Inchin' By to Say Hi

Hi, everyone! Hope you've all had a fabulous weekend.  :)

I have two cards to share -- both for Operation Write Home. The first is a kiddie card for one of our troops to send home to a little one. The second is an Any Hero card, which is a note of appreciation for one of our troops.

Just Inchin' By to Say Hi

Lin's inspiration card!

I have to start by giving lots of credit where credit is due for the kiddie card posted below. There is a wonderful group of crafters that hold monthly meetings and annual card-making parties at Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center, Ohio, for Operation Write Home. The card below was inspired by one of the card kits I assembled at last September's party. If memory serves, it was designed by Lin. Thanks, Lin, for the inspiration for this CASE. And, thanks to Terri at SBA and Jeri's OWH card-making group for all you do for Operation Write Home!!

Distress Ink core paper in scattered straw and various blues
computer-generated sentiment
Cuttlebug and Darice embossing folders
Marvy and Paper Shaper circle punches
body-circles inked in Distress Ink black soot
Stampin' Up! owl builder punch (for small circles and tiny heart)
Precise rolling ball black pen; googly eyes; Zots micro and small glue dots

 

 

The sentiment, which was created by playing with Microsoft Word's WordArt feature, was the decisive element in the design and construction of this card. The shape of the WordArt drove the wavy edges of the card. The color of the WordArt drove the color choices of the paper. I have to say I am thrilled with this little guy and hope it brings a huge smile to a little one's face.

Think I'm going to enter this card for the current Male Room Shades-of-Blue challenge. This is a new challenge blog for me -- and I'm hoping that a card for a little boy qualifies.

I'm also going to accept Karen's lovely invitation to join in the fun at the current Anything-Goes Word Art Wednesday challenge.

Finally, I'd like to make a pink and purple little girl version before I send out my next box of OWH cards!  :)

Thank You, Hero

My second card is an Any Hero card that was inspired by OWH Sketch Challenge #247. Because I wanted to use a horizontal sentiment, I rotated the sketch. I guess it turned out okay. I felt like the sentiment oval needed something more -- just not sure if those black stars are what it needed. Regardless, I hope it conveys hubby's and my appreciation for a patriot's service.

Since this is an Any Hero card, it can be thicker than the cards our troops would be mailing home. So, the oval has one 3D-glue-dot layer of thickness, and the circle embellishment has two layers.

We R Memory Keepers red, white, & blue dp; Recollections white and black
cardstock: Bazzil watermelon; AC? blue/teal
Stamper's Best sentiment in StazOn jet black
Really Reasonable Ribbon ribbon
Creative Memories oval cutting system; Recollections star brad
Marvy and Paper Shaper punches, ??? corner rounder (for tiny stars); EK hole punch
Zig 2-way glue pen; Zots 3D glue dots

Parting Thoughts

Hope you will play along
with our monthly challenge blog
next month!

Congratulations again to Erika for winning our January Words 2 Scrap By challenge. Our February challenge goes live on February 1.

Have a great week. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Happy Birthday, Michele!

Hi, everyone.

Hope everybody's weekend is off to a great start! I'm sneaking in a little blogging time while hubby is at a basketball game.  :)

Tonight, I have a birthday card for a dear friend. This is an atypical card for me because of all the glittery paper. Since most of my cards are for Operation Write Home, the menopause room is usually a glitter-free zone.  It's also a tad fussier than my usual cards.

Bo Bunny snowfall 12" x 12" and 6" x 6" papers; Stampin' Up! espresso core paper
SU Snow Day snowflake image in Distress Ink vintage photo
Distress Inks  (vintage photo and walnut stain) applied with SU daubers and Ranger blending tools
Marvy and Paper Shaper circle punches; Creative Memories circle cutting system
SU pool party ribbon; Zots 3D glue dot

Bo Bunny snowfall 12" x 12" papers; Stampin' Up! espresso core paper
Winnie & Walter Big, Bold, Happy sentiment in Distress Ink vintage photo
SU Snow Day snowflake image in Distress Ink vintage photo
Distress Inks  (vintage photo and walnut stain) applied with SU daubers and Ranger blending tools
Creative Memories circle cutting system
 

I'm going to link this card up to a couple of challenges. The first of these is the current Monday Simon Says Stamp winter-stamping challenge. I stamped the snowflake stamp from the SU Snow Day stamp set in DI vintage photo to add a little more interest to the Bo Bunny paper -- using first, second, third, and fourth generation images. Since OWH winter card deadlines have passed, I was originally going to pass on this challenge. But, then I realized this was a great opportunity to make a card for my friend's February birthday.

2-Sided GLITTERY Paper

Cut-Out circle was used
inside top of card.
 

The second challenge is the current Shopping Our Stash not-your-normal-paper challenge. The SOS Team is challenging us to use paper we just had to have, but have only hoarded. The pattern papers on the card above are from two-sided 12" x 12" sheets from the Bo Bunny snowfall collection that I bought years ago.

I loved the 6" x 6" Bo Bunny papers so much, that I just had to have the pretty blue on these larger sheets. However, these two-sided larger papers presented one major challenge for my OWH card-making endeavors: the reverse side was glittery -- a huge no-no for OWH. So, I placed the papers in a plastic bag, labeled with a glitter warning on the front of the bag, and stored them out of sight.

 

 

 

 

 

Parting Thoughts

Erika's Winning W2SB Card

Congratulations to Erika who won our January Words 2 Scrap By hashtag-sentiment challenge. Erika, please e-mail me about your prizes. 

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Be My Valentine

Hi, everyone! I have a Valentine card to share. But before that....

A Funny Thing Happened...

 

... while working on today's to-do list. I was in the family room while hubby was on the phone in the dining room. I kept hearing "Customer Service Representative" from the other room -- followed by a groan after the third time. Realizing that he was experiencing one of those not-getting-anywhere-phone-prompt situations, I couldn't help but chuckle. Then the chuckle turned in to outright laughter when hubby came into the family room, looked at me as seriously as possible and said, "I hope there's a survey!" I laughed and laughed and laughed. You see, he gets pretty frustrated by these things... and it really can be pretty amusing.

 

However, that got me thinking about other life situations to which the line "I hope there's a survey" would apply. So many possibilities came to mind. And, then I realized that this statement might actually sum up the entire life experience. I couldn't help but see a vision of hubby standing before the pearly gates and saying, "I hope there's a survey."  :)

 

Today's Card

Had a wonderful time last night with our No-Stamp-Stamp Club -- meeting with our fabulous Stampin' Up! demonstrator Bernadette via computer. And, Bernadette gets all the credit for today's card. I was merely the tape-it-together gal. This one is CASE all the way!



All SU Products!

All SU Products!

Since this has a glittery non-OWH-friendly heart, it's going to be hubby's Valentine card. As this close-up shows, it has a cool accordion fold, for which the directions are given below.

So, I'm already thinking of ways this could be adapted to make birthday and Mother's Day cards for Operation Write Home. Balloons and flowers, anyone? Think I would need to eliminate a couple of folds to cut down on bulkiness and tape paper to the back side to add extra writing space for those notes home.

Instructions for Accordion Fold Heart Card

Thanks again, Bernadette! Think I'll link this up for the current Simon Says Stamp "have a heart" challenge.

Parting Thoughts

It's going to be a big weekend in Columbus -- the NHL All-Star Game is being held, with lots of fun family activities surrounding the event, and the Ohio State championship celebration is being held in the Shoe. Hope we have great weather for all our hockey visitors and loyal Buckeye supporters. Cold and sunny would be perfect for the snow slide on Nationwide Arena.  :)

I'll be back in a day or so with the W2SB winner. Thanks to everyone who joined in our January challenge.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Shades of Gray

Hi, everyone. Hope the week is off to a good start.

Today's card is a Miss You card for Operation Write Home that was inspired by the current "Going Gray" challenge at Cards In Envy and OWH Sketch #155.

Stampin Up! (neutral) core paper; Recollections white
SU Too Kind stamp set in StazOn jet black
TPC Studio sentiment heat embossed in Distress Ink black soot with American Craft Zing clear powder
Creative Memories oval cutting system
SU brad; Really Reasonable Ribbon ribbon

SU Too Kind stamp set in StazOn jet black

I love this stamp set. It even turns out for stamp-challenged card makers like me! I used a first, second, third generation stamping technique to achieve the various shades of gray seen in the flowers.

"Miss You" is one of the most card themes requested by our deployed troops. And, I think the gray, black, and white palette is perfect for a Miss You card -- especially since that gingham ribbon brightens up the palette. But, I also think this would make a nice sympathy card. Might have to make a few more of these.

 

 

Parting Thoughts

Tomorrow (January 21) is the deadline to link up a card for this month's social-media inspired challenge at Words 2 Scrap By. Hope you'll join us!

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Righty-Tighty...

Hi, everyone!

I'm here tonight with a Dad card... even though I really need to be focusing on Mom cards for Operation Write Home's March 31 Mother's Day deadline. But, my new Stampin' Up! guy greetings stamp set arrived yesterday, and I just couldn't resist the temptation to ink up some of these stamps.  :)

Distress Ink core paper; Recollections black; watercolor paper
SU guy greetings and banner blast (for background stars) in StazOn jet black
various Distress Inks applied with SU daubers
American Crafts Zing clear embossing powder
SU stripe stencil, Tim Holtz CREATE 2014 stencil by Stampers Anonymous
SU brads; Recollections foam square adhesives

Recollections black; stash cream/ecru
SU guy greetings in Distress Ink black soot and vintage photo
 

Close-Up of Backgrounds

• The backgrounds on the card's front were created using SU guy greeting and banner blast stamps in StazOn black on watercolor paper.
• Then, Distress Inks were applied using SU daubers and several different stencils. (I used StazOn for this first stage because I wasn't sure if I any water when applying the Distress Inks. As it turned out, I didn't... but better safe than sorry.)
• The sentiment on the card's front is stamped in DI black soot, and "FATHER" is heat embossed using American Crafts ZING clear powder.

Guess this one turned out okay. It received hubby's stamp of approval!

I'm going to link this up for:

• Operation Write Home's current mid-month thank-you challenge,
• Simon Says Stamp's current Monday inky-background challenge, and
• Simon Says Stamp's current Wednesday guy-card challenge.

Parting Thoughts

As much as I love this SU guy stamp set, I'm going to force myself to set it aside to work on my Mother's Day box of cards for OWH.

A quick reminder that our current social-media challenge at Words 2 Scrap By runs through Wednesday. Hope you'll join us!

It's going to be cold here tomorrow. Sounds like a great day to hang out in the menopause room while watching some NFL football.

Have a wonderful Sunday. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

A Little Dab Will Do Ya

Hi, everyone! Hope the week has been a good one so far.

During Oprah's heyday, she convinced a lot of us to take the Simple Abundance journey with her and book author Sarah Ban Breathnach. I went along on the journey, and found it to be a rather enlightening path. I've even made periodic return trips over the years. Now that I'm embarking on this new path called retirement, it seemed like a good idea to revisit this journey in earnest.

So, I went out today in search of a new "gratitude" journal. Nothing was speaking to me until I found the journal pictured at the right. Since I'm in my CREATE (craft-read-exercise-assist-travel-embrace) phase of defining this new life, I was drawn to the words on this pretty cover. Planning on starting tomorrow by reading the day's reflection and making the first entry in this lovely journal.

Now for today's cards. Yep, cards! I have two creations to share -- both of which involved starts and restarts.  :)

A Dab (or Two or Three...) of Distress Inks

The current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog Challenge is to make something that has an inky background. So, I used Distress Inks and a couple of stencils to change two plain white sheets of paper into some nifty patterns, if I do say so myself. 

Distress Ink core paper (spun sugar);  Recollections white and black cardstock
Distress Inks scattered straw, peacock feathers, spun sugar
Distress Inks applied with Ranger blending tool using Stampin' Up! stencils
SU tag punch; Really Reasonable Ribbon ribbon
Winnie & Walter big, bold, happy cutaway; sequins
adhesives: Glue Dots, foam squares

Distress Inks/SU stencils inky background

Distress Ink core paper;  Recollections white and black cardstock
Winnie & Walter big, bold, happy sentiment in 3rd generation imprint in StazOn

Because this card is going to Operation Write Home, I wanted to add a little something to the inside while leaving plenty of room for one of our heroes to write a note.

 

 

2 Dabs of Acrylic Paint and 1 Dab of Dishwasher Detergent

The current Shopping Our Stash challenge is include a hidden element on a card/project. Truth be told, I've been wanting to try a scratch-off technique on a kiddie knock-knock-joke card for a while now. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to try.

Happy Caption paper pad; Distress Ink core;
Recollections black and white cardstock; Stampin' Up! neutral cardstock
computer-generated sentiments; detergent-acrylic paint scratch-off mixture
rabbit: Creative Memories circle and oval cutting system
SU word bubble and film dies; SU small heart and owl builder punches
white sequins; glue dot adhesives
hidden text: "Some Bunny" and "Some Bunny Who?"

Happy Caption paper pad; Distress Ink core;
Recollections black and white cardstock; Stampin' Up! neutral cardstock
computer-generated sentiments; detergent-acrylic paint scratch-off mixture
rabbit: Creative Memories circle and oval cutting system
SU word bubble and film dies; SU owl builder punch
dot adhesives
hidden text: "Some Bunny Loves You"

My thanks to Nancy and Trish for sharing this great tutorial that was posted on OWH in November 2013. The photo at the right shows my scratch-off-mixture station. The detergent and paint have already been mixed. And, if you have a sponge brush, I'd recommend going that route. Seems like my stash was all out of those. So, I went with a much nicer brush than I had planned on using. However, the mixture seems to have washed out just fine. Luckily, my basement-teacher supply stash contained a few still new transparency sheets!

One word to the wise: It's okay to carefully use a heat gun to dry the scratch-off mixture after it's been applied to the transparency surface.... but not after you've adhered it to the card. See that little curved up surface of the top right corner on the card's front bottom element? Yep, thought it was a good idea to touch up the scratch-off surface after I had applied the element. Not a good idea! But, an idea that I caught before I had done too much damage.  :)

Parting Thoughts

Hats off to those Buckeyes!!! Who would've ever thunk it?! And, hats off to Marcus Mariota. As happy as I was for the Bucks, I felt so sorry for him. What a fine young man -- such a wonderful ambassador for college athletics.

January Challenge
Jan. 1 - Jan. 21

A quick reminder that the Words 2 Scrap By challenge is up and running through January 21. So, there are still a few days left to link up an entry.

Okay, gotta go now. It's time for Project Runway. Any PR fans out there?

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Just Sitting Here Missing You

Hi, everyone!

Everyone here in Buckeye Land is on pins and needles for the big game. I'm sure my cyber friends who call the Pacific Northwest feel the same. Can't speak for folks in Oregon, but I'm betting there hasn't been much work done in offices around here today.  :)

Today's card is a Missing You card for Operation Write Home.

Distress Ink core paper; stash black
Stampin' Up! owl-builder and small heart punches; SU/Sizzix decorative strip
TPC Studio sentiment heat embossed in DI black soot with clear powder
adhesives: 2-way glue pen, Recollections foam squares
tiny heart in bottom right highlighted with Glossy Accents

Tim's Distress Inks palette is just so rich. It seems I just can't make a card without using something from his paper line. And, I love the look of black silhouetted figures to express a longing.

Thinking that the sentiment is just right. I really wanted it to blend in as to not take away from the focal point. The little heart next to the sentiment felt right but seemed a little flat until I added a coating of Glossy Accents. Perfect!

I want to get a box of cards with some mom cards to Sandy before the March 31 Mother's Day deadline. So, I'm in the process of making some Miss You, Love You, and Happy Birthday cards that will be included in this next shipment. 

Parting Thoughts

January Challenge
Jan. 1 - Jan. 21

A quick reminder that the Words 2 Scrap By challenge is up and running through January 21. So, there's a little over a week left to link up an entry.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!
 

from a grateful American

Hi, everyone!

If you're like me, you loved the CAS-ness of this week's OWH sketch. And, Glenda's sample card was so sweet.

OWH Sketch #246

Not surprising, a funny thing happened to me while making this week's Any Hero card. I somehow managed to stray just a tad from the sketch. Hope you can still see the bones of the sketch in what I created,

We R Memory Keepers red, white & blue
American Crafts blue and red cardstock; Recollections black and white
Hero Arts sentiment in StazOn jet black
circle punches: Marvy and Paper Shaper
punches: Stampin Up! owl builder (for small circle); EK hole
Paper Studio brads; Really Reasonable Ribbon ribbons
adhesives: Zig 2-way glue pen; Recollections foam adhesives
Sharpie black marker to blacken white star brads

• The sketch seemed perfect for a busy background pattern. However, the pattern seemed so busy, that I decided it needed to be grounded in a black background.
• Then, I decided to add a little black around the sentiment panels.
• Next, I played with the two round elements. After these were together, I decided to go with an off-center placement of the sentiment, with a top left location for the larger circle and a bottom right location for the smaller circle.
• Since I went with a sentiment for the featured square element, I opted for ribbons for the bottom element. The touch of blue ribbon is simply a scrap of ribbon tied over the black ribbon.
• Because this is an Any Hero card, I didn't have to worry about extra thickness, like the double knotted ribbons. In addition, the sentiment panel is popped, and the small circle is popped from the sentiment panel.
• I'm thinking of changing our the white star brad on the smaller circle with a red star brad. Think it would be a nice complement to the red in the larger circle -- and would make for a stronger focal point.

Parting Thoughts

A quick reminder that the Words 2 Scrap By challenge is up and running through January 21.

Have a great rest of the weekend! Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Hi, everyone!

Have you checked out the lovely cards on today's Operation Write Home Featured Card Maker post? Janet B.'s cards are so nice, and her adorable owl card inspired the card below!

But, before I get to today's card, I'd like to welcome Greta to the blog. Greta posted some amazing cards to several of last year's Words 2 Scrap By challenges, and she is a member of our 2015 W2SB I-Team. You can see more of Greta's lovely work at GG Creations.  Welcome, Greta!

Two Love Owls

Bazzill basics: blues and red; Recollections white; stash black
Stampin' Up! owl builder and small heart punches; SU birds & branches decorative strip
Creative Memories circle cutter; Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder
adhesives: Zig 2-way glue pen, Recollections foam squares



Janet's CASEed card!

Janet's card that I CASEed is shown at the right. As you can see, I kept the same basic design including the 2 adorable owls, which are popped with foam squares, and that swiss-dot background. Next, I decided to make the moon the same light blue as the border. Finally, I accented the owls and moon focal point with two tiny red hearts.

Wish the blue in my card would've photographed closer to its true color. It's much closer to a navy than the blue depicted.

The last year or so, I've been trying to add a little something extra to the inside of each OWH card. Some inside designs are more ornate than others.
But, I've at least added some colorful paper and a little heart that mimics the heart on the front.  :)

Parting Thoughts

Not sure about your neck of the woods, but it's mighty cold here. Brrr... Sounds like a great excuse to hang out in the menopause room, making cards while watching some football.

January Challenge
Jan. 1 - Jan. 21

The first Words 2 Scrap By challenge of the New Year is up and running. Hope you will join us for our social-media inspired challenge.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

sending a great big hug

Hi, everyone!

Well, the weatherman was right -- he had snow overnight and about every school was closed. There's nothing like the pure, unbridled joy of a snow day! (Unfortunately, it was a tough morning commute for those headed to work.) And, it was a good day to continue un-decorating, watching a good movie, and playing with paper in the menopause room.  :)

Today's card is inspired by Mojo Monday #379. I'm really challenging myself to give these multi-layered sketches a try this year.

I'll also be linking the card to these following challenges:

• the current Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Wednesday challenge, 
• the current Simon Says use-something new-and-old-New-Year Monday challenge, and
• the current Shopping Our Stash use-something-new-New-Year challenge.

Kaiser hippy girl dp; Stampin' Up! blackberry bliss
Stampendous sentiment stamped in SU blackberry bliss
Really Reasonable Ribbon ribbon
SU owl builder punch (for smaller heart) and SU small heart punch
adhesives: Recollections foam squares and Zig 2-way glue pen
Glossy Accent (on pink heart)

I'm actually pretty pleased with the way this turned out. Think it should make for a great thinking-of-you card for Operation Write Home. And, I was pretty true to the sketch. Since I used four different patterns, I framed each layer with blackberry bliss. Finally, the layer with the sentiment is popped using foam squares.

For the record:

• the completely new item is the yummy pink ribbon, which was included in this month's sampler from Really Reasonable Ribbon and went perfectly with this dp,
• a new-to-me item is the sentiment stamp, which was a gift from a crafting friend -- and looked totally new/unused in spite of having a 1996 date, and
• the old item is the dp from a 6" by 6" pad of paper I've had from a card-making class I took years ago.

Parting Thoughts

January Challenge
Jan. 1 - Jan. 21

The first Words 2 Scrap By challenge of the New Year is up and running. Hope you will join us for our social-media inspired challenge.

It's supposed to be bitter cold here, so stay warm! Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

from a grateful American

Hi, everyone!

Well, the house is partially undecorated. Still have the tree and the upstairs. But, isn't the Epiphany celebrated on January 6? That's my excuse story and I'm sticking with it.

from a grateful American

Today's card was inspired by the current OWH Our Daily Bread Design challenge to make an An Any Hero thank you card. So, I thought it fitting to use an ODBD background stamp.  :)

Stampin' Up! crumb cake; Core-dinations jet black
Our Daily Bread Design background stamp; Stamper's Best sentiment
Stampin' Up! banner die; ??? corner punch (for tiny stars)
3L photo corners; Zig 2-way glue pen; Recollections foam square adhesives
heat embossing with versamark and American Crafts copper powder
 

During OWH's Top 14 of 2014 blog hop, there was a card posted that used this background -- with black stamped on kraft. This was a nice change from my traditional red, white, and blue Any Hero card palette. But, when I stamped my black on the crumb cake paper, it felt flat. So, I wondered what copper on crumb cake, with an accent on black -- would look like.

The initial results looked promising. But, when I embossed the copper on black, the banner didn't feel substantial enough. So, I added two more layers, with the middle layer also being embossed in copper. And, if I may say, I really feel like this is one striking card.

The photo splits in the top left and bottom right corners are Tim-inspired. I hear his words encouraging us to do the unexpected. Four splits would be expected... two, not so much.  :)

I'm also posting this card for the current Cards In Envy challenge to make a card featuring a banner and the current Anything Goes challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge blog.

Parting Thoughts

Hope the first day back to work was relatively painless.

Went out to lunch with hubby and father-in-law yesterday. Diners at both of the tables around us were talking Oregon-Ohio State Football. Buckeye fans are so excited for this big game! Did you know that Oregon and Ohio State played in the first NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game in 1939? Turns out Oregon won that one.

Saw the most amazing movie last night. It was the documentary Life Itself about Robert Ebert's life, based on Ebert's memoir of the same title. Wow, what a life, and what a movie! Truly a must for film lovers. Can't wait to read the book and requested it at our local library as soon as the movie ended.



January Challenge
Jan. 1 - Jan. 21

The first Words 2 Scrap By challenge of the New Year is up and running. Hope you will join us for our social-media inspired challenge. 

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

happy, happy, happy

Hi, everyone! Hope the New Year is off to a wonderful start. A couple of quick things before I share today's card.

• First of all, a huge thanks to all of you who left such kind comments about the cards featured on my Top Fourteen of 2014 post and about Operation Write Home's Featured Friday Card Maker post. I have to say I had a few reservations about taking on the OWH sketch challenge posts. But, when Sandy comes a calling, a gal's just gotta say yes. Your words of encouragement and support are much appreciated.
• In response to a couple of questions:
• The hearts on the owl card were made by using a stencil and some embossing paste.
• With regard to the cityscape card, yes, step cards are okay for OWH as long as they follow the general card-making guidelines (A2, no glitter, ...) However, I was a little concerned about that particular card. It really was pretty delicate. So, I left a post-it on the envelope asking that: 1) care be taken when removing/inserting the card, and 2) included blank paper on the reverse side to allow for handwritten notes home.
• Design Boot Camp was a monthly series of design classes in 2013. It was taught/conducted/presented by OWH's own Paula S, who is a graphic designer. She shared 10 or 11 key principles of design and then gave us an assignment that incorporated the principle presented, with a December recap. Paula's Boot Camp posts can be found by searching "design boot camp" in Stars and Stamps. Paula's lessons truly transformed what I do when making a card. Thanks, Paula!
• Secondly, I'd like to extend warm welcomes to Cynde and Kristie. Both ladies have joined this blog since my last post. Two new followers in this new year... cool beans!   :)
• Lastly, this Midwest gal from Ohio just has to give a huge shout out to our Big Ten football teams who represented. And, Buckeye Football Fandom is reaching new heights -- which is really saying something. I don't think I've had a single conversation since New Year's night that didn't start with, "So, did you see that game?!" Who knows what January 12 will bring, but there are lots of happy, happy, happy Buckeyes for the time being.

happy, happy, happy

Today's card was inspired by my desire to try out those new Winnie & Walter cutaways that arrived a few days before Christmas. If you're not familiar with Winnie & Walter -- and you like fun fonts -- by all means, check out this fun company. I'm gaga over their Big, Bold sets.  :)

paper: ??? (perhaps DCWV), Core'dinations jet black, Recollections white
Winnie & Walter Big, Bold, Happy cutaway sentiment (front)
computer-generated sentiment (inside)
punches: SU owl and cupcake builders (for circles), Marvy flower
Zig 2-way glue pen

I fell in love with this font after receiving the Big, Bold, You stamp set in May. Naturally, I needed to add the "happy" sentiments to my stash.  :)

The designer papers were gifted to me by a fellow crafter, but the front cover is missing. So, I'm guessing they are DCWV. Nonetheless, I just loved these fun, bright colors and thought they would be perfect with the whimsical sentiment -- thinking the black font would pop really nicely off this cheery yellow. Think these cutaways and papers will make lots of great cards for Operation Write Home.  :)

I'm linking this card up for: the current Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp and the third NBUS (Never-Before-Used-Schtuff)  Challenge being hosted by the uber-talented Darnell.

Parting Thoughts

Again, welcome to Cynde and Kristie, and thanks to everyone for your kind words.  :)

January Challenge
Jan. 1 - Jan. 21

The first Words 2 Scrap By challenge of the New Year started on January 1. Hope you can stop by and check out our social-media-inspired challenge. And, there's a  Really Reasonable Ribbon gift certificate up for grabs this month!

Have a great week... I still have quite a bit of un-decorating to do. As always, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!