Taylored Expression Die and OWH Cards

Greetings! I hope everyone had the Christmas they hoped for!  I totally enjoyed my holiday; our Christmas Eve is always so much fun...lots of people, good food and laughter! And Christmas Day was equally wonderful! Yeah to Maggie for finding the Christmas pickle!

Just days before Christmas I saw a card made with a Taylored Expressions die and since I received a nice holiday bonus from work I decided to use a little on a crafty splurge. Amazing service by TE;  it came on Friday and a really great extra was included! I was so excited to try out the die and carved out some time to play yesterday. There are 11 dies with the set- so many options!
 http://www.tayloredexpressions.com/dies/color-block-cutting-plate.html

I made the above card for the mid-month challenge at OWH to make a missing you card. 

And the sketch challenge posted at OWH is another wonderful sketch!

I kept my card super clean- I wanted the papers to be noticed- as well as the sweet mouse by Avery Elle. I have a box ready to be mailed to Sandy- the past 2 donations I have cut it too close to the deadline!  I am really going to try to get my boxes in earlier...at least I am going to try! LOL
Have a wonderful week- and go make a card or two!
Diane

Operation Write Home Sketch #244

Happy Monday! This weekend OWH posted another great sketch. Marlene was our sketch master for a while and I want to thank her for all her hard work and fun stories! Sybrina is taking over the reins and she did a great job with her first sketch!

I found an older pad of DCWV paper in my stash recently and have been using some of it lately- I love the glittery happiness of the striped paper and love that the glitter is embedded into the paper! The layered hearts on the bottom left were coated with glossy accents to make them super shiny.

I recently stumbled onto another challenge site that is all about birthday cards- lots of fun! These little mice are so cute...hopefully this could be a card for a girl or a boy- into my OWH box it goes!
http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.ca/

And I also made a card to play along with Di...I so enjoy her blog and seeing her creations and the ladies who play along in her playground!  I found a piece of watercolor paper I made a while back...{under a pile of other papers!} and I really liked the colors in the paper so I used it on the focal panel. The sentiment is by MFT and I think it is a message that reminds me to sometimes just slow down and really appreciate things! I colored a piece of May Arts white ribbon with a few copics-super fast and easy to create a matching ribbon.
http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/2014/12/pixies-snippets-playground-week-155.html

Well, I should be started on my Christmas candy by now- or even wrapping my presents-but I would rather be making cards!My plan for this evening was to make candy and then wrap while I catch up on some TV but....not tonight!  Hey, somehow it all gets done and I am looking forward to another wonderful Christmas this year.  I hope you are further along than I am and if you are not- I hope you are not stressing about it!
Have a wonderful week!
Thanks for stopping by,
Diane

Holidays...but Still Creating!

Hello!
I am still here! Thanksgiving was wonderful and we also celebrated the baptism of my great-niece, Madeline Jean so I was blessed to have  4 fabulous days with my family.  I did find time to make a few cards and I really want to make sure I find some time between now and Christmas to keep making cards...it really helps to slow me down and provide some relaxation.

My first card is for the Operation Write Home and Our Daily Bread Designs monthly challenge. For December we are inspired to use primary colors to create a card. I used a Penny Black stamp, copics, Bazzill card stock and MFT dies.
challenge http://operationwritehome.org/december-odbd/

My next card is for one of my favorite challenge sites- The Male Room....and this one was a tough one-- use ribbon on a male card. What? I was stumped for a while until I remember I had a roll of patriotic ribbon. I also used a MFT stars die to cut some of the ribbon for the star accents (sookwang tape on the back before cutting made it so easy to adhere!). I added a sentiment from MFT and some star gems from my stash.  The background is a Simon Says Stamp die and the sentiment is on a cut by Spellbinders. And the glitter paper is my favorite DCWV. I will use this for a hero card for my next box going to OWH.
http://themaleroomchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/challenge-24-masculine-ribbon.html

Try Stamping on Tuesday's challenge is to create a card with the theme of peace.
http://trystampinontuesday.blogspot.com/2014/12/challenge-196-peace.html   I love this image; it makes me feel hopeful and blessed. I again used the MFT stars die and I used metallic paper this time.

And here is one more card-just because.  I create most of my cards for OWH and I try to send in a mix of love, birthday, missing you, thank you and thinking of you. With Valentines not too far behind Christmas I want to get a head start on love cards- but not specifically Valentines-so the cards can be used at any time by our troops. And I tried to make it appropriate for gals or guys to send or receive. And who can resist the adorable owls? 

OK- off to watch some football!  Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by,
Diane

Are You Ready for Some Football and Cards?

I love Sundays and football! The Patriots play later tonite so I am going to squeeze in some more card-making. I have been on a roll this week! I have several cards to share today.
First up- 2 cards using stamps from Sugar Pea Designs-- love these stamps! http://sugarpeadesigns.com/blog/




Family friend Doug was so wonderful making the surprise proposal dinner party for Cori and Sani a joyful event. I wanted to thank him for all he did- so I created a card with a great pizza chef- perfect for Doug.



I wanted to play along with the sketch from Sugar Pea Designs so  I colored up this feisty fiesta man! The red stripes are embossing paste mixed with glitter and distress ink- very eye catching in person. My coloring looks horrible in the picture- I promise the pants look much better in real life! LOL

http://sugarpeadesigns.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/SPDSS15..png

A super simple card made with the flip dies by Sizzix-for The Male Room:

http://themaleroomchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/challenge-23-time.html

Try Stampin' on Tuesday has a sketch and a theme-so I joined in on the fun for the next card. http://trystampinontuesday.blogspot.com/

And I have 2 cards for Operation Write Home challenges.

A fabulous sketch:

                                       

 I used distress inks on water color paper and stamped stars in white pigment ink- then cut the paper into the strips. I colored the ribbon with a copic marker. All of the colors blend nicely-the OWH safe DCWV  glitter paper goes well but photographed an odd shade of blue. I love the different textures to this card.

The OWH mid-month throw down challenge is to create a winter love card. http://operationwritehome.org/mid-month-throwdown-winter-love-you/

 Mama Elephant stamps- on a distress ink and water droplets background and some felt for snow drifts. Brrr- I can feel the snow in the air!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my cards!

Diane



Time to Create

Welcome! I had some time off from work and went on a scrapping retreat so I was able to spend time with paper, ink, stamps and friends!
Over at Top Tip Tuesday the challenge is to use 3 or more papers. I love this challenge- I really like patterned papers and love combining them together. My tip- when you are combining papers that may not seem to obviously go together- find the common element and place them close by. In my card- I rotated my circle with the flowers so the orange flowers are close to her orange shirt and the orange polka dot mat and the sentiment mat is place near leaves with similar shades of green.
   http://toptiptuesday.blogspot.com/2014/11/challenge-3-or-more-papers.html

And since I continue to be inspired by Di and everyone posting to her blog and their use of snippets- I made the next card with my leftovers from the above card. It sure makes sense for me to use my scraps right away--if I stash them...they are out if sight, out of mind! http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/2014/11/pixies-snippets-playground-week-150.html

That is all for today but I have a few more cards to post and hopefully will post them later this week.
Thanks for stopping by. And a late thanks to our Veterans! I cannot express enough my on-going thanks and gratitude to our brave military- past and present!
Diane

ODBD November Challenge and The Male Room

Hello! Today I have 3 cards to share. Our Daily Bread Designs sponsors the shipping costs for up to 2 boxes EVERY month for OWH....not only that- they have 2 winners from the card makers who receive gift cards! Super generous company and fabulous products!
http://operationwritehome.org/november-odbd-challenge/
http://www.ourdailybreaddesigns.com/

This month's challenge is to create a card with a heart- or hearts! I wanted a card that could be used for male or female- but I think the plaid gives it more of a guy feel.



Inspired by Di at http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/
I am trying to use my snippets left from each project- so rather than store or toss my scraps, I am trying to make another card right away! So this was made with leftovers from the first card and I think I like it better! Since there are layers of papers, I adhered the lighthouse circle with foam tape on 1 side.

This week the challenge at The Male Room is to use wood. I was watching re-runs of Antiques Roadshow and noticed when they showcase guitars there is a lot attention paid to the wood. I pulled out my Cricut and used an image from Indie Art. And I added an Action Wobble to the back of the guitar so it really does rock!  http://themaleroomchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/challenge-22-wood.html
http://www.amazon.com/Hampton-Art-Action-Wobble-48-Pack/dp/B0091UPVN6



Have a wonderful week and make some cards!
Diane

The Paper Players

Happy Wednesday! Today I decided to play along with http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/2014/10/paper-players-219-sketch-challenge-from.html. I love sketches and love to try out  different sites for challenges; the entries and DT samples always inspire me. I moved the embellishment but otherwise stayed pretty close to the sketch.

 

 

 

I really like the snow dude stamps from Paper Smooches! Such a cool gent!
Have a wonderful week,
Diane

Three Cards and a Whole Lot of Other Things!

Welcome! I have a few cards to share and some links to some great products and blogs! And did you know I was the Friday Featured Cardmaker at OWH on 10/17/14?  It was a huge honor to be chosen!  http://operationwritehome.org/featured-friday-card-maker-diane-w-stoneham-ma/

Friday was the 10th anniversary of my Dad's passing and I took the day off from work. I did what makes me happy- I went to the scrapbook store, made cards and spent time with loved ones! I met my great-niece Madeline Jean- what a sweetie- and played Candy Land and Ants in the Pants with her awesome big brother Sam. Spending time with my father's legacy makes missing him a tiny bit less painful! 

I spent some time this am visiting some blogs- there is a new stamp company from Germany and they hosted a great hop featuring their products! I have a long list of things I want to purchase! Wow, the talent of the ladies showing how they used the stamps and stencils and chipboard- oh my! Please spend some time watching http://createasmilestamps.blogspot.com/2014/10/an-ah-mah-zing-video-blog-hop-and.html.

I made 2 cards for Operation Write Home;  for the sketch challenge and for the mid-month throw-down.   http://operationwritehome.org/mid-month-throwdown-winter-birthday/.

A great image and sentiment by Sweet Pea Designs, pattern papers by Basic Grey Fresh Cut, cardstock by DCVW, card base Bazzill Card Shoppe, Copic markers, X-Press It Blending Card, Memento tuxedo black ink, Spellbinders dies.

The little boy stamp is by My Favorite Things, pattern papers by BoBunny Powder Mountain, card base is Bazzill Card Shoppe, X-Press It Blending Card, Copic markers, birthday stamp by Hero Arts CL729, Memento tuxedo black ink.



 I had some scraps of paper left over from the penguin card so I decided to make another card and play along with Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 148

       Lawn Fawn stamp and die, Queen and Co gems, MFT snowflake die, Paper Smooches 

thanks die and the same papers as my first card!

 

I hope you have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by! Try to find a little time to make cards for Operation Write Home!

Diane



 

The Male Room- Halloween

Since I make most of my cards for Operation Write Home, Halloween cards are way past the OWH deadline but I wanted to use this ghost stamp from CC Designs by Amy Young. I won the stamps last year-there is a set of 3 adorable ghosts-so I broke from my OWH mode and created a Halloween card in October~ that is frightful- lol!
I try to keep my guy cards super clean with minimal or no extra embellishments but this one seemed very plain.  After I took the first picture, I decided to add small gold dots around the circle- and while the 2nd picture shows a lot of glare from the glaze pen on the pumpkin and the eyes (very distracting!) I like the addition of the simple dots.

Thanks for stopping by and please go see all the other Halloween cards at http://themaleroomchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/challenge-21-halloween.html
Diane

Words to Scrap By October Challenge

Just a quick post today... a fun challenge at http://words2scrapby.blogspot.com/   The inspirational words are
"The road to my heart is paved with paw prints."   Awwww, so sweet!  
My card came together quickly- love the little pup!

Have a wonderful weekend and go make some cards!
Diane

The Male Room Sketch

Greetings! The sketch posted at The Male Room is super clean and crisp. It lets the image or the sentiment take center stage. I rotated the sketch and used a Paper Smooches dino and Lawn Fawn sentiment and came up with an easy, fun card for a little boy. Have you visited the Male Room yet? Go check it out!
http://themaleroomchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks for visiting my blog,
Diane

OWH Sketch and ODBD Challenge

Hello!  Today I am sharing 2 cards for Operation Write Home.
The October ODBD challenge is to create a card with snowflakes but not a Christmas card.  I used MFT stamps for both of my cards.
The snowflakes are die cut from DCVW glitter paper- it is great because the glitter does not flake off and it is very shiny (not that I can ever capture that in pictures!).

 

This week's sketch is a fun one...I like the different layers and the tilted image. I paper-pieced this image-something I enjoy doing!

 

 

                       

     

Have a wonderful week and go make some cards!

Diane

World Card Making Day--Post #2

Welcome! I hope you spend some time over at OWH- this group of ladies is mighty talented and creative! I love when OWH has a blog hop so I can see all the great cards made for our troops to send home. Today we are all making love cards. Here are my 2 cards: 

 

 

I am keeping this short as I know there are so many sites to visit today!
http://operationwritehome.org/starsandstamps
And please read this post when you at OWH- it will explain a lot!

http://operationwritehome.org/operationrollingtapegun

Have a wonderful weekend!

Diane

 

World Card Making Day 2014

Good morning! I hope today is a card-making, fun filled creative day! I plan to play with stamps and visit lots of blogs to get ideas and inspiration to create more cards!
I want to share my card for the current Cards in Envy challenge...twine!  I adore My Favorite Things stamps and this cowgirl is no exception!  I used copics on her skin, hair and dress and paper pieced the hat, vest and boots. I also used a white sign pen to add some interest to her dress. Head on over to http://www.cardsinenvy.blogspot.com/2014/09/entwined-challenge.html because this challenge ends soon!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to have another post later today to join the other Operation Write Home card makers create LOVE cards for our troops! Make sure you visit OWH this weekend!

 

http://operationwritehome.org/starsandstamps

 



 

Sketches and Challenges!

Hello,
I am once again trying to play catch up with some challenges!
Today I have a card for The Male Room challenge and I missed the posting deadline but wanted to link to the site because it is fun and gets me to really think about some of the elements for a guy card!http://themaleroomchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/challenge-19-use-metal.html

The paper is from a DCWV stack and the stamp is by CTMH.

 

 

Next I have the 2 most recent sketches at OWH:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the OWH Mid-month Throwdown was to make an card with autumn colors. I made a few...and wanted to make them non-specific to fall so that they can be used anytime!

I mailed a box to Sandy at Operation Write Home this week. Now I need to decide if I should make a few more Christmas cards and get them to Sandy by October 10...or do I go with non-seasonal cards?

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Diane