The shortest work week?

Hi everyone!  Are you getting snow where you live?  We got a bit on Tuesday which has made for an interesting week.  Monday was a holiday.  Tuesday was a scheduled teacher inservice but we were released to go home at noon because a snow storm was starting to make the roads dicey.  Today, we were closed because of the snow we got yesterday during the afternoon and evening.  Tomorrow, we'll be closed as road crews continue to try to clear the roads.  What will happen on Friday remains to be seen, but I can tell you that a one-day school week will be hilarious!

I was invited to an OWH card party in March and I've been working on a few kits to take with me.  The hostess asked me to make three.  In typical fashion, I couldn't keep myself to three.  I figure I'll just keep making them while my mojo permits and if I don't take them all to the party, I will assemble them myself.  It's a win-win.  I'm motivated to make nice kits and OWH will get lots of cards! 

Do you have an opinion about which kits I should take?  From what I understand, most of the guests at the party aren't card makers, so they're pretty much only going to need to assemble the kits and maybe do some simple coloring. 

This color yellow just makes me happy!  I had to cut a lot of pieces for this kit, but the layers are definitely worth the effort.  I colored the centers of the flowers to make the paper match the yellow cardstock and I think it added a lot to the card.  (Patterned paper- Making Memories, Bee- Studio G, Sentiment- KI Memories, Embossing- Cuttlebug Swiss Dots)

A little something masculine since I never make enough cards for men!  (Stamps- TPC Studios, Patterned Paper- American Crafts, Copics E79, E25, B06, Y17)

This sketch is a go-to favorite for me when I want to use several patterned papers.  OWH Sketch #168.  Here, I used up a good portion of a pack of Stampin' Up paper.  (Mini rant: Why do they insist on putting their logo in the corner of each page?  If I cut it off, I waste a lot of paper.  If I don't, I've got a logo on my cards.  Wah!)  The stamp is by Studio G.  The button punch by Martha Stewart was blog candy from JoAnn R. 

Look here, a teen boy card!  I'm so happy about this one because it's tough to make cards for this age group.  I've had this paper in my craft room for a couple of years now.  Who can pass up a 25 pack of paper for $1?  Not this girl!  I made one card with it once and I felt like it wasn't that successful since I'd fussy cut the image which isn't my greatest skill.  I realized the Sizzix ovals were a good shape for the image I wanted and things came together from there.  Sentiment- There She Goes Clear Stamps (out of business as of last month), Embossing- Cuttlebug Diamond Plate, Circles- Spellbinders, Ovals- Sizzix, Paper- Steve's Pages licensed by SugarTree.

CASEd from this CHA card kit sent in by an OWHer.  Was it your kit?  Let me know so I can give you credit!  Sentiment- Studio G, Penguin- Stampin' Up Polar Pals, Border Punch- Fiskars, Ovals- Cuttlebug

 

I really like this card, but I'm not sure it's one I'll take to the party.  The daubers can be messy and I don't want that to cause any problems.  I might just assemble these myself.  (Bingo daubers- Dollar Tree, Eyelets- American Crafts, Sentiment- KI Memories)

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Cards shipped in 2014: None just yet...
Cards shipped to OWH in 2013: 829 blank and 301 AnyHero
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.

Shopping tips, OWH Rule of Thirds Bootcamp, and more Masculine Swap cards from Julie's kit

I wanted to start today's post off with a couple of money-saving shopping tips.  First of all, you have probably seen Sandy's "Precious" if you've watched OWHtv.  It's her gigantic roll of dimensional foam tape.  Sold on Amazon for $32.91 for 38 yards, it's cheaper than buying smaller rolls of Scotch adhesive elsewhere.  I've been buying small rolls of another brand from Big Lots for about two years because I didn't want to deal with the storage of a gigantic roll nor the big sticker price all at once.  When I picked up a new roll yesterday, I decided to do a price comparison.  The Scotch stuff is 1/2" wide by 38 yards (114 feet) long.  The price works out to 29 cents per linear foot or 5 cents per square inch.  The Big Lots brand "Front Porch Treasures" is 3/4" wide and 16 feet long for $1.50.  The price works out to 9 cents per linear foot or 1 cent per square inch.  So, if you've been buying the Scotch brand and want to save some money, you can save at least 2/3 off the price by shopping at Big Lots.  I've found it to be plenty sticky and it's marked as photo safe, so I feel comfortable using it on my cards.  

Look in the stationary aisle or the hardware aisle.  I've found it in both places. 

Another great deal at Big Lots yesterday: Elmer's brand washi tape was in packs of three rolls for $1.  Each roll is 30 feet long.  These were in the stationary aisle in my store. 

I put some of the black and white washi on this card made from one of Julie's kits.   I think the placement of the tree and washi stripes makes this one qualify for Paula's Rule of Thirds boot camp.  I love reading her design lessons and was honored that she used one of my cards as an example.  I never took any studio art classes after 8th grade, so all of my learning on the topic has either been theory (in Humanities class in high school) or through helping my college roommate with her projects.  She majored in art but recognized that I had a better eye than she did for layout so she would always have me help her with her collage projects.  All that is to say, I enjoy reading the theory behind why some of my cards work better than others!  Now, I just have to remember to put it into practice all the time. 

The other card I made from Julie's kit with a sentiment of my own:

I used the extra sentiment from Julie's kit for this card: 

A left over scrap of the orange paper from Sandi's kit made it onto this card:

Have an excellent week!  Remember that the OWH Mother's Day deadline is just a week away. 
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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.

Part 2 of February Swap

I took a few minutes to make the next two kits from the February swap into cards. 

The bear card is my ODBD challenge card for March.  The challenge is to make a card with scallops.   I don't have a full complement of Copic colors, but when I have the opportunity, I try to practice shading.  I'm especially lacking in browns, so this poor bear is just one color all over.  His hat, however, was where I tried shading.  I need some more markers because I think the hat came out OK and it would be awesome if the whole image was shaded. 

Ann's Kit (I think this is a MFT stamp set)

Jen's kit reminded me so much of her style.  I really admire card makers who have a distinct style.  You can look at their work and know that it's theirs.  I tried to channel Jen's style while I made these cards. 

Jen's kit #1

Jen's kit #2

Mary's kit and my own kits are left, so you'll see those another day.  Don't forget to go post a card with scallops for the March ODBD challenge!
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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.

Part 1 of February Kids Cards

I hosted a card kit swap with members from Scrap to Treasure.  Here are the cards I made with the kits I received from Beth (monster/alien) and Julie (robots). 

 I still have several kits on my desk to use.  I am amazed at how productive I can be with these kits.  I never realized how much time I spend hunting down just the perfect papers!
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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.

Spring Swap Kits 2 and 3

Tonight I tackled two more of the kits I got from my Scrap to Treasure swap.  One kit is from Michelle.  The other is still anonymous but I'm hoping the sender will comment here or on S2T so I'll know who sent it.  I added in some of my own papers to make a second card with the left over pieces from each kit.

These two are from Michelle's kit:

OWH Sketch 145

 And these are from the anonymous kit:

OWH Sketch 149

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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.

Alien Invasion!

This alien card was made with papers and stamps from TPC Studios.  This sketch, OWH #92, is a great one for showing off a neat patterned paper and using a small image.  I've used this kit at least three times since it was first posted. 

I made a kit for this card for my party at the end of the month.  I'm thrilled to say I have over 125 kits ready to go in about 10 different designs.  I hope to get my total to at least 200 this weekend, more if I can manage.  It would be awesome to get an entire box out of the party!  I'm going to post this card to the Midweek Throwdown to use red and green since I included both colors on this card.  :)


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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.

Kits- Love cards

I found an awesome deal on sticker sheets at Tuesday Morning yesterday.  I got a set of 25 12x12 sheets of cardstock stickers for $1.99!   They're meant for Valentines, but the messages are generic love sentiments, so I turned a few of the stickers into simple kits for my friends to assemble later this month.  One of the things that can be a pain with stickers is that you can't often design kits around them because the pack usually contains such a variety of sizes and designs.  By getting 25 identical sheets, I was able to design a couple of kits.  I will probably make at least one more kit from the pack if time permits. 

Here are two cards that I designed.  The squirrel card is an OWH Sketch, #8. 

 The background on this one is actually navy.  :)

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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.

Angry Bird Card

This angry bird wants to be happy!

I CASEd this card from one that Sandy posted to the OWH Facebook page.   I changed a few of the punches based on what I had on hand.  I don't have many of the SU punches and those are so frequently used in punch art creations that I sometimes try to improvise. 
I punched out enough pieces for a dozen cards that I'll have my friends assemble at my OWH Birthday Bash party later this month.  :)

For anyone who wants a "recipe," here's what I used:

For the background:

• Inkadinkado sentiment and black Versafine
• 4.25 x 5.5" card front in orange
• 4 x 5.25" cloud paper
• 4 x 2" green paper
• 4 x 1" white paper punched with Martha Stewart Scary Fence punch

 For the bird:

• 3.25" red circle
• 2.5" tan circle
• .75" white circles (2)
• .5" black circles (2)
• .75" orange square
• Black "photo corner scalloped" from EK Success
• Red and black (one each) "round flower layering punch" from EK Success

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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.

Kits part deux

I spent a little time today coming up with more ideas for card kits for my OWH Birthday Bash party at the end of the month.  I grabbed some good deals at Tuesday Morning yesterday while I was visiting my family.  They had lots of colored cardstock packs on sale for $1.99 each.  The quality isn't top of the line, but it's certainly better than some of what's out there.  I was able to snag several packs of patriotic colors plus some other favorite colors.  I spent $46 for 400 sheets of solid cardstock (a mix of 8.5 by 11 and 12 by 12), 50 sheets of 12x12 patterned cardstock, and two packs of stamps.  That paper should make well over 1000 cards!  :)

I love this new stamp!  I got it at Tuesday Morning with a few other outdoorsy stamps and sentiments for $4. 

 

Paper from Tuesday Morning!

This idea came by way of Julie.  Originally by Shelli Gardner, CEO of Stampin' Up. 

This MelJens digi is adorable!  My friends like to color, so we'll see how well they do with a card that depends on good coloring. 

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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.