A Whole Lot Going On!

Hello and welcome! I have lots to share with you today!
First- it is the day of my Top 13 of 2013 drawing! (Yup- it is my birthday and I had a fabulous day!) I did it the old fashioned way...all the names in a hat!
And the winner is.. Debbie Caldwell! Debbie, please email me at digirlwiz at comcast dot net and let me know if you want a GC to Oozak or Paper Smooches!!

Sandy asked the OWH cardmakers to send in kits for CHA for the Make and Give; so I sent in 3 sets. Sandy posted all of the cards on Pinterest ( http://www.pinterest.com/colourful/cha-2014/  )and here are my cards! I almost forgot to take pictures...you can see 2 are tucked into the envelopes- lol!

Paper Smooches stamps are so fun for kids (and grown ups, too)! I used my Cricut to cut the sun and the mountains, a Fiskars punch for the grass and the rest of the elements are too-cute Paper Smooches. 

 I used an OWH Hero Arts fundraiser stamp for my next card! I paper pieced the elephants, put them on an Action Wobble, and made a flip card with my Cricut. I like the movement of the wobble and the flip action when you open the card. The base paper is actually a deeper red-not the pink as it appears here! I wanted the card to be gender neutral with the red, blue and green!

A pouty Unity Stamps boy....I really liked coloring him! I tried to make his shirt shaded just right to make him look like he has a pudgy belly to go with his plump little cheeks! I want to hug this little guy! The papers for this card and the elephants are by Carta Bella- the Rough and Tumble line. Ohhh, so nice and thick, a nice texture and 2 sided! The kind of paper that makes me happy!

On to new cards! The midweek thrown down was to make bunny cards...so I decided to make a Cricut bunny- Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh. I used a general sentiment so he can be used anytime. Kids still love Pooh-right? 

And today's sketch: (Marlene always comes up with a good one!)



I decided to make another bunny card:

The panel behind the image is green- not yellow-- I am not sure why it came out such a funky color! I like this sketch- I like them all-they are so great to give me some direction!

And boo hoo for my beloved Patriots! I was hoping for a win but it was not to be...congrats to the Broncos!

Have a wonderful week and please take a moment tomorrow to remember  Martin Luther King, Jr and remember all the good he achieved and stood for!
Thanks for stopping by,
Diane

Another Sketchy Sunday and a Bit of a Cheat

Hello! Sorry Colts fans...but I am happy with the results of the game last nite!  I have a soft spot for Adam Vinatieri-so I like watching the Colts...but I like it when the Patriots win!

Since it is Sunday Marlene has another great sketch for us and it comes from Jen! I love Jen's cards and she is a sweetheart! Go visit her at 
thesparklewithinblog.wordpress.com

This is Jen's sample card- love the colors!

I had this little couch cut and stamped so I rotated the sketch a bit to fit it in the space- but I think my background paper is a little subdued. Jen's paper fills up the space nicely...mine looks like lonely white space- but I guess the sender is implying they are lonely- so it may work!
I am going to try another card with a different image with this sketch--I really like it!

I used the couch to make another card before I saw the sketch- I am liking this one more. I feel like I filled the space better since the image is so plain. 

And here is my big cheat! The midweek throwdown was to make a card using the chalkboard technique...not my favorite- BUT...I do have a pad of paper from My Mind's Eye with some great chalkboard pages... a little layering, a little ribbon- and there you have it- I am a chalkboard fraud!  But I like the card's simplicity...and besides...MME did the technique way better than anything I could create! I used my resources to the best of my ability- that is my story and I am sticking to it! 

And here is another card- just because! I love MFT a la Mode gals- and this one is so sweet! ( Are you humming the I Dream of Jeannie song?) I used vellum for her transparent pants- they are so cute in person! And the purple and the gold are DCVW glitzy papers-- shimmery without the dangers of glitter! LOL 

Have a wonderful week....Hi to Cori, Paige, Maggie and Tessa! Oh...and to Lola too! Here she is with her Christmas bow. Just to make my sister happy- please comment that she is regal, majestic, beautiful...lol- she is all of those things- but a big, slobbery darling too!

Have a wonderful week! And don't forget to post a comment on my post of January 1st....so you will be entered into my drawing! I will choose a winner next Sunday! 
Craft on, stay warm and Go Pats!
Diane

Plethora of Cards!

Welcome!
I have several cards to share with you today!(OK- 5- not a plethora...but it seemed like a lot! )

First up: January's Our Daily Bread Designs challenge is to use stripes on our cards. http://operationwritehome.org/odbd-january-challenge-2/  The oh so generous folks at ODBD not only will pay for shipping for 2 boxes of cards to be sent to our troops if 50 of us makes cards for the challenge; they also give prizes to 2 of the card makers...EVERY month! They are an awesome company!

Next up- we have this week's OWH sketch.  This is one of my favorites- love the layers and love the circles! Here is Cheryl's inspiration card:  

and you can visit Cheryl here:  http://scrappinforourtroops.blogspot.com/2013/10/owh-midweek-throwdown-color-challenge.html

My card is made from a digi stamp by Some Odd Girl, Authentique papers, copics, googly eyes, twine and spellbinders dies.

And here are a few more cards I made recently. I received my recent receipt from Sandy and I donated 533 cards in 2013! I was surprised by the number- yeah me- but realized that there are lots of cards that I do not post on my blog. So- I am going to try to post more of the cards I make- not just those for challenges. So here are a few cards- and you may notice a recent trend of mine- YELLOW!

 I needed more paper for card bases- I use Bazzill Card Shoppe Marshmallow- it is a nice, heavy weight..so I ordered more white but also got a pack of 25 sheets of Sour Lemon-- love it! Nice and sunny without being over the top bright yellow! 

And here is my tip for this week....did you know you can use your American Express points at Amazon? I got 3 packages of marshmallow and the 1 package of sour lemon-- for free! This is 200 card bases of very fine quality paper --just for using a card I use anyway! I like using my points on papercrafting items- I like this paper; it is more expensive but totally worth it- but when I do not have to pay- that is an extra perk!

And don't forget to comment on my Top 13 of 2013, 1/1/14 post to be entered into a drawing! 

http://dianecreateswithpaper.blogspot.com/2014/01/welcome-new-year-with-re-cap-of-2013.html

My niece Cori (Cori, Cori, Cori-in case you are counting!) came over this weekend and colored some cute images. We did not have time to make cards- she is headed back to school today- her last semester working on her Masters degree- gooooo Cori! (that is 5!) And Maggie - yes Maggie- is coming over today to interview me for a video. Yup- Maggie is visiting today! OK- so these 2 darlings COUNTED how many times they were mentioned in my blog in 2013 and razzed me that sisters Tessa and Paige made the news more often--so this year I will do my best to spread the love around! (I did tell Cori that she needed to do more exciting things to make the blog....LOL!) Oops-just got a text from Maggie! Maggie will be here in a while- so have to run!

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Diane 

Girls in White Dresses...A New Challenge Blog

I hope you had fun looking at all the creations at OWH's Top 13 of 2013 bloghop! I still have several blogs to check out---but so far-I have seen loads of creativity and wonderful cards! Go to the OWH blog and spend some time there...you will be very inspired!

Two of the great contributors to OWH have started a new challenge blog! Yahoo for Sybrina and Bobbi!                                                                             http://words2scrapby.blogspot.com/    
Today is the first challenge- and it is a fun one!

W2SB Challenge #1

So, what's the inspiration for the first challenge? Our first month's inspiration comes in the form of the song "My Favorite Things" from Rodger and Hammerstein's  The Sound of Music. You know the song, "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..."

The challenge is to choose a lyric from the movie and make a card based on your chosen lyric. Maybe your card will feature roses and raindrops... or kittens with whiskers... or another one of those favorite things mentioned in the song.
Well- I love this song- just ask my friend Kelly (I spent an entire weekend crop singing this- I was working on First Communion pages...girls in white dresses; I am surprised she is still my friend!).   Hmmmmm, what to make? I know.... a girl in a white dress- with a blue satin sash! LOL

I took some liberties with the interpretation of a dress and chose this great MFT stamp!OK- it is a kimono- but it has a sash and I paper pieced it blue!

Have a wonderful week!
Diane

Welcome the New Year with a Re-cap of 2013

Happy New Year and welcome to my Top 13 of 2013 as part of the OWH bloghop.  You can check out all of the fun at:                                                   http://operationwritehome.org/starsandstamps

It is funny... when I reviewed my posts from 2013 there were some cards that completely slipped my mind and others made me sigh with happiness. And some- what was I thinking?!! OK- you are not going to see those here- I posted them once- that was more than enough! I loved all of the inspiration last year from OWH; the Sunday Sketches, MidWeek Throwdown, Boot Camp, the weekly tutorials, blog hops, ODBD challenges, OWH TV, visiting fellow OWH cardmakers on their blogs and Sandy's ICSE classes! Hopefully- my creativity and techniques improved over the past year!  This is a honkin' long post but please make sure to read all the way to the end!

 Here are my favorites from last year:

1.  A no-coloring card- the fan is from my Cricut. I like the semi-circle and the star brads.

2.  This image was colored during one of Sandy's ICSE classes- I enjoyed those so much! I like the image and the patterned paper and the lime green with the red.

3.   Awww- a sweet Mo Manning image- I love the determination on his face and I like the stitching around the circle- just like a baseball! I got the idea from an OWHer's comment on a previous card- easy and fun!

 4.  A super simple card- a copic colored butterfly and a cricut frame, some velvet ribbon-and black and pink- a favorite color combo!

5.  I love this handy man-- and his jeans overalls! I like the tools- made from little dies! 

6.  Blue and yellow- another favorite color combination- and another Mo Manning digital image- I can just imagine a younger brother looking up to his big brother--a true hero!

7.  This is a step fold card- and while there is not a ton of room to write a message- I thought it was a fun card for one of our hard working troops to send home. Hero Arts stamps- fun!

 8.  Oh- don't you just smile when you see a Paper Smooches stamp? This little farmer guy just called to me and I had to color him! Again- blue and yellow!

9.  Another blue and yellow card! This time a loving robot- from another of Sandy's ICSE classes- coloring metallic images. I love the layout, the hunky robot and the sentiment!

10.  Yup-another Mo Manning image! Love these 2 pals-- and they were fun to color!

11.  I love this stinkin' cute angel by Amy Young for CC Designs. She just made me smile and I hoped she brought smiles to others! She is recessed into the opening and the circle surrounding her is OWH safe glitter paper- no flaking off!

 12.  Finally- a My Favorite Things stamp! I think I have more MFT stamps than any other (Paper Smooches, Hero Arts and Penny Black come close behind!) I like that he can be used to send to a boy and love that he lassoed a star!  Yeehaw!

13.  And I think this is my all time favorite- I love the soft papers and colors- but mostly I love that I think of my lil Maggie every time I see this image (all grown up at 19- but she will always be my lil darling!)! I am happy with the coloring, the simple layout and the softness of the card.

So- what have I learned? 

• I adore coloring little kids.
• Mo Manning images are so full of personality! I need more!
• Blue and yellow is a great color combination. 
• I like clean and simple cards!
• I love looking at blogs and getting ideas and adding to my list of 'must have' stamps, papers and other goodies!
• And I like to share....so please leave a comment, you can follow my blog- but it is not required-- and out of all of the comments left by midnight (eastern time) 1/18/14 I will draw a winner for a gift card to Paper Smooches or to Oozak (where I get my copics)- the winner can choose either PS or O! (I won a CG to PS from a previous blog hop and I thought it was such a fun prize- I was in heaven- picking out stamps! I was very lucky in 2013 and won several blog candy prizes and loved each and everyone of them!) Make sure I have a way to contact you or check back on 1/19/14 to see if you are the winner! And why the 19th? Well, it gives you plenty of time to get to my blog along the fabulous hop- and it is an easy date for me to remember- it is my birthday!  (Sorry- members of my family are not eligible to win...you all have access to my stash- you do not need anything else- lol!)

Thanks for stopping by and here is to a wonderful 2014!
Diane