A new twist

I was cleaning up a bit in my craft room and saw a stack of four partially completed cards.  I used these at a card party I hosted in September.  I think we ran out of the flowers that were supposed to go across the center stripe.   What I found were the stamped bases with the two stripes across the middle.  I found a sofa stamp I had never used, stamped it on colored cardstock that matched the ink used on the sentiment, cut it out, and popped it up on a square the same color as the base.  I inked everything with Antique Linen distress ink and tied it up with a black bow.  It felt good to use up those partially completed cards!

And now that I have my Tonic paper trimmer, I can really see how bad the old one was.  The edges on this card aren't perfectly clean or straight.  Combine that with the fact that some of my guests weren't very good at lining things up, and you have a recipe for a "handmade" card.  :)

This was the original card that I made for the party.  I switched the colors before I made kits, I guess. 

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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.

The Mistake-Riddled Card

Let me tell you the story of a simple card whose creation was riddled with mistakes.  I started this card by choosing some scrap strips of cardstock in bright colors and punching them with my star border punch.  I attached them to the card base, trimmed a bit off the sides, and realized I needed to add something to the top.  Ribbon!  I checked my stash and nothing matched.  I chose the yellow since I thought it at least complimented the other colors.  Then I cut the ribbon too short.  Not a problem- I just covered the gap with a felt embellishment.  That embellishment was now off center and made the card look wonky.  I stamped a sentiment and punched it out with a scallop circle.  It was too round so I picked a different stamp.  The stamp came out crooked which reminded me that I need to remount the stamp straight. To remedy the crooked stamping, I decided to cut the sentiment into a wavy banner.  When I laid it on the card, I decided I needed to walk away lest I mess up anything else I'd need to fix! 

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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.

Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue

We have all heard that it's good luck for brides to wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something new.  I saw a tutorial from Sandy Allnock on making this dress card and I knew I wanted to try it as a wedding gown. 

I only made two small changes from what Sandy did on her card.  I used a flower on the bow.  If it's a wedding gown, the bride had better have a bouquet, or at least a single flower!  I also changed the neckline.  I never have good luck with bling.  I usually turn a decent card into something trashy when I try to add it.  I couldn't make a lace trim neckline out of the particular lace I was using, so I used my scallop circle punch and Xyron to add a little subtle detail.  

Something old: the lace is from my grandmother's house.
Something new: the paper flower is from a pack I just got last month (or was it this month?).
Something borrowed: the idea- thanks, Sandy!
Something blue: the ribbon and the brad, of course.

This was a fun card to make and I encourage you to give it a try!  
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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.

Ippity Chick Challenge #36

The moment I saw this sketch, I loved it.  I really need to work off sketches because my cards are entirely too plain when I don't.  This sketch gave me a good jumping off point, and then I felt like I could run with it and add some details of my own.  

Since it's an ippity challenge, I needed to use only stamps from Unity.  I chose this owl stamp because he is great to paper piece.  I love that about a lot of Unity stamps- they are large enough to piece and have thick lines so they're more forgiving when it comes to cutting!  I used papers by Cosmo Cricket as well as some kraft and cream cardstock. 

After I created the owl, I folded an envelope from a 5.5" square of kraft cardstock.  I attached the bottom flaps with ATG but I used some orange washi to hold the top closed so that the sender and recipient can open the envelope.  In the envelope, I included several small cards that increase the amount of space for writing in this card.  Since I will send this card to Operation Write Home, that's particularly important.  Our heroes can't always get other paper in the theater, so we try to make sure to maximize writing space by lining dark card bases and including extra folded paper if we make a smaller shaped card. 

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.

Awash in Washi

I'm always late on the bandwagon for any trend, though I may have succeeded in not being the last person on the face of the planet to use washi.

A few people were posting about the Target washi on the OWH FB page and since I made several more cards with it yesterday, I thought I'd post the group of them here.  The red, green, and blue packs are currently available and contain 4 rolls for $4. The yellow/orange pack has been discontinued but I was lucky enough to happen upon it at a Goodwill store quite by accident. 

The things I like most about washi are that it's quick to use and very easy to remedy a mistake because you can peel it up and reposition it.  These cards took less than 10 minutes each on average. 

This one is my entry for Unity's opportunity challenge to use bright colors.  :)

This card uses the Studio G paper tape available at Walmart for 97 cents a roll.  I don't like it as well as Target's, but I have it, so I should use it!  The designs are cool, but it's just not as nice to work with. 

I hope you can spend a few dollars on a few rolls of washi and have some fun!  If you would like to see other cards I've posted using washi, click the label "washi" at the bottom of this post. 
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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.

Kits for a friend

I belong to a little FB group of ladies who support OWH and also like to do swaps and trade supplies.  One of the ladies, N, is planning to take her cardmaking supplies to the hospital during an upcoming stay and a few of us volunteered to send her some kits.  It can't be easy to put together kits while also thinking of all the other things you'd need to do at home before being away for several days.

I looked through my papers and decided to use the DCWV Green Tea stack.  I really love this stack for its patterns and color scheme.  I hope N likes it too. 

Here's the one card I made.  There are five identical kits on their way to her.  Of course, I wrote a little note to N in this card, but I stuck it to a Post-it.  Some OWHers do this so they can then reuse the card and send it to our heroes. 

Paper: DCWV Green Tea
Ribbon: Target (Christmas gift wrap ribbon pack)
Rhinestones: JoAnn Kids Camp
Sketch: OWH #56
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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.

Unity FWF - Love you to the moon and back

I was going through my stamps earlier this week and thought I should keep my eyes peeled for some celestial paper to go with this sentiment.  As luck would have it, I started working on Halloween and fall cards yesterday and found this starry paper in last year's DCWV Halloween and Fall stack.  I made multiples of these for OWH last night while watching a movie.

Stamp: Unity Stamp Co.  (Friday = Friends with Flair!)
Paper: DCWV
Brad: Making Memories
Ribbon: Target (from Christmas gift wrapping ribbon pack)

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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.

Hi again!

Summer vacation should mean more time for cardmaking, but it's actually been the opposite so far.  I've been off work two weeks now but I've since worked two days (that's the myth about teaching- summers off aren't always truly summers off) and been away for several days to visit family.  It's been good, but there are still so many things to be done around the house that I'd really like to have finished before July!

I sat down the last two nights and made a few cards.  It felt good!  I also found some paper to give away.  I think I'll do that again once or twice this summer.  It's nice to share the wealth and make some room.  It also makes me feel like I can justify a paper purchase or two, like the great Graphic 45 I picked up recently.  It was very masculine prints, something I needed! 

The cards I'm going to share are made from a bunch of scraps that were on my desk.  The scrap wrangler would have a fit upon viewing the calamity that is my craft room, so last night I set to work cutting any papers on my desk into A2 sizes.  Scraps were sent out to pasture!  That work last night led to a few extra cards.  There's still a lot of work to be done on getting everything just so, but I'm up for the challenge. 

The last card is my MWT (yellow and blue) card.  The yellow is very pale, but it's there on the houndstooth cloud!  

General, Masculine card

Finally used the horse stamp I've had for ages!

I like this one better now that I've seen it photographed!

The barcode strips on papers sometimes have great designs to use.  Except the red, this is all from the same sheet of paper. 

 

I think I CASEd myself on this one, or pretty close to it. 

All scraps but the layers, from three different collections!  Also for the MWT - yellow and blue.

The next challenge is due on July 4th.  Have you sent your box?  I only have a few days before I need to ship my box and it might not be full.  I might have to sit this challenge out.  We'll see- sometimes I surprise myself!  
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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.

33 invitations in 150 minutes

My poor OWH box is going to think I've thrown in the towel.  I haven't, but a few other pressing projects have kept me from making OWH cards in the past several days.

First it was the baby blankets, now it's bridal shower invitations.  My best friend since 9th or 10th grade is getting married this fall and as her maid of honor, I've got a few things to organize.   There are lots of voices in the decision making process- the bride, the mother of the bride, three other bridesmaids, and sometimes the groom gets a vote too.  This doesn't work well for me.  I'm a decision maker.  Let's listen to everyone's ideas, get the facts, and make a decision pronto.  I was contemplating this character trait earlier this evening and subsequently talked with the bride on the phone.  During our brief conversation about reserving parking lots for the wedding, she said, "Kathryn, you're a decision maker."  Unfortunately, either the other parties aren't of this ilk or no one feels comfortable enough to take the reigns and dictate a decision or even offer a fully formed opinion when it's solicited.   Anyway, that's built up to a bridal shower that's been in the planning stages for about three months.  We must have gone back and forth about location and date for over a month.  Finally, the venue contract was signed yesterday.  I had been waiting on finishing the invitations until I knew everything was OK.  I got the green light at 8pm or so and had the 33 invitations printed, assembled, and tucked into envelopes by 10:30.  Outta my way people, I want to be efficient!  I should say that I had addressed and stamped the envelopes a few days ago and pre-cut my cardstock layers over the weekend.  All that was left to do was print, cut down that cardstock to size, and attach the laters.  I'll deliver the invitations to the PO tomorrow and hope that the guests are good about sending me their RSVPs in a timely fashion.  Fingers crossed because I don't have phone numbers for the guests! 

I didn't include a photo of the invitation here because it's full of the personal details that one shouldn't publish on a blog and the shower is a surprise for the bride, so I wouldn't want her to read this and see a preview of anything!  It's very simple, anyway, just an invitation blank with a decorative border at the bottom and several layers of cardstock placed on top with the topmost layer printed with the invitation text.  Classic. 

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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.

heart "felt" thanks

Here are two cards I made with felt accents.  The scalloped rectangles are from my mom- she bought packs of 100 for less than a dollar and didn't know what to do with all of them, so she gave me a stack of each.  I placed the folded card base on top of the scallop.  Both sets of embellishments were purchased and the sentiments are rub-ons by Karen Foster Designs.  In the top card, I stamped the background with stamps by Oriental Trading Company.  On the bottom card, I used a Fiskars crimper to give the yellow paper texture.      
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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.

knit 1, purl 2

Basically this entire weekend was dedicated to a baby blanket project.  I started this blanket back in the winter, late in January I think, and I've been working on it here and there ever since.  Mostly, I've worked on it when I was visiting my parents as there are less things to distract me when I'm away from home.  I got 3/4 of it done by Easter and then my progress halted as school kept me pretty busy and I didn't feel all that motivated to finish it.  The baby's due date was this week but I won't be seeing the family until the middle of the month, so that was my goal.  I watched about 3 or 4 movies yesterday while finishing the blanket and it's finally done.  I literally started at 10am and finished around 6:30pm, barely leaving the couch.  This is the first blanket I've ever attempted and by far my largest yarn project.  It's very cuddly, so I hope that makes up for the fact its corners aren't quite square.   I'll be getting plenty of practice this summer, though.  As I mentioned a few weeks ago, it's babypalooza in my social circle and there are three more babies on their way by mid-September between my close friends and family members.  I am already working on my next blanket for a shower in July.  Then there's another shower in late August, so they're spaced nicely.  I don't think there will be a shower for the other baby on my list because it's the fourth for that family, but I'll still be making a blanket for the new little boy or girl. 

Here are a couple of close-ups.  I'll get a picture of the whole thing tomorrow when I can take it outside and get natural light.  Inside at night, the whole thing looks yellow, which it's not.   

The blanket is constructed of four squares.  They're bound together with a single crochet stitch, as shown below. 

And everyone needs a matching hat!

P.S.- Baby boy was born this week and he's a cutie!  Mom and baby are doing just fine and are home from the hospital. 
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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.

Cherry hello

 I made this using a rhinestone sticker (10 cents at Goodwill!)

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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.

Wonderful Washi Part 2 and Unity FWF

It's Friday which means it's time for Friends with Flair on Unity's blog.  I got some more washi at Target today.  My favorite so far are definitely their up&up brand rolls (4 for $4) which I used on most of the cards below.  They also have some paper tape in the kids crafts aisle with bold prints or all solids, 9 rolls for $6.99.   I have some more ideas I want to try out with the kiddie stuff tomorrow.

For now, here's my Friends with Flair entry.  I used Walmart's paper tape on this card.  

And here are a bunch of other cards I made with the washi from Target.  

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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.

Wonderful Washi

I found some great washi tape at Goodwill today.  A package of four rolls was $1.99.  It was originally from Target and from what I read online, you can probably still get other colors in the same patterns for $4 a pack at Target.  I like this kind better than what I got at Walmart and wrote about a few days ago.  This kind is thinner, more sticky, and less opaque.  It's much more like masking tape than the Studio G stuff. 

I was able to make a bunch of cards with this washi in almost no time.  It's certainly easy to put these cards together and I love the colors!

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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 #77

More pretty My Mind's Eye paper for this sketch.  I just picked up the stamp at Michaels this weekend though I think it's been around for a few years. 

Today is the beginning of my summer vacation.  Woot!  I've been ready for summer for a month, so I cannot wait to get started on the fun, travel, and home projects that come with the 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.

Scrappy background

From making some fruit-themed cards that I shared recently, I had a number of thin strips of cardstock ready to hit the bin.  When I realized they were a good size to use for the scrap background tutorial and they were in coordinating colors, I knew I had to dive in while the opportunity presented itself.  Making the background was really quick since the strips were already cut.  It probably took me less than five minutes to lay out the strips and trim the excess off.   I mounted the background on a card base, added a sentiment with a layer, and had the card finished in no time.  While I won't make this card if I have to cut the strips,  I'll keep it in mind for times when I have lots of these strips left over. 

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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 #101

Here's one of the hardest OWH sketches for me, #101.  I'm not good with lots of fussy bits like these pennants.  Thankfully, I had the idea to use glue dots on the backs of the pennants instead of ATG and it was easier than I expected.  I used My Mind's Eye paper that I picked up over the weekend at AC Moore for $2 with a coupon.  I'm loving the size of the patterns on 6x6 paper - so much better suited for cards than most 12x12 papers.  I also felt it was easier to attach the pennants with brads in the corners instead of having string go all the way across. 

This card isn't for OWH.  (They don't want retirement cards since it's an uncommon event and thinking of you or blank would work fine.)  One of my beloved coworkers is retiring after 41 years of teaching.  She's a legend and an inspiration.  She's teaching grandchildren of her original students at this point!  I've so enjoyed getting to know her over the past four years and I will sorely miss her next school year.  Anyway, she's into vintage quilts, so I chose a set of papers that reminded me of vintage fabrics.

Papers by MME.  Sentiment stamp by Studio G.  Punches by Fiskars (triangles) and EK Success (label).  I distressed the sentiment with Antique Linen.  The other pieces are distressed with the Tim Holtz tool.  Brads by Colorbok.
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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.

Washi trial

I bought a roll of washi tape at Walmart to see what this craze is all about.   I figured I was willing to pay 97 cents to try out this trend. 

What I like: it's easy to cut or tear and already has adhesive on the back. 
What I don't like: the adhesive doesn't seem strong enough to be permanent- I was able to peel several pieces up to reposition them with no trouble. 

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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 colored!

I set a goal at the beginning of the year to color at least 20% of my cards.  I don't know what I was thinking because I don't like coloring that much!  Here and there I dabble.  I usually decide I need more markers to pull off the look I want and abandon coloring in favor of stamped sentiments and patterned papers.  

When I spotted a pack of stamps featuring Changito the monkey, I had to get them.  I know several people who love monkeys and the stamps are just too cute!  I stamped several of this particular image and decided to try coloring.  Come to find out I don't have any dark brown Copics nor do I have enough greens to successfully blend leaves.  I was able to fill in with my Bic Mark-its and then blend the colors together using some of the light Copic colors I have.  Don't look super close, but it didn't come out too badly.  

With the palm tree, does this just remind you so much of summer?  I'm getting ready to be on summer vacation from teaching at the end of the week and I know I would love to be peeking out from the other side of a palm tree when this week is over!  I'm linking this card up to the Stampendous Blog for their summer card challenge.  

Stamps: Stampendous
Brads: Colorbok
Punches: EK Success 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 squares
Patterned paper: purchased at Big Lots in a random pack- manufacturer unknown. 
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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 124

I used OWH Sketch 124 for the design of this card.  The papers are from the K&Co Boy Scouts stack- a great sources of manly papers.  I want to put a sentiment in the upper left corner of the square, but I can't figure out which sentiment to use.  I've got tons to pick from- any suggestions?  If other people think it's good as is, I don't mind leaving it, but to me that corner is calling out for attention! At the bottom, I tied some cotton twine that I dyed with Distress Inks to add to the rustic feel of the card.   

UPDATE:  Thanks to the caring advice of many who left comments, I went back through my stamps and found an appropriately-sized "hello" stamp.  I attached the sentiment with a brad and cut the ends to look like a banner.  To my eye, the card looks finished now whereas before it didn't.  Thanks for the suggestions! 

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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.