Patriotic ODBD Challenge for January

This month the challenge at ODBD (Our Daily Bread Designs) was for a patriotic card.  I'll be making more, but this is one I whipped up this morning.  I used washi tape on it too, but it kind of got lost against the patterned paper, so I put the tape on white card stock and trimmed it to the edge of the tape.  This is OWH Sketch 226 and the sentiment is from a brand new SU set "Four You" that I got recently.  CS and DP are from my stash.  Ink is also SU - Night of Navy.  I'll make a bunch of these to take to our next OWH card making party for people to write Any Hero notes in.

Masculine cards with non-traditional colors.

January 20th, I put forth a challenge on Seongsook's Stampers page on FB to make masculine cards with non-traditional colors and pulled out this crazy paper I can't remember where I got it.  It's all kinds of 60s flower child, don't you think?  Then I made the sentiment on the computer and punched it out, and colored the white with a couple of colors using Tim Holtz Distress ink and dobbers. I think it looks sort of tie-dyed.  Far out man!

The little hearts kind of get lost with that patterned paper, but they show up better in real life.  I may rethink these and put on solid colored hearts.  But then, all the colors and the flowers take me right back to the 60s, groovy.

Monster Card Challenge

Jan 15th, a challenge was issued to make cards using monsters and I remembered this great stamp set I got years ago from SU with little monsters on it.  I think it was more of a Halloween set, but I like it for kid cards too.  This one I made for Ann Merkins' grandson, Ghabe, who just had surgery recently.  I thought he might get a smile out of another card.  I also sent him a sheet of Knock Knock jokes from this cute book I have.  I'll let you know if Ann gets back to me on that.  LOL

These little monsters were colored using Copic markers

CS - my stash

Little flags on bottom punched using a SU Mini Banner punch

Sentiment stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black

I also made some where I replaced the sentiment on the sign around the big monsters head with "thinking of you", "missing you", and "I love you".  I took about 6 of them to our OWH card making party yesterday at Molly's Craft Shack (our first meeting in this venue, nice store).  We ended up putting together over 200 cards from kits several people brought.  The box will be going out to Sandy in Federal Way today, thank you Esther!  It's still such fun to get together and make cards for such a great cause.

It was hump day yesterday, I couldn't help myself...

Putting more birthday cards in my card drawer...

Image was a free picture I snagged from the internet, printed on cream card stock

Sentiment - River City Rubber Works

DP - SU

CS - SU / Early Espresso

Ink - SU / Chocolate Chip

Ribbon - stash

Feel Better Soon for Ghabriel

In our group, Seongsook's Stampers, one of our ladies asked for get well cards for her grandson Ghabriel, who was going in for surgery.  So I sent him this one.  He made it through surgery with flying colors and even got to go home after 9 days in the hospital, rather than the full 14 days, the doctor thought he would have to stay!  Go Ghabriel.

Sentiment - Whipper Snapper Designs

Brownie w/pill bottle - Stamp Francisco

DP / CS - stash

Ribbon - stask

Ink - SU / Night of Navy (sentiment

CTMH / Indian Corn Blue (Brownie)

2014 Christmas Cards

I see I haven't gathered all my Christmas cards in one post from this last Christmas, so I wanted to get them all in one place.  The first three designs I made last winter right after Christmas, so I didn't have to make all my cards this year right before Thanksgiving.  I was planning on making a batch each month so I'd have them all done long before the holidays, but I sort of got side tracked.  Hey, I didn't have to make ALL my cards in November.  :)

          This one was a challenge on ODBD for a card with non-traditional holiday colors.

These screen cards were fun to make, but with all the embellishments, they were really thick and required extra postage.  The vintage images are chipboard embellishments.  I did not send them out after all.  Maybe next year, or I will hand deliver them.

This was an idea borrowed from my friend Joanne Masury on FB.  

She had seen a box of cards with a similar design in the PO and posted a picture, so I CASE'd it.

I colored this darling little car stamp to match our red Scion.  It sort of looks like a Scion, don't you think?

These two were made with an image gifted to me by another FB friend, Paula Bloom.  She sent me an e-mail with several digital stamps for the holidays and I thought this was so sweet.

And this last one, also a digital stamp,  from Linda Jackson (another FB card making friend), I used for a special Christmas card for my dear friend Kathleen Payne.  We both are deathly afraid of spiders, but this was so dang cute, I couldn't resist.

Pretty embossed piece from Cindy Rapson

Last month, one of my new friends from Seongsook's Stampers, Cindy Rapson, sent me a card with some extra bits in it for me to play with.  So today I took out this lovely embossed card and inked and chalked it up and voila, a love card.  I don't know if I'll keep this and give it to you-know-who, or toss it in my next OWH box.  I haven't decided.

Sentiment - Jillibean Soup / Handwritten Sentiments

Colored with CTMH Decorating Chalks / Spring collection

Ink - CTMH / Sorbet

Baker's twice - stash

And I colored over "love" with a sparkly gelli pen, so it shines

Out of the Box Challenge

This month we were challenged to do something that was a new thing for us, or "out of the box" for us.  Last year,  I took Sandy's fancy fold card class and still hadn't made one.  I think I was intimidated at all the scoring, the slice and dice  needed to get the different panels, and the many pieces of card stock used to cover all of them.  So, I decided this was the challenge I would take on this month.

I started by cutting 12x12 pieces into the 12" by 5 1/2" card bases needed.  Then it was to the Scor-Pal to score the card bases in the right lengths.  This in itself caused me headaches because my Scor-Pal is large and sometimes I misread the markings, so I ran through about 8 pieces this way with my scoring being flubbed or in the wrong spot.  Sigh.

Finally, I got a couple that were good, then I had to do the cutting between the 2" and 6" scores.  I am X-acto Knifely challenged, I guess.  But I finally got them where I wanted them.  Then I had to cut down pieces to fit in all the little panels, and decided to mat each one too.  Good thing I had enough of the 6x6 pad of paper I was using to work.  I even had enough to punch out some flowers to match and hearts to decorate the card when it was all done.

I do like how it turned out and hope my friend likes it.  I am satisfied.  I want to make another one so I can have it for myself.  I may even make a fancy fold card like this again in the future!


Here is the address to Sandy's tutorial on the fancy fold card.  http://sandyallnock.com/adapted-trifold-shutter-card-revisited.

Sentiment - Jillibean Soup / Handwritten Sentiments

DP - Graphic 45 / Botanical Tea

CS - stash

Ink - SU / Pacific Point

Waxy Flax - CTMH / Crystal Blue

Flower punch - SU

Buttons - stash

OWH Sketch #244

More blue.  And Pam Tetrealt mentioned this sketch the other day on Seongsook's Stampers and I thought I'd try it.  I really like how this turned out.

OWH Sketch #244

Sentiment - Paper Smooches / Circle of Honor

Heart - SU / Work of Art

Ink - SU Night of Navy & Real Red

DP - stash

Five of these will go to OWH.

~

Happy Birdday

Sentiment - Missing you / Hero Arts OWH 

Birds on a Wire - Penny Black

Bird Cage - Michaels

DP - stash

CS / DCWV Textured 8x8 Stack

Ribbon - Offray

Five of these will also go to OWH.

And I think I need more contrast on the background paper, so if I make this again, I'll change up the background mat.

Blue, blue, blue...

Yes, another blue card.  I have a feeling I am entering into my Blue Period.  This one will go into a kit for our next OWH card making meeting.  And isn't this burlap ribbon fun?

Image and sentiment - Hero Arts - OWH / Missing You

DP - stash

CS - stash

Buttons - CTMH / Buttoned Together

Burlap Ribbon - Sierra Pacific Crafts

Ink:

SU Night of Navy

SU Chocolate Chip

SU Baked Brown Sugar

CTMH Indian Corn Blue

Blue Card Challenge

Well the holidays are over and things are getting back to normal.  I spent the day yesterday cleaning up the family room and organizing my card stock and design papers.  I got a great organizer from Michael's at 50% off and Pete helped me put it together.  Recollections Mobile Storage Tower for $38.00.  It's particle board with white melamine over it and has seven shelves that hold project boxes or 12x12 paper.  It fits perfectly next to my craft table and is a much better way to store my papers than the big plastic container I had them in before.  Some of the corners of my pretty papers were scrunched from being in there...boo hiss.

The upshot of all this activity was that my craft area is much neater and I pulled out most of my blue design papers and card stock and it half fills a project box.  I think I'll be making blue cards for quite awhile!  Anyway,  the blue card challenge got me started on pulling out these papers and it led to organizing and cleaning and...ooooh...something shiny!  The carpet is clean now too because I vacuumed.

Here is my offering for this week's challenge.

Image - Inkadinkado

Sentiment - Die-Namics / Ring Me

CS - Gina K Designs / In the Navy

DP - Stash

Ink - SU / Night of Navy

Don't be afraid, you can call me...

Top 14 of 2014 - My year in review.

It's 2015 already!  Where does the time go?  On OWH, there is a bloghop asking for our own personal year in review, so I thought I'd check back through my posts and see which of my cards I thought were my favorites.  This year I tried new techniques and new challenges and it kick-started my mojo.  I hope you like these as much as I do.

~

This one has some cancelled stamps on it from a pack of ephemera I had in my drawer for a long time.  And no, none of these were valuable other than for embellishments.

~

Yes, I love puns and plays on words.

~

At least, that's what this fox says...

~

Using up some black and white paper I was gifted.

~

When my husband was away in the Navy, this is how I felt.

~

This is truly a lovely sentiment, and I used it for Any Hero mail.

~

~

I had this Periodic Table of Elements in a poster that I cut into card fronts and found some great scientific humor on the internet.  I made a whole set of different ones, but I like this one the best.

~

I found the film strip on the back of some card stock with vintage cameras on the front, and it just begged to have some cute kitties on it.  It didn't hurt that I had the sentiment stamp that brought it all together.

~

I love this sentiment for birthday cards, and the week I made this, several of us on 

FB were talking about sunburst cards.  I like how this turned out, but reading back on my blog post, the scraps nearly won.  I struggled with them, but I sure used up a lot of scraps!

~

The idea for a piano keyboard was playing in my head for a long time and I finally made one this fall.  I love the bling.  

~

Triple time stamping and a coffee challenge.  Now I need a cup of coffee.

~

And here is our screen card challenge.  I made several of these, but mine were so thick, they took extra postage.  If anything is worth doing, it's worth over doing, right?

~

And another challenge to use up scraps.  I loved these and made a whole bunch with different patriotic papers.  Most became Any Hero cards.

~

 I love how my card making has improved, thanks to all my crafty sisters on FB, OWH and Seyongsook's Stampers.  I can't wait to see what I get into in 2015. 

Happy New Year!