Stars, Stars, Stars

Greetings! The Midweek Throwdown at OWH is to create a card with stars. I took a star cluster stamp (I am pretty sure it is from a Simon Says Stamp monthly kit) and created my background paper. Some rick rack ribbon from my stash, the sentiment on a few circles and that was it! I wanted to try using stars in a non-patriotic color scheme. 

And how about the Red Sox? I am thrilled for the team and the fans. Boston Strong... in so many ways!
Have a wonderful Halloween!
Thanks for stopping by and craft on!
Diane

Sketch Delight!

Hello! Today I am sharing cards for 2 sketches- yup 2! I always enjoy the OWH Sunday sketches and you must know by now that I adore stamps by My Favorite Things-so I finally realized that I should try their sketches too!

First up- we have a fun sketch sponsored by Doodle Pantry over at OWH. There are several wonderful card samples- you really need to see them at operationwritehome.org/blogs.   I did not realize until I completed my 2nd card that I used a similar color scheme- LOL.

And here is the sketch for MFT- another really fantastic sketch- with great samples over  at http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/.

Thanks for stopping by and sorry for a short post! And yes- I did mail my box of cards to Sandy at OWH on Thursday and I received an email that it arrived yesterday! Way to go USPS- from 1 side of the country clear across to the other side in 2 days!  Wahoo!! I bombed out on the early bonus deadline- but my cards made it to OWH HQ before the final deadline for Christmas cards!

Have a wonderful week and craft on!

Diane

Pink and Green Love!

Greetings! This week at OWH we have a color challenge- pink and green!http://operationwritehome.org/midweek-throwdown-color-challenge-11/

 The Christmas card making time for OWH is just about over so I am going start creating some love cards. I really like Paper Smooches stamps- so very whimsical and lots of cute animals. My sentiment is from Mama Elephant- another great company! And LOL- could my photo be any more crooked? Ya, photography classes should be on my list of things to do!

 I am mailing my box to Sandy today-really!! I have the day off so I have no excuses! It is the anniversary of my Dad's death --and I still have a hard time with it. If I work- I am no good at all- so I have the day off and I am going to do some errands and then make some cards and just trying to remember how blessed I was to have such a wonderful father. I miss him everyday. Anyway- enough of the sadness! Today is also my brother's birthday! Happy Birthday Jim!!

So, what are you working on? Craft on and thanks for stopping by!
Diane

It is Another Sunday Sketch

It is time for another sketch from OWH. This is a great sketch that allows an image to take center stage without trying!

                                   

The sassy gal and sentiment are from My Favorite Things; stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Crafter's Companion paper and colored with Copics.  The papers are all from Little Yellow Bicycle- Just Because 6x6 pad... except for the card base (Bazzill). THe corners are rounded with the WRMK corner chomper and everything is held together with ATG adhesive- and that's my card!(the red is just paper I used to photograph my card against- it is not part of the card!)

And in just a few short weeks- I will be celebrating my 1 year blog anniversary! It may be time to update my profile description and my picture! LOL 
Have a wonderful week! Hope you have time for some crafty plans!
Take care,
Diane

Drunken Stampers Challenge #146: Wood

It is that time again.... it is Challenge #146- and this week we were challenged to make a project with wood. Hmmmm, I thought I had a lot of ideas floating in my head, but when I sat down to create...I could not decide between little wooden cats or the snowflakes. As you can see, winter won out!   I coated the snowflakes with Stickles and then added a layer of glossy accents. Since you can still see that they are wooden thru the glitter- I decided to go with kraft as my card base and layers. I like the kraft and blue together--sort of masculine...if you can ignore the glitter and the rhinestones...lol! The snowflakes are so shimmery in real life but even with the glossy accents coating, I am a little concerned about the possibility of the glitter flaking off- so I am not going to send this card to OWH. I may send this card to my friend 'Bonnie Sue'....she is sort of like a partner in crime. And just as no 2  snowflakes are alike- she is a one of a kind friend!  

Come join us at drunkenstampers.wordpress.com and play along with our wood challenge. I think you are going to love the cards made by the Tropical Hooters team this week! 

 Thanks for stopping by and come on- get your craft on and make something.... then share it with us!
Diane

Winter-- NOT Christmas Cards!

Happy Wednesday! This week we are challenged to make winter cards...NOT Christmas cards--over at Operation Write Home.
http://operationwritehome.org/midweek-throwdown-snow-much-fun/

Amazingly- I can tell you almost everything about my card!
Stamps: There She Goes-Wonderful Winter Wishes and sentiment by My Favorite Things
Copics: YG 41,45; YR16;  E00, 02,39; G0000; C1,2; R20, 82, 83; and RV34, 55.
Papers: pattern papers Recollections Jolly Holiday 6x6 pad, Bazzill Marshmallow for the card base and black for the mats.
Die: My Favorite Things- frame, Life Style Crafts-banner
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Corner Chomper- WRMK
The mittens are popped up on Stampin Dimensionals by SU
My only mystery manufacturer is the green and white twine that I tacked it down with tiny dots of Glossy Accents.
I am pleased with how this card came together and I adore that tiny little snowman--so sweet!

Have a wonderful week and craft on!
Diane

OWH Sunday Sketch #194

Hellooooo! Although the OWH sketch was posted a day early this week, I did not have a chance to make my card yesterday. And...I am a slacker- I did not get to the post office yesterday to send a box of cards to Sandy to beat the end of the month deadline....well- it will get there before the 31st...but not by the 15th as planned...time sure does go quickly some weeks!
Here is sketch #194.... wow! I have been blogging about 11 months-so I am approaching a full year of using and posting my cards with the OWH sketches! I do not always get to post for the tutorials, and I think I missed a bootcamp or 2, and a rare midweek throwdown- but the Sunday sketches...well- even if they are late- I think I have posted every week since I started blogging. They are great sources of inspiration!  Here is this week's sketch and Nancy's sample card. AWESOME!!! Love the layers and I love kraft with the red, white and blue. Great card Nancy!
       

I used a digital image from CC Designs- one of the sweet little Meoples by Amy Young. The patterned papers were from a freebie pad with one of the UK magazines and the star brads are from my stash. The little dude was colored with copics and the sentiment is by MFT and the banner is a die by Life Style Crafts. I love all the layers in the sketch- and love the black contrast to the various blue colors in the papers I used. I rarely get use of the freebie papers but this little pad has some interesting patterns and colors. (FYI~ the star paper in the background is just what I photographed the card against-- it is not part of the card!)

Well- off to run some errands and watch the Patriots hopefully redeem themselves this afternoon! Have a wonderful week and I am sure...with several holidays approaching quickly, you will be getting your craft on!
Thanks for stopping by,
Diane

ODBD, The Midweek Throwdown and Still Recovering from WCMD!

Greetings! I have a few cards to share today.
Each month, Our Daily Bread Designs sponsors up to 2 boxes of shipping costs when at least 50 of the OWH gals make and post cards. I make a point of  participating in the challenge- this is an offer too good to turn down- shipping for 2 boxes AND they give away 2 gift cards every month- very generous! I met the great folks from ODBD at the stamp show last spring and they were as nice as their stamps are gorgeous! I made 2 cards- but only 1 can count towards the 50 cards. Both are made with ODBD stamps.The second card is a deep, rich purple- but it did not photograph that way. The stamp gives the chalkboard effect- without all the work!

And for today's midweek throwdown, the challenge is to create a Christmas card with something from nature that reminds us of the holidays--so I chose the moon. Many years ago, upon leaving my home after our Christmas Eve gathering, my eldest niece-who was about 6 years old- saw what the adults knew was a plane-but she thought was Santa and Rudolph's nose shining brightly- flying through the sky- against the glow of the moon. She was so excited she began to shout and jump up and down and fell on some ice. (She was not hurt!) That precious little girl is now the mom of a fabulous 3 year old boy who has her enthusiasm for life. Jaclyn- this card is in honor of you and all the wonderful memories you have given me- and continue to give! There he is-- Santa flying to your home- and can you see Rudolph's shiny nose??? And do you see some of the lights on in the town below- some kids are asleep and some are still up...hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa!  

The buildings are from a Memory Box die and Santa is from Cricut cartridge- December 25th....it has some great images!
And- no I have not completed visiting all the blogs from WCMD. I was sick earlier in the week-fighting a headache-so being on the computer was not an option. I still plan to visit all the blogs! 
Thanks for stopping by! Craft on!
Diane

Sunday Sketch and WCMD Inspirations

Hello! And a happy Sunday to you all! I had such a great time looking at the cards posted at OWH for WCMD-- but I kept taking breaks to make cards so I still have about 50 blogs left visit! I hope to visit more blogs later this evening...I get so much inspiration from seeing other creations and reading about why and how a card was made!
Today's sketch is fantastic-- look at Velda's sample card- gorgeous paper and I love the shine on her embellishments! I am actually in the process of making several cards from the sketch- all the same snowman stamp- but a few different patterned papers and ink colors. Everything is cut and stamped- I just need to assemble.

        

My brads are silver to match some of the silver in the patterned paper- I really wish to beauty of the papers would show up better. I moved the placement of the sentiment but otherwise I stayed true to the sketch. I inked white dotted ribbon with the same memento ink I used on the snowman and the sentiment to give it a cohesive look...I love transforming white ribbon to another color!

I made 30 cards this weekend- I tried Seongsook's 1 sheet of double sided paper technique and made 8 cards from the paper! Wahoo! I saw this on somebody's blog yesterday-sorry- I did not write down who- but thank you for reminding me of this great cutting guide! I am horrible with using a whole sheet of paper- and I am even worse with saving scraps- I tend to throw too much away- just ask Kelly and Fabre! I save some scraps- not a lot- but it felt really good to use an entire sheet of pretty paper!  The picture with the penguins shows 3 of the 8  cards I made from this idea!

Here are a few of my cards... I am trying to complete my final Christmas and winter cards...I want to help out Sandy and get my cards in early but I have so many stamps and ideas that I want to keep on making cards! I wish I had this week off from work just to stay home and make cards---what fun that would be!!! (Did you see Sandy's shipper video....crazy how much work goes into unpacking, sorting, triage, packing and shipping... so I do my best to follow the guidelines- I am that kind of gal- a rule follower!)

And isn't the Santa face the best stamp ever??? I made a few cards last year with this stamp and found a bunch of stamped images in my box of Christmas papers...so I had a jump start on a few of the cards.

 I am sad about the Patriots loss today....I guess I will get over it!  Have a wonderful week and please remember our troops and their families in your prayers...and don't forget to craft on and make some cards!
Thanks for stopping by,
Diane

Operation Write Home and World Card Making Day- WAHOOOO!

Hello- welcome to my blog! If you found me through Operation Write Home- are you excited about all of the wonderful cards that are being shared today and then shared with our heroes? 
        

Today we are making Thank You cards based on an Operation Write Home Sketch. I chose sketch #77.

I used a 'Thanks' die from Paper Smooches, Stacking Stars die from My Favorite Things, shimmery, safe glittery paper and metallic silver paper from DCWV, circle dies from Spellbinders and paper scraps and gems from my stash. I popped the middle star slightly for a little bit of dimension. Not a stamp or Copic in sight! This would be a great card to make multiples- as discussed in the Midweek Throwdown on 10/2/13... it went together quickly and would be perfect for a new card maker to assemble!

I am not going to keep you- keep hopping along and seeing all the cards from the OWH cardmakers and the many people who are posting at the WCMD site! Don't forget to visit the gals at Drunkenstampers.wordpress.com for this week's out of this world challenge!
And get your Christmas cards into Sandy soon...my goal is to make more Christmas cards this week and get my package in the mail to meet the early deadline of October 15th. So go get crafty and make some cards for our troops to send home!
Thanks for stopping by and craft on!
Diane

World Card Making Day with the Drunken Stampers!

Welcome! Today is an extra special day--it is Saturday so it is time for a new challenge at Drunken Stampers  and it is World Cardmaking Day! Wait until you see what my fellow Tropical Hooters at Drunken Stampers have created for this out of the world challenge- lots of out space fun! 

Today's challenge is a person- Neil Armstrong! OK- so I know this sweet gal from My Favorite Things

http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/ does not look like Neil but she is so stinkin' cute and she is an astronaut so I could not refuse to use her!  I make most of my cards to send to Operation Write Home so I am super careful about my use of glitter. I do not use loose glitter on any of my cards but I love shimmer so I used a glitter paper that is sealed for the mat and the stars. I coated her helmet with a few layers of glossy accents to give it a glass like look. I placed my 'Neil -wanna- be' on an Action Wobble and she is floating in space! Did you just say 'what is an Action Wobble?'  Really- where have you been- in outer space? A totally fun item that brings movement to your card- what child can resist? Take a look at my super-short, super non-Academy Award contender movie clip below to see her trip to the moon. (Have you seen the movie Gravity yet?)

                       

Fun, right? What are your plans for today? There are so many wonderful sites with ideas and techniques to celebrate WCMD. I plan to hang out with a tall glass of diet Pepsi and visit with the Drunken Stampers, the gals at Operation Write Home and of course checking out all the cards at  http://www.worldcardmakingday.com/index.html. 

I have another post today with a card for OWH- a thank you card. 

Hope you enjoy the weekend, thanks for stopping by and after all of the inspiration all over the web- how can you help but craft on!

Take care, Diane