you are amazing

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May 312012

I’m not sure why, but I had a really hard time coming up with an idea that I liked for the May Sketch For You To Try challenge.  I tried several different images for the focal panel and nothing really seemed right.  Finally this morning I decided to scale back my efforts and take a clean and simple approach to the sketch, and I’m OK with the results.  Turning the sketch on its side gave me a different perspective on it, too. The little stars under the sentiment were punched when I used the border die; I adhered them so the other side of the designer paper shows. I’ll admit the card itself might not be the most amazing, but I think this is a good general purpose sentiment to use for Operation Write Home.

Supplies:
Stamps: You (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: River rock, Soft Sky, Western Sky designer papers (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Ruby Red (SU)
Other: Stars Scallop die (SNSS)

Posted by PH in VA at 7:00 pm Cards, Operation Write Home, SFYTT sketches, Stampin' Up!

dynamic punched love

6 Responses »
May 292012

This week’s CAS challenge at Splitcoaststampers is to create a card with a love theme.  Since “love you” type cards are always needed for Operation Write Home, that wasn’t a problem at all.  But since it’s nearly June, I didn’t want to make something pink or red or looking anything like a Valentine.  So I decided to use the current Dynamic Duos color challenge for my color scheme and punch some flowers, and ended up with today’s card – which, except for the colors, is actually quite similar to the Christmas cards my family sent out last year, LOL.

Thanks for stopping by today!  🙂

All supplies from this card are from Stampin’ Up.
Stamps: Short & Sweet, Season of Joy
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Naturals White
Ink: Marina Mist
Other: 5-Petal Flower punch, Spring Bouquet Flower punch, brad, sponge

Posted by PH in VA at 2:30 pm Cards, Dynamic Duos, Operation Write Home, OWH Midweek/Midmonth Throwdown, Splitcoast challenges

thanks for being you

5 Responses »
May 282012

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States.  While it’s really nice to have a day off of work or school to spend having fun with family or friends, or to score some great shopping deals, let’s not forget the original purpose of Memorial Day – to remember and honor the brave men and women who have died while serving our country, protecting the freedoms that Americans enjoy.

Today’s card is dedicated to those who are currently serving in the military.  Thank you to all of them for working to make our world a better place.  Thank you especially to those who are separated from their families and loved ones, serving tours of duty in faraway countries.  You are not forgotten; you are very much appreciated.

The layout for this card is Freshly Made Sketch #36.  I had a hard time getting started creating something with this sketch; none of my first several ideas seemed “right”.  I came up with an idea using a different floral stamp, which led me to these designer papers, and then I thought about using the Prima flowers, and that led me to this stamp set with the thank you sentiment.  It came together pretty easily after all that got sorted.  Weird how the creative process works sometimes, don’t you think?

 

 

If you haven’t yet had a chance to check out the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Blog Hop, it isn’t too late!  My card for the hop can be found at this link: OWH Memorial Day Sketch Blog Hop!  Click on the graphic below to be taken to the list of all the participating blogs.

The supplies for today’s card are all from Stampin’ Up unless otherwise noted:
Stamps: Best Blossoms
Cardstock: Old Olive, Naturals White, Bali Breeze designer papers
Ink: Old Olive
Other: flowers (Prima Marketing); brads (Making Memories)

Posted by PH in VA at 12:00 pm Cards, Freshly Made Sketches, Operation Write Home, Stampin' Up!

OWH Memorial Day Sketch Blog Hop!

61 Responses »
May 262012

Hello!  Welcome to my stop on the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Sketch Blog Hop!

Today we’re remembering the brave men and women who have given their all for our country and its freedom by sharing cards made for the purpose of sending to our military members still stationed overseas, so that they may write to their family and friends back at home.

The OWH Stars and Stamps blog has over 120 great sketches to help jumpstart your creativity and make it easier to get started making cards for our heroes to use.  I’ve used sketch 49 for today’s card.  Love-themed cards are always useful, and I wanted to make something that would be suitable to send a man, woman, boy or girl of any age.  I combined several Lawn Fawn stamp sets to create this postcard image.  I repeated the little hearts on the liner inside the card; in the photo you can see one peeking out.  (I combined the three hearts from two different stamp sets on my acrylic block so I could stamp them all at the same time.)  The red and black panels are both dry embossed (which makes this card qualify for the current Lawnscaping challenge), although it’s hard to see that detail on the black panel.  The love theme also ties in with the current OWH Midweek Throwdown Challenge.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and be sure to take some time to remember our heroes who have died in service in order to make our country and world a better place.

Supplies used:
Stamps: You’ve Got Mail, Bows and Holly, My Silly Valentine, Love ‘n Breakfast (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Basic Black (Stampin’ Up); Solar White (Neenah)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Hearts embossing folder (ProvoCraft); Plaid embossing folder (Sizzix)

Posted by PH in VA at 3:00 am Cards, Lawn Fawn, Lawnscaping challenges, Operation Write Home, OWH Midweek/Midmonth Throwdown, OWH Stars & Stamps sketches, Stampin' Up!

Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge #55

3 Responses »
May 252012

Hi!  It’s time for this week’s Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge!  We have an easy challenge theme this week – make a thank you card using a digital image.  To play along, link your card at the Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge site.  Even though you can use a digi image from any company, we especially enjoy seeing what our challenge participants create using Sweet ‘n Sassy digital images!  Remember that joining in the challenge gives you an entry into a prize drawing that will be held at the end of May; you can find details about that on the SNSS Digi Challenge site.

Here’s what I made for this week’s challenge.  When I first learned the challenge details, I knew I wanted to use this image and sentiment and keep the card clean and simple.  Then when I saw the sketch for this week’s Clean and Simple Challenge at Splitcoaststampers.com, I decided I’d use that for my card.  The Splitcoaststampers Wednesday tutorial inspired me to try a shaped card.  And it all came together like this:

The sentiment is completely computer generated using the Maiandra font.  The card is very close to standard A2 card size; it’s just a tiny bit shy of 5.5″ tall but only about 4″ wide (rather than the usual 4.25″).  I think it will be a welcome addition to the cards I’m making for Operation Write Home.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I’ll be looking on the SNSS Digi Challenge site for your own thank you card using a digital image!  🙂

Supplies used:
Digital Image: Cocoa’s Heart (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah)
Ink: printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); Labels Eight Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

Posted by PH in VA at 12:00 am Cards, Digital images, Nestabilities, Operation Write Home, Splitcoast challenges, Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenges, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps

dynamic birthday chick!

8 Responses »
May 242012

Today one of my friends is celebrating her birthday.  She’s a pretty amazing lady, this friend.  She’s a loving mom to two busy young boys, she recently took on a second job outside the home, and she’s a devoted supporter of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  Plus she does all the normal mom and wife things like taking care of the house and finding the best buys on groceries and cooking meals for her husband and kids.  I honestly don’t know how she does it all.

So here’s the birthday card I sent to her this year.  I combined the current Dynamic Duos challenge colors with the current Sweet Stop sketch (but turned the sketch on its side).  I also included the Sweet Stop “spin” of ruffling the ribbon I used on the card.  The chicken image is popped up with dimensional adhesive.  Just for fun, I stamped a few chicken footprints on the liner inside the card.  The sentiment is computer generated directly on the yellow panel.  I was afraid the Dynamic Duos “dessert” option of dry embossing would mess up the printing, so I decided to skip the dessert.

 

If you know Victoria, I hope you’ll join me in wishing her the very happiest of birthdays – because she truly is an awesome chick!  I ♥ her bunches and I’m so lucky to have her as a friend.

Supplies for today’s card:
Digital Image: Hey Chicky (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Stamp {inside the card}: Best of Cluck (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Daffodil Delight (SU); Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); black grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals (SU)

Posted by PH in VA at 8:00 am Cards, Digital images, Dynamic Duos, Stampin' Up!, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, The Sweet Stop sketches

twins again

1 Response »
May 232012

I had a few cardmaking objectives today.  I needed to make a birthday card for my father-in-law, and I wanted to try this week’s OWH Stars and Stamps sketch challenge.  When I went to the OWH site to get the sketch I noticed the Midweek Throwdown challenge of making a love themed card.  So, I decided to do all this the quick and easy way.  I made two cards, using the same basic materials, but changing them slightly to meet each purpose.

First is the birthday card.  In looking back over the cards I’ve made for my father-in-law over the years, I noticed I usually use trees and leaves on his cards.  I decided I’d try to get away from that this year.  Although I don’t think my father-in-law was ever as interested in trains as my husband used to be, I felt this was a good masculine image to use.

 

Here’s the love themed card.  The brads started out as pewter finish, but I colored them with a Copic marker to coordinate with the cardstock. The sentiment panel is a bit more narrow than what the sketch called for, but if I’d made it using the sketch measurements, it would have had too much white space and probably would have looked weird. To accommodate the prongs of the brads, the sentiment panel is attached with dimensional adhesive.

 

The really nice thing about this sketch was it allowed me to use up scraps.  Except for the card bases, all the cardstock and designer paper were scraps left over from previous projects.  I did have to cut the narrow reddish print strips to size, but they did not come from a new piece of designer paper.  It felt good to put the scraps to use!

Supplies:
Stamps: Birthday card – All Aboard, Birthday Whimsy (Stampin’ Up); Love card – Masculine Messages (Gina K. Designs)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Naturals Ivory (SU); designer papers from Boxer 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Night of Navy (SU)
Other: heart brads (Making Memories); dimensionals (SU)

Posted by PH in VA at 10:00 pm Basic Grey, Cards, Gina K Designs, Operation Write Home, OWH Midweek/Midmonth Throwdown, OWH Stars & Stamps sketches, Stampin' Up!

tropical sketchy birthday

4 Responses »
May 212012

Hello!  Today’s card combines a couple of challenges.  I’ve used Freshly Made Sketches layout #35 for the composition of the card, and the color scheme is taken from the current OWH Stars and Stamps Midweek Throwdown challenge to use tropical colors.  This card will be going in my Operation Write Home stash, and I hope that it will brighten someone’s day.

 

Supplies:
Stamps: Everyday Greetings Collection (Wordsworth)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Green Galore, Positively Pink, Whisper White (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Green Galore, Positively Pink (SU)
Other: green grosgrain ribbon (SU); scoring board (Martha Stewart Crafts); half pearl (KaiserCraft)

Posted by PH in VA at 1:30 pm Cards, Freshly Made Sketches, Operation Write Home, OWH Midweek/Midmonth Throwdown, Stampin' Up!

Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge #54 and Blog Hop!

12 Responses »
May 182012

Hooray!  It’s Friday!  That means that the weekend is almost here, AND it’s time for another Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge!  Today is a little different because the Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge ladies are also bringing you a blog hop for our new May release – and we are all excited about that!  🙂

While you’re hopping, be sure to leave a comment on each Design Team member’s blog post.  One DT member is a mystery blogger, and she will be picking a random winner from the comments on her blog post!  The winning prize is the entire May digital release!  How awesome is that!?!  The winner will be announced on the Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge blog next Friday, May 25.

Today we have a recipe challenge for you:  Use one ribbon, two gems, and three different colors (not counting neutrals).  Sounds like a fun one, doesn’t it?  We do have a few things that we ask you to keep in mind:

  • Please use digital images ONLY for the focal point of your creation(s) for this challenge.
  • Sweet ‘n Sassy digital images are not required, but we really love it when our challenge participants use them!
  • Be sure to link your creation(s) to the Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge blog.  Every card you enter in our challenges throughout the month of May gives you one chance to win 3 digital stamps of your choice from the Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps store!  You receive two chances if your card uses a Sweet ‘n Sassy digital image.  So the more you play, and the more you use SNSS digital images, the more chances you have to win!
  • When uploading to online galleries, please use keyword SNSDC54.

Here’s what I created for the recipe challenge.  I’ve used the newest Rhubarb the bear image, Baseball Rhubarb.  I love that his uniform can be colored any way you please in order to personalize your card or layout for your favorite baseball, softball, or t-ball player.  I chose to go kind of gender neutral since I’ll be sending this card to Operation Write Home.  I used the current Splitcoaststampers.com sketch for my layout. One ribbon = the chocolate grosgrain near the top of the card; two gems = the two pearls on the ribbon; and three colors = blue, yellow and brown.

I’m also including this in the OWH Stars and Stamps Five Elements challenge.  My five elements are the digital image, ribbon, pearls, rounded corners, and designer papers.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Now, here’s the blog hop lineup.  Be sure to give everyone some love – YOU just might be the winner of the entire May release!

Supplies for today’s card:
Digital Image: Baseball Rhubarb (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Sentiment Stamp: Thoughtful Rhubarb (SNSS)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Spring Showers designer papers (Stampin’ Up); Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: printer ink; Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, corner rounder punch (SU); half pearls (KaiserCraft); standard circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); markers (Copic)

Posted by PH in VA at 8:00 am Cards, Digital images, Nestabilities, Operation Write Home, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!, Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenges, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps

dynamic, colorful, technical challenge

5 Responses »
May 162012

Truth is, coming up with post titles that sound interesting but not overly corny and that describe the creative work is a challenge!  :p

I combined two current challenges for this card.  The color scheme is from Dynamic Duos Challenge #2, to use colors close to Stampin’ Up’s So Saffron and Pool Party.  I have Pool Party cardstock but not ink, so I had to really think about how I was going to pull this challenge off.  I didn’t have a marker that was an exact match to Pool Party either, but I used two that both seemed like a close match to embellish the “U”.  The tall rectangular piece shows off the current Splitcoaststampers Technique Lovers’ Challenge, Dry Debossing.  I used an embossing folder in my Big Kick to emboss the strip of white cardstock, turned it so the indentations were face up, and then swiped the cardstock with my So Saffron ink spot pad to add color.  I love how it came out streaky – I think it gives the panel a kind of vintage shabby chic feel.  The layout is a really old Stars & Stamps blog sketch, #12.  I’ve used this sketch before and I like it a lot because it’s great for quick CAS cards.  On second thought, I’m wondering if I should have used a Pool Party mat on the sentiment square instead of So Saffron – but I don’t think this looks bad enough that I need to change it, so I’ll leave it.

And that’s one more love-themed card for the box I’m putting together for Operation Write Home!

Supplies:
Stamps: You (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Whisper White, So Saffron (SU)
Ink: So Saffron (SU)
Other: Victoria embossing folder (ProvoCraft); markers (Copic)

Posted by PH in VA at 10:30 pm Cards, Dynamic Duos, Operation Write Home, OWH Stars & Stamps sketches, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps

Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge #53

8 Responses »
May 112012

Hello again!  Since Mother’s Day here in the United States is in just a few days, the Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge this week is to create a feminine card or scrapbook layout using a digital image.

Creating this card gave me one challenge after another.  Nothing seemed “right” at first.  I finally decided yesterday to use this week’s Freshly Made Sketch for the layout.  There were three different floral images I wanted to use, but I hadn’t made anything with the Morning Glory yet so I chose that one.  (Shhhhh… don’t tell my dad.  Morning glories grew wild in his peanut and corn fields when he was farming, so he always perceived them as annoying weeds that tangled in his crops.  I always hated having to chop them out of the peanut fields when we were hoeing because the colorful blooms were so pretty against the sandy soil.)  I had to print the image twice because the first time, it printed too close to the edge of the cardstock for my circle die to fit.  Then I sorted through several different designer paper packages and coordinating cardstock before choosing some of my oldest Basic Grey.  I knew I had matching ribbon for it, but I had to hunt for it, so that took a while.  (I did clear away some clutter in the process.)  I originally used my Lacey Circles Nestabilities to cut a mat for the image panel, but the openwork seemed too busy against the patterns in the designer paper, so I opted for a scalloped circle instead.  Finally the card all came together.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Be sure to share your feminine card or project using a digital image at the SNSDC blog!

Supplies:
Digital Images: Morning Glory, Mother’s Day Sentiments (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Naturals White (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from LilyKate 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); standard circle and petite scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); LilyKate ribbon (Basic Grey); lemon half pearls (KaiserCraft), dimensionals (SU)

Posted by PH in VA at 12:00 am Basic Grey, Cards, Digital images, Freshly Made Sketches, Nestabilities, Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenges

dynamic triple challenges anniversary

11 Responses »
May 092012

I love playing in different online card making challenges, but there are just so many challenges and not enough time that inevitably, I find myself combining challenges so that I can maximize my participation.  That’s what I’ve done with this card.

When I saw that this week’s Lawnscaping Challenge was to create a clean and simple card, I was happy because many of my cards tend to pretty much fit that description.  I also wanted to make something for the Stars and Stamps Blog Rebel Challenge presented by Beth of BunnyScrap, who challenged us to create a card using die cuts.  Then I learned about a new color challenge blog called Dynamic Duos and I wanted to give that a try, too.  So I’ve used the Dynamic Duos colors with some dies to create a card that’s clean and simple.  I admit I took a lot of inspiration from a card Korin Sutherland created. I don’t have Lucky Limeade ink, but I was able to create a substitute for it by using Old Olive and stamping off once onto scrap paper.

Thanks for stopping by today!  As always, your comments are greatly appreciated!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sophie’s Sentiments (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Confetti Cream, Everyday Enchantment designer series paper (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Old Olive (SU)
Other: Heart dies (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps); corner rounder punch (EK Success); sponge

Posted by PH in VA at 11:30 pm Cards, Dynamic Duos, Lawn Fawn, Lawnscaping challenges, Operation Write Home, Stampin' Up!

Stars and Stamps Rebel Challenges #4 and #9

3 Responses »
May 092012

Well, it started becoming obvious that I won’t be able to complete all nine of the Stars and Stamps Blog Rebel Challenges before Thursday’s deadline.  So for this card, I’ve combined two challenges.  Yvonne at Penguin Papers asked OWHers to make a card using bright colors, and Sheila at 2 Paw Prints challenged us to make a card with an owl on it (with a bonus if a punny sentiment was used).  So I figured why not go whimsical rather than realistic and make card with a brightly colored owl?

I paper pieced Opal Owl using various papers from Basic Grey (and I guess that makes this card eligible for Sherry’s paper piecing challenge, too, as well as this week’s Splitcoaststampers Technique Lovers’ Challenge).  The layout was strongly inspired by Sweet Stop Sketch #157 but I stretched out the sketch to a rectangle,  substituted the owl for the circular focal point, and shifted the focal point toward the left so I’d have room for the sentiment banner.

I just think this would be a really cute card for one of our heroes to send home to his or her child.  What do you think?

Supplies:
Digital Images: Opal Owl, Owl Sentiments 2 (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi (Stampin’ Up); papers from Ambrosia and Blitzen collections (Basic Grey)
Ink: printer ink
Other: flowers (Prima Marketing); mini brads (Making Memories); Plaid embossing folder (Sizzix)

Posted by PH in VA at 10:30 pm Basic Grey, Cards, Digital images, Operation Write Home, Splitcoast challenges, Stampin' Up!, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, The Sweet Stop sketches

Stars and Stamps Rebel Challenge #3

2 Responses »
May 072012

Here’s my card for the third Stars and Stamps Rebel Challenge.  Lisa at Stamping with a Mission asked us to make a card using food as the focal image.  I decided to use my Lawn Fawn pears with a punny sentiment for a different twist on a love-themed card.  The layout is from Freshly Made Sketches.

 

Supplies:
Stamps: My Silly Valentine (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Blush Blossom, Kiwi Kiss (Stampin’ Up); Basics White (Papertrey Ink); designer papers from Offbeat 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Kiwi Kiss (SU)
Other: tag corner punch (SU); markers (Copic); sponge

Posted by PH in VA at 2:30 pm Basic Grey, Cards, Freshly Made Sketches, Lawn Fawn, Operation Write Home

Stars and Stamps Rebel Challenge #2

4 Responses »
May 072012

For the second Stars and Stamps Rebel Challenge, Carol at Our Little Inspirations challenged us to use products that we’ve been hoarding.

Oh boy.  LOL  Hoard?  Me?

Well, the hardest part of this challenge for me was choosing which Basic Grey designer paper to, ahem, “sacrifice” for this challenge.  I eventually decided it was finally time to use this plaid.  I used this week’s OWH Stars and Stamps sketch for this card’s layout.

Supplies:
Stamps: Sophie’s Sentiments (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Early Espresso, River Rock (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Oxford 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU)
Other: brads (SU); Grommet Tags die (Spellbinders)

Posted by PH in VA at 2:15 pm Basic Grey, Cards, Lawn Fawn, Operation Write Home, OWH Stars & Stamps sketches, Stampin' Up!
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