A little Christmas card for February

A CASE of a card by Michelle B. on OWH's FB page:

Folder: Cuttlebug
Stamp: Inkadinkado
Punches: Stampin Up, Marvy, Tonic, and EK Success
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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.

A few very early Christmas cards!

Jen challenged OWHers to create at least 5 Christmas cards a month for OWH so that we'll have a stash built up when they start asking for Christmas cards in mid-summer.  (Please hold onto your cards until then as we don't want to overwhelm shippers with cards to store now!)

I bought two large stacks of Christmas papers on clearance so I'd be prepared for this year's cards (and probably several years after that as well given that they both have 180 sheets).  I focused on the large images on certain pages when I made these cards.  They were super simple to put together, so I was able to make 32 cards in just two evenings.  :)  Several were inspired by Paula's Boot Camp on Colors!

Complementary Colors

Monochromatic

Complementary Colors

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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.

Christmas cards for work

 My team goes together to do group gifts for a few people at work who make our job easier!  I was asked to do the cards, so I made these, taking into account each recipient's personality.  The first one is my favorite because it fits most closely with my personal style. 

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 1284 blank and 218 AnyHero (as of 10/9)
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 WCMD Challenges

Please note: I'll be adding to this post as more Unity challenges are posted.  If you're looking for my WCMD post for Operation Write Home's bloghop, please click here.  

The first challenge is for shaped cards.

I don't know the name of this Unity stamp because I got it in a grab bag.  Does anyone know what set it belongs to?  The card is made with Spellbinders Labels 5 and circles, cardstock from my stash, and Offray 1/8" ribbon. 

The second challenge is to add texture.

I added three kinds of texture: heat embossing, dry embossing, and Glossy Accents (on the flower centers and heart).  I used three stamp sets: the flower and sentiment are one set and the leaves that I heat embossed on the background came from two other sets.

Challenge #3 asked for embossing.

I used dry embossing on six hexagons and heat embossed a sentiment on a seventh.  The die is by Cuttlebug.   The sentiment is an itty bitty.  Love those!

Challenge #4 is a sketch. 

The sentiment on here is from the sending love your way set with the mailbox.  

Challenge #5 is to make a fall card.  I think of greens, oranges, browns, and yellows for fall, so, I made a card in that color family.  The sketch idea was on SCS and I've seen several bloggers use it. 

The sentiment is part of the "thanks for your support" sentiment from the "sexy, silly, and sassy" set.  I'll bet few people use that set to make fall cards.  ;)

Challenge #6 is to use a regular stamp to make a border.  This wasn't as easy as it sounded because the majority of my Unity stamps would look pretty strange repeated as a border.  I finally settled on some text stamps and then had a terrible time stamping straight.  This is the best of my attempts (even using the Stamp-a-ma-jig), so please excuse any wobbliness!  This pink card is also going to be submitted to Paper Smooches for their WCMD challenge to use pink! 

The gems are from JoAnn.  The cardstock is just generic stuff from my stash.  Stamps are, of course, by Unity. 

Challenge #7 is to color.  OK, Copics at the ready!

Challenge #8 is to use brown, cream, pumpkin, and olive as the color scheme.

 

I might have gone a little overboard with the distressing, but I think it works on this masculine card.   

The final challenge is to enter the Unity KOTM Sketch Challenge and Theme Challenge for the month.
Here's the KOTM Sketch Challenge: (using a stamp from Nov. 2011)

 

And here's the Theme Challenge: (We had to use banners or pennants.)   

 

My camera doesn't do well when photographing cards with a lot of black.  :(

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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 Bloghop!

Welcome!  I'm so pleased to be able to share a card with you today in celebration of World Card Making Day as part of the Operation Write Home Bloghop.  Check out the whole list of stops on the hop right here:



My card today is based off of this week's Mojo Monday Sketch, #261. Operation Write Home has a fabulous collection of about 140 sketches that you can check out here. There are also PDF downloads of the sketches and a checklist there so you can keep track of which sketches you've used. 

Sketch: Mojo Monday #261

Patterned Paper: DCWV Winter
Ribbon: JoAnn
Brads: Colorbok
Embossing: Cuttlebug Snowflakes
Nestabilities: Crown Circles, Circles, Scallop Circles
Stamp: SU Best Yet
Punches: EK Success (small snowflake), Marvy (large snowflake)

Thanks for visiting and celebrating World Card Making Day with me!  



P.S. Go see my last post for some blog candy before you hop to the next blog!


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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26 with a box of more than 300 set to go out this week!)
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.

Simple Christmas

I'm looking for a simple, elegant card design for Christmas.  I'm going to make a few sets and dontate them to my church's holiday bazaar and make some for OWH.  This might not be the final design, but I like its simplicity.  

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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.

Cricut snowflakes

Snowflakes, snowflakes, snowflakes!  I spent some time with my mom last weekend and decided to play with her Cricut.  I wanted to make some snowmen, but I got discouraged by the amount of pieces/layers needed and the fact I didn't feel great certainly didn't help my motivation.  I settled on making a bunch of these snowflakes.  Mom cut them and I had the fun of peeling them off the mats and getting the excess paper off the mats.  I think the name of the cartridge is Accent Essentials, but I'm not 100% sure. 

At home, I paired the snowflake with a nice, thick celery green cardstock with a bit of texture and a matching strip of blue textured cardstock punched with the MS Cherish border punch. 

I think my friends will be assembling the rest of these at the party I'm having in two weeks.  :)

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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.

Holiday card kits

This post is edited with some new photos of updated cards thanks to suggestions from Scrap to Treasure ladies who were kind enough to leave feedback.  I appreciate your help!   

I took the plunge last night and committed to having an OWH Birthday Bash party at the end of the month.  I tried to design a good kit or two last night and came up with these.  I would LOVE to get your suggestions and feedback for how they can be made better.  Or, if they're not great and you have better ideas, I would LOVE to hear those!

 From the Triple Time stamping tutorial that Donna shared during the VCMP

Remade with darker cardstock, a layer around the sentiment, and a snowflake embellishment.

Inspired by Sybrina's snowman card during the VCMP

Remade with a different hat size (still a bit wonky!), an embossed background, bling on the snowflake, and a googly eye instead of a button.

This last card still has me a little stumped.  I am a bit limited on Christmas stuff I actually like and I think the reason I'm not having good luck with this card is that I don't love the paper; I don't usually do vintage.  I'll come back to it in a couple of days! 

Missing something?

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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 Cards - Labor Day 2012

OWH organized a virtual card making party this weekend and I was lucky enough to be one of the hostesses.  There were 10 challenges in all, split evenly over Saturday and Sunday.

Here are the cards I made for each of the challenges.  I had a house guest on Saturday and Sunday, so I fit these in this afternoon after she left. 

#1: ODBD- Use a scripture sentiment.  Please note that I sealed in the glitter using Glossy Accents so it won't pose a hazard to our heroes. 

Stamps: Studio G

Papers: DCWV cardstock

Nesties: Labels 5

Embossing: Darice Stripes

Brads: stash

#2: Cherie- Use a recipe of 1 image, 2 patterned papers, and 3 words.

Stamps: Studio G and Unity

Papers: DCWV printed cardstock

Punches: EK Success

Coloring: Copics

#3: Cindy- Use snowflakes but not on a Christmas card.

Stamps: Studio G

Papers: stash

Embellishment: JoAnn

Coloring: Copics

Embossing: Cuttlebug Snowflakes

Sketch: OWH 83

#4: Donna- "Triple Time" stamping

Stamps: Unity

Tutorial: Triple Time Stamping

Papers: stash

Ribbon: stash

Ink: SU Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Gable Green, Only Orange

 #5: Sandy- Cowboy card

Stamps: Studio G

Papers: DCWV cardstock

Die: Cuttlebug

Punch: Fiskars

 #6: OWH/Linda - Follow the OWH Sketch #136 using a paper punch for the embellishments.

Stamps: Studio G

Papers: stash

Punch: Marvy

Washi: Target paper tape (green, yellow, and blue packs)

Sketch: OWH #136

 #7: Sybrina- Make an AnyHero Christmas card and a Christmas card for kids.

Stamps: Studio G and SU

Papers: DCWV cardstock, K&Co, stash

Nesties: Circles

Coloring: Copics

Embossing: Snowflakes

Ribbons: Target, stash

#8: Cherie- Make a sports-themed card.

Sticker: Deja Views

Papers: stash

Embossing: Darice Stars (small) and Cuttlebug Stars (large)

#9: Shannon- Use a tool you haven't used in a long time. My unloved tool was a combo stamp/punch from EK Success.  It's a pain to use because you have to put the stamp into the punch, ink it, punch, and then take it apart if you want to make a second one.  I haven't used it very often (if at all) with the stamps that came with it. 

Stamps: Studio G and EK Success

Papers: Pebbles and stash

Punches: EK Success

#10: Me- Make a card that represents your state.  Scroll down to my last post to see my samples and post a card there to qualify for blog candy!

Thanks to Allison for organizing the party and to all of the hostesses for coming up with great challenges.  I wish we could do these every month- they always inspire me to make cards I might have otherwise not thought of!   

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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.

Like a bowl full of jelly

I was happy to get to share a short tutorial on OWH Stars and Stamps today featuring how to make a Santa card.  The version here is slightly different from the one in the tutorial.  I used buttons instead of brads, white ribbon instead of black, and a metal slider instead of a soda tab for the belt buckle.  I also added two vertical score lines on either side of the buttons; they may not show up well in the photograph unless you click to enlarge it.  I made this kind of card last summer and had some fun with them, so I wanted to make a few more this year.  You can see my original post from August 2011 here.  If you want to see a similar card, check out OWHtv episode 29 from September 2011 where Sandy shared some cards in this same style minus the beard. 

I hope you try your hand at some Santa cards!  Thanks so much for visiting if you came over from the OWH blog.  I'm happy to have you here!  
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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.

Christmas with a swap

Time for another Christmas card.  They're my least favorite cards of the year and I'm not sure why.  Perhaps I don't feel as much creative license when it comes to this holiday or perhaps it's my lack of great Christmas supplies.  Either way, I'm trying to do a few more Christmas cards here and there.  This one used some scraps of patterned paper, a new snowman stamp I bought in January and a Cricut cut of a snowflake sent to me in a swap by Rachel.  Thanks, Rachel!   

Stamp: Inkadinkado
Paper: scraps from K & Co and unknown
Die cuts/Punches: Cricut snowflake, EK circle and scalloped circle, and Nestabilities Scalloped Rectangle
Coloring: Copics
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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.

Copic Christmas

I think I used more Copics on this image than I have on any other coloring.  Just for fun, here are the 11 colors: C5, BG0000, BG18, R22, R24, R29, G24, YG03, YG67, Y13, Y17.  I'm learning, so if you have any suggestions on how I can improve my coloring, I'd love to hear what you have to say. 

Stamp: Inkadinkado
Coloring: Copics
Papers: All scraps.  The pattern is likely DCWV. 

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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.

A normal Christmas card

Hi everyone!  Just a friendly reminder to finish up your package of cards for this month's OWH challenge (half fall or winter/half anytime).  Cards are due to shippers at the end of the month, so you have just about a week before you have to mail your cards.  I don't think I'll have enough to make it worth my while this time, but I'm consistently working so that I'll have a nice box to send by mid-August.  

The last Christmas cards I posted were (by my description) weird!  Here's one that follows a traditional color palette.

Funny story:  I was in the middle of making this card when I noticed I had a FB message from a friend I hadn't conversed with in about a year.  I responded and then looked back at my card.  I about fell over when I noticed the card I had nearly finished is almost an exact replica of a dress my friend made and wore to our college's ball.  I dug through my photos and found a picture of my friend wearing her dress.  It's like photo inspiration in reverse!  How unlikely!  

Embossing Folder: Lace by Darice
Paper: cardstock from stash
Ribbon: Offray (thanks to Mommom's stash)
Stamp: Michael's
Punch: I don't have a ticket punch, so I use a 1/2" circle punch on the corners
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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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 weirdest Christmas cards

You know, if you read this blog from time to time, that I like a bargain.  Clearance is my friend.   I got this K&Co kit intended to make two gift card holders for 50 cents today.  I took it apart and turned the supplies into four cards.  Four weird Christmas cards.  The color scheme is strange and the fluffy trim is bizarre.  As much as they're not my style, I suspect there are some grandmothers or some little girls who will appreciate these pink cards.  It's fun to make something outside my comfort zone now and then. 

I'm going to link these up to the complementary colors Midweek Throwdown challenge on OWH Stars and Stamps.  Red and green are complementary, so pink and green are close enough!  

 

While I was at TJMaxx, I also found that they had restocked some EK Success punches.  Border punches were $3.99 and medium or two pack small punches were $2.99.  They also had some hand punches and corner punches but I didn't notice the prices on those items.  There was also a pack of We R Memory Keepers 6x6 paper marked down to $2; I absolutely bought it!  It's definitely worth checking out your local store to see what's there.  If they have things you would normally buy, you can save a bundle.  The punches alone were about 70% off retail. 

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
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 #9-13, OWH Sketch #108

I was away on Friday and Saturday, so I wasn't able to keep up with the VCMP challenges on the Stars and Stamps blog.  When I got back to crafting this afternoon, I was able to combine several challenges. 


Here are the challenges I worked on:
#9 Punches or Diecuts
#10 Vintage
#11 Green with a Splash of Color
#12 Boat or Ship image
#13 Embossing

#10, 13: This card is my vintage card.  I never do vintage, so this card was a challenge!  I heat embossed the heart image from Inkadinkado, distressed its edges, attached flowers, and colored the button brads with a Sharpie.  I think the text background paper is pretty strange- I looked down and the first word I picked out on the sheet was "sewage."  The graphic designer must have had a sense of humor to pick that text.  I half-hid the word behind the brown flower.  Sewage and love don't go together! 

#9, 12: This card uses some circle punches and a boat image by Inkadinkado.   I made a kids' card because I messed up on the jungle animals challenge and made that card an adult card. 

#9, 11- I started this card with the scroll-patterned green paper.  It reminded me of Christmas, so I ended up making that kind of card and using up the punched medallion that was left over from cards I made in the fall.  It's also based off this week's Sketch, #108. 

OK, I think I crammed enough fun into this post.  Have a great Sunday. 

Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: none thus far, but my box is filling up nicely! Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695