Love and Missing You Cards

Hi, everyone! So happy to have spent some quality time in the menopause room these last few days -- making love and missing you cards for OWH.

Looks like that this week's Mojo Monday sketch really got my mojo going! The current Shopping our Stash challenge is Gingham Style. Since one of the DT cards uses the same embossing folder, I'm going to link up this missing YOU card for that challenge, too.   :)

DCWV la crème stack; Stampin' Up! core neutral; Craft Smith hot buy card sets
Winnie & Walter big, bold sentiment words, heat embossed in Distress Ink black soot
EK hole punch; Martha Stewart button punch and Sizzix button die
Sizzix/SU embossing folder; SU linen thread
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Zig 2-way glue pen; Glue Dots; Ranger multi medium, Recollections foam squares
inking in DI vintage photo with Ranger blending tool

That DCWV paper was a gift from a friend at work.  (Thanks again, Marcie!) It is such a classic and elegant pack that I thought it would be perfect for a few masculine OWH cards.

Turns out I liked the card above so much I decided to add a little red and make a few masculine love cards. Think these will bring a few smiles to their recipients.  :)

DCWV la crème stack; Stampin' Up! and Recollections black; SU cherry cordial
Winnie & Walter big, bold die
EK hole punch; SU heart and owl builder punches; Paper Smooches heart die
Creative Memories square punch
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Zig 2-way glue pen

Parting Thoughts

Words 2 Scrap By  Our July W2SB words are A Friend with Chocolate. The DT came up with some fabulous cards. Hope you will stop by to check out this month's challenge and then come back to link up a card or project.  There's a $20 Simon Says Stamp gift certificate that will be awarded to one talented crafter!

Cards in Envy   Since Monday was the first Monday of the month, a new CIE challenge went live. The challenge for the next couple of weeks is to make an A2 card with a summer scene featuring the beach, ocean, or sea. Cards should be flat enough to be sent via USPS without any additional postage.

OWH   Hoping to get back to my OWH box tomorrow or Friday. So many cards to make, so little time before the August 1 deadline.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!


 

MM12: You're Awesome in Dinosaur!

Hi, everyone! Welcome to a dinosaur-inspired edition of Monday Musings. Today's card was made using the new Stampin' Up adorable dinosaur stamp set.  :)

BasicGrey granola; SU early espresso; DI core paper
SU no bones about it images, heat embossed in vintage photo and walnut stain with clear zing powder
Sizzix birds and branches decorative strip; Paper Smooches leaves die; PS twine
inking in DI spiced marmalade and vintage photo
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Zig 2-way pen

Truth be told, I really struggled with this little card -- pretty much throwing out everything I made on Saturday except for the banner and the card base. My big AHAs came when I switched out the blue for the green and stamped the dinosaurs on the lighter colored BasicGrey paper. Even then, the card felt a little flat until I added the DI rusty hinge cardstock. That added just the pop of color that the card needed.

I'm going to link this card up to:

• the current Shopping our Stash For The Boys challenge,
• the June 2015 Work It Wednesday Simon Says Stamp challenge,
• and the current Anything Goes challenge on the Wednesday Simon Says Stamp blog.

Parting Thoughts

A huge thanks to everyone who played along with our June Words 2 Scrap By challenge. We'll be back on Wednesday, July 1, with our new challenge.

And, the Just Beachy continues this week at Cards in Envy.

Hope everyone has a fabulous July 4th holiday weekend. Until then, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

RAWR!

Hi, everyone! It's been a while since I've had a chance to enter challenges, so I was too excited to share this little birthday dinosaur.  :)

Imaginisce happy cupcake; Core-dinations chocolate lovers; Distress Ink core
Stampin' Up! no bones about it, stamped in DI walnut stain and vintage photo
bones heat embossed with versamark and Zing embossing powder
Creative Memories alphabet stickers
EK hole punch and SU owl builder for brown, blue, and red circles
orange circles inked in DI spiced marmalade with Ranger blending tool
Creative Memories circle cutting system
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Glue Dots; Zig 2-way pen; Scrapbook Adhesives foam squares

I'll have to admit this is a little busier than my typical cards. But, I think a little one will like it.

Planning on linking up this little dino boy birthday card to the current challenges:

• Shopping Our Stash For the Boys
• Mojo Monday 403

Parting Thoughts

Words 2 Scrap By   It's a Man's World Challenge is accepting entries the rest of this week, with the challenge ending on Friday. Hope you will join us at W2SB for a chance to win $20 to Simon Says Stamp. Yep, $20 to SSS!!!

Our thanks to Annie for hosting our challenge this month and offering up such a generous prize for one talented crafter.  :)



Cards in Envy   And, there's a Just Beachy challenge going on at CIE. Hope you will stop by and play along with us at CIE.

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

MM9: Stay Tuned....

Hi, everyone! Welcome to another edition of Monday Musings. Today's card is an Operation-Write-Home-inspired card that is perfect for a TV-loving man.

Stampin' Up! core black; Core-dinations white; Distress Ink fired brick, (SU?) vellum
My Favorite Things stay tuned stamps and television dies
Distress Ink black soot and fired brick, heat embossed with Ranger clear powder on vellum
SU neutral brads

Recollections black and white
Winnie & Walter big, bold sentiment words in DI fired brick

 

The June Our Daily Bread Design challenge is to make a miss you card, which is one of the most commonly requested cards by our troops. I decided to go with a CAS card that could be sent to a dad/husband/brother. Missing You cards are tough to do for guys... but I think this one fits the bill.

 

I've been wanting to make a red-black-and-white card, ala Mad Men graphics, for about a month or so. When I saw that the current Shopping Our Stash challenge is Red, Red Wine -- and since there is not one single wine item in my stash, I immediately jumped on using red paper for the TV and red ink for an "important" part of the message. When I tinkered with using other colors for different card elements, it felt like the other colors took away from the bold statement made by these two red elements. So, I grounded the card with a little black... and stood back to appreciate the strong visual impact of this card.

 

I'm also going to link this up to the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog's Make It Masculine challenge. Even though this card is going to OWH, it certainly would be appropriate for any of the three main men in my life.  :)

 

Parting Thoughts

OWH Finish Strong  Remember that August 1 is the deadline to get cards to Sandy as OWH continues to finish strong. Weekly challenges continue through July, with another sketch challenge coming this Saturday.  :)

Cards in Envy  There is a Girls, Girls, Girls Challenge going on Cards in Envy. This week and next, we are looking for cards for the ladies and, as always, cards should be mail-able in standard A2 envelopes and have a thickness of 1/4" or less.

Words 2 Scrap By  And, did you see the prize Annie is offering this month at  Words 2 Scrap By? This month, W2SB is looking for cards for the men in our lives using "It's a Man's World" as our inspiration words. As an added bonus, Annie is awarding a $20 Simon Says Stamp gift certificate for one talented crafter who shares a manly card at W2SB! You have until June 26 to link up a card/project for a chance to win.  :)

Think that's it for now. Have a great week! Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

 

MM5: Big, Bold Hugs and Small, Delicate Flowers

Hello! Hope it was a good Mother's Day for everyone. I know first hand that this can be a bittersweet day. If yesterday brought similar feelings, I hope you took good care of yourself. As for me, I am forever thankful for my mom's love.... on Mother's Day and throughout the year.

#smalldelicateflowers

 

My favorite flowers of all are lilies of the valley. I think I'm drawn to them because they are so understated. They hide under their lush leaves -- staying low to the ground. But, when you take the time to bend down and look under those leaves... Well, you are treated to the sweetest little flowers.  :)

Lucky for me, our master gardener (aka my hubby) has the greenest of thumbs. We have literally hundreds -- maybe even thousands -- of this plant on our property. A little bouquet of these beauties in a special wedding-gift crystal vase is the perfect adornment for our dinette table.  :)

 

Big, Bold Hugs

 

Did you see that the current Shopping Our Stash challenge is SOS #200? And, in honor of this big milestone, SOS is hosting a big, bold, and beautiful challenge. Sounds like a perfect opportunity to break in some new Winnie & Walter goodies -- as if I really need an excuse to do that! 

 

Canson watercolor; Stampin' Up! black core cardstock
Distress Inks: pickled raspberry, peacock feathers, seedless preserves
inks applied with Ranger blending tool using Scotch removable tape
Winnie & Walter "hugs" cutaway from big, bold, friends cutaways set
Glossy Accents, applied to add shine to sentiment
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Zig 2-way glue pem
 

In keeping with the big and bold elements of the challenge, I decided to ink up some big and bold DI colors to create stripes of various sizes.

 

I used removable tape to tape off one stripe at a time, progressing across the paper from left to right.  (And, if you haven't ever used removable tape, I highly recommend checking it out!)

 

 

I taped down the edges of a piece of watercolor paper on a gridded mat.
Then I used the grid to line up tape for each stripe.
When applying ink, I placed a sheet of blank cardstock on either side of the taped-off stripe.

I used a different pair of papers for all three of the inks.
The pickled raspberry papers are shown in the middle.
Seedless preserves and peacock feathers papers are shown on either side.

The sentiment itself is 3-paper thick. Then, it has a coat of Glossy Accents to add a little extra sheen.

So, how do you apply Glossy Accents to such a tiny piece -- and have it dry without sticking to something else? Well, my solution was to make a stand by folding a thin strip of paper in half several times and place the sentiment on top of this make-shift, folded-paper stand.

This actually worked pretty well. But, I'd love to hear of other solutions for this delicate task.  :)

The current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog Challenge is all about sentiments. Think I'll link this card up there, too.  :)

 

Parting Thoughts

 

I need to set aside a little time this week to finish up the OWH cards I worked on in Hilton Head. Haven't sent in a box in the two months. Gotta get these cards to Sandy!

May Challenge
Say Cheese!
May 1 - May 28

Our May Words 2 Scrap By challenge is Say Cheese in honor of National Photography Month. This month, our challenge is going to run for four weeks -- through May 28. Hope you will join our I-Team as we commemorate those photo-worthy events in our lives.  :)

Have a good week! As always, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

 

 

W2SB #17: Say Cheese

Hello, everyone! Happy May!

Can you believe May is here already?! I thought retirement might slow the passing of time. But, I would be wrong about that. 

W2SB #17: Say Cheese

 

In the Fall of 2013, when Bobbi and I were laying the foundation for Words 2 Scrap By and brainstorming ideas for each month's words, I found she prefers to take the road less traveled. For example, I was thinking we might go with something related to love or Valentine's Day for February. Bobbi, however, suggested we look towards the upcoming Olympics instead. Great idea!

 

Well, it turns out that May is the month of flowers, Mother's Day, graduations... and National Photography Day! And, what better words to celebrate National Photography Day than the expression, "Say Cheese!"   :)

 

My W2SB Card: Wish You Were Here!

 

I decided to create a post-card-like card for this challenge -- inspired by a photo of the island that's been on my crafting table for quite a while. Next, I had the thought of combining this actual photo with a cartoon-like beach critter.



Fancy Pants Design beach bum; Stampin' Up! core black
SU on film and word bubbles framelits
Lawn Fawn life is good stamps in Distress Ink vintage photo
computer-generated sentiments; original photo of HHI
Stampin' Up! owl builder punch for beach critter's eyes
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Zig 2-way glue pen; Recollections foam squares; Zots glue dots
stash sequins; Glossy Accents used to achieve shininess of itty bitty beach critter
 

The following design choices led to the creation of the card shown above.

• First, I  chose the orange paper from the beach bum collection as the base color for my card to complement the photo's colors. Then, I used yellow and blue papers from the collection to enhance the card's base color.
• Next, I chose to stamp my litter critter on red, envisioning the way it would pop off the blue.
• Then, I decided to use black for the focal point elements (the filmstrip die cut, the stamped critter, and the word bubble text).
• To add interest to the card -- without taking away from the focal point elements, I stamped the unadorned, uncolored beach scene in brown.
• "Wish You Were Here" was computer generated and printed on a 6" x 6" piece of designer paper and then cut out using a Stampin' Up! word bubble die. When, the text was not as centered in the speech bubble as I  had hoped, I added the stamped star on the right.
• "Greetings from Hilton Head Island" was also printed directly on dp. Black font was chosen to show up against the blue.
• To add a little sparkle that brought attention to the focal point while blending in with the base paper, I strategically added a few orange-ish sequins.
• All that said, my little critter was the most labor intensive part of the card. He is, after all, the star of this card!
• After stamping him on the red paper, I took great pains in fussy cutting him out.
• This fussy cutting put one of his little pinchers in great danger of tearing off. So, I added several coats of Glossy Accents.
• His stamped eyes really got lost in the cutting out process. So, I made him a little pair of eyes using the owl builder punch. After adhering the eye using drops of glue, I secured them to my little guy with an additional coat of Glossy Accents.
• Lastly, foam squares were used to support his claws/pincers and give him even more of a presence.

Think I'm going to link this little card up to Shopping Our Stash's Opposite Day Challenge to do something different. I very seldom use photos, and, I've never before used an actual photo with stamped images. The end result is something far more whimsical than my typical cards.   :)

I'm also going to link this up to the Simon Says Stamp Monday and Wednesday Blog Challenges. Anything Goes is the theme of the week for both of these challenges.

Parting Thoughts

 

Guess I got a little long-winded there. Sorry about that. Guess you'd never know I like this little card!

 

Hope you will play along with our May W2SB Say-Cheese Challenge.

 

Planning on being back later with Friday Night Writes. Until then, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

 

The Return of "Friday Night Writes"

Hi, everyone! When I first started blogging about my adventures in card making, I was working full time. So, I decided to post twice weekly -- on Fridays and on Mondays. This gave me the opportunity to share whatever I had worked on during the week and the weekend.

Retirement me finds myself struggling with balancing crafting and posting. So, I am going to relaunch my "Friday Night Writes" and "Monday Musings". That said, welcome to the first edition of the rebirth of "Friday Night Writes"!

#grateful

A Favorite Island View

Well, I'm back on the island again. And, today has been such a wonderful day.

The morning began reading a wonderful novel for an hour or so down at the beach. Then hubby and I walked the beach and went out for a quick lunch. The afternoon included a post-lunch nap and settling in on the couch to watch a little of the Masters.

I've recently been thinking of the song "Something Good" from the Sound of Music when Maria wonders what she's done to experience such happiness. I wonder the same thing. The one thing I know for sure is that I'm so very grateful.

Card #1: Child's Play

My first card was inspired by the current Cards In Envy Child's Play challenge and by a card made by Lin at Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center at an Operation Write Home card-making party. When I first saw the CIE challenge, I immediately knew the card I wanted to CASE!

For my version, I decided to use different shades of pink, embossing my circles to create visual interest and texture. The wave at the bottom of the card was based upon the shape of the Word Art text, using a bendable ruler to replicate the shape for the card's layers.



Distress Ink core; Stampin' Up! gray
Sizzix and Cuttlebug embossing folders
Paper Shapers and Marvy circle punches
SU owl builder punch (for tiny hearts and gray circles)
My Favorite Things television dies (for antennae)
Darice googly eyes; SU baker's twine
computer-generated (Word Art) sentiment
adhesives: Scotch ATG, Glossy Accents, micro Glue Dots, Zig 2-way glue pen

Card #2: thanks so much

My second card was inspired by the current Mojo Monday Sketch. I've started playing along with the Mojo Monday Sketches to force myself experiment with more layers and embellishments than I typically use.  Think I'll also link this up to the current Simon Says Stamps Wednesday blog's April-Showers-Spring-Flowers Challenge.  :)

The Paper Smooches sentiment was masked off using sticky notes to stamp on two lines. I just don't have the heart to cut the sentiment in half.

MME breeze; Stampin' Up! grays; Recollections black; Cardstock Warehouse white
Paper Smooches sentiment from natural beauties in Distress Ink black soot
SU petite petals image in DI black soot on DI mustard seed
punches: SU petite petals; Paper Shaper & Marvy circle punches
SU baker's twine; adhesives: Scotch ATG, Scrapbbok Adhesives foam squares
 

Parting Thoughts

My thanks to Leslie and the Shopping Our Stash gals for teaming up with our The Earth Has Music Challenge at Words 2 Scrap By. You have until Monday night to link up a card for SOS #196 and until April 21 to link up a card -- maybe the same card -- to W2SB #16. 

 

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!  Have a lovely weekend.  See you at Operation Write Home's Stars & Stamps blog tomorrow and back here on Monday  :)

SOS #196 + W2SB #16 = 1 FUN WEEK

Hi, everyone! I'm here with some pretty exciting new! This week, Leslie and the gals at Shopping Our Stash are teaming up to share projects inspired by the quote, "The earth has music for those who listen."   :)

• Please click here for Shopping Our Stash #196.
• Please click here for Words 2 Scrap By #16.
• And, please click here to see my original W2SB #16 post.

The card I'm sharing today at SOS is shown below.

paper: Tim Holtz idea-ology collage; Basic Grey
Tim Holtz remnant rub
Making Memories leather label holder
Really Reasonable Ribbon ribbon
Stampin' Up! owl builder punch (for six tiny circles)
tool: Fiskars crimper

This "tweet" Tim Holtz remnant rub image is framed by a leather label holder that I've had in my stash for who knows how long. I also pulled out my long-neglected crimper to achieve the texture on the bottom panel.

Hope you will join us and our friends at SOS in playing along with both earth-has-music inspired challenges.   :)

A Two-for-One Sketch!!!

Hi, everyone!

Don't you just love the CAS style of this week's OWH Sketch?! I loved it so much that it inspired two cards.  :)

Card 1: You Add COLOR

 

I recently ordered some fabulous MFT stamps and dies. They are so fabulous that I used them right away to make the television cards in my two previous posts. But, I decided that the "COLOR" sentiment in the stamp would work really well with this OWH sketch.

 

Stampin' Up! white core; Recollections black; watercolor paper; Distress Ink scattered straw
MFT stay tuned stamp set; various Distress Inks, applied with Ranger blending tool
Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder; SU owl builder punch for bottom left circle
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Zots glue dots; Recollections foam squares

 

Rectangle inked to create
strips on front of card.

Love those Distress-Inked strips on the front! To create them, I inked up a rectangle of watercolor paper, as shown to the right. I started with mustard seed in the middle, going up with mowed lawn and salty ocean, and then going down with spiced marmalade and fired brick. After inking the rectangle, I cut the three strips and mounted them on black cardstock so that these pretty colors would pop off the card.

 

To carry the color theme to the inside of the card, I inked up the edge of a rectangle of watercolor paper. I then mounted it as the layer between two black cardstock rectangles, as shown above. Finally, a piece of white paper was added for one of OWH heroes to write a note home.

 

After doing all of this, I realized I could have just added a inked strip to the left side of the card's interior. Live and learn!

 

 

 I'm going to link up this card to the following challenges:

• the current Shopping Our Stash rainbow challenge,
• the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes blog challenge,
• and the Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday blog challenge.

 

 

Card 2: U.S.A.

Of course, what's an OWH sketch without an Any Hero card?!

Here's today's sketch-inspired Any Hero card. Thought these ribbons were too pretty to not be a part of this card's focal point. Just wish I would've placed them a little closer together. This was the first sketch card I made, so I kind of messed up on that part. Thinking our heroes won't mind quite as much as I do.   :)



Stampin' Up! white core; Bazzil admiral; Distress Ink antique linen
Unity stamp sentiment, from ragged ol' flag stamp set, heat embossed in Zing copper powder
Really Reasonable Ribbon ribbon
??? corner rounder (for tiny stars) Recollections foam adhesive

Parting Thoughts

April Challenge
April 1 - April 21

There's a new Words 2 Scrap By challenge starting up on April 1. Hope you will join us for a challenge celebrating spring, Earth Day, and Arbor Day.  :)

Short and sweet today. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

You Add COLOR To My Life

Hi, everyone!

Boy, I sure was excited that I had recently added those amazing MFT Stay Tuned stamps and Television dies to my stash to make a birthday card for my nephew. It seems that there is a sentiment in this stamp set that works perfectly for the current Shopping Our Stash rainbow challenge.



Stampin' Up! core black; Fancy Pants etcetera dp
MFT stay tuned stamps and television dies; various Distress Inks
Sizzix embossing folder; SU owl builder and EK hole punches (for circles)
 adhesives: Scotch ARG runner; Zots glue dots; Zig 2-way glue pen

I just love these stamps and dies! And, by making a second card, I just reduced the cost of my nephew's birthday card by half. LOL... because I'm one of those delusional crafters who thought I could save money making my own greeting cards.  :)

Again, my thanks to Kelly Griglione who first gave me the idea to make a little chest/stand in this post at Notable Nest. Genius!

I went with this Fancy Pants paper collection because the colors are a wonderful collection of neutrals -- perfect for the "COLOR" part of the sentiment to pop. (Just wish the sentiment photographed as well as it looks in person!)

To ink up the sentiment, I used small sticky notes to mask off the words that would be inked in black. Next, I used sticky notes to mask and uncover the letters in "COLOR" -- one letter at a time. Then, I removed the remaining post-its to ink up the remaining words in black -- being careful to avoid getting black on the colored letters.

Finally, I chose the grid-patterned ivory paper for the card background. I embossed it to give it more of a wallpaper kind of feel.

In addition to the SOS challenge, I'm going to link this up for the current Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes and Work It Wednesday blog challenges.  :)

Parting Thoughts

Really looking forward to more basketball this weekend. The regional final games are usually terrific!

A new Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge goes live on Saturday, and a new Words 2 Scrap By Challenge goes live next Wednesday. Hope to see you at both of these.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Life with Father

Hi, everyone! Hope the weekend is off to a great start -- regardless of all the cold and snow.

Tonight I'm  here to share a card for the current Shopping Our Stash Big Screen challenge. For this challenge, we have been asked to make a card inspired by a movie.

Since the Operation Write Home deadline for Father's Day cards is the end of April, I'm beginning to make some dad cards. I found myself looking at a Tim Holtz collage paper pad, a roll of Ribbon Boutique mustache ribbon, and some Stampin' Up! Guy Greeting stamps -- all of which have a vintage dad feel to them. So, I used these as my materials for a Life-with-Father-inspired card.

Inspiration Movie: Life with Father
Tim Holtz collage paper pad; Recollections black
Stampin' Up! Guy Greeting stamps in Distress Ink black soot
Ribbon Boutique jute mustache ribbon
SU brads; Recollections foam square adhesives
 

The paper pad is actually an 8" by 8" pad. Some of the papers have images that are better suited for scrapbooking than card making -- including the paper I chose for my background. I was just so drawn to the grandfatherly gent pictured on the paper, that I had to use him. So, I cut the paper to include my gent, and then designed and positioned the sentiment layer to complement the background layer. I thought about using only two brads -- positioned in diagonal corners -- on the sentiment panel. But, the bottom brad got lost next to the ribbon and decided to go with brads in all four corners.

I'm actually crafting from the road -- sans a heat gun, embossing tools, or a die cut machine. But, I'm hoping the layers, brads, and jute ribbon are enough to qualify this for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog challenge to make a card with texture. 

Parting Thoughts

February Challenge
Feb. 1 - Feb. 21

Tomorrow, February 21, is the deadline for this month's Words 2 Scrap By do-something-different challenge.  :)

Stay safe, stay warm. Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Jar of Hearts

Hi, everyone! Two posts in one night! AMAZING!!!

This second card was inspired by the current Mojo Monday sketch and a desire to make a love card that a hero could send home to his or her mom. This Paper Smooches canning jar image seemed perfect for both.  :)

Bo Bunny 12" x 12" back-to-back crazy love; Crate Paper rose garden (neutral)
Paper Smooches crystal clear image in Distress Ink walnut stain
("Ball" heat embossed with versamark in American Crafts Zing clear embossing powder
computer-generated sentiment
Paper Shaper and Marvy circle punches
Stampin' Up! owl builder (for tiny heart), small heart punches, and bitty banner punches
Fiskars border punch; SU cherry cobbler baker's twine
adhesives: Scotch ATG, micro Glue Dots, Recollections foam square
 

Hubby gave his approval, which surprised me because it is fussier and busier than my typical card. I am really thrilled with the Ball Jar itself.

And, since this is an OWH card, I added a little something to the inside.

Think I need to make a few more of these for OWH. I'm going to keep the basic layout, but need to replace the papers. Seems like these  have been in my stash for so long that I don't have many of them. Just happy to have found a good use for my 12" by 12" stash.

 In addition to Mojo Monday, I'm going to link this up to the following challenges:

• the Shopping Our Stash love-me-do challenge,
• the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog anything goes challenge,
• the Simon Says Stamp Monday blog letter H challenge -- with my H standing for hearts, and
• the Cards In Envy hearts-all-a-flutter challenge.

Parting Thoughts

Hope to carve out some crafting time tomorrow afternoon.

February Challenge
Feb. 1 - Feb. 21

We have a new challenge going on at Words 2 Scrap By. This month's challenge to do something different draws its inspiration from a few lines from the Bill Murray Groundhog Day movie. Hope you will be able to play along.

Have a great week! 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'!