Goal Accomplished!

Back at the beginning of May, I took the challenge to post daily on this blog for an entire month.  Well, today is the last day of May and I'm pleased to report that I've posted at least once each day.  I feel a bit like a super star, though it's not that much of an accomplishment.  I've increased by about 20 the number of followers I have.  I participated in a bloghop.  I hosted a contest for blog candy.  I posted a tutorial.  I completed my Sketch goal for OWH.  It was a good month of blogging.  You can expect frequent posts all summer long since I'm off work and have more craft time! 

This card pairs two papers from DCVW All About Boys with a See D's stamp.  Simple!  Two of these will be in my next OWH box.  The box is over half full and will be heading out in about two and a half weeks in order to be on time for the next OWH challenge.  Don't forget that 5% or more of your next box should be hero mail. 

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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.

You Light Up My Life!

I started these cards at my friend's house on Friday during our monthly crop.  I finished them on Memorial Day, along with about 50 other cards.  It was a busy cardmaking weekend for me because I wanted to support our heroes for Memorial Day!

 
 Stamps from SU (Furnished with Love), patterned paper from DCWV (All About Boys). 

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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.

Winner!

Congratulations to Dolores A. who was the winner of the blog candy I posted for this weekend's hop.  Thanks to everyone who made the hop special by visiting and leaving kind comments.  I had more than 300 visitors this weekend and over 100 comments- wow!

Dolores, check your inbox for a message!  
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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 #110

Another OWH Sketch to share, this time it's number 110.  I turned the sketch on its side and played with the sizes somewhat.  

Papers from DCWV Crafty stack, button brads by Making Memories, stamp by Studio G.
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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.

Flying Fruit Fantasy

The title of this post is the name of a smoothie shop I loved as a young kid.  The strawberry smoothie was wonderful.  I have no idea if they're still around, but I made a bunch of fruity cards today and had a smoothie for breakfast, so I thought it was a fitting title. 

I spotted these cheerful fruit stickers at Target this weekend.  My students are always begging for scratch and sniff stickers, so that was the original reason I picked them up.  Then, I decided they would be so cute on cards that my students could live without them!  We all have to make sacrifices for our heroes.  :)  There were 42 stickers on the sheet, and I've made cards for all but the lemons, pears, and a few of the strawberries. 

Featuring MS border punch and unknown checked paper from stash.  Sentiment computer generated.

Apple features Fiskars border punch, Making Memories brads, checked paper and sentiment computer generated.

Orange with computer generated sentiment, ribbons by SU and Offray, and Cuttlebug embossing

Cherries featuring Studio G sentiment stamp and unknown checked paper. 

The cherries are my favorite.  :)  Now I want to make another smoothie to combat the hot weather we're having this weekend! 

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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.

Memorial Day Card

Happy Memorial Day!

So proud...to be an American!

Card based on OWH Sketch #111.  Papers from K&Co Americana line. 
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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.

Sketch 105

Have you made it through the Memorial Day Bloghop yet?  With over 100 blogs to visit, it might be wise to break it into several chunks.  If you missed any of the action, you can pick up the hop from my previous post.

I shared in my last post that I've finished a card for each of the 122 OWH sketches during 2012.  I haven't, however, posted them all, so I'll be finishing the posts over the next couple of weeks.

This card is based on OWH Sketch #105.  The stamps are by Scrappy Cat (flowers) and American Crafts (sentiment).  Ribbon from Dollar Tree, gems from Michael's, cardstock by Recollections and American crafts, embossing powder from JoAnn.  

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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 Memorial Day Bloghop

Welcome to my little piece of the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop!  Thanks so much for visiting!  You can start the hop anywhere and use Inlinkz on the Stars and Stamps blog to get around to all the blogs.

I am sharing Sketch #99.  Sketches are near and dear to my heart.  At the beginning of 2012, I challenged myself to complete all of the OWH Sketches at least once and made a checklist so I could keep track of my progress.  Today, I wanted to share a milestone with you- I've officially done all of the current sketches this year.  Right now, that's 122 plus a few bonus sketches.  If you want to play along with this challenge, there's still plenty of time left in the year! 

Both versions of the card were made with papers from Basic Grey's Picadilly line, brads by Making Memories, and a sentiment stamp by KI Memories. 

For some blog candy, please see my last post.  :)  Thanks again for hopping by!  Head back to Stars and Stamps for the rest of the hop. 
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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.

Blog Candy

Thanks for visiting!  I wanted to offer a little candy to the Memorial Day weekend hoppers to make your trip around cyberspace just that much sweeter!

•  4 die cut card bases with matching envelopes
•  4 sentiment embellishments
•  2 sets of clear stamps with rhinestones
•  floral stickers
•  probably a few more surprises!  

TO WIN: Be a follower and leave a comment on this post by the morning of Tuesday, May 29.  I will choose a winner at random from those who have met the criteria that same evening and post the winner's name on my blog.  Make sure to leave an e-mail address if you want me to be able to contact you directly.  :)
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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 86 and Unity FWF

Here's OWH Sketch #86.  This is also my entry for this week's Unity Friends with Flair challenge. 

 Papers are MME, stamp is Unity, brads are Colorbok, punches are EK Success and Marvy. 
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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.

Cheap (Virtually Free) Copic Storage

I've been growing my collection of Copic markers over the past several months one eBay auction at a time.  I hit the point recently that my storage bag no longer held all of my markers.  That meant it was time to find a new storage solution.  I'd seen the foam core storage that's been all over the blogs but it looked a bit harder than anything I was up for and I don't have foam core (or a store in town that sells it).  Lacking a handy hubby to whip up something in his workshop, I thought about what I could make myself.  Thinking about what was around the house, I realized I had a few empty frosting tubs.  I bake for my kids at school from time to time and every time I finish a container of frosting, I think there must be something great I can do with it.  I do use them to hold writing utensils at school, so why not use them for my Copics?  And wouldn't it be handy if they were sideways? 

Here's my free storage container, made with items already in my house! 

Now, it's more function than form- there are bits of hot glue here and there, and the containers still have a bit of label residue on them.  I'm OK with this- my craft room is a workspace not a gallery.  If you need gorgeous, you'll buy something.  If you want function, this works.  Really, who wants to shell out tons of money for storage when the markers are already several bucks each? 

Want to make one?  You'll need:

• several empty frosting tubs (I used five.  I also think Crystal Light containers would be great but I didn't have any to try.  Just make sure your containers are tall enough that the markers will stay inside when the containers are held sideways.)
• hot glue gun with glue sticks
• something long and about 1/2" to 1" tall to act as a support at the front of the bottom so the holder slants (I used two plastic knives sandwiched together, though a dowel or scrap of wood would be preferable.)

Glue the frosting tubs together with hot glue.  Be sure to attach them at the opening and the base.  Start by gluing together the ones that will be on the bottom row.  Then attach higher rows.  Add the shim to the bottom front.  Let dry.  Fill and enjoy!  

Total cost: about 4¢, the cost of the two plastic knives I used.  The frosting tubs were saved from recycling and the hot glue gun and glue was from my grandmother's house.  (Do they even make oval glue sticks any more?)

If you make your own storage solution, I'd love to hear about it.  Leave me a link so I can see your most creative storage solution.  Bonus points if you made it, repurposed it, or upcycled it! 
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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 #83

OWH Sketch #83 for you.  The only other time I used this sketch, I made St. Patrick's Day cards.  This is a bit different!  Hopefully this card can be used by a guy, even if the sentiment is a bit mushy! 

 More MME papers on this card.  Hardware from MM.  Stamp by Unity. 
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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.

I miss your hugs and kisses

Putting together papers from KI Memories, a stamp by Unity, chipboard by Making Memories, and Sketch #109 from Operation Write Home, this is what I came up with.  I hadn't used any chipboard in ages but this little flower made me much happier with the card than I had been.  I might have to keep digging in my chipboard stash!  Don't you just love it when you rediscover some supplies you haven't used in a while?  

I'm entering this in the OWH Midweek Throwdown for love cards.  It's half missing you and half love- perfect for OWH, I think! 
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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.

Julie Ebersole's stamped candle tutorial

Over on OWH Stars and Stamps, we were treated to a tutorial video by Julie Ebersole in which she showed how to use a border stamp as a candle on a birthday card.

While I didn't have the stamp Julie used, I was able to find a workable substitute in a Martha Stewart Christmas set.  The flame is one raindrop from an American Crafts set.  The glowing circles are two flowers from a Scrappy Cat set.  It's a bit of a hodgepodge of brands, but they work together in much the same way as Julie's card.  Really, mine is a shameless CASE with the exception of the card base style.

  
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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.

Sketch 84

OWH Sketch 84 for you!

I'm loving these MME papers sent to me by Sassy.  Aren't they great?  I might have made this one too girly with the ribbon, but I couldn't resist this beautiful golden ribbon by Making Memories. 
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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 #88

I've been having fun with this My Mind's Eye paper.  Here's a version of Sketch #88 using that paper along with a circle element for the sentiment.  
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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.

Fun!

Fun!  That's what I'm having this weekend.  I'm excited to be reconnecting with college friends at our reunion this weekend.  On today's agenda- a picnic, river cruise, and fireworks display.

Paper by K & Co does all the work in this card.  I layered it on cardstock punched with a Fiskars border.  
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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.

Patterned paper does the work

What an exciting day!  I am honored to be featured on OWH Stars and Stamps as this week's cardmaker.  I was so thrilled to get an e-mail a few months ago asking if I would like to be featured.  Go over to the S&S blog to check it out.  If that's where you came from, thanks for visiting! 

Don't you just love it when the patterned paper does all the work?  This is a sheet of K & Co patterned paper.  I was excited to realize that it fit on a card.  I added the banner and sentiment by Unity Stamp Co and this card was ready to roll.

My college reunion is this weekend.  I thought this would be a fitting card to share since this was one of the cliche phrases heard all over campus when I was in college!  
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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.

Sketch 89 (almost)

Do you recognize this paper?  I've worked with a lot of DCWV Crafty stack sheets this month.  The patterns are so fun and retro.  The flowers are by Making Memories, stamp by SU.  This is almost sketch #89 from OWH.  I keep hearing sketches are just jumping off points, so we're going to call it #89, OK?  :)   It's worth your while to click that last link.  There are free digis on that page in addition to the sketch. 

This card is for my best friend, Claire, whose birthday is today.  While most of my cards go to OWH, this one won't be.  Making it for Claire gave me the perfect excuse to use a super-thick pearl brad by My Mind's Eye and not worry about "mail fail" for our heroes.  I have padded envelopes!  Claire called yesterday to say she'd gotten the card.  After she read it, she showed it to her fiance.  She said he was nonchalant until she told him I'd made it- then he was impressed.  I told her the biggest compliment was that it looked good enough he didn't know I'd made it!  :)
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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 121 and Tropical MWT

Here's my take on OWH Sketch 121.  I went with brights for the tropical colors Midweek Throwdown from Operation Write Home, so put on your sunglasses!  

I used a 3/4" punch to add the circles to the vertical strips. The sentiment was computer generated and punched out with EK Success punches.  Ribbon by Offray. 

I've made it halfway through May with a blog post every day!  My goal is to get through all of May with a daily post as part of the WordCount blog challenge.  Have you been blogging more of late? 
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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.

Birthday Paisley

I've been working through my patterned papers and finding patterns that lend themselves to be focal points, then making those papers into simple cards that showcase the paper.

Here's one such card.  The paisley paper is from an old DCWV Spring Stack  The cardstock was all random pieces from my stash.  All punches are EK Success except the doily which is MS.   The sentiment is SU.  The brad is MM. 

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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 #69

I wrangled some scraps into this card, based off OWH Sketch #69.  The main paper is DCWV and the cardstock is from my stash.  The tree embellishment is from Walmart about two years ago.  The ribbon is by JoAnn.

I won't send this card in to OWH for a while since it is a fall theme.  The elements just came together, so I went for it, even if it's off-season. 
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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.

My mom's mother's day card

Mom and I were shopping together at JoAnn a few months ago.  Since we live a few hours apart, that doesn't happen often and I love those times together!  We spotted this stamp along with several Father's Day stamps.  She picked this one out and said she wanted me to use it on her card.  We decided she'd probably forget by the the Mother's Day rolled around.  We'll see if it's truly a surprise when she opens up the card!  (Dad, by the way, will get a similar sentiment when his day comes next month.  Can't have him feeling left out, now can we?)

Paper: We R Memory Keepers Madame Royale
Sketch: OWH 74
Tools: Tim Holtz Distress tool
Flowers: Making Memories
Brad: My Mind's Eye
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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.

Mother's Day for my aunt

Here's the Mother's Day card I made for my aunt.  I think she'll love the shape of the card and the monochromatic look.  

Paper: American Crafts
Dies: Spellbinders Labels 8
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment), American Crafts (flowers)
Twine: We R Memory Keepers, inked
Ink: Martha Stewart
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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.

Mother's Day for Mommom

This is the card I made for my grandmother for Mother's Day.  She loves flowers and surely misses gardening now that she lives in an assisted living facility.  She has a few houseplants and is always eager to feel the soil to see if they need water.  :)  The colors of this card remind me of the flower pots she kept in her shed, the yellow in particular.

Paper: from stash
Ribbon: Offray
Rhinestones: JoAnn and MME
Stamps: Hampton Arts (sentiment) and American Crafts (flower)
Ink: Martha Stewart
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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.

Mother's Day

You know, the only thing I don't like about making cards for Operation Write Home (and I do mean *only*) is that by the time the holidays roll around, I am tired of making cards for them.  I have yet to get organized enough to make my family cards at the time I'm making them for OWH.  So, I finished making Mother's Day cards almost two months ago.  Now I need to make the ones for my mom, grandmother, and great aunt.  Tonight.  Mom picked out her stamp, so I at least have that much of the design decided.  I need to make three totally different cards because they'll all open the cards together and it's more fun when they're different. 

I also need to make a couple of simple scrapbook pages tonight for my homeroom's Character Counts Coach.  The kids wrote him letters and I always put them into an 8x8 album for him at the end of the year with a class photo.  I need a page for the photo and a title page.  Which means I need to take a class photo tomorrow and print it this weekend.  Hmm...too bad I already know at least one kid will be absent.  

Off to be crafty!  And write lesson plans!  And get things ready for the weekend! 

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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.

Princess Tiona

I am starting on a series of princess cards.  I'm sure OWH gets plenty of girly cards, but when I saw a pack of Disney Princess stickers marked down to 78 cents at Target, I couldn't resist.  There are four identical stickers for each of 6 princesses: Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Tiona, Ariel, and Snow White.  I found these stickers in the party supplies, not the scrapbooking section.  It sometimes pays to go to other aisles to find great crafty materials! 

The papers are all from the American Crafts packs I bought at Tuesday Morning not too long ago.  I used various brads from my stash (Colorbok and maybe SU!), a border punch by American Girls/EK Success, and a holographic crown that's likely by Darice.

I left the cards with no sentiment so they can be either general notes home to little girls or birthday cards. 

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.

Chick Challenge #29

Back with another Chick Challenges with Ippity sketch challenge, #29.  This card uses some scraps of DCVW Crafty Stack paper and a sentiment from Unity's You & Me set.  I'll send this to Operation Write Home so a military hero can write a message to a loved one.  This sentiment would make the card great for congratulations, love, or thanks depending on the note inside.  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.

Allison's challenge: Blue and Gray

Allison asked us to make a card using blue and gray.  Oh, boy!  A challenge involving gray.  I love wearing gray but I find it so hard to match grays when making cards.  I dug through my stash to find some paper that met the color challenge, paired it with a Unity stamp that I just love, and voila!

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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.

Sam's challenge- invitation with buttons

Sam's Perfect sentiments challenge was to use a button on an invitation.

I'm planning a shower for a friend, so I thought I would use this challenge as a practice for a possible invitation design.  This won't be what we use, I'm sure, but it was fun to play with the colors I had in mind.   The details are on the inside of the card. 
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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.

Karen's vellum birthday challenge

Karen challenged us to use a bit of vellum to make a birthday card.  I went with a window design to showcase a flower printed on vellum.  I need to work on my embossing technique, but I like the design of the card, so I may try more of these in the future. 
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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.

Maggie's challenge- Thinking of You

Maggie from the Perfect Sentiments bloghop challenged us to use colors from a picture of red, yellow, green, orange, and white along with a thinking of you sentiment.  Here's what I made:

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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.

Two girls at play- friendship challenge

Over at Two Girls at Play, the Perfect Sentiments challenge is to make a card with a vintage feel and a friendship sentiment.  I used some lace from my grandmother's house.  I don't know how old the lace it, so it really could be vintage!   

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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.

Abby's challenge- black and white plus ribbon

Abby's challenge at the Perfect Sentiments Challenge was to make a card using only black and white plus ribbon or twine.  I've had this pp for a while and struggled to use it. I like how it looks with no colors competing for attention.  I used two kinds of ribbon- printed grosgrain and white satin.  This card will go to Operation Write Home.   
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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.

Jennipher's Challenge- Scripture

When I started working on this challenge, I realized I don't have many scripture stamps.  Jennipher challenged us to make a card where scripture was the focal point as part of the Perfect Sentiments bloghop.  I chose the largest scripture stamp I own which is an Easter stamp.  It's still the Easter season, but it's a bit late to send the card.  I'll go ahead and save this one for next year's box that will be going to Operation Write Home.  

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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.

Beth's Challenge- VCMP #6/ Sassy's Perfect Sentiment Challenge

I've got a card for two different challenges.  I never manage to combine them, but these worked together well.  Beth is hosting the 6th OWH Rebel Challenge and she challenged us to use a die.  Sassy Moments at the Perfect Sentiments bloghop also wanted a die, plus a few other things: ribbon, embossing, red/orange/pink/yellow/white/green color scheme, a stamped image, and a sentiment on the front.  Check, check, check, check, and check.  This card is based off OWH Sketch #73. 

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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.