OWH November ODBD Challenge

The theme of this month's Our Daily Bread sponsored challenge for Operation Write Home is hearts. Here is the card I made:

For some reason I have been using a lot variations of a green and blue combination lately.  This card started with an art orphan that was a "happy accident".  I was attempting a technique called "Dylusions Resist" from Technique Junkies.  Instead of using clear embossing powder, I used Ranger's Antiquities "Frosted Crystal".  It didn't exactly resist the Glimmer Mist, but it did add a cool texture under the mist.   

The chipboard hearts (from Recollections) were coated with VersaMark ink, covered with Zing gold embossing powder, coated with ink again then sprinkled with Ranger UTEE.  The result ended up being a distressed metal look.  (it is a variation of a technique that I learned from a Tim Holtz online class).

One other trick I used on this card is on the sentiment.  I didn't have any embossing powder that would really work well with the rest of the colors.  So, I embossed it using Zing "leaf" powder, then colored over it with a Copic Marker to tone down the bright green and make it more compatible with the rest of the card.  

Other products I used are:

**paper from Gina K and Club Scrap

**stamps used on background from Club Scrap, sentiment stamp from Stampassions

**ribbon from Club Scrap

 Thanks for stopping by!

Set from the Past Challenge at Stamp TV

Good afternoon! Where has this year gone?  I can't believe that it is already November.  I had so much fun with last week's Stamp TV challenge of only using two colors that I thought I would play along again this week.  This week the challenge is "Set from the Past" encouraging us to use older Gina K stamps.  Fortunately I have some of those.  Here is what I came up with:

I used a technique from SplitCoast Stampers called Alcohol Ink Faux Bleach for the focal image.

The supplies I used are:
**paper from Gina K, Club Scrap, Ranger
**both stamps are from Gina K
**ribbon is from Club Scrap, altered with Distress ink
**in addition to the Distress ink I used VersaMark ink and Ranger Alcohol Inks
**Zing embossing powder
**the ribbon is attached with Idea-ology Tiny Attacher staples that I altered with Copic Markers
**the brads are from my stash, but I don't know the manufacturer.

Thanks for looking!

Two Challenges, One Card

This week I am posting one card in two different challenges.  The first is for Operation Write Home's sketch challenge #241, the second is for Gina K's Stamp TV weekly challenge (my first time participating in that one).

The Stamp TV challenge is called "It Takes Two, Only Two!" and requires only two colors, which includes neutrals.  That was quite the challenge, but fun to figure out.  I just wish my brain hadn't been working on it most of the night last night!  The OWH sketch #241 looks like this:

My only navy and copper color combination with my interpretation of the sketch looks like this:

The photo seems to make the copper look more golden, but IRL it is truly a copper color.  The products I used for this card are:

**navy paper from Gina K, copper paper from Club Scrap

**stamps from Gina K

**embossing folder from Sizzix

**Versa Mark ink, along with embossing powder from Zing (Denim) and Stamping Details (copper)

**ribbon from Club Scrap

**border punch from Tonic, scallop circle die from Spellbinders

**I don't know where the "gems" are from, but they are altered with Copic marker.

Thanks for stopping by!

OWH October Mid-Month Throwdown Challenge

Good morning!  This month's OWH challenge is to make a Winter Birthday card.  I ended up with two cards this time.  The first one is for my Father-in-law who's birthday is in December, and who lives up in the hills:

Ok, so his property doesn't look quite like this, but it is a peaceful, relaxing place.  

The background was sprayed with Glimmer Mists, then embossed with a Sizzix folder.  The focal image is a cut-apart from Club Scrap that I altered with some FaberCastell watercolor pencils and Perfect Pearls spray.  It was hard to photograph the shimmer, but here is a closeup:

The other supplies I used are:

**paper from Club Scrap and Gina K

**ribbon from Club Scrap

**sentiment stamp from I Break For Stamps

**inks from Club Scrap and Distress

**embossing powder from Club Scrap (on the sentiment)

**the "nailheads" are actually iron on studs from Simplicity, and I don't know where the snowflake brad is from (both are altered with Copic Marker)

Since I did this card for personal use, I wanted to do a card that I can send to Operation Write Home as well:

For this one, I sprayed Glimmer Mists on the embossing folder (the same one from Sizzix) then put watercolor paper (from Strathmore) in and ran it through the machine.  I followed the OWH sketch #108, turning it on it's side.  

The rest of the supplies are:

**paper from Gina K and Club Scrap

**sentiment stamp from Club Scrap

**ribbon from Taylored Expressions

**snowflake sticker from Dazzles, altered with Copic Marker

**ink from StazOn and Distress

**nailhead from Mark Richards

Thanks for stopping by!

OWH Sketch Challenge #238

Happy Sunday!  My day is kind of frustrating right now as my Packers have just fallen behind the Dolphins.  Ugh!!  And on one of the rare occasions when I actually get to watch them play.

Oh well, at least I had time to create this morning! This week's OWH Sketch looks like this:

I turned it on it's side to come up with this:

The supplies I used are:
**paper from Gina K, Club Scrap, BoBunny, and I'm not sure where the green polka dot paper is from.
**ribbon from Club Scrap, altered with Copic Markers (I colored in the white polka dots)
**flowers are from Recollections and Michaels (I altered the middle one with Glimmer Mist)
**sentiment stamp from Club Scrap
**tiny brads from Club Scrap, not sure where the flower brad came from (but it is altered with Copic Markers)
**I also used Distress and Versa Mark inks, Zing Embossing Powder, and an embossing folder from Cuttlebug (paper layer under flower).

Thanks for stopping by!  GO PACK GO!!

OWH October ODBD Challenge

The Operation Write Home challenge from Our Daily Bread this month is to make a Non-Christmas card with snowflakes.  I had a lot of fun with this one and even made one without any kind of "snowy" sentiment...a first for me.

The background is a Sizzix stamp that I heat embossed with Stampendous Pearlustre powder.  I then sprayed it with three colors of Glimmer Mist.  Once it dried I wiped it off of the embossing.  I am still  working my way through all of the OWH sketches and found that  #102 worked well for this background.  

Other supplies I used are:

**paper from Gina K, Club Scrap, and the backside of a piece from Park Bench

**ink from Versa Mark and Archival

**sentiment stamp from The Stamps of Life, snowflake stamp from Taylored Expressions

**ribbon from Family Treasures

**dies from Taylored Expressions (snowflake) and Spellbinders (sentiment circle)

**embossing powder for sentiment from Club Scrap

**gems from my stash, altered with Copic Marker.

As much fun as this card was to make, I am hoping that we don't get snow for quite awhile here in Virginia!  

Thanks for stopping by!

2014 World Card Making Day OWH Bloghop

Happy WCMD day everyone!  I'm so excited to be participating in my very first blog hop.  And, an Operation Write Home hop is the perfect way to get started.  Check out the OWH Stars and Stamps Blog for a complete list of participants.   

For those who don't know about this organization, the short answer is that OWH sends donated, blank, homemade cards to our heroes serving overseas so they can send them to their loved ones back home.  For more detailed information you can check out their website here.  

If you want to join in the fun of supporting our heroes by making cards, be sure to follow the strict guidelines on the website.  They are in place to keep our heroes safe, and to make sure their mail can be sent back home at no cost to them.  It is also a good idea to keep up to date with the current needs as our troops draw down by checking out this page.

Now on to the hop.  The theme is "Love"...to show how much we love our craft.  

I am still trying to use up my pile of art orphans so I can go play and make more!  The center panel is just Glimmer Mist, most of it swiped up off of my craft mat after spraying it on another project. Then I used a stencil (not sure where it came from) and a combination of Dreamworks embossing paste, Tsukineko Brilliance ink and stickles.  Once the image dried, I did the glitter test (rubbed it on my flannel shirt sleeve) and found one flake of glitter...which is one too many for an OWH card.  So, I used some Ranger Glue N' Seal over the top.  The design is based on OWH sketch #99.

The other supplies I used are:  

 * Paper from Gina K and Club Scrap

 * Distress Ink

 * Cut apart from Club Scrap, altered with Brilliance ink mixed with a little water

 * I think the metal heart is from Michaels, and it is altered with Copic Marker

 * gem from Recollections, altered with Copic Marker

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Enjoy be sure to go back and enjoy the other great cards on the hop.

OWH Sketch Challenge - #240

I used this Operation Write Home challenge to make a birthday card for a friend.  The sketch looks like this:

And here is my interpretation of it:

I never realized how much I mix and match companies and supplies when I create something until I started keeping track of the supplies I use.  This card is no exception.  The paper is from Club Scrap and Gina K.  The background was done using a stencil and a mixture of Dreamweaver embossing paste, Tsukineko Brilliance Ink, Star Dust Stickles and Rock Candy Distress Stickles (there is a bit of shimmer and sparkle to the dots that didn't show up to well on camera).  The focal point is a Unity stamp stamped on a remnant art orphan done with Ranger Alcohol inks.  The ribbon is from Club Scrap. The button cut from Delight Paper Clay using a die from C. C. Designs, then colored with Tsukineko Brilliance Ink. The sentiment stamp is from Stampendous (the message is continued on the inside saying: "Birthday calories don't count!!!").  

 Operation Write Home has some great sketches - currently 240 of them!  You can check them all out  here.

Thanks for looking!

OWH Mid-month Throwdown Challenge - Fall Colors

The September mid-month challenge for Operation Write Home is fall colors.  I chose to make a birthday card using some of my art orphans.

The background panel is the "Big Shot Hammer" technique from Technique Junkies (Aug/Sept 2011).  It basically turns your Big Shot (or whatever die cutting machine) into a flower press.  After pressing a couple of leaves from my backyard I spritzed it with some Perfect Pearls mist.  The little squares along the bottom were cut from a left over piece that I had done with Glimmer Mist.  

The other supplies I used are:

Paper from Club Scrap, Gina K, and Strathmore Watercolor paper; inks from Club Scrap, Gina K, and Versa Mark; stamp from Stampin' Up; ribbon from Club Scrap (altered with Copic Marker); embossing powder from Lindy's Stamp Gang; dies from Spellbinders & Taylored Expressions; and the brads I got from a store in Green Bay, WI which is no longer there.  I loosely based this card on OWH sketch #98.

Thanks for looking.  Happy Fall!

OWH Sketch #239

I love the Operation Write Home sketches.  I have been trying to go through the sketches in order (and have made it as far as #97), but since I can't seem to catch up, I thought I would also try doing them as they are posted (every two weeks now).

Here is the latest sketch:

And here is my interpretation of it:

I used paper from Gina K, We R Memory Keepers, Club Scrap and the silver from my stash (so old I can't even remember where I bought it!).  The middle panel is a technique called Glossy Gesso from the Technique Junkies newsletter (Dec 10/Jan 11) which uses gesso, stamps from Stampers Best and Club Scrap and Glimmer Mist.  The sentiment stamp is from Hero Arts, stamped with Versa Mark and embossed with Zing powder.  The frame around the sentiment is from Tim Holtz Idea-ology, and the brads are from my stash, but I don't know where they are from. 

Thanks for stopping by!

OWH September OBDB challenge

Ok, here is my first "official" post on my new blog.  Our Daily Bread Designs hosts a challenge each month for Operation Write Home.  If they can get 50 cards made and linked by the end of the month, they will donate two boxes of free shipping for our heroes.  This month the challenge is to create your own background...right up my alley!

My background is a technique called Faux Encaustic Wax that I got from the Technique Junkies newsletter (Feb/Mar 2013) which allowed me to use a bunch of Crayola crayon pieces that I have left over from the kid's coloring days.

The other supplies I used are:
Paper from Gina K and Club Scrap;  stamps from Club Scrap (Polynesian kit);  fiber from Club Scrap (Vogue kit) which I altered with Distress stain and ink;   VersaMark ink, and Zing embossing powder.

Thanks for stopping by!

New at this...

So, I am taking another step further out of the dinosaur age.  We'll see how this whole blog thing goes.  Others do it all the time, most rather successfully as far as I can tell!  Maybe there is hope for me too.

This post is mostly just about taking this blog for a test run to see if I can figure out how to work it.  So far, so good!  

Cool! I even figured out how to add a picture!  This is one of my favorites from our recent trip to San Francisco.  (We were on our way down to Fort Point.)  

Now I'll have to try to create something for a challenge somewhere so I can try submitting a blog post about it instead of just a flicker picture...