Sitting, Waiting...

I am still on my kick of trying to make more masculine cards. I packed up my box which included my 'Dad' cards and mailed it off to Kris yesterday. So what do I find later in the day....my only card that says Happy Father's Day! I try to use just Dad or other general sentiments so the cards can be used anytime by our military but this one I made with an actual holiday sentiment--oh man! I will take the sentiment off and add a more generic one- and add it to my next box! I need to look at this as if I am off to a good start for my next OWH shipment!

Today's sketch is #170--- wow- so many great sketches to refer to for inspiration! I find sketches a great starting off point; they help to get my creative juices out of hiding. You must go to OWH and check out the sample card by Cindy-- so adorable! Sketch Challenge #170





Spellbinders Dies
EK Success Stars
The Paper Loft Hooked on Fishing patterned paper
DCWV solid card stock
Copic Markers
Hero Arts Sentiment

I had this little boy and a twin in my pile of images to color for a while. I know he is a digi stamp but I am not 100% sure who makes him. I thought it was Tiddly Inks but I do not see him on their site... if anyone knows- please share! I want to give credit to the artist! I cannot even find him in my files on my computer!

Have a wonderful week and yes- please -craft on! Diane

It's About Time

Interesting that the Midweek Throwdown at OWH this week is about time....something I feel I never have enough of lately!  Despite being busy, it was a good week. My friend Kelly came over to make cards the other night...and man- did we laugh! And my niece Tessa is spending the weekend with me- so there will be more crafty fun! I am getting my OWH box together to send to Kris- hopefully by Saturday noon time- so it can reach her for the Father's Day deadline!

I had a hard time with this week's challenge- I do not have a lot of stamps with timepieces so I was limited in my choices- but I do like the this set from Hero Arts. I did the triple stamping technique, added a few black brads and 3 gold embellishments- and called it a day! Nothing fancy- but a clean and simple card with a sentiment that says so much!

Have a wonderful weekend and craft on! I may be back with more cards!
Thanks for coming by,
Diane

Twilight....

Yesterday, my little boy from Mo Manning was a sweet, All American boy- doing his best to get a hit.  Today's card- the image is also from Mo.....a creature of the night- doing his best to get a nibble! Can you believe that the same person drew both of these digital stamps???  I am not a huge Twilight fan- I did read the first book...but I have not seen any of the movies. I really wanted to participate in this week's challenge at Drinken Stampers.... Twilight or Creatures of the Night and I think Mr. 'Come Hither' is perfect! I love his swirling cape! (His shirt reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld's puffy shirt-- only a vampire could get away with the ruffles!)
 http://drunkenstampers.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/drunken-stampers-challenge-124-twilight/

papers are from various My Minds Eye 6x6 inch paper pads.
Gems are from Queen and Co
Sentiment-computer generated
Heart-LifeStyle Crafts
Solid black and green cardstock: Bazzill
Come Hither digital stamp- Mo's Digital Pencil Too
Copics: YG95, E40, BV000, C1,3,5,7, R37,39,59  black 100

I wish I could capture the twinkle of the gems around the heart- they are black and give off a spooky kind of shimmer!

Thanks for stopping by-have a great week and craft on!

Diane

Sunday's OWH Sketch #169

Happy Sunday! Today's sketch samples at OperationWriteHome.org/blog/ are sponsored by Doodle Pantry- go check out the fun samples!
And please go check out some of the new digital stamps from Maurie J. Manning at digitalpenciltoo.blogspot.com. Mo's children are so sweet and have great expressions! I love stamps- red rubber and clear stamps- but there are a few digital stamps I adore-and Mo's digi stamps are at the top of my list!



Slugger from Mo's Digital Pencil Too
Red cardtock- Bazzill Ruby Slippers
Gray cardstock- Coredinations Elephant
Black cardstock- my stash
Circle die- Lifestyle Crafts
EK Success punch
Copics: E02, 15,18,23,51,52,55,57
R27,37
C1,2,3,5
cording from Clubhouse Crafts from JoAnn
white paper- Crafter's Companion
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
sentment, baseball and stars: paper smooches
red ink: Versa Magic dew drop- Red Magic



In my post for the recent OWH spring training blog hop- I mentioned (kind of whined!) that I was hoping for some cards about baseball. I used twine around the die for my ducks that day and Cheryl commented that the twine around the circle reminded her of a baseball! LIGHTBULB! Thank you Cheryl- I have since made several Father's Day cards with a baseball player and a smaller circle die with twine! You have created a monster- I love threading the twine thru the holes- simple, quick and fun-and it does remind me of the stiching on a baseball! I ran out of the red and white twine...but I have plenty of this red cording!

Don't ya just love the determination on this little boy's face? I can just hear the crack of the bat connecting with the ball-- it's out of here!

Have a wonderful week- and a heartfelt thank you to all of the members of law enforcement and the citizens of Boston, Watertown, Cambridge and all of Massachusetts for the capture of the bombing suspect.
Boston strong!
Craft on!
Thanks for stopping by,
Diane

Creating helps...

So, I made cards while listening to the news. The card making helps...the news-not so much.

Over at OWH the midweek throwdown is:

"We’re challenging you to use insects on your cards for our heroes to send home to their family and friends"

And at Penny Black  we are challenged to use Blossoms and Bows:

 http://pennyblackatallsorts.blogspot.com/

And Nancy's OWH tutorial is how to make a mirror image with your stamps!  Good technique to know!
http://operationwritehome.org/tutorial-mirror-image-stamping/

And finally- at a new challenge blog we are given the challenge to use the CTMH Cricut cartridges! What fun so see so many great ideas on using these 2 fabulous cartridges!  Challenge #2 is to work with the Mother's Day key on the Artiste cartridge (page 74).  I like the scrolled frame- so I made 2 cards and cut several more to play with!
http://roseblossomgarden.blogspot.com/

.

Thanks for stopping by, keep the prayers coming and craft on!

Diane

Sadness

The tragedy at yesterday's Boston Marathon fills me with sadness. I do not understand- nor will I ever- why some people want other people to be hurt and suffer.  When I am sad, I try to find ways to keep going- and luckily for me, I have several ways of doing this...card making is one of them. Out of yesterday's horrific tragedy comes the reminder that there are truly wonderful people in this world- those who will rush to the aid of others-no matter what. I thank the Boston Police, the State Police, local FBI, our National Guard and the many EMS and medical folks who responded to the needs of our community. So, with a heavy heart- I made some cards.

The first card is for this month's boot camp at OWH-  use the design rule of odds....  use an element an odd number of times.  I used 3 butterflies...I also used 3 pearls on each side... I know the pearls adds up to 6- but I liked the balance of using 3 elements twice! 

My next card is based on the sketch posted Sunday at OperationWriteHome.org. I turned the sketch and used the carpenter boy as the focal element. Not exactly as the sketch appears- but I did use it as my layout inspiration. I had this old paper that is like cork- so I thought that would make a good place to hang some tools!



Take care, craft on and please offer your prayers for those who were injured or killed and their families and friends.

Diane

Challenge Catch Up

Hello! Thanks for stopping by...here are 4 cards for recent challenges:

Our Daily Bread Designs April Challenge for April is things that fly. I chose an angel- who are all around us!

Drunken Stampers Challenge 122 – Singing in the Rain
And one of the cute MFT bunnies for our challenge at Drunken Stampers! In real life- the boots match the green better- I put clear glaze on them to make them like rubbers- maybe that distorted the color in the picture! lol

And my first time playing with Fantabulous Cricut :
Challenge #155 - Color and Shape

Use the color yellow and a triangle 

And of course- this week'd throwdown- Your Favorite Color Combo. red is not my favorite color- but I love it in contract with black and white or kraft. I need to figure out how to get a video to downlaod from my camera- this cute pup is on an Action Wobble.

Have a wonderful rest of the week and craft on!
Diane

Sunday Sketch and 2 Mama Elephant Cards!

Hello,
Thanks for stopping by!
I am getting ready for an upcoming weekend retreat so I am trying to organize my supplies...nightmare... but it is fun to find things I have not used in a long time! I am trying to only bring what I will use....I always overpack and this time I am trying to keep it simple! I'll let you know how that goes...lol.

The stamps for today's cards are from Mama Elephant--- wonderful stamps! I recently received 3 sets of the new stamps and they were right on my table waiting to be used! I am pretty sure I am going to get a lot of use from these stamps!

Here is today's sketch from Operation Write Home



And here is my first card:
The sentiment is hard to read in my photo so I took a close up below. I used chalk ink- it gives a nice, soft feel.

 



And since I am having so much fun with the ME stamps, I decide to play along with their challenge-another sketch challenge- I love them for when I am stuck for creativity- gives me a great place to start!

http://www.mamaelephantblog.com/

I used my beloved sakura glaze on the 3 hearts to give them some shine- you can see it on the top heart. Love the stamp  of the hands and a simple yet truthful sentiment.

OK, back to sorting and sifting thru my huge mess. I am  looking forward to fun times with my gal pals.... but I will be missing a couple of friends who are not coming this time! This will be my 6th retreat organized by Lisa and Cynthia- best crops I have ever attended! Great location, lots of space, lots of laughter, very relaxing weekends- I even get some scrapping done! And the marvelous food doesn't hurt!http://www.celebratememoriescrop.com/Home.html

Have a wonderful week!

Craft on,

Diane

You. Me. Oui.

I almost did not make the Midweek ThrowDown at OWH this week (twine and tags)! Here it is Saturday...and I am just getting to my card! It was a hectic week...lots going on so it felt good to sit down and make a card. My mojo is a little lacking-or maybe my energy...so I went to one of my easy to color images- the Penny Black ducks. I know- I just used it- but these cuties were already stamped, and were looking lonely on my very messy dining room table. I struggled with the twine part of the challenge- I wanted to try something different- but what? Ahhh, those ducks were stamped on a Lifestyle Crafts die with holes....doh! So I simply threaded the twine thru the holes! My tag is also from LC. I have a few of their dies and I am very happy with them- they cut nicely and some have the ejection foam onthe intricate cuts and the paper does not get stuck in the die. http://lifestylecrafts.com/products/dies.html?___store=default   My sentiment is from Mama Elephant- love their stamps! Super fast shipping!
http://www.mamaelephantblog.com/  Fun blog as well!

I did find time to hop along with OWH first this am for the Spring Training Blog Hop featuring masculine cards! I needed a kick start for my manly cards! Silly me- I was hoping for a few cards with a baseball theme (my nephew plays in MLB minors!) but I was thrilled with so many cards! It was great to see so many companies support OWH and our military! Go check it out...some sites have fun videos...I love watching someone make a card- start to finish!
Have a wonderful week! I hope to have some mojo flowing for Sunday's OWH sketch!
Craft on!
Diane

Happy Monday, Easter re-cap and tall fathers!

Good morning! I had to work on Easter Sunday so I am going into work later today- and only for a few hours. Nice- this gave me a little time to create my card!

Easter was a really fun day with most of the kids home from college... we were able to skype with Cori-so that helped a little!  A kind of retro Easter for us- yummy food and the annual egg hunt but this year we added a few oldie but goodie games. The 3 legged races, sack races, and the smashing of a pinata had us all in fits of laughter! I even got in a sack but warned Maggie with bodily harm if she posts pictures on FB! Doug was amazingly agile in the sack race---declaring himself the "Master of the Sack".... ummm,you are dating my niece so I hope you mean the burlap sack master!  LOL I forgot my camera so I am counting on Maggie to share her pictures with me!

OK- on to my card for this week's sketch at OWH.
Here is the inspiration sketch:


I took a few liberties with this one- I rotated the main image size and I grouped the 3 embellishments into 1 sentiment. I kept the card super simple so the image- with the supporting sentiment- really stands out.

The paper is from Authentique- Curiosity 6x6 pad and the navy solid paper used for the mats is from DCWV. The stamp is from Clear and Simple- I took a copics class with them 2 years ago at CKC in Manchester, NH and I like the simplicity of their stamps. I heat embossed the little boy and his dad with black EP from my stash. The ruler and the sentiment are from Life's Little Moments chipboard layering kit- my only purchase from HSN's 24 hour scrapbook day last week. The sentiment is hard to read in the picture- "A Dad is someone to look up to not matter how TALL you've grown". Ain't that the truth!  I miss my Dad everyday and still look up to him and recall his advice on life, how to treat people, good tipping and mostly his joy and laughter! Yesterday I took great joy in thinking how proud my Dad would be of his growing family! Yup- my father is the tallest of dads!

Have a wonderful week and craft on!

Thanks for stopping by,

Diane