals Paper Arts Challenge, PPA58. I am a big fan of this site because some of my all-time, favorite stampers are part of their design team. Shhhh, I am a "PPA groupie", I have looked but never had the guts to participate. I don't know why. The theme this week was "Simply Pretty in Pearls". Let's be honest, what gal doesn't LOVE pearls?? As soon as I saw the theme I was instantly inspired. (Maybe it had something to do with the picture in their post of Audrey Hepburn from "Breakfast at Tiffany's"...since it is one of my favorite movies!)

As I have been thinking about Christmas over the past few days (see THIS earlier post), I decided to continue that trend with my card. I have to say that The Snowflake Spot (sadly, retired) is one of my absolute favorite sets, EVER! As soon as I decided to participate in this challenge, I KNEW I wanted to use it. 

For my color-combo, I consulted my new "creative buddy", the SU! Color Coach. I really don't use a lot of *blue* in any of my creations. But I really like the new Marina Mist color and decided that it was finally time to challenge myself to take it for a spin. Marina Mist + Bashful Blue + Silver = one really gorgeous combo! Although it is tough to see in the photos, my snowflake image is stamped on Shimmery White cardstock, for a little added flair.

The new Glass Glitter from the Holiday Mini Catalog is fabulous!  Because I can't just decide on a project and NOT add lots of little details as I put it all together, I went with the glitter border. Glitter is so easy to adhere to any project with a layer of Sticky Strip. It's TOO easy, maybe that's why I couldn't help myself! HaHa! 

Stampin' Up! Supply List:

Stamps: The Snowflake Spot (retired), Perfect Punches

Ink: Marina Mist classic ink, Versa-Mark

Paper: Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Brushed Silver, Shimmery White cardstock

Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Glass Glitter in silver (Holiday Mini), sticky strip, Scalloped Circle punch, silver embossing powder, Silver elastic cord (retired)

Non-Stampin' Up! Supplies: pearls

Thanks for visiting! 
Enjoy your day,

Apple Blossoms and Brownies

Happy Saturday! It is a gorgeous day here in Texas..finally cooling off a bit! Hey, anything less then 95 degrees is a sign that fall is approaching here. For some reason I woke up UBER early today. I decided to get moving, take my little "pupster", Ozzy, for a walk (it was 77 degrees this morning...YAHOO!!), then snag a little "creative time" while I had it. 

I have been wanting to create something with the new color combo at The Color Throwdown blog, since Wednesday. I love their color challenges. Maybe it's my recent addiction to my SU! Color Coach, but I am HOOKED on playing with new color combos lately. How FABULOUS is this color trio, by the way?? It makes me think of two things: fall and brownies! HaHa, not kidding...think peanut butter brownies with walnuts. Hmmm, just me? Okay, moving on...   

While searching for a sketch to pair up with this delicious color mix, I came across The Sweet Stop blog this morning (kind of ironic, don't you think?). As soon as I saw this sketch I IMMEDIATELY knew what I wanted to do. I love when that happens, when an idea just "clicks".

I adore the bold, solid images in the Apple Blossoms (hostess) set. I think this set is going to see a lot of ink in the future. It has quickly become one of my new favorites! The gold accents were my hubby's idea. He knows how much I love the *bling* and said the card "wouldn't be complete without something shiny"...oh, how I LOVE this man! He knows me too well! :)

Oh, and since I was so inspired, look what made their way into our house this afternoon...BROWNIES! Soooo yummy! Ozzy and I have a few more walks in our future because of them, but they were SO worth it!

Stampin' Up! Supply List:

Stamps: Apple Blossoms (level 2 hostess set), Short and Sweet

Ink: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake (formerly Kraft) classic ink

Paper: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Whisper White cardstock, Tall Tales DSP (retired) 

Accessories: Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (retired), hemp twine, mat pack, paper-piercing tool 

Non-Stampin' Up! Supplies: button, gold accents

 Hope YOU are having a great weekend! :)

Sweet & Simple Smiles

Whoa, TWO blog posts in ONE day...I am starting to scare myself! HaHa! 

When I busted out my (retired) Bella Rose DSP earlier for my holiday card, I was reminded how much I love that paper and decided to make another card with it. I am trying this "new thing" where I have convinced myself that (on occasion) it is perfectly okay not spend hours on a card. Crazy, huh? Sometimes it's okay to take a really great sketch, like this one here (from Karen Giron's, Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge) and have some fun with it. 

Sure, a lot of what I used is retired product. But I say, why not use up some of the ever-growing "stash" of paper-crafting supplies...if it inspires you, that is all that matters! I really did STAMP on this card...more then just the sentiment! :) I busted out my favorite Polka Dot (retired) background stamp on the Kiwi Kiss cardstock. I stamped it in Versa-Mark then heat-embossed in clear embossing powder. I have used this same idea on a few other projects in the past and I just love how it gives a really, simple dimension to the cardstock. 

The delicate, crochet fleurettes (also retired) were too pretty NOT to use on this card. I wanted to add a bling center, then held back. I think I may rely on the bling a little TOO much, sometimes! So, I went with a simple brushed silver brad for the center of the flowers. But something happened when I added the sentiment to the card...I...HAD...TO...ADD...SPARKLE! :) It's an addiction! So there you have it, two tiny accents of silver glitter, just because! 

Stampin' Up! Supply List:

Stamps: Polka Dot Background (retired)

Ink: Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss (retired) classic ink, Versa-Mark

Paper: Kiwi Kiss (retired), Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, and Whisper White cardstock, Bella Rose DSP (retired)

Accessories: Corner-rounder punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, clear embossing powder, Fine Galaxy Stampin' Glitter in silver, Fleurettes (retired) 

Non-Stampin' Up! Supplies: sentiment stamp, scalloped die cuts, silver brads, lace trim 

Thanks for visiting! Off to make a late dinner with my really, really patient hubby! :)