A Rainy Sunday, a Sketch for OWH and More Mama Elephant!

I am not going to complain about the rain..it is not snow and it is warming up!
Today we are up to sketch #218 at OWH:
                               

Pam made our inspiration card today- stunning! (I was going to say majestic but I can use that word only for my sister's dog- Lola!)  For more of Pam's cards please go visit her blog!
 http://airbornewifestamping.blogspot.com/2014/01/american-bald-eagle-thanks-cards-with.html
                              
And here is my version:

The Midweek Throwdown for this past Wednesday was to create a card with purple and yellow. I cannot get enough of the absolutely adorable images and great sentiments from Mama Elephant!

I also figured out how to take pictures of my flip cards without them flipping open...thanks to a little washi tape (used only in the pictures taken of the front of the cards)! And who are those images made by..yup! MAMA ELEPHANT!!! 

On a very sad note, we recently lost one of our OWH cardmakers, Suzanne H. This card is made in honor of Suzanne and based on one of her cards showcased when she was a Friday Featured Cardmaker. Prayers go out to her loved ones and friends.

Did you know Sandy Allnock is teaching an on-line class-coloring backgrounds with Copic markers...it is a great class! I watched yesterday and I am hoping to have time this week to practice!  Click here to get all the details: http://sandyallnock.com/class-announcement/  

I am hoping for some sunshine this week- we need our vitamin D here in the northeast!
Take care and thanks for stopping by,
Diane

Are you ready for another sketch?

Well, it is Sunday so that means Marlene has found us another sketch and it is from a card made by Sandy Allnock, founder of OWH. Look at her coloring on that elephant- perfection! You can see more of Sandy's fabulous creations at  http://sandyallnock.com

I just purchased a Doodlebug paper pad so I used that on my first card, along with a high flying monkey from Mama Elephant. I popped him up a little so it would seem like he was hanging onto the banner for dear life...the little chimp wants to make sure the card recipient is aware he or she is so very loved!

My next card features an older stamp from Hero Arts-- it was a single duck and I stamped it 3 times. I wanted to use the sentiment from Paper Smooches so I decided to make one of the ducks different....I originally colored it orange with green polka dots but I did not like it. It was almost a huge failure but I did not want to start again.  I re-stamped an image, colored it the same blue as some of the stars, fussy-cut it and glued it down- and now I like it!

I need to stamp and tuck a few more cards then my box is ready to be mailed to Sandy. I made some flip cards with a Sizzix die- but I cannot get them to stay flat enough for me to get a good picture! LOL  I like flip cards- I imagine families like to get a card with movement once in a while- especially kids!

Have a wonderful week- and happy Spring! Yahoooo!

Thanks for stopping by, 

Diane

Circles and 2 Winners!

Happy Wednesday! This week the OWH Throwdown is to creates a card with circles!  http://operationwritehome.org/midweek-throwdown-circles-galore/

I used a sweet little baby dino from Mama Elephant and the companion die.

And I have 2 winners for the A Lota Rubber Stamps and  a sheet of ez mount....
Anne Slattery and Linda! Wahoooo! Please email me your addresses... digirlwiz at comcast dot net.  I will mail out the package this weekend! Thanks again to Helene and I am hoping she has a fabulous retirement! 
Have a wonderful week!
Diane

Happy Sunday!

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great weekend- I am- but boy- the weekends pass so quickly!

Marlene has another great sketch for us this week:


          

I used Mama Elephant stamps and Studio Calico papers for my card this week.

I am trying to finish up some Mother's Day cards to send out to Sandy this week. I have some room in the box so I am doing my best to fill it! I used distress inks on glossy paper ( I rarely use them!) with some water droplets and made some panels to stamp images in black ink.

Have a wonderful week and go make some cards!
Thanks for stopping by,
Diane

Playing Catch Up-Again!

Welcome! I feel like I have been running behind for much of 2014...and I  am hoping to change that! But for today- I am just going to get up to speed!

The fun ladies at Words to Scrap By have come up with another challenge this month. Make a card inspired by one of these movies:

• There's no place like home. (The Wizard of Oz, 1939)
• The stuff that dreams are made of. (The Maltese Falcon, 1941)
• Here's looking at you, kid. (Casablanca, 1942)
• May the force be with you. (Star Wars, 1977)

I adore the Wizard of Oz but decided to use a Unity Stamp (thanks Jen!) and go with Casablanca. I keep trying to think what it would sound like if Humphrey Bogart said the sentiment! I used colored Sakura Glaze pens on all of the eyeglass frames and I used clear Glaze across the lenses. A super simple card but I am liking it!

Join in on the fun by clicking here:
http://words2scrapby.blogspot.com/2014/03/w2sb-challenge-3-and-oscar-goes-to.html


The Midweek ThrowDown at OWH is a good one to encourage us to clean up our scraps! I do not save a lot of my scraps so I started with papers that were free with a UK magazine.I like the colors in the papers but this card is not going to highlighted in my 'favorite cards from 2014'!!  LOL 
 http://operationwritehome.org/midweek-throwdown-scrappy-background/

And I wanted to make some western cards for my next box to OWH so I used one of the sooo stinkin cute images by My Favorite Things. I paper pieced a lot of his outfit. The layout was not what was in my mind- but I wanted the cowboy to take center stage.,,hmmm- I feel like it needs something! I think the last time I used this stamp- I made a lassoo from jute. I think I may need to do that again!

And here are a few cards that are not for challenges and are going in my OWH box. I did use scraps for the birthday card...if the scraps are on my table and catch my eye- I use them right away. Otherwise- just more stuff to add to my overwhelming amount of supplies! And speaking of supplies....I store my stamps in clear DVD cases- and I will store 2-3 sets in one case- most of the time by the same maker. I label the spine and slide the image sheet into the DVD outer pocket....it kind of drives my friend Kelly crazy! I figure- I have limited space and if I combine a few sets...I will have room to buy more! And really- my brain can handle it...I usually can find what I want pretty quickly! Sorry Kelly!

I love the colors with the black! gorgeous! All from a pad by KaiserCraft- Violet Crush.

The Mama Elephant rabbits are quickly becoming favorites- they make me smile! And the dies are ME too and I LOVE that the edge 'stitching' is part of the die! 

Well, my girls are all coming home so I am looking forward to spending "quality time" {as Paige says} with some of my favorite people on this planet! I have so much in life to be thankful for and I know how blessed I truly am- but every time Cori, Paige and Maggie make plans to come home...my heart expands when they call or text to make sure I can spend time with them! My sister and her husband have done a damn fine job raising 4 awesome kids (Tessa is in middle school- so she does not have to 'come home' from college and the big apple!) and I am so thankful they share the girls with me! 
Thanks for stopping by and craft on!
Diane

Happy Birthday with OWH Sketch #215

Greetings!
If you missed my post from yesterday, check it out here:
 http://dianecreateswithpaper.blogspot.com/2014/03/happy-retirement-and-give-away.html

I have a give-away going on!

Here is the sketch for this week and next to it is Kathryn's inspiration card. I love the happy colors and the chubby penguin she used--too cute!
Do you want to see more of Kathryn's creations?
http://kathrynscards.blogspot.com/2014/01/after-little-hiatus-i-made-some-cards.html




And here is the card I came up with...I realized I do not have many birthday cards in my OWH box so I used a new to me Prima stamp. All of the patterned papers are by DCVW and have some holographic qualities- so there is some safe shimmer and shine! The card base is Bazzill card shoppe and the image is colored on X-Press It paper with copics. Happy Birthday was stamped with Paper Smooches stamps. The lone gem is by My Mind's Eye.

Happy DayLight Savings.... here is to more sunshine and the hope of spring!
Thanks for stopping by...and craft on!
Diane

Happy Retirement and a Give Away!

Hello! I have been travelling for work the past few weeks so it is nice to be home and have time to create some cards. 

I recently stumbled onto a wonderful site and I am sad to say the fabulous owner, Helene, is retiring. I am happy for her but sad that I did not discover her adorable stamps a long time ago! Head on over to http://www.alotarubberstamps.com/ars2011/default.asp and do it soon-- her incredible retirement sale is ending on March 15!  I placed an order and she mailed it right away but somehow the package got lost on a tour of the United States! Helene sent me out a replacement package asap and what do you know...the original package showed up a month later! And lucky you...Helene is letting me give the stamps away! These are awesome red rubber stamps and most are unmounted. The bees I used in last weeks post are from A Lots Rubber Stamps....so stinking cute! There are bees, Easter, Halloween, kids, nature, sentiments....there is a little bit of everything included and the pile is huge! I will send the stamps to 2 people and I will include a sheet of ez mount! Just let me know in your comment if you are interested in the stamps and a way to reach you! I will draw 2 names March 16th. 

Here are 2 cards based on the OWH sketch for last Sunday:

This sketch is an awesome way to use some scraps...I love the look of all the cards posted at OWH! 
http://operationwritehome.org/sketch-challenge-214/

And the OWH Mother's Day deadline is March 31 so we are encouraged by the midweek throwdown to get working on our cards for mom!
http://operationwritehome.org/midweek-throwdown-mothers-day/

The panda and the sentiment are from Mama Elephant! How cute! I used glaze on the panda to add some shine- it looks great in person!

Have a great weekend and please go visit A Lota Rubber Stamps!
Diane

Bunnies, Bunnies, and Bees!

Greetings! I am so surprised that it is already March! February went by in the blink of an eye! I am hoping that means that spring is truly going to appear soon!

I have not posted since last Sunday so I have a few cards to share.
I have been on a tiny spending spree...I received an Oozak package today....gotta love Rusty! He ships so quickly and has a wonderful selection of all the things I just have to purchase!

The Midweek Throw Down was a color challenge this week; we are to use teal or turquoise on our cards. This is tough for me; for some reason I cannot see some colors as others see them. These are mostly blue based colors...like blue/violets and surprise... teal and turquoise!  I tried my best! 
http://operationwritehome.org/midweek-throwdown-color-challenge-15/

This stinking cute bee is by Alota Rubber Stamps. Sadly, the online store is closing but you can still get some great stamps on sale. Helena is a sweetie- go check out her site!
alotarubberstamps.com

 And today, as the first Saturday of the month, we have a new ODBD challenge- thank you cards! Since all my other cards are cutesy, I wanted to make a more masculine card. It is super simple, but I like the simplicity. I used a new die from Mama Elephant to make the curves.And that awesome stitching is made by the die! The papers are by FarmHouse Paper Company They are deep green but photographed more brown. 
 http://operationwritehome.org/odbd-march-challenge/

And here is another card for my OWH box;  I hope to send a box to Sandy this week (I do not have any Easter cards so I do not have to rush, but it has been a while since I sent in any cards.) This adorable stamp is by Art Impressions..look at the backside when the card is opened...how fun is that?

And when you think of rabbits, do you think that they are known to multiply....quickly? Lots and lots of bunnies! That thought inspired this card-made with rabbits by Mama Elephant! I printed the sentiment on my computer.

Thanks for stopping by!

Diane