OWH MWT - any hero cards

Hey! It's Wednesday - seriously? We had a longer weekend up north... thanks to the telephone company needing to make a service call on Monday, so it feels like Tuesday to me. Oh well, I guess the weekend will get here that much faster! :)

Today's OWH challenge is to make Anyhero notes. I had part of one last sheet of this K & Co. Americana pack, so I sliced it up to make 12 of this design:

Cuttlebug stars embossing folder
Nestabilities labels 8
Paper Smooches sentiment
K&CO. paper, Gina K ivory cardstock
Twinery twine

 Just a few were blue, most were the red and white stripe.

My mom helped assemble! She's better at bows than I am.

I embossed the kraft piece, used my white ink pad over the surface to make the stars pop a little more, and adhered the banners. I tied on the twine and added the die cut sentiment and done! 

Thanks for visiting me today!

Jen

OWH MWT & bootcamp

Hey there! It's challenge day over at the Operation Write Home blog and today's challenge is cards for kids! I'm sharing a card I made recently from some scrap pieces... gotta love it when you can use it up! See, people, this is why I leave my crafting space in disarray so often. Then I have to clean it, and it never fails that 10 minutes in I've found several things that could make a card and then I'm off crafting again. :)

Anyhow, this also works for the OWH Bootcamp repetition class:

Jilibean Soup dp scraps
Unity Stamp Co sentiment
Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder
Momento Danube blue and dandelion inks
Really Reasonable Ribbon crinkle ribbon
Gina K card stock

I thought this made a fun and cheery kid birthday card... those number papers work really well for kid birthdays, in my opinion! I think you can see the repetition here... there's a lot of dots! 

Thanks for visiting me today!

Jen

OWH sketch 159 - thanking my lucky stars

So when I saw this week's sketch challenge over at the Stars & Stamps blog, I knew what I wanted to do. And then, like a dork, I went against my gut and tried to make a different card. Bad move... it didn't turn out so well.  DOH! (I won't show you that one. Let's all forget it ever happened!)

So I went back to my original plan. This is sketch 159.

Hero Arts for OWH stamp
Nesties labels 8, Cuttlebug stars EF
SU ribbon and ink

That's all for now... busy weekend, leading up to a busy week!  :)

Jen

OWH sketch 157, the Paper Players sketch 130

Hello there on this snowy Sunday! We got sleet, some tiny hail, and lots of snow today. I'm headed out to shovel in just a sec; I put my girls to bed a few minutes ago and my oldest asked yet again if tomorrow will be a snow day. I don't think so, but you just never know! :)

Today is sketch day, both at Operation Write Home and the Paper Players. First up sketch 157 from The Stars and Stamps blog:

Basic Grey Hopscotch papers
Ocean Tides (PTI) and Dark Chocolate (Gina K) cardstock
unknown stamp set; glossy accents, foam tape
Divine Swirl embossing folder, Nesties labels 18

And then a new challenge for me, over at the Paper Players blog. I think I will become a regular there, I like their challenges a lot!! :) This is sketch 130:

Cosmo Cricket material girl papers
Gina K dark chocolate cardstock
Stamp: Unity Stamp Co
Sizzix button die, Twinery twine, We R sew stamper

That's all for me - gotta go shovel. :) See you later this week and thanks so much for visiting me today!

Jen

GIU - day 3

Oh my goodness, Wednesday already?? Jeez Louise. We have two holiday celebrations this weekend, plus some swimming lessons and sledding planned (well, as long as the weather cooperates). Must finish all of the things!! Plus we are supposed to get 4-8 inches of snow tonight. Have I mentioned that my BIL takes my daughter to school in the morning with his sons? And how very GLAD of that I am in the winter??

Today's card is a masculine love card I made, again for Operation Write Home. It's so easy to make pretty, flowery cards in pink and purple but male cards are much tougher. I really like how this one turned out:

Unity KOM Dec 2011 and Jan. 2012
My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose dp
Argyle embossing folder, Twinery twine
lots and lots of distress ink :)

Don't forget to leave a comment before you go - I'll chose two winners this weekend, one will get 2 Itty Bitty's from Unity and one will get some random Unity stamps from me!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Jen

OWH TT: santa cards

Hello there! Today I made my very first EVER Santa card. I have to say - I think it is pretty darn sweet! :)

Today's card was made from this tutorial over at the Operation Write Home blog. It's SUPER easy and very cute! These would be great to mass-produce.

All I had for sliders were two of these hearts, and I think they work quite well! I'm going to have to go find some soda can tabs so I can make some more.

Hero Arts sentiment
soda tab/heart slider embellishments
divine swirl embossing folder
large scalloped oval nesties

Thanks for visiting me today! I always appreciate your kind comments. )

Jen

OWH shape card for ODBD challenge

Hey there! Happy Friday - our family is at the lake today, relaxing and having fun. :) Hope you are, too - having fun, that is, even if you're not at a lake. :)


This month's ODBD challenge for Operation Write Home was to create a shaped card. I saw a tutorial for a coffee cup card on the blog not too long ago, so I dug that one up since I never got to try it. LOVE IT! I have got to make some more of these soon!  


FYI, my card does not follow the tutorial very well. I messed up a couple of times so I just kind of winged it and it worked. The main difference is that I did not adhere my card closed - I cut the sides the wrong way, so I couldn't slide in an insert. I think it's okay, though. ;)


I made mine in masculine colors. I am trying to use more brown and make more masculine cards routinely. :)

Bazzill - tropical breeze, carob cream
May Arts ribbon, Unity Stamp sentiment
Swiss dot ef, Nesties label 8

Thanks for looking! :)
Jen

Unity FWF 3/30

Friday already... where did the rest of the week go? I'm not sure, but next week is spring break for our school district, so I'm pretty sure I won't get much crafting in. :)

My friend and I are headed to a shoebox swap in just a couple of weeks. As usual, we procrastinated and are just now figuring out what we will make! LOL She's coming over today and hopefully our ankle biters will let us craft for a bit and iron out what we want to do, so we can get started cutting paper and making sure we have enough of everything!

I think shoebox swaps are tricky, because you want something simple enough for making 25-ish kits but you want something that doesn't assemble in 2 minutes flat either. :)  I think I am going to go with this one. I like how you could make it into a graduation card, since that season is upon us, or just a general congrats or encouragement card. Plus it's pretty gender neutral (IMO), I think the grosgrain ribbon is texture-y enough for a man:

Ippity's {...shine, shine, shine...} set
My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose paper
Really Reasonable ribbon - black grosgrain; glossy accents, chalks

However, my DH insists this one is better. I'm not sure, I think making that ribbon flower might be tricky if you've never done it before...

Unity's Motherhood is a Verb stamp
Nesties labels 8 dies; Really Reasonable ribbon; Tim Holtz antique linen distress ink
Cuttlebug divne swirls folder; Momento tuxedo black ink, corner rounder

And finally, THIS was the card I had in my head to create for the swap, but I'm not so thrilled with how it came out. It's so... blah. Boo.

Unity's Feb 2012 KOM
Tim Holtz walnut stain ink, random DP and cardstock

So. There you have it. Which card would YOU want to make?

Thanks for visiting me today! Head back to the Unity blog and check out all of the other great projects. :) And did you see the SALE??? I'm trying not to look! LOL

Jen

January ODBD challenge for OWH

I am not complaining tonight - my DH had to work late and then go to the gun club for something, and the kids are in bed, so I get some peace and quiet and time uninterrupted to craft!

The challenge this month is to use 3 patterned papers on your card. Now, for every 25 link-ups ODBD will sponsor the postage costs for one large box to be shipped overseas each month (only link one per person), with a max of 2 boxes. Still, did you see that USPS rates are going up? (Shocking, I know!) So every little bit helps. All OWH guidelines apply (see here if you're not familiar with OWH).

3 patterned papers... hmmm, not a hard challenge when you have scraps upon scraps to use up! I CASE'd this card from someone on the Mini-hop at the end of the year. Sorry I don't remember who it was... if it was you, or you know, please tell me so I can give some credit, 'kay?

This card is an exercise in 'making do'. Those are all scraps ranging from .5" to 1.25". I adhered them to a scrap piece of cardstock (an awful, awful yellow-orange) and then CB'd it with my divine swirls embossing folder. I trimmed it and matted it in off white and then SU yellow something or other, but I had torn the striped piece near the bottom by accident, so I used this scrap piece of ribbon to cover it up, then I didn't have 2 of those cute button brads, only one - so I tied the remaining scrap of ribbon and adhered it over the other hole on the tag.

Done, done, and done... this brings my spending freeze challenge to 31 cards for January, and I had to make the rule that multiples don't count because I made LOTS of sesame street guys the other day. Woot! Kris, you will get another FULL box in a couple of weeks I think!

Now, go find some scraps and play along!

Jen

OWH MWT - another K-9 challenge!

Man, I think it is SO cool that Ciara is an honorary solider (read about that here), but these K-9 challenges are pretty tough for me. I'm just not a dog person! Luckily my last Lizzie Anne Designs order - two awesome grab bags - contained a cute dog image, so I colored it. And here's where I admit that I seriously considered paper piecing him and making him a funky dog, rather than color him. *blush* I am just not good at coloring, and this is not the best pic. Sorry. The image was still a little wet.

Stamp: Lizzie Anne Designs
Paper: DCWV (the glitter is sealed in and therefore safe for OWH! Duly tested. :)) and random scraps
Ribbon scrap, Cuttllebug argyle embossing folder

No sentiment this time... I just wasn't feeling it.

Thanks for looking, and be sure to come play along with us  at the Stars & Stamps blog!

Jen

Unity FWF 7/29 - You make my heart go BOOM!

So two weeks ago I read over the classifieds for rummage sales in our town and spied a very promising cardmaking/scrapbooking only sale. It was about 10 miles away and I drove out in the country (with my two little girls, mind you) looking for this sale, only to find the house and realize it was for the NEXT weekend. DOH!!!!!! So last Friday I drove us again out into the middle of nowhere (we live in a very rural area) to find a FAB rummage sale.

The best find? This:

It's Unity's 'you make my heart go BOOM' and it was brand new in the package for $2!!!! I shrieked a little. Ooops.
I got the hemp twine at that sale, too, for only 25 cents for a new spool. :) It's not my fave as it's really stiff - anyone know if I can soften it up a bit?

The card's pretty simple... I embossed the green with my CB swiss dots folder and stitched it. I added a random pink buttom from my stash and colored the stamp with Prisma pencils.

Be sure to check back at the Unity blog to see everyone else's fabulous projects... I know I am always inspired!! Plus there are cool prizes to be had. :)

Jen

OWH sketch 76/MWT - Christmas in July

Whew! We just got back from a week at the lake - with PERFECT weather, thank goodness! - and I'm trying to kill two birds with one stone here. Or two pigs with one angry bird? :)

I had only ten minutes of uninterrupted kid-free time, so simple was the name of the game:

Stamp: unknown SU! stamp from ages and ages ago, colored with chalks
Green c/s (SU!) embossed with the divine swirls CB folder
CM corner rounder, Rich Cocoa Momento Ink and Studio G pigment ink in gold (edges), SU pastels

Thanks for looking! I can't believe it's Wednesday already - I am SO FAR behind. I give up. LOL

Jen

Flip flops - OWH MWT 5/18

Sadly, today is not quite flip flop weather here. It's in the 60's, but rainy and windy. However, the midweek throwdown challenge over at OWH is to create a summertime card. I got this little pack of Studio G stamps from a friend for my birthday in March, and I hadn't inked any of them yet. When I saw the challenge, though, I knew what I wanted to do!

Flip flops:

Papers: K&Company DP, the rest from my scrap bin
EK success border punch
Momento rose bud ink
Studio G stamp sentiment from Unity Stamp Co
Cuttlebug tag die and Nesties ovals
Lemondrop twine from The Twinery, brads from my stash

Thanks for looking! You can play along here!

Jen

OWH MWT - cards for spouses

The challenge over at the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog today is to make cards for military spouses! I've also been working hard on Fathers' Day cards, as I have to get my box mailed this week to Kris. My Verve "Father Figure" set is getting seriously inked these days!!

I had this piece of apricot appeal cardstock embossed already, and wanted to use it - I had intended it for another project, but then it didn't look right so I never used it.

I went for CAS, but then I think my cards look unfinished sometimes. What do you think? I had a great flower embellishment but I thought it was too big and overpowered the tag sentiment. (I see it was pretty bright in my office - the tag reads 'simply the best', and there are tiny pearls in the bottom and top right corners - they're hard to see!)

Card recipe:
SU apricot appeal and pink scrap
Cuttlebug birds & swirls embossing folder
The Twinery cappucino twine
Verve stamp set
Tiny pearls from my stash
Momento lilac posies ink for the sentiment, edges

AND Then a few of the DAD cards I've been working on:



OWH Sketch challenge 67

It's Sunday and time for another sketch challenge from Operation Write Home! I am knocking out some Father's Day cards this week so that I can mail a box to Kris by FRIDAY. I am committed - I wrote it on the calendar in SHARPIE!!!

Anyhow, I found this really cool burnt orange herringbone patterned DP from a DCWV mod-retro stack and thought it would make a great Father's Day card. My "Dad" stamp didn't fit on my tag :(  so I need to see if I can find another die for a bigger tag, or maybe I can use a Nesties oval.

Card recipe:
cardstock - from the scrap bin, embossed with Cuttlebug argyle folder
DP from mod-retro DCWV stack
American Crafts ribbon
Momento Chocolate Brown ink
Verve's Father Figure stamp set 

Thanks for looking! Play along here and learn more about Operation Write Home!

Jen

In honor of Earth Day

I really, really, really dislike throwing things away. We use reusable shopping bags, recycle as much as we possibly can, use paper napkins and cleaning cloths... heck, we even cloth diaper!

Awhile back a family member, knowing I make cards, gifted me with a bunch of lime green and red vellum.
A)I don't LIKE vellum. I just don't. But the thought was nice...
B) Lime green? Seriously? It's like monster drool in vellum form.

But I hate to throw it away... so I found two sheets of this heart DP in a DCWV stack and had an idea, and created this:

Card recipe:
Heart DP from DCWV mod-retro stack
Vellum and cardstock from my stash
Offray ribbon, Memento Ink, Cuttlebug tag die
Sentiment from Studio G $1 set

Two 12x12 sheets made 12 cards! Now to find a use for some of the lime green...

Jen

OWH MWT - Monochromatic challenge

It's mid-week throwdown time over at the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog! The challenge this week is to make a monochromatic card, and once I read the challenge, I had an idea for the card I could create.

Each year I make a card for my Dad for Veteran's Day (he did two tours in Vietnam). Each year I kick myself because I leave the task until the very last minute (sadly, I do this a lot - for lots of things! Bad Jen.). Not this year! I pulled out my embossing folder and several shades of blue with one of my favorite Unity Stamp Co sets - Unity in America! I don't know if it's available anymore, so I'm glad I got it when I did. The 'freedom' has little stars inside the letters.

              Card recipe:
Cardstock: some SU, some scraps
Stamp set: Unity's "Unity in America"
Cuttlebug embossing folder - stars
SU not quite navy ink
Brads from Michael's; American Crafts ribbon

Apparently I got a slightly blurry picture... sorry about that! It's late and I'll try to get a better pic later.

Thanks for looking!

Jen

Happy birthday pyramid card

The Tuesday Tutorial over at the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog is how to create a pyramid card. Call me sheltered, but I've never seen one before! How cool is this!

I kind of messed up and only got 3 layers out of my stamp. Naptime was nearly over so I think I'll try it again later with a larger stamp. This card is for one of the guys in my DH's office. He's the kind of guy that bikes to work and keeps soy nuts in his desk to snack on, so I kept it really simple. :)

Card recipe:
happy birthday embossing folder
Stamp from Unity Stamp Co
SU nearly navy ink and cardstock
random ribbon and brads from my stash

Thanks for looking!

Jen

OWH Sketch challenge 65 for Earth Day

It's sketch challenge day over at the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog! I really like this sketch - it gave me a chance to practice my ribbon-fork tying skills! LOL My five year old thought I was *nuts* with the serving fork. She was amazed, though I admit it doesn't take that much to impress her - makes my job easy some days! :)

I have this adorable "Grow Extraordinary" set from Unity Stamp Co. Sadly, I don't think it's ever seen ink before! I have no idea why, other than I just organized my stamps and now it's much, much easier to find (Scraponizer file folders, cut in half - you can fit 3 half folders plus 8.5x11" stamp keys in one case!!!). I see myself using this one a lot... it's the type of stamp I can see myself using and tucking a note of encouragement into my girls' lunchboxes when they get older!

Anyhow, here's the sketch:

And my card:

Card recipe:
DP (the green and the leaf print) from Lizzie Anne Designs;
green embossed with forest branches ef
Cardstock scraps
American Crafts ribbon
Stamp set - Unity Stamp Co
Colored with Bic Mark-its

I really like how this turned out! I wasn't thinking and embossed the green DP, which doesn't always work well, but it was fine as it's a heavier weight. Oh, and here's the inside with the sentiment:

Thanks for looking!

Jen

OWH MWT - Layers Challenge

The mid-week throwdown challenge over at the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog today is to use multiple layers on a card. Fun!!!

Yesterday was pretty exciting at my house. I recently got a Cuttlebug and it just dawned on me the other week that I could use Nestabilities. Overstock had some really good prices on the 4-pack bundles with free shipping, so I ordered the petite and scalloped circles set and then waited rather impatiently. I found a rubber gasket at my hardware store and picked up a C plate from my local stamping store, and yesterday the Nesties arrived! (Note: the gasket works REALLY well. $8 saved!)

I cut and embossed the circle before I found the DP I wanted to use, so I used chalks to make it look aged. I accidentally touched my marker to the side of the sentiment when I was coloring the flowers, so I decided a button would make a great, strategic addition. :p

I know you've seen me use this sentiment from Unity before - I just love it! It's from the Simple Life (past KOM) kit, and it is just SO versatile. And true! We should live each day to the fullest.

There's a great prize package from Stamp Fairy that will be awarded to those participating in the challenge this week. You should play, too! Thanks for looking!

Card recipe:
Sentiment: Unity Stamp Co
DP: Autumn Leaves adhesive fall mat pack
Ribbon: American Crafts
Momento Rich Cocoa Ink; Bic mark-its markers
EK Success border punch
Scrap cardstock and button