Card kits for CHA

In this video, Sandy put out a request for card kits for people to assemble at CHA.  She specifically asked us to feature OWH fundraiser stamps if we could.

Below are the three card kits I made.  Thanks to everyone who offered advice on the minnow card when I couldn't quite decide what was "off" about it.  I took the great advice to add the post to the sentiment to turn it into a sign and now I'm pleased with the design.  Now, let's hope one of these kits is selected to make the trip to CHA!  :)

Featuring Paper Smooches Circle of Honor

Featuring Stamper's Best Write Soon Minnow

Featuring Stamper's Best Turtely Awesome

A special thanks to Cora for asking me to blog about the minnow card.  It was a good push to put something on this blog once again! 

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

Wordle

 A Wordle for Joanne.  To anyone, please feel free to use for OWH cards.  :)

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

World Card Making Day 2013

Welcome to my post for the Operation Write Home World Card Making Day Blog Hop!  If you need to get back to the list of posts, click on this banner. 

I used OWH Sketch #176, loosely adapted. 

Happy hopping! 
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

Look out! A deadline is coming!

Ok, so I've been largely absent from my craft room for the past several months.  I had a busy summer and the beginning of the school year has also felt like a whirlwind.  But, I know that the Christmas deadline for OWH is fast approaching and I wanted to get my box out in time for that since I made a bunch of Christmas cards early in 2013.

Sandy also asked us to post pictures of us holding cards that we're sending soon.  Here's a close up of the card I posted and a similar one I made while I was trying out different designs.

The globe is done with Distress Ink (Broken China and Peeled Paint) on glossy photo paper.  I used a wadded up paper towel soaked with some rubbing alcohol to swirl the colors.  It's not as fancy as the glossy paper that you're meant to use with these inks, but it was sitting around the house begging to be used.  I'd love to tell you who made the stamps, but I don't know.  I bought them at a dollar store in a mall in Massachusetts a few years ago.  The patterned paper is ancient (over 10 years old) Making Memories and the embossing folder is "Love is in the Air" by Cuttlebug. 
  

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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/Unity Blog Skip

Welcome to my stop on the Operation Write Home Blog Skip featuring Unity Stamp Company.  If you've come seeing the awesome work on Dixie's blog, you're in the right place.  If not, you might want to start at the top of the hop so you won't miss any of the blogs!

I've been a fan and collector of Unity stamps for a couple of years now, so I am very excited that they're partnering with OWH for this skip.  Here are two AnyHero cards I've made using a few of Unity's patriotic stamps, which are very affordable at just $1.79 each.

Stamp available here.  While the tags appear shiny, please note that this is metallic paper and not glittered paper which would pose a safety risk to our heroes.  Nothing rubs off of this paper, so it is safe. 

Update: Several people have asked about the metallic paper.  It's by Making Memories and is several years old, but I was able to find it here.   It is possible to stamp on it with an ink such as Staz-on.  I just chose not to as I wanted the attention to focus on the sentiment.  Rub-ons or stickers should also work OK.  I didn't use a specific punch to make the tags.  I just cut a rectangle about 1"x2" and used a corner rounder and hole punch to finish the tag. 

Stamp available here.  This sketch by Nancy was part of the Labor Day Virtual Card Making Party. 

For many people, designing the AnyHero cards is easier than writing inside them.  Here's what I tend to write inside in case you would like some ideas.  First, I start out with "Dear Hero" and thank the hero for serving our country.  Next, I tell a little bit about myself.  Sometimes I mention my family's history of military service.  My grandfather and all five of his brothers served; between them they served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam and their service is something that my family is very proud of.  Other times, I'll talk about my job as a teacher and how I see our heroes' sacrifices safeguarding the freedom of the children I teach.  In other cards, I've talked about the freedoms I enjoy that are made possible by the military protecting us.  Then I finish by thanking the hero again and expressing my hope for their safe return home.  If you find it hard to get started writing AnyHero notes, photo cards like this one are great because they prompt you to tell a story about the picture you took.  Just be sure to use you own photos to avoid copyright issues. 

Next up on the skip is Paula.  I'm always impressed with Paula's designs, so hurry over to her blog and see what she has to share! 

Thanks for visiting! 
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

VCMP 2013!

Thank goodness for the OWH Virtual Card Making Party!  After a dry spell of almost two months in which I didn't make cards for OWH, it felt good to pick up the ATG and put some cards together today.  I'm a teacher, so I'm sure most people think I would be less busy in the summer than during the school year, but the opposite is generally true for me.  I try to pack in several trips to visit my family, professional development, curriculum work, and big projects around the house.  During the school year, I have to make cards because it's great stress release! 

Anyway, here are my Saturday VCMP cards (all made after church today, go figure)!  I was clearly feeling the primary colors this afternoon.  :)

Challenge #1- Sketch

 

Challenge #2- Spell OWH
I used an OLD corner rounder, WINTER papers, and a HOUSE.

Challenge #3- Triple Time Dies I might have gone overboard with the ink. 
The plainness was driving me nuts. 
There's probably a happy medium to be achieved.

Challenge #4- Love card with Sketch #29 Sorry Annette, I changed the dimensions!
I think this might be appealing for men rather than lacy pink cards.
I had to type up the sentiment because this paper just screamed, "Use me!"

 

 

Challenge #5- Masking tape stamping 
This one was so easy and I loved the result! 
I put some foam under my paper when I stamped.
For me, that's easier than turning the stamp over and placing the paper on top.  

I doubt I'll do Sunday's challenges because I have lots of schoolwork that I should do this evening and tomorrow.  I'm teaching French I this year in addition to math, so I've got lots of work to do to familiarize myself with the curriculum and create materials.   

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

Non-patriotic Any Hero card

For a while, I've known it was time to branch out when making AnyHero cards and do some that weren't patriotic. After all, our heroes might grow tired of red, white, and blue or stars and stripes themes.  I took a photo (an extra left from scrapbooking) and turned it into this card.

The best part of making AnyHero cards this way is that the messages don't have to be your generic "thank you for serving" blah, blah, blah.  I have a hard time writing a "chatty" note to someone I don't know at all!  
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

June swap cards

I've been swapping card kits for several months now with some fellow OWH card makers.  For June, our theme was something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.  I haven't finished the kits, but here are the cards I've made so far.  There's at least something from each person's kit below, but I have enough to make two or three cards from each kit. 

Sandi's kit

Sandi's kit (I had to let the adorable paper shine!

Linda's kit

Linda's kit

Nancy's kit

Jen's kit (I cut the card to 4" wide so the banner could hang off but still fit in an A2 envelope)

 
I realized today that I hadn't ever made anything with my May kits.  It might be time to get on that!  Happy crafting!
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

AI and OWH Bloghop

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my stop on the Art Impressions/Operation Write Home Bloghop.  If you're new to Operation Write Home, it's an organization that sends blank hand made cards to deployed military units.  For me, it's been a great way to give back and honor my family members who have served while making use of my talent and supplies.  If you're interested in more information, be sure to visit Operation Write Home's website and Facebook page. 

Art Impressions is a loyal supporter of OWH.  Art Impressions has released two new fundraiser sets today and 25% of every purchase of these stamps will benefit OWH.  Shopping and charity, what a great combination! 

If you missed the start of the hop, it can be found on the Art Impressions blog. There are 17 designers and I'm sure you'll want to catch them all.

Here's the card I made using the new OWH Every Hat set.  It comes with this adorable lady to color and two sentiments.  

Paper: DCWV A Type of Art Stack
Copic colors: B00, B02, B04, B06, B32, B34, BG0000, R22, R24, R29, R35, R39, C5, E31, Y13, Y17, YR04, YR20, YR23, and YR27 (I'm still learning to color, so please forgive any mistakes!)  
Punch: Fiskars Apron Lace
Dies: Spellbinders Circles
Other: Brads from stash, probably by Making Memories 

The second set of stamps is the OWH Sending Love set.  Isn't it so cute how the string connecting the cans spells out LOVE? 

Paper: K & Co Halloween Mat Pad
Punches: EK Success Binding Edge and Flourish Square, Stampin Up Curly Label
Dies: Cuttlebug heart
Other: Glossy Accents (on heart)

Now, I'm sure you want to go place an order for these great new stamps.  The logo below will take you to Art Impression's online store. 

Your next stop on the hop is Lee Mae at Boxes of Dogs.  She always shares awesome cards on the Operation Write Home blog, so I'm sure you'll want to see what she has for you!   Thanks for visiting. 


If you're lost, here are all of the stops:

1. Art Impressions
2. Crafter's Home
3. Crystal Lopez 
4. Dixie Cochran
5. Paula Spagnuolo 
6. Karen Day 
7. Kathryn Belmonte (You're here!)
8. Lee Mae Elkins
9. Kerry Kung
10. Nancy Keller
11. Piali Biswas
12. Kristie Marcotte
13. Reneé Matarese
14. Ronni Unger
15. Rhonda Harre
16. Sandy Allnock
17. Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

Midweek Throwdown and ODBD: Water

Use your imagination a little on this card, please.  The Midweek Throwdown from Wednesday AND the June ODBD challenge was to use water on our cards.  It's implied on my card, I guess!

 The stamps are by Studio G (sentiment) and Inkadinkado (bird).  Coloring is with Copics B0000, W3, B21, E11, Y17, and YR04.  The background paper is what I started with on this card.  I have been ever so slowly using this DCWV Pocket of Posies mat stack and I decided tonight to see if I could finish it up in the next few days.  It's been hanging around at least four years, so it's time!   

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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

I used this week's sketch to make a graduation card for one of my first students. My first class graduated this week!

And, a gift for the grad:

 

It contains M&Ms, Snickers, microwave popcorn, Ramen, applesauce, easy mac, animal crackers, apple juice, granola bars, raisins, chocolate covered pretzels, and disposable flatware.  I think I forgot a couple of items, too, since I packed it up a week ago.  I bought the groceries largely at Dollar Tree  and spent about $20-25 including the container.  The smaller packages at DT seemed like a good idea for a college girl and allowed me to offer more variety in one compact container. 

I was inspired by the exam week care packages that parents could order through the Women's League at my college.  Mom only ordered me one once (the rest of the time she made me a specialized one with my favorites), but I remember being impressed by the variety of snacks included.  They filled a plastic shoe box with individual serving sizes of about 20 snacks. 

Blog Candy Winner

Many thanks to everyone who made this weekend's bloghop a success.  I received twice as many hits and comments as I did in the same hop last year, so I can tell that OWH is growing by leaps and bounds.  Welcome to anyone who is new to OWH and joined us for the first time!  

 

The winner of my blog candy is Shana.  I've sent her an e-mail.

Shana May 25, 2013 at 7:46 PM

I love that you let the paper show off. I too much always add images, and forget some of the papers have great images.
Thanks again and have a fantastic week!
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

6x6 Cutting Formula

If you're visiting from the Operation Write Home Tuesday Tutorial, welcome!  Thanks to Kristie, Seongsook, and Sandy for inspiring this tutorial.  Kristie is the mistress of all things 6x6, Seongsook's been offering up great One Sheet Wonder templates recently, and Sandy did an episode of OWHtv on her method of using a 6x6 pad.  Here's my take on the topic of 6x6 paper pads:  

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and marks an annual tradition for Operation Write Home: the biggest bloghop of the year.

I signed up weeks ago to participate and then ended up too busy to make a card until the last minute.  I pulled out a 6x6 pad because they are my crutch when I need an awesome card in a short amount of time.  I'm guaranteed that the papers go together, so I can layer them up and not have to worry about clashing!  You can check out my card here if you missed the hop! 

6x6 pads have been the talk of lots of OWHers and were even the subject of a tutorial.  Lots of comments on my blog hop post indicated OWHers are interested in the idea but haven't gotten a chance to dive in yet.  I'm with them; I still haven't tried to make all of the pages in one 6x6 into cards all at once.  Why?  I think it's because I tend to cut into several sheets to make one card and then I'm faced with a pile of scraps that seem too small for much of anything except a scrappy background.  I'm also more than a little overwhelmed with the idea of tackling all that paper at once.  When I start something, I like to finish, so I'd be sitting for a long time to get through 24 sheets! 

Today, I set out to change my concern into a method that works for me.  I made myself a little 6x6 template and put 6 of them on a sheet of computer paper.  I knew that most pads come in multiples of 6, so I figured that to be a good starting point. I wanted to make a cutting formula that would use 6 sheets of 6x6 paper at a time with minimal waste.

I made two templates.  Template 1 makes 9 cards and template 2 makes 8 cards.

Here are the cutting templates and the cards I made from them.  On each square, note the order to make the cuts.  Same sized pieces can be swapped based on whether you want to repeat or vary the patterns.  Template 1 says it makes eight cards, but it's really nine.  If your papers are single sided, you'll need to cut each page twice (in two different patterns) to provide enough variation in the papers. 

In Template 1, cards 1A-1D are based on OWH Sketch 1, card 2 is based on OWH Sketch 7, card 3A-3B are based on OWH Sketch 8, and cards 4A-4B are based on OWH Sketch 135.  Sample cards are made with papers from My Mind's Eye All Spice.

Template 1, Cards 1A and 1B

Template 1, Cards 1C and 1D

Template 1, Card 2.  Also great horizontal

Template 1, Cards 3A and 3B

Template 1, Cards 4A and 4B

In Template 2, cards 1A-1C are based on OWH Sketch 154.  The others have some similarities to previous OWH sketches but aren't true copies of any of them, sorry!  Sample cards from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy Boy.   

Template 2, Cards 1A and 1B

Template 2, Cards 1C and 2A

Template 2, Card 2B

Template 2, Card 3

Template 2, Cards 4A and 4B (My favorite!)

If you try these cutting templates, plan on three 12x12 or four 8.5 x 11 sheets of cardstock for layers and matting in a color that will go with all of your patterns.  You might squeeze out the 8 or 9 cards with one less sheet of cardstock, but I prefer to have plenty of material for layering.  As far as color goes, I like to choose something with good contrast in case the patterns are busy.

I hope this helps you get started with your stash of 6x6 paper pads! Please leave me a link below if you try it out.  I'd love to see your creations!

P.S. For anyone who wants the templates in a PDF, just click here to download them from box.com.  

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.

It's time for another bloghop!

Welcome to my little stop on the hop!

Here's a thank you card made with some My Mind's Eye papers and a Cuttlebug die.  I kept finding myself too busy to make a card for this hop, so I was getting this one done just under the wire, but using a 6x6 paper pad really helped me pull it together quickly! 

(EDIT: Many people have asked about the sentiment.  It's from Cuttlebug's With Gratitude die/embossing folder set, available here.  I'll punch an envelope full of the sentiments in different colors and offer them as blog candy for a random commenter since you all love it so much!)

This card started out based on OWH Sketch #144, but I took a few liberties.  Sketches are a great jumping off point!

 

Enjoy the hop!  Be sure to make some awesome cards for OWH this weekend!  
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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 NSD VCMP

I'm going to add to this post throughout the weekend when I complete additional challenges for the Operation Write Home National Scrapbooking Day Virtual Card Making Party, or OWH NDS VCMP, as it's affectionately known.

I took a 45 minute dash into the craft room to make these so I could FOCUS on writing my paper for grad school.  Focus, Kathryn, focus!!! 

Challenge 1: Make a Missing You card for ODBD's May challenge.  Look, Ma, it's a masculine love card, too!

 Challenge #2, hosted by Paula: Make a kid card using a sketch.  The sketch I chose is one of the bonus sketches from the OWH/OSH hop.  I printed them out, so I don't have a link for you, sorry. 

Challenge #3, hosted by Sandy: Make a romantic card using a tutorial.  I went back to the embossed flower tutorial from well over a year ago for this card.  Quick and easy! 

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 651 blank and 236 AnyHero (as of 4/28/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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 #168

This year, OWH has been collecting sketches from its cardmakers by way of finding great cards on their blogs and asking permission to turn them into sketches.  Cora made the cards that inspired today's Sketch #168.

Paper by KI Memories (Pet Shop), Stamp by SU (Much Appreciated, 2005)

I made a slight change to the size so that the patterned paper was 3x3 instead of 3x3.25.  I wanted to use up some patterned 12x12 papers and not have left over scraps.  I cut up three whole sheets plus a partial sheet I had left from another project.  I made 28 of these cards with various patterns. 

This sketch was fun, easy, and used up paper- a trifecta!  I'll be making a lot more of these, I'm sure.  

This was also a great start to my next OWH box.  Last night, I packed up a box that I'll send on Tuesday.  It has 311 cards and 96 Any Hero notes written by my students.   

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 340 blank and 140 AnyHero (as of 1/7/13)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero
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.