Today I’m excited to share that I was asked to be the guest designer for this week’s Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps Inspiration Challenge!  This was a fun way for me to ink up some new-to-me Sweet ‘n Sassy stamps.  I used the current Sweet Stop sketch for my layout, but stretched it out to a rectangle.  I think the image works for the sketch “spin” to create a non-traditional valentine, don’t you? As I was attaching the layers, I had a sudden thought that it might look better if I rotated the sketch 180° so that the image wouldn’t be “looking off” the right edge of the card.  So I made that last-minute revision to the sketch.  I also decided to round the opposing corners to mimic the round shapes in the inspiration photo.  I took my color scheme from the photo, and I embossed the cherry panel with a swiss dots design embossing folder to imitate the little pinprick holes in the candle holders in the photo.  I really wanted to use my Cherry Cobbler seam binding for the ribbon part of the sketch, to go along with the red branch in the photo, but then I would have had to rearrange the papers used for the smaller panels on the card and I didn’t like the way that looked.  But I think the navy ribbon looks all right.

Enough babbling… here’s the card:

Supplies:
Stamps: Love From Cocoa (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin’ Up); Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink); designer papers from Boxer 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: corner rounder punch, navy grosgrain ribbon (SU); Swiss Dots embossing folder (Provo Craft); premier colored pencils (Prismacolor); odorless mineral spirits (Houston Arts)

The current Lawnscaping challenge is called Winter Wonderland.  I have to confess I almost didn’t make a card for this challenge because winter seems like it’s nearly over for a couple of reasons.  One, it’s almost the end of January and we haven’t had any measurable snow here in the Shenandoah Valley since the freak snowstorm at the end of October 2011.  Two, I sent my last winter-themed cards to Operation Write Home before Christmas, and now I’m trying to get into the frame of mind for daffodils and Easter eggs.   But anyway, I stuck with it and came up with this card.  I used OWH Stars and Stamps sketch #104 for the layout.  It’s hard to see the little ribbon loop bow between the tails and the rhinestone. I stamped the animals on white cardstock and colored them with Copics, then cut them out and attached them to the light blue squares.

At any rate, I now have a winter-themed card ready to send to OWH in the fall!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters in the Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Basic Black (Stampin’ Up); Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Soft Sky (SU); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: black grosgrain ribbon, rhinestone (SU); markers (Copic)

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.  I’ve had some distractions and have also struggled with finding the desire to create.  I did come up with one birthday card, though, which I sent to a friend.  I used a recent Splitcoaststampers.com sketch challenge layout and a lot of retired Stampin’ Up papers for this one.

All supplies are from Stampin’ Up unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: On Your Birthday
Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Basic Gray, Tea Party designer series paper
Ink: Basic Gray
Other: pink buttons (SU); embroidery floss (DMC)

Today’s post is to quickly share a couple cards I made for last weekend’s Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps release party at Splitcoaststampers. The images and sentiments used on both of them were originally offered as digital images (which is how I purchased them), but now they are part of a really cute stamp set called “Punny Fruits and Veggies”.

First is a card I made using the Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge #366 layout.  I paper pieced the beet and its leaves.  It’s been a long time since I’ve put this many layers on a card, LOL!

The next card is simpler, and uses one of the older Stars and Stamps blog sketches for its layout.

And now I have two more kid-friendly cards to send to Operation Write Home!

Supplies for the beet card:
Digital image: Can’t Be Beat (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Western Sky designer paper (Stampin’ Up); papers from Offbeat 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: printer ink
Other: standard circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

Supplies for the orange card:
Digital Image: Orange You Sweet (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black textured, Bali Breeze designer paper (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: printer ink

The Lawnscaping Challenge blog is celebrating its birthday!  Although they announced their birthday challenge back on January 2, I’ve had a really hard time deciding what I wanted to create for it.  I finally came up with this idea about an hour ago and got it made and photographed so I can submit it before tonight’s 11:59 pm deadline.

It’s a pretty simple card.  I let the designer paper do most of the work for me. The banner and birds are popped up with dimensional adhesive.

I’ve been enjoying the Lawnscaping challenges so far, and I hope to participate in all of them in 2012!  (It’s a nice goal, yes? )

Supplies for today’s card:

Stamps: Sophie’s Sentiments, Bannerific (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); designer papers from Phoebe 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: dimensionals (Stampin’ Up)

This week’s CAS challenge at Splitcoaststampers is to use die cuts on your project.  I decided to pair that challenge with this week’s Stars and Stamps blog sketch.  And this card came together really quickly, allowing me to add one more to my stash for Operation Write Home.

Supplies:
Stamps: Right at Home (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); designer papers from Kioshi 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant (Stampin’ Up)
Other: Beautiful Wings die (SU)

It took me a little while, but I think I’m finally feeling creative again after a holiday hiatus.  A good sketch challenge always serves as a good springboard, and this week’s Stars and Stamps blog sketch was a nice and easy one.  The Stars and Stamps Midweek Throwdown challenged us to stop fondling the crafty Christmas gifts we received and go ahead and use them.  So I combined the two challenges for today’s card.  The stamps I chose were a gift from my son.  I decided to use the mirror image of the sketch so the toast and toaster wouldn’t be “looking off the edge” of the card.  The toast and the toaster were fussy cut from scraps and attached with dimensional adhesive.

Supplies:
Stamps: Love ‘n Breakfast (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Naturals Ivory, Brushed Silver (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); ribbon (Offray)

Happy New Year!  I hope the year has gotten off to a wonderful start for you.

Today I’m taking a look back at my favorite cards from the past year.  I decided to chose one from each month, and throw in one extra for good measure.  After all, a “baker’s dozen” is more than 12.    Links to the original posts can be found under each photo; you can click on them if you’d like details on each card.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Bonus!

It was interesting to me to realize that all of these cards were made either for a blog hop or for a challenge.  Does that mean I do the work I end up liking best when I’m working under pressure?

Thank you for taking this trip down memory lane with me.  I hope that 2012 brings all the best to you and your loved ones!

Operation Write Home fan Sheila G. came up with the idea for fellow OWHers to share the ten favorite cards they made in 2011 for Operation Write Home.  I had already planned to create a “Cardmaker’s Dozen” of my favorite card from each month of 2011 and share them in early January, and a lot of them were cards I’d made for OWH.  So I went back through my blog posts again and came up with another list.  I’ll still share my Cardmaker’s Dozen soon, but for now, here are 10 favorite cards I made for OWH in the past year.  Links to the original posts can be found under each photo; you can click on them if you’d like details on each card.

January 28, 2011

February 14, 2011

I’m trying to find my creativity again now that Christmas is over.  I think it decided to take a break for the holidays!

I did want to play along in a few challenges, so I threw together this simple card.  The Lawnscaping challenge that ends today invites the participants to use texture on their creations, so I used an embossing folder to add some texture to the background panel of the card.  This week’s Midweek Throwdown at the OWH Stars and Stamps blog is to make thank you cards for the troops overseas to send home to their family and friends.  I used several of the elements for the current Desert Islands Crafts Challenge, too: brads (well, one brad, anyway), brown and pink color scheme, stripes, rounded corners, and a flower.

I blended some of my older and newer craft products on this card.  The designer papers date back to 2007, and one of my sons just gave me the alphabet stamps as a Christmas gift.

I realize this isn’t one of my better cards, but I do suppose it’s better than no card at all.  LOL  Here’s hoping my mojo wasn’t thrown out with all the Christmas wrapping paper and I get back into the spirit again soon!

Supplies:
Stamps: Quinn’s ABCs (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Spring Flowers designer papers (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU)
Other: corner rounder punch, Spring Bouquet Flower punch (SU); brad (Making Memories); Paisley embossing folder (ProvoCraft)

I mentioned in my last post that I felt I should make more Any Hero cards for Operation Write Home, to thank the men and women stationed overseas for the work they do.  Today I’m sharing another card made for that purpose.

I used the December Sketch For You To Try for the layout.  The sketch was drawn as a square, but I squooshed it into a rectangle to make a “regular” 4.25″ x 5.5″ card.  When I was coloring the image the eagle’s head turned out darker than I wanted it, but oh well.  I know it would look better if I had a sky and clouds and such in the background, but I didn’t take the time for that and I guess it looks OK the way it is.  It was nice to finally find a use for these mesh star eyelets that I bought at least 5 years ago.

Here’s the original sketch, so you can see how I modified it:

Jen del Muro, the creator of the Sketch For You To Try blog, changed her challenge format from weekly sketches to monthly sketches this year.  I’m glad she did because that allowed me the chance to participate in all 12 challenges.    Here are links to the other SFYTT cards I’ve made this year:

January – happy o’birthday
February – maybe I auto stop making puns
March – sad bunny misses you
April – beachy birthday
May – challenging cutie pie
June – sketchy Father’s Day
July – hello chickadee
August – rock my world
September – welcome, little girl
October – hello, bee-utiful
November – extra love from Rhubarb

Awww.  Revisiting those cards was fun!  I’m looking forward to another year of sketches in 2012!

Here are the supplies for today’s card:
Digital Images: Eagle (K ‘n K Designs)
Cardstock: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink); Brilliant Blue, Western Sky designer paper (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: printer ink
Other: Premier colored pencils (Prismacolor); odorless mineral spirits (Houston Arts); star mesh eyelets (Making Memories); D’vine Swirls embossing folder (ProvoCraft)

Those of you who know me well know that many of the cards I make are sent to Operation Write Home so that our military men and women stationed overseas can use them to write home to their loved ones.  One thing I haven’t mentioned often is that OWH also accepts “Any Hero” cards – notes given to our heroes far from home to raise their spirits and let them know they aren’t forgotten.  I’ve made a few Any Hero cards over the last year, but I’ve come to realize that I should send more of them.

Today’s card is going to be used as an Any Hero card in the next shipment I send.  For the layout, I used one of my favorite sketches from the OWH Stars and Stamps blog.  The blue edge on the focal panel was an afterthought when I realized the panel didn’t show up well against the background of the same color.  DUH!  (My excuse is that my mind has been focused this week on getting our family’s Christmas cards completed and mailed.)  The dotted border turned out a little rougher looking than I intended, so I went back and added a few extra dots to make it look more randomly doodled.  It doesn’t show up well on the photo, but the red strip is stamped with dots, too.  The mouse image is from Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps, and the sentiment is computer generated.

Supplies:
Digital Image: Patriotic Cocoa (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Stamp: Itty Bitty Backgrounds (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Real Red, Brilliant Blue (SU); Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Real Red (SU); printer ink
Other: markers (Copic)

You might be looking at that title and thinking “WHAT?!? It isn’t even Christmas yet!”  But if you’re interested in creating valentines for Operation Write Home, your shipper will need to receive them by December 31, 2011.  That will allow time for the shippers to send them to our military men and women stationed overseas so that they can use them to write back to their family and friends at home.  Of course, cards simply saying “I love you” or “sending you love” or similar messages are welcome any time of the year!

Here’s one of the valentines I’ve made for OWH.  It was really quick and simple to create.  I printed off the heart, cut it out, added the flowers, stamped the sentiment on the card base, and attached the heart.  Easy peasy!

Feel welcome to share your valentines at the OWH Stars and Stamps blog!

Supplies:
Digital Image: Heart 3 (InStyle Stamps)
Sentiment: So Much Love (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Poppy Parade (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine); printer ink
Other: flowers (Prima Marketing); brads (Making Memories)

Hello there!  Welcome to my stop on the Lawnscaping All About Red Blog Hop!

You should have come here after viewing Yenni’s creative goodness.  If you’ve just lucked into finding the hop or think you’ve gotten lost somewhere, you can always go back to the Lawnscaping blog to figure out your way.

This weekend’s hop is going to make you see red – but in a good way!  Using red as the dominant color in the creations and featuring Lawn Fawn stamps is the theme of this hop.

When I signed up to participate, I knew I wanted to use my all-time favorite Lawn Fawn image, the sweet little bunny from the set My Silly Valentine.  Don’t get me wrong; I love all my Lawn Fawn critters, but this little bunny is the one who got me hooked on this company’s adorable products.  I decided to make a starburst card because I hadn’t made one in a while.  Picking and choosing the designer papers was the hardest thing about creating it!  I opted to go for a light-colored card base since I’ll be donating this card to Operation Write Home.

You’re going to want to make sure to comment on all the blogs in this hop by 11:59 pm EST Sunday, December 11, 2011 because there are LOTS of prizes to be won!  All the details can be found on the Lawnscaping home page linked up above.  Thank you to the hop’s generous sponsors – Lawn Fawn, Mold Muse, and Whisker Graphics – for all the fabby prizes!

Your next stop is Kristy’s Crafts.  I hope you have fun seeing what everyone else has created, and I hope you’ll come back to visit again!

Supplies:
Stamps: My Silly Valentine (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink); Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Hello, Luscious 6″ x 6″ pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine); Poppy Parade (SU)
Other: standard circle and petite scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); sponge

Today’s card uses the layout from this week’s Stars & Stamps Blog sketch challenge.  I wanted to make a Valentine for the Operation Write Home Archway Cookie Mission, but I wasn’t in a pink and red hearts mood.  I figured there are parents stationed overseas who would want to send a Valentine home to their sons who aren’t into the typical Valentine stuff, so I chose some non-traditional colors and this dog image.  I rotated the sketch because it seemed to work better that way.

Supplies:
Digital Images: Valentine Kolar (K ‘n K Designs)
Cardstock: Certainly Celery (Stampin’ Up); Basics White (Papertrey Ink); designer papers from “Sugar Rush” 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)