More cards to share

Last week I posted some cards I'd made using a template created by Kathryn for Operation Write Home. I'd finished embellishing most of them and went ahead and shared, reserving these until I could finish them. 

As before, these cards feature MME Lost and Found 2 6x6 papers, other products used will be listed with individual cards.

This stamp is from MME Miss Caroline, scalloped stickers are BasicGrey and the twine is MME All is Bright.

Again, scalloped stickers from BasicGrey and MME All is Bright twine. The circles were cut using Kiwi Lane templates and the inside of a roll of washi and then covered with washi from MME. The other stickers are from Glitz.

The next two have scalloped stickers from BasicGrey, sentiment sticker from Glitz, and twine from MME Kraft Funday.

These two both have stickers from Glitz Design and BasicGrey, twine from MME All is Bright (red and blue).

Thanks for stopping by, there's more cards on the way in addition to my design team postings. 

OWH Card template

Last week Operation Write Home posted a tutorial on their Facebook page on how to use several papers from a 6x6 pad at the same time with minimal waste/maximum cards produced. Sweet. So I pulled up Kathryn's blog, converted the dimensions of her templates into two Silhouette cut files (6- 6x6 sheets) and got to work. While setting it up as a file took a bit of time, it's all set up for next time!  

I used the template twice, and still need to embellish six of the cards, but here's most of what I got done using the template.

Kathryn had matted her shapes using solid cardstock, I used more sheets from my partially used 6x6 MME Lost and Found pad and managed to finish off the pack because I did. Woot. 

Some of my embellishments are from Glitz, like these word stickers. 

These brads are from my stash, probably Paper Studio.

There's also several die cuts from Authentique collections - Blissful and Gathering.

I'm soooo using this template idea again. Seriously, I got all that done in one naptime!

Scrappy cards

I haven't been around much and I apologize for that, last week we decided to move my craft space out of our bedroom and into the living room. That has left me struggling to find my mojo - and everything else that I haven't gotten used to finding while I am working. 

Pretty much all these cards use scraps, leftovers and cast-offs. Well, except the first one this one was just for fun and uses October Afternoon Rocket Age. 

All of the cards are headed for my Operation Write Home box which means no glitter and not so much depth. Always a challenge to follow those rules. 

There's a couple of each of these cards but I thought I'd save you from looking at each slight variation on the theme. 

This card's epoxy phrase is from Glitz Designs stickers and reads "dreams really do come true" but I couldn't get them to photograph.

There's more cards to come, check it out tomorrow!

Operation Write Home Sketch Interpretation

I'm really getting into the weekly Operation Write Home card sketches. A great way to use my scraps!  So far, all the cards are just card faces and need to be adhered to the folded part and readied for the mail. But here's my interpretation of Sketch 162.

This one was the first I did in the batch, and is my favorite! The background I stamped with a Market Street Stamp. The pigment ink I used got a little splotchy and smeary so I heat dried it and then used the WRMK Sweetheart Distressing Tool to disguise it a bit. All the layers got inked and sanded to "blend" in my mistake on the base. 

The papers are an assortment of MME scraps. The sentiment is a Studio G $1 bin stamp. I'm linking it up to the Scrapbooksteals.com MCM - Stamp it! Challenge.

For the other cards, I again focused on my huge pile of MME scraps. The hello sentiment was a wooden block $1 bin stamp, can't remember where I picked that one up and it doesn't say.

Card-y weekend

I've been getting a lot of pages done lately so I decided to dedicate my crafty time this weekend to cards for my Operation Write Home box. 

The first is based on a card that OWH posted to their Facebook page and I lifted. The original used a row of teeny punched butterflies, but since I don't really own punches I thought I'd lift it into a more masculine/gender neutral design. 

The arrows were cut from a variety of scraps using my Silhouette Cameo. The sentiment stamp is from Studio G. The embossing folder is from Lifestyle Crafts. Because I was putting the machine to use, I went ahead and made 6 just like this one.

The next group of cards is based on an Operation Write Home sketch challenge.  I love the idea of using vintage means of communication on cards for troops, yep, I'm a dork like that!

This one took a bit to get the Crackle Accents in focus, making the rest of the card out of focus. Boo.

The others based on the same sketch. All the bases are cut from the same paper, with the elements fussy cut from other papers in the same Graphic 45 pack.

That's 11 cards this weekend. Not bad. Not bad at all. Now to wait and see if Snowpocalypse 2 happens and how much crafty time I can work in during it. ;)

Kiwi Lane DT Doodles 4 - cards

If you're coming for the Kiwi Lane Blog Hop, head here.

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I simply loved Gail's card sketches this week for DT Doodles 4. And this particular sketch really seemed to speak to me because I rarely make more than one similar card at the same time! Oh well, Operation Write Home is always looking for boy themed cards and boy do these fit the bill. Even better, everything is scraps!

I used Scallops mini 1A and 2A.

Happy Thoughts - so many happy thoughts

Happy Thought 1: In the words of my friend, Joy, I'm "crazy and a mess." I know this to be true. For the past two weeks in my spare time I'm not only doing my normal scrappy challenges, but I've also started working on some card kits. She and I are hosting a little card party for Operation Write Home right after the first of the year. 

I'm so stinkin' excited!

Happy Thought 2: I'm also excited because I'd seen a version of this card on Pinterest the other day (and go figure, I didn't pin it so I can't link back) but I liked it and wanted to make one like it so I could use my favorite Black Friday purchase - Big Kick!!! Eek!

Happy Thought 3: It gets better. The post from Use It Tuesday this week (#44) was to use a previously uninked stamp with your hoarded product. So I proceeded to make this super cute card using my new toy, a stamp and some twine that I won several months ago, a MME pre-folded card I bought over a year ago, and lots of scraps. I also got a start on cutting out the duplicates for the kits. 

Happy Thought 4: With the completion of this batch of cards, I'll have 50 cards for our party. All of it on hoarded bases with lots of older papers. Woot Woot! 

Rabbit Trail 1: Hopefully lots of friends can play, otherwise I'm gonna get really bored putting these babies together. 5 nearly identical projects is about my max. 

scrappy scrap scra-person

I just love to use up some of my scrap stash, don't you?

After spending two days this week modge podging scraps to old boxes (which still need a final seal so I can use them as Christmas gift packaging) I was super inspired to use up even more scraps so I set to work on some cards. And proceeded to spend two days making cards.

In all I made 20 cards in this batch, actually I just made card fronts and will adhere them to white cardstock before shipping them off to Operation Write Home.  Only a few are pictured but it is a fairly representative sample.

The first card also uses the MCM 103 card sketch.

Sadly, I still have a lot of scraps left over. Guess I need to bust out another round of cards soon. Maybe for World Cardmaking Day next week?

There's a new mister in my life

It's not every day a new mister entered my life. Given the fact that this one is mistable and bottled I'm going to go with the Scientist will only mind if I feel a need to show him every project I make with Mister Huey's.

I love the colors I got from this first test run, so much so that I made a fun card to add to my slowly growing stash for Operation Write Home.

The blue card is stash, and the paisley strip and sentiment are Amy Tangerine Sketchbook.

card frenzy

Now that birthday party is over and I'm caught up on some of my challenges, I'm ready to get started on some more cards for Operation Write Home. 

The first card you'll see more or less again when I post for the Scrapbooksteals MCM 97. I cut the card shape on the Cameo (love that flower border!) and since I had it out for that card I cut a two at the same time. 

For this one I just put a piece of colored paper behind the flowers, added gems to half of the flower centers, applied glitter glue to the other half, and then layered on two strips of the same ribbon.  Easy cheesy, cute, and a good use of scraps.

MME Lime Twist card base
MME Andrea Victoria
Paper Studios ribbon
Studio G Glitter Glue
$1 bin gems

This next card features a couple of Glitz stickers that have been hanging out in my stash for a couple of months.

I applied Crackle Accents to the rose and then scribbled a little glitter glue under the sentiment.

Paper Studios Affinity pre-cut card
Echo Park This and That cardstock
Glitz stickers
American Crafts Amy Tangerine Thickers
Studio G Glitter Glue
Ranger Crackle Accents

 I still had some of the Hip Hooray elements on my desktop from making the Pearl 6 layout for Scrapbooksteals so I decided to make a birthday card. Another cute, low supply, fast little card and it could be used for just about any recipient. Bonus!

Stash Cardstock card base
MME Hip Hooray paper and die cuts
Imaginesce Dino Roar ribbon
Ranger Distress Walnut Stain

Cards for Heroes

I posted yesterday about how a friend and I had made red shirts for her to wear to support her family. Well, while everyone I knew was out being patriotic and supporting the community in the heat my little guys were napping. I was doing what I could to support our heroes too - I made three more cards to send to OWH. Simple, funny, quirky. I love them and hopefully someone else does too. 

We'll start with my favorite: 

Fancy Pants Designs Like Father Like Son
Fancy Pants Designs Kraft Kuts (star fussy cut)
MME Good Day Sunshine guitar die cut
MME Follow Your Heart yellow twine 

And then I really really love what the Crackle Accents did for this one:

Fancy Pants Designs Lilac House
Fancy Pants Designs Like Father Like Son (angel fussy cut)
MME Pretty Please die cut
MME Laundry Line crushed velvet ribbon
Authentique Uncommon die cut
Helmar Zapdots
Ranger Distress Ink, Walnut Stain
Ranger Crackle Accents

And this one is just plain funny to me. Nice Ride with a bicycle on it. I'm a dork. Sorry.

Fancy Pants Designs Lilac House
MME Good Day Sunshine bicycle die cut
MME Abbey Road nice ride die cut (and then cut so it wasn't large and oval!)
MME Abbey Road paper "clip" die cut
MME ribbon (it was on the Lost and Found chipboard mini album package)
MME Abbey Road scalloped die cut, stamped with a Tim Holtz stamp on the back
Ranger Distress Ink, Walnut Stain, Fine China

Project Goal 100

To date: 23

MCM 93

Scrapbooksteals Monday Card Madness is always a starting point for me in my crafting week. Unless I have a challenge I'm specifically following these sketches are the basis of my weekly card evolution. Sometimes it's a graphic element that I carry on, sometimes it's the paper's "look."

MCM 93

I'm really trying to get through some of the stuff that I bought in my early scrap days (so things before I discovered that I can always scrap with the good paper and the random stuff that I bought while I was deciding my style preferences). Out came the stash of Fancy Pants - I'd purchased a Scrapbooksteals Mega Paper Kit (one of my first dozen steals) and am very very slowly making my way through it.

This card features paper from Like Father Like Son line as well as piece from Kraft Kuts. The sentiment is Pebbles. I inked the card and embellishments using Ranger Distress Ink in Walnut Stain.

As a side note, this is the first card in my next stash for Operation Write Home. YAY! 

Project Goal 100

To date: 18

Renewed Challenge

Things have been crazy at work and the Scientist is really needing to finish up his PhD which led me to make a tough family choice - continuing being a huge stress ball and rarely see my hubby -or- make a change. Considering we couldn't afford for me to quit, I chose to demote myself within the company and work fewer hours so he can work more. While not common, this does happen at times (IMO, more people just quit but benefits are good). For the first time in over 6 years I am no longer a manager of any kind. I worked three shifts as just an employee last week and it was so weird, novel, refreshing. I'm sure at some point the joys of it will unnerve me, but for now I'll revel in it's glory.

I'm not already reveling in is the $$$ part. Demotion = pay cut = less money for scrappy fun.

The bonus of "less money for scrappy fun" = a new challenge. There just isn't money to buy a lot of gifts and things so I'm going to be making as many Christmas presents, home decor items, birthday party decorations (you get the idea), the big challenge being that I need to figure out how to customize it to the individual/event from my current stash.

I've known for a month that this was coming and sort of loaded up while I could! LOL. The only thing I didn't buy that I know I need is some black vinyl for redecorating the boys' room. Their Christmas and birthday from us (unless grandparents chip in!) is a bunk bed, bedding, and theme change. Right now it is mostly decorated with leftover decorations from Squirrel's Cars party last year, some of those will stay as I'm switching it to a Toy Themed room (sort of Toy Story-esque, but less focus on just those guys and more just on toys). Hence the vinyl, I want to do large silhouettes of some recognizable toys to hang on the wall. Hoping to see some on SS before November so I can whip them up in time for a birthday party with the same theme (and just relocate as I did last year).

For this challenge the rules are:

• Goal Completion Date of Dec. 31, 2012
• Spend no more than $15 per boy birthday party on decorations/flair (August and December birthdays), excluding vinyl
• Spend no more than $20 per month on other crafty fun, not including adhesive
• Spend no more than $40 while at Scrapbooksteals warehouse while there in October
• Create 100 projects: Pages = 1, Cards = 1, duplicated cards of 3 or more = 2 per set
• Continue creating cards for OWH

Notice I'm not trying to spend "no money until ## done." That didn't work so well, and this is really about correcting a spending habit as much as about using up hoarded materials. :)

To get the crafting party started off right, here's my first set of projects. These are the last of the cards I could make before needing to ship off a box for the We Are Memory Keepers card drive for Operation Write Home. All of these cards feature American Crafts Campy Trail papers and Ranger Ink Distress Inks - Walnut Stain and/or Broken China, additional products used are in captions.

Studio G Green Glitter Glue
Brilliance Black Ink
Stamp - stash

Paper Studios Square Eyelets
Jewelry Cord

Jewelry cord
Jenni Bowlin mini alphas

Crackle Accents (on "Christmas" shaped tree)
Machine stitching

Jewelry Cord
Glossy Accents on "Christmas" tree
Paper Studios White Eyelets

WRMK Sew Stamper
Machine stitching
Glossy Accents on patch

BasicGrey Blue Brads
WRMK Sew Stamper
Stamp - unknown

Project Goal 100
To date: 7