A few spooks!

Two weekends ago, I got together with a newly forming scrapbooking/card making group at my church.   We made these acrylic cards together and then worked on our own projects that we brought for a bit.  It was nice because I got to meet one parishioner who I didn't know, chat with one I did know, and drum up some support for OWH! 

Aren't these fun?  They're not my normal style, but I like them!  These obviously won't go to OWH as that deadline has long passed.  I'll probably send one to my grandmother and the other to my great aunt and great uncle.  They enjoy getting mail! 

In other news, I shipped off my most recent box of OWH cards today.  I hadn't sent a box since late June, so I was pretty much overdue!  I missed the Halloween and Fall deadlines, so those will go in my overflow box for next year.  I actually had more than the box would hold when I went to pack it up, so I already have about 20 cards for my next box waiting.  As it was, the box was a bit too full and I thought they might try to charge me an extra fee since the top of the flat rate box wasn't entirely flat.  However, I must have caught the postmaster on a good day because she actually asked me if she was charging me the right amount!  Haha!  Can you tell I live in a small town?  There are 356 cards and 3 AnyHero cards are making their way to Caro in NC as we speak.  

I would need to make almost 400 cards in the next two months to match my card totals for 2011, meaning 40-50 a week.  I started off the year making cards at a fast pace, but more recently I've been working on single cards instead of multiples, so the work isn't going as quickly.  I'm OK with not passing last years number, but I would like to fill one more box by the end of the year or early January so my total can get past 1500.  We'll also be doing hero letters at school prior to Christmas break again this year, so that should net about 200-250 more for the AnyHero count! 

My goals for the year were to work on more AnyHero cards, to complete all of the sketches, and to color more.  I'm making good progress on all three of those goals, so I will not be deterred by a smaller total number of cards.  :)
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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.

I colored. And it turned out pretty.

In a swap, Raeanna sent me a bunch of large images to color.  As I said before, I'm not a huge fan of coloring, though I'd like to learn to enjoy it.  I chose this witch sitting on a pumpkin because the markers I have suited its color scheme better than some of the other images she sent.  I had to supplement my Copics with Bic Mark-its, so there are a few streaky areas that I just couldn't get to smooth out.  It was the first big thing I've finished coloring.  Usually I end up throwing them away early on and giving up.  There are plenty of mistakes, but it's not a train wreck, so I used it. 

I used Nesties to cut her out and add a scallop border.  The orange cardstock is stamped with a witch hat in Only Orange.  The sentiment stamp and the hat are by Studio G.  The ribbon is Michael's and the brad is Studio G from Walmart.

All together now: 

 

Thanks for visiting.  Did you see that OWH has a new challenge due the end of this month?  It's for half and half general and fall/winter cards.  Holiday-specific are OK, but they love getting general fall and winter cards too since they can be sent for many weeks instead of for just one specific date.  

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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.

Create with TLC Halloween contest

Allison provided a link to Create with TLC's Halloween contest. I should have been grading papers, but I saw it on FB and decided I could take a break after over two hours straight of grading projects. My eyes are tired!

Here's my 25 minute card using their free digi. Isn't the digi cute? The patterned paper is by Pebbles Inc and the sentiment is from Studio G.



Back to grading!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 10/20/11): 1642

Hambo Hoedown #38

This week's Hambo Hoedown challenge was to use their sketch to make a card. I used the free "Zombie Bunny" digi and accompanying punny sentiment that they sent me for participating in last week's challenge. I've been into what I'd consider "Crayola" colors recently and this card reflects that! Go check out Hambo and play along!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 10/20/11): 1642

Hambo Hoedown #37

Hambo's challenge this week asked us to use the mummy digi and one of its sentiments to make a card using the colors black, green, orange, and purple.

I went for a geometric design and wrapped up some sections of my card with ribbon, just like the little mummy is wrapped up.

Thanks, Hambo, for another great challenge!

Cards shipped to OWH (as of 9/12/11): 1325

Combo Challenge for gel-a-tins and Sassy Studio Designs

Gel-a-tins challenged us to use their sketch to create a card for fall. I made a "Hall-no-ween" card (a Halloween image with a generic sentiment so it could be used at other times) with the sketch. I used an image from Sassy Studio Designs and played along with their challenge to make a card with either a "thinking of you" or "miss you" sentiment. Both of these challenges celebrate Operation Write Home's birthday. :)

SPECIAL NOTE: OWH's Halloween deadline has passed. They do not want additional Halloween cards for this year. I will probably hold onto this one for next year. Now would be a good time to work on Christmas cards which are due on Oct. 31. :)

Materials:
Image: Sassy Studio Designs digi
Sentiment: Studio G
Papers from We R Memory keepers (green), K & Co (purple), and unknown (orange)
Tools: star border punch from EK (American Girls brand), tag corner punch from SU, one inch circle punch from EK, 1.25 inch circle punch from Marvy
Ribbon by Offray





Cards shipped to OWH (as of 9/12/11): 1325

A little more marble paper action

This tutorial was dangerously good! I got into it more than I thought I would and might even classify this as me getting carried away. It's my new pinwheel, if you know what I mean. :)

One of the color combos I did was an attempt at fall colors. I thought it looked much more like camo with orange. If I knew any hunters well enough to send them cards or had any images, I could make some cards like that. I have plenty of students who hunt, but no close friends or family members. I decided that the paper could also be perfect for Halloween. So, here's another use of the shaving cream technique. The stamps are both Studio G from last year and I colored with Bic markers.


Here's a thinking of you card I made using four different SU greens (Green Galore, Glorious Green, Gable Green, and Garden Green). The cardstock is from DCWV and I used my trusty Nestabilities.



If you haven't tried this technique yet, grab a can of shaving cream from the bathroom, your liquid re-inkers, some plain cardstock (I cut mine to the size of a card front), a plate or tray, a scraper, and a protected work surface. Gloves would also be handy if you're going to be in public afterwards because the ink will stain your hands. I did not do this, but the ink came off when I showered, so fear not if you don't have disposable gloves. Start to finish, give yourself 30-45 minutes depending on how many papers you want to do. It's a lot of fun and I think older children (maybe 8 and up) would love to help with this! It may sound like a waste of shaving cream, but if you plan your colors right, you can get a lot of mileage out of it. (I made over 30 card fronts with one 9x9 tray filled about an inch thick.) Start with shades of the same color and make some papers. Then you can mix the shaving cream well and get a light solid color. Add new reinkers in colors that coordinate with the pale shade and you'll be able to make twice as many sheets with the tray of cream. Today I started with 4 shades of green, mixed and got light green, then added green, orange, and brown (above), then mixed and got a pale greenish brown, then added reds, green, and brown for the paper on the Christmas cards in my last post. I never replaced the shaving cream.

One added benefit- it's like perfumed stationery! The shaving cream I bought has a very light scent and the cards now smell nice, too. :)


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

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

Halloween mojo

Someone should stop me! I have a serious addiction to making Halloween cards. I already have 20 done and we're 4 months out. I know I'm attracted to the colors, orange and green being two of my favorite colors to use on cards, so that's one reason I can't get away from these cards. I also have some super embellishments I picked up months ago that I've been dying to use.

One set of cards I made used up 5 sheets of Halloween paper that I know I bought in 2002 or 2003. I never did any 8.5x11 scrapbooks and I was done trick or treating by that time, so I can't imagine why I thought I'd need it. I managed to turn it into 10 cards. I used the top of the paper to line the inside of the card. I thought it would be a shame to waste the top but because of its border I thought it would be hard to use elsewhere. I think it turned out well.




I loved this spider ribbon the instant I saw it, so I had to get it on a card. My stash didn't include any spider web paper, so I made my own with a straightedge and pen. I finished the card off with a stamp from Inkadinkado's dollar collection from JoAnn's. I love that this card is so clearly Halloween but doesn't include any orange! I'll definitely be making more of these.




My last Halloween card to share today is a paper pieced pumpkin. I took randomly sized (but around 1/2") strips of orange paper and adhered them to card stock. I used a nestie to cut out an oval. I used a leaf die cut and hand cut a stem. Rick rack mimics the vine. I finished it off with a chipboard bookplate I inked to match the green in the background. This is a great way to use scraps. If you wanted to make it look more like a pumpkin or don't have an oval die, you could print a pumpkin or oval off your computer on regular paper and glue the strips on the wrong side. Hold it up to the light to make sure you've covered everything. Then cut along the line of your print-out.