Warm Winter Wishes

A few weeks ago, there was a heartfelt letter posted on OWH's Hero Blog that recounted one mother's experience with choosing which cards to send to her daughters. Go read the letter. I'll wait right here for you.

You're back! So, did that make you a little teary or what? I knew when I read that letter, I needed to use my flocked paper!

Here is an example of a winter card I made with flocked snowflake paper and a snowman stamp by SU. The shimmer paper is the reverse of the flocked design. The half pearls are not scrapbooking supplies. They're actually for manicures and I ordered them on eBay. The container of several hundred itty bitty pearls was less than $2 with shipping. They're not self adhesive, so I attached them with Glossy Accents. Getting them in place would have been easier with tweezers, but my fingernails and patience did the trick.

Have you ever found a less expensive alternative to something sold in the craft stores like my half pearls? Leave me a comment with your money-saving paper crafting tips!

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Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

Patriotic card set

During Hurricane Irene yesterday, I whipped up a batch of patriotic cards for Operation Write Home.


I bought the striped ribbon at Dollar Tree. Everything else is punched cardstock from my stash, eyelets from MM, and a stamp from Studio G. Easy and unisex!


Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

Trifecta and a card

It's been a busy week here in Maryland. On Tuesday, we felt the earthquake whose epicenter was somewhere in central Virginia. I was at work, finishing up a meeting, when I felt a rumbling start under my feet. That was one of the strangest sensations of my life and I'm so glad it was short-lived.

Wednesday marked the first day of school. I've met my students and gotten things rolling somewhat. I think it will be a good year. We've practiced rules and procedures and gotten them to start using our fancy new calculators! Also, I already like how I rearranged my room. It's so much better than what I tried the last three years!

The third item in the week's trifecta is the impending arrival of Hurricane Irene. I've experienced two tropical storms that I can remember, but never a hurricane. I think I'm prepared. I have enough bottled water to drink for a week, plus about 4 gallons of tap water if I need more. I have four sets of batteries for flashlights and can swap some into my radio if need be. I have tons of food I can eat, so that's not a concern. I've done my best to secure things around the yard and I parked my car as far from trees as possible. My only main concern is that a tree would come down on the house. There are a number of very large trees in close proximity to my house and any one of them could do major damage.

With all of the natural disaster business out of the way, I'll share a CAS card I made tonight. I hope it's nice enough. Watching Sandy on OWHtv last night, I started thinking that I might not be good enough to do some very clean CAS cards.

This card uses an image stamp from SU's All I have seen, a sentiment stamp from another SU set (I'm too lazy to go look it up now, sorry!), a Fiskars border punch, and cardstock from Wassau and DCWV. What do you think? Is this OK for a CAS card or is it too simplistic?


The sentiment seemed appropriate given the tumultuous week. :-) If you're in Irene's path, stay safe!

10 paper challenge- card #10!!!

Today I'm sharing the tenth and final card in my "10 paper challenge" series. I've spent time during the past 10 days making cards out of paper that was in my storage long forgotten. It's been fun to see what I can make with the various papers and a good reminder to use my stash instead of constantly buying new.



The paper I used today was a pink leopard print. I've always liked this paper and I think I probably bought a good number of sheets of it originally. Here I used it for a "princess" card that incorporated a Darice hologram crown embellishment and a stamp from Scrappy Cat along with scraps from my stash. Notice the other pink paper? It was an earlier paper in the 10 paper challenge.

Now that my 10 paper challenge is done, I might have to do a 10 stamp challenge. I think it will be harder to pick the stamps, though!

Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!


Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

Sketch #83 from OWH

Hi friends! OWH had a fun little sketch posted today perfect for using some patterned papers. I glanced at it this morning and did other things. Then, I was in my craft room while my internet was out and saw a stamp I thought would work well, so I did it from memory. The idea's the same, but my dimensions are certainly not.

Yes, I know it's not the right season for this card. I'm about 6 months off! I just felt inspired, so I made it. And then I made 11 more like it. ;) The greens look better in person. Sorry, as always, for my poor photos.



Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

10 paper challenge- card #9

We're nearing the home stretch and I've been having a lot of fun. This is card 9 out of 10 in my old paper challenge. I had a Christmas plaid paper to work with today. It is overwhelming in large amounts, so I knew I wanted to make it a small part of the card. I also didn't like the look of a rectangle or square of the paper, so I decided to use a circle. Sometime recently, I realized that the bottom of my cupcake punch is the right shape for an ornament hanger. I just flip it upside down, and it's perfect.

For this card, I used two patterned papers I've used for other christmas cards this year in addition to the challenge paper. I used kraft paper for the background and shiny silver paper for the hangers. I used some silver ribbon to "hang" the ornaments. The sentiment was from the $1 bin at Michael's. I'm going to make this a kit for my party, but I might change the sentiment to something I have in a clear stamp. This one was hard to stamp straight.


Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

Emboss Resist

I had such a nice time following the OWH Stars and Stamps CAS Skip today that I had to make some cards.

These two blogs (Lisa's here) and (Patricia's here) inspired this card.

I used a pre-made card base with matching envelope, added a strip of white Swiss Dots cardstock done with the Cuttlebug, and used the emboss resist technique to create the focal point. The flower stamp is from Anna Griffin and the sentiment is from Hampton Arts. I really enjoyed playing around with emboss resist and can see doing more in the future. :)

Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

Babies, babies, everywhere!

I'm in the middle of about a six week period of baby fever. One of my cousins had a little boy, Carter, on the 8th. A good friend and coworker had a daughter, Tanis, on Thursday. Another cousin and a friend are both expecting sons within about a month. Actually, the friend is due today. All these babies mean lots of cards!

I whipped up this cutie patootie today for my coworker. We're giving her diapers and wipes since it's her third child and she's pretty well set up with the exception of the consumables. I think the stamp is a riot. I hope she'll get a good laugh from it!


Also of note- this was my first paper piecing. I started with a super, super simple stamp and just one piece to attach. It's cute, so I might do more.

CAS skip for OWH

There's a little blog skip going on over on OWH Stars and Stamps to share some gorgeous CAS cards.

I'm somewhat CAS in my designs, but I think to go all the way, bare-bones CAS, I need to locate some super premium cardstock. You can't do a nice CAS card with average cardstock, which is all I ever seem to find around here.

Anyway, I made this quick card after the first half of the skip. It's using a number of Cuttlebug dies and a few EK punches to make the hearts, a corner rounder, a stamp from Studio G, and cardstock. Is it CAS enough for you?


While you're here, feel free to check out my recent posts for more CAS cards in my "10 paper challenge." It's good inspiration to use your stash. :)

Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

10 paper challenge- card #8

Paper #8 is a strange one, but I didn't buy it, so I don't have to blame myself. It's sort of brown and greenish aqua. Let me tell you, I have nothing that matches that aqua color. I decided to add kraft paper and some ivory cardstock and then use some metal hardware to add some pizazz. It's another CAS card. I seem to only do CAS, though they're not as clean or as simple as some people can do.



I'm only two cards away from finishing my 10 paper challenge. Which paper do you think I should send to Sandy for her Stump Sandy segment? Is there one that seems particularly difficult to use?


Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!


Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

10 paper challenge- card #7

7 out of 10. Here's another ancient paper from my collection. It's white with daisies and red polka dots. A sweet pattern, but the kind of pattern that usually stumps me. I started searching for a sentiment that says "If friends were flowers, I'd pick you," only to realize I don't have that stamp. I did happen upon this "bloom" stamp that I don't think I'd ever used before. It's from SU's "Fun Filled." To switch things up somewhat, I placed this scalloped embellishment on the inside of the card and punched out the space on the front so you can see the embellishment when the card is open or closed. Super simple, and I'm always happy to find papers that coordinate well with my stamps.



Just a few challenge cards to go. This is helping me to make a good number of unique cards, so I might have to do this challenge again sometime soon.


Hi friends, can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!


Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

What a "pear"

Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

I love puns, don't you? Punny stamps are the best! For a while, I'd wanted a pun to go with a pear stamp. As it turned out, I even had pear paper to go with it.

This card was simple to put together. I used a piece of pink cardstock from Wassau, green/pear double sided cardstock from American crafts, white cardstock from GP, square punches by Fiskars and EK Success, and a decorative punch from EK.

If you don't recognize the EK punch, it's because I modified it. It started off as a square, but I put the punched out piece back in the punch and made it smaller, attaching a small scrap of cardstock to the shape to guide the paper into the punch. Card kit for the party? You bet!


Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

10 paper challenge- card #6

Hi friends, can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Now, here it is- card #6 in my 10 card series about using old paper. This paper came from a kit by Cloud 9 all about cats. I thought it looked like Halloween paper, so I put together this Frankenstein card. I used some papers from American Crafts and Pebbles Inc to finish the card off. The two stamps are both by Studio G and were 50 cents in JoAnn's clearance bin after Halloween last year.



I'm so excited to use old papers. I hope you give it a try and get inspired to use some supplies that you've neglected recently.


Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

Inchie Fever

Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Back to the point of the post- inchies! These are stamps that create 1-inch square images. As luck would have it, I recently picked up a set of Asian inches from Inkadinkado. They're different than my usual stamp style and I wanted to try them out. I really liked the panda and bamboo the most. I chose 4 images and stamped them with Versamark, then embossed with black powder from A La Mode (JoAnn's store brand, I think). I cut them out, mounted them on red and black and added a sentiment from SU on a piece of cardstock edged with a Fiskars border punch.


If you like what you see, read some of my recent posts. I'm in the midst of a "10 paper challenge" to encourage myself to use old paper. Get inspired to use your stash!!!


Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

10 paper challenge- card #5

I'm halfway through my challenge. I have used 5 of my 10 old papers pulled from my shelves over the weekend. Today's paper is a pink printed cardstock with a textured look. I saw the Stars and Stamps blog's weekly sketch challenge and decided to go with that design and make a birthday card as Julie requested. I have a very old Stampin Up birthday cake stamp that I used on this card. Other old things included the happy birthday sentiment (from Eat Cake- a favorite SU set), corner rounder, and the flocked polka dotted paper. That's right, those pink dots are flocked! The only new(ish) thing is the gold glitter glue covered with Glossy Accents on the candle flames.


I promise I wasn't trying to hide my challenge paper. The card just looked better with this arrangement of papers than any of the others I tried. I figure if Sandy can use just a little tiny triangle of a paper for a Stump Sandy, this counts too.

Have you tried to use an old paper recently? What did you think of your card? Leave a comment to tell me about it.

I entered a contest on Facebook and would love your help. Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary (http://goo.gl/34Q6o). If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

10 paper challenge- card #4

Here we are at #4 of 10 in my old paper challenge. This old paper is one of the newest papers in the group. It's by K&Co and was part of a graduation album they sold at Target in 2009. In my photos, I realize it looks brown, but the paper is really a black with charcoal gray polka dots.

I used new stuff to finish out this newer old card. The bicycle stamp is Studio 112 (made by K&Co), the "hello" is Studio G, and there are oval nesties. The metal accents are from Michael's. I was so happy to find some masculine bling. I used a Bic marker to color them green. The border punch is from American Girls, but it's made by EK success. Looks pretty masculine for American Girls, right? Want to learn how to make any border punch two-sided? Look for a tutorial next week. It's a great way to make a border punch double as a ribbon-like strip.


What will card #5 hold? All I can say for sure is that there will be pink paper involved. Are you playing along? Leave a comment with a link to your blog so I can check it out!

Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary (http://goo.gl/34Q6o). If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

10 paper challenge- card #3

We are up to paper number 3 in my old paper challenge. Are you inspired to play along yet? Leave me a comment with a link to your blog if you have joined in on the fun. I'd love to see what you're making!

Paper #3 is another one from my earliest days as a scrapbooker. It's by Colorbok and it's a nice print. I can see why I picked it- irregular polka dots are friendly to work with and the fact that the red is a little distressed looking is a nice touch as well.

As luck would have it, I had already colored this image from Hampton which had the same red and white as my patterned paper. I had a scrap of yellow from yesterday's card which also matched the coloring. A few black mats later, and we had a card. Not much other old stuff was used on this card, just the corner punch. I'm sorry my coloring's not so great. At least I usually stay inside the lines!!!



You can check out what paper #4 will be here. I think I made it easy for myself with that one. What do you think? Actually, #9 is the only one that scares me!

Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

Merci

I made this card tonight to thank a friend for her hospitality. Since it wasn't for OWH, I made it on a larger card and it was really fun to play with a bigger space. I wish I had pulled out some chunky embellishments, too, since it wasn't going in the mail, but I didn't think the card really called for any. I like the CAS look and wanted to highlight the house stamp (SU Good Neighbors). By the way, I really should have used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp that house since the roof and wall are separate pieces. I stamped 8 before I got one that was both dark enough and connected properly.


Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964

10 paper challenge- card #2

In this post, I challenged myself to use ten old papers. This paper is my mystery paper. I don't remember it at all, there are about 6 sheets of it in my stash, and it has no manufacturer. It was time to put it to the test.

I decided on a birthday card and used some old supplies. The brad is from the dollar store and I'm pretty certain I bought them in college (so before 2007). The embossing folder was one that came with my Cuttlebug last summer that I have rarely, if ever, used. I also used a crimper, a favorite SU stamp from the Eat Cake set, and the SU tag punch, all of which I've had for a while. You can't tell in the picture, but I dressed up the candle flame with some glitter glue covered with glossy accents to seal it in. It's a simple card, but it has some texture.



Stay tuned for card #3. It's going to be "treemendous." :)

Can I ask you a favor? Please go vote for my card at Spotted Canary http://goo.gl/34Q6o. If I win, I'm going to donate the prize money to OWH. You need to be logged into FB and you may vote once a day until Sept. 7th. Tell your friends!!! Thanks so much!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 8/2/11): 964