Lawn Fawn fun

Lawn Fawn has a challenge posted on their blog to get submissions for example cards to be published in their next catalog.  I have a couple of their sets and decided to play along.  This card features Quinn's ABCs with Critters on the Farm.  I partially inked the "I like ewe" sentiment to provide a label under the sheep.  "I love a sheep" is a much less commonly needed sentiment! 

I love how well these Lawn Fawn stamps cling to the blocks, transfer ink, and clean up.  The alphas are also formed as handy rectangles to make lining up phrases for stamping simpler.  The other supplies I used were white, black, and red cardstock as well as a few markers (Copics E11 and W3 and a red Bic Mark It).

------
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.

Washi Birthday

I just wanted to share a little birthday card I made for a good friend!  Her birthday was last month but she's visiting this weekend so I decided to save the present and card to give to her in person.

I used a very old SU birthday stamp and washi paper tape from Target.  I can made so many fun cards with this tape in so little time.  Love it! 

------
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.

Hey Chickadee

This Lawn Fawn stamp set reminds me of my former coworker who always called me, "chickadee." I wanted to make a CAS card but I don't think this is really CAS.  I paper pieced the Lawn Fawn Critters on the Farm stamps using Lawn Fawn Bright Side papers.  The red details on the hen were colored with Copic R24.   
------
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!   

------
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.

FWF

Another Friday, another edition of Friends with Flair.  I wanted to showcase this fun paper and just use a simple sentiment.  I got this sentiment in a Unity grab bag and I have no idea what set it's from.  Sometimes it's hard to find them on the website if you don't know what you're looking for!  The hearts are paper pieced and covered with Glossy Accents. 

------
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.

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. 
------
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!

------
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.

  
------
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+black+kraft

I'm getting on a roll with this combo of great stamps from Unity Stamp Company paired with black and kraft cardstock.  I won a few Unity stamps as blog candy from Ellen Hutson back around October or November and thought they were kind of fun but not awesome.  To be honest, many of the ones I won weren't much in keeping with my style.  The heart below was an exception!  Then I won a contest on Unity's blog using the stamps I won in that original blog candy grouping.  Based on that win, I got a pair of itty bitty stamps to play with.  Then there was a good sale or two, and now I'm pretty much loving my Unity stamps.  I think my favorite part of Unity stamps is that they are sized so well for cards.  I have entirely too many stamps that are just too small to make a great focal point on a card.  Unity "itty bitty" stamps are not at all small- I'd say they range from 2"x2" to 2"x4"  The chair stamp below is considered an "itty bitty" and it fills up a good portion of the card.  It's also really easy to get a good image with the deeply etched red rubber.  Rubber beats clear stamps every day in my book, even if clear stamps are cheaper. 

Here are the two little cards I whipped up this evening.  Both use stamps from my recent Unity purchase which included a grab bag (and thus the KOTM stamp).  

Stamps from "Hello friend" and November 2011 KOTM, EK Success border punch, brad from stash

Stamp from "Enjoy your Company", ribbon by Making Memories, rub-on by Karen Foster Designs, embossing by Cuttlebug

I did get a few stamps in my grab bag that I just can't identify.  I searched around the Unity website and Google and have about 8 I can't match to a set.  I'm making a list because I love to be able to tell you all where my stamps are from (when I remember to include those details).  So, as I use these mystery stamps, I'll ask for your help in case any of you are Unity experts.  I'm just a novice, but I'm loving everything I make with Unity!

Like most all of my cards, these will be donated to Operation Write Home.  
------
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 302 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 3/4)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Missing you with Unity Stamp Co

Here's a little "missing you" card I made for Operation Write Home with stamps by Unity Stamp Co.  The sentiment is from "Love Runs Deep" and the paper clip is from "Note of Thanks."  I love a good CAS card made with kraft, though I don't know that this qualifies because it has a few layers! 

------
Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 302 blank and 200 AnyHero (as of 3/4)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

VCMP #7- CAS

I think I might be much more of a CAS cardmaker than I give myself credit for.  I love a white-on-white card (provided there's no stamping involved because I'm fearful of smudges) and a simple embellishment.  I used We R Memory Keepers twine and a Cuttlebug folder to give the card a bit of extra interest.   I chose this Deja Views sticker for the focal point and mounted it on two layers of cardstock.  The sentiment is surely intended as a caption for a first birthday picture, but it made me chuckle and I thought our heroes might have a similar sense of humor. 

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

CASE of Jennifer McGuire's blog skip card

OWH hosted a CAS skip today and Jennifer McGuire of Hero Arts was one of the bloggers. Her card inspired a lot of CASE action on the OWH FB page and I decided to join in the fun. I love the "graph paper" background that she used. I don't have any and didn't think my school graph paper would be an appropriate substitute, so I used this blue checked paper by Pebbles, Inc. The other papers are from the same line.

The stamp is from Hampton Arts clear stamps "Mom and Dad" set. The corner punch and label punch are both by EK Success. The snap is by Making Memories.


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

Mother's Day CAS card

In case you didn't already know, I love a bargain. Today while I was at Goodwill, I stumbled upon 3 boxes of 40 print-your-own wedding invitation and response card sets by Martha Stewart for $1 per box. I read the back of the box and saw that the response card envelopes were A2 size, so I figured I would buy the sets just for that. $1 for 40 envelopes is a good price. The other pieces I could either use to stamp images on or as card elements. They have one edge that is punched like eyelet. I am using the large invitations folded in half as A2 card bases. Here's a CAS Mother's Day card I made using one of the invitations.



The stamp is from a Hampton Arts clear set of Mom/Dad stamps. (It was $2 at Big Lots several months ago.) The ink is Studio G. The ribbon is Offray Simply Grosgrain.

I'm planning to make about 20 of these depending on what grosgrain ribbon I have that matches my inks. I used up the green ribbon on 8 of these and found enough lavender for 4 more. Have you seen that OWH has a challenge for Mother's Day cards? Get your boxes to your shipper by March 20th- half Mom cards and half general. My sidebar has more details!

Look around carefully, and you might also find a bargain to use in your crafting! What's your best crafting bargain?

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

CAS Thinking of You

This CAS thinking of you card is one of my favorite cards I've made recently. I used a cling stamp (perhaps from i-cling, but I've tossed the packaging and don't remember) to stamp tree trunks. I punched paste paper circles for the leaves and cut 1/4 inch strips for the trim from the same paste paper. I used a "Thinking of You" sentiment from an Easter set by SU. I finished the card by rounding two corners and lining the inside with white paper. This is such a simple card, but I think the paste paper's texture and shimmer makes it look more complex than it is. The shimmer didn't photograph well, but nonetheless, it's there.

I saw a card similar to this with three trees on a blog recently and I cannot remember which blog I CASEd from. If it's you, please let me know so I can link up to your post!

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

Another CASE of a CAS card

I've been watching people post cards from the CAS class and I've been CASEing most of them. A recent technique had square or rectangles of ink with images embossed in white. I might have messed up the order (I embossed first, but now I think I should have inked first), but I like this card and will make similar ones in the future.

I used a stamp that I got for 20 cents on clearance at Michael's. It's supposed to be a snowflake, I guess, but I think it just looks like a medallion to me, so I'll use it all year. The "miss you" stamp is an old Studio G clear stamp.

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

CAS time

Many of the OWHers who participate on FB have been linking up cards they're making in a CAS card class. I've been CASEing away this week as I've seen their cards.

Here are a few I've done. The pink hearts card is my favorite. :) I used a Sizzix die and a Cuttlebug die to cut the hearts. The stamp is Studio G.




o


These green cards have a 3x3 square masked off in the center (thanks Post-it!) and were stamped over with background stamps. Then the masked area was outlined and a small embellishment was added. These aren't really my style, so I don't think I'll do any more like these.


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

CASEd from Sherry

I love CAS. I don't make much that's really CAS. I think part of my problem in not making CAS is that my paper never feels good enough to go as a single layer card. I went through my stash and found this red paper that was a bit heftier than my other papers.

Sherry posted this great card today that I just had to CASE. I changed it to the point I don't think it's really CAS, but I like it anyway. The background is stamped with a city names text stamp by Inkadinkado. I stitched a border with a black gel pen. The globe and sentiment stamps are from a set by ANM Designs. I did the ticket corners without the special ticket corner punch. Instead, I used the 1/2" circle punch and only punched out a quarter circle.

I tried to get the text stamped in Versamark to photograph well to no avail. These are the best photos I got.

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

OWH VCMP #3

This challenge asked us to make a Christmas card using non-traditional colors (read: no red or green). I opted for shades of blue, which might be cheating, since blue is a winter go-to color.

The stamps are from two Studio G sets from last year.

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

OWH VCMP #4 &11

Pick a Number: I picked #18, my birthday, for Julie's challenge. The sketch stumped me at first, so I decided to go with a CAS version. I kept the accent squares plain and just used a sentiment in the largest rectangle. The stamp is by Fiskars.

CAS: Normally I think of CAS as having lots of white space. This one has lots of purple space, but I think it's still CAS.

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

Patriotic card set

During Hurricane Irene yesterday, I whipped up a batch of patriotic cards for Operation Write Home.


I bought the striped ribbon at Dollar Tree. Everything else is punched cardstock from my stash, eyelets from MM, and a stamp from Studio G. Easy and unisex!


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