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Creative Elements Christmas – OWH

Creative Elements Christmas – OWH published on 10 Comments on Creative Elements Christmas – OWH

As promised I’m here to tell you more about my card for the OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop.

One of the most important rules of cards for Operation Write Home is the no glitter rule.  There can be no sparkle that has a chance of flaking off since this can be a terrible safety risk to our heroes.  I opted to take on a subtle color palette and have a little shimmer from the beautiful Seam Binding.  The first thing I stamped was the flower using Cherry Cobbler ink.  When stamped in this color it takes on a poinsetta feel to me.  I stamped it twice and cut out one layer to give some dimension.  Next I took my new Designer Frames Embossing Folder and embossed Watercolor Paper with my Big Shot.  I tore the around the oval and then rolled up the edges with my thumbs.  The Watercolor Paper is so heavy that it hold the curls nicely!  I stamped the flourish onto Crumb Cake paper using Soft Suede ink and colored in the leaves and flowers with a Crumb Cake Stampin’ Write marker.  I debated the sentiment for a while but finally settled on this one from the retired Star-Studded Season.  I have a bit of a Christmas sentiment “collection” and have kept this set for all the wonderful phrases!  It seems particularly perfect for our heroes and their families!  I punched out the sentiment with the Extra-Large Oval Punch, sponged it with Soft Suede ink and popped it up on a Dimensional.  Finally, I got to the bow.  I made a double bow using the “potato masher technique” shown in this tutorial.  I love these bows made with the Seam Binding.  I added a little Beau Chateau DSP at the upper corner and across the card to mimic the dots in the Designer Frames oval.  The ribbon  tails were attached with strategically placed Mini Glue dots and then I frayed the ends a bit.

I hope this answers all your questions about the card.  If there is something I didn’t cover, please let me know and I’ll be happy to help.  I will be back tomorrow with the next SUO Challenge and it is yet another great one!!  Thanks so much for stopping in today.  See you again soon!

Stamps:  Creative Elements, Star-Studded Season (retired); Paper:  Beau Chateau DSP, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Watercolor, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake; Accessories:  Big Shot, Designer Frames EF, Extra-Large Oval Punch, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

All products are Stampin’ Up!

 

Spice Cake for Thanksgiving

Spice Cake for Thanksgiving published on 10 Comments on Spice Cake for Thanksgiving

Did you enjoy the Operation Write Home Blog Hop yesterday??!!  Amazing cards!!  If you missed it, just go back to yesterday’s post and the  link is there!

Yesterday was also the launch day for the Creative Crew’s October Challenges at Splitcoaststampers.  My card today is for the DSP/Color Focus Challenge of the month – use any holiday themed designer series paper.  I combined it with the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches #4.

This is another great one and it was perfect for the challenge!

I chose to make the tag an oval  and I love how the big panel let the DSP do the work.  In this case, I used Spice Cake DSP and I am still in love with it!  I thought it would be perfect with the leaves from Day of Gratitude!  I created the tag by threading a small piece of More Mustard card stock through the button.  Then I created nesting loops of the thin slices of card stock, securing them together with Mini Glue Dots.  I got the idea to do this from my clever stamping friend Cindy at Heart’s Delight Cards and incorporated it here.  I treated the other button the same way and attached it to a piece of Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon for symmetry.

The cool weather in VA this weekend has it feeling like Thanksgiving so this seems perfect!  I hope your weekend has been good.  As promised, I’ll be back tomorrow with more details about my OWH Christmas card.  Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again soon!

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper:  Spice Cake DSP, More Mustard, Pool Party, Early Espresso; Ink:  More Mustard, Early Espresso; Accessories:  Neutrals Buttons, Big Shot, Ovals Die, Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

All products are Stampin’ Up!

OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop

OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop published on 49 Comments on OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the Operation Write Home World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop!!  I am thrilled you have stopped in today.  If you don’t know them already, Operation Write Home has sent over a million cards to our heroes overseas.  Yes, over a MILLION cards!  Wow!  These cards are available to the heroes so they can write home to their loved ones.  We all know that there is nothing like a hand-made card and one made for the heroes shows how much we care about them.  All the details about the organization are available on their website as are the rules about the cards (ie, no glitter, A-2 size, etc).

Many of my readers already know that I served in the Air Force for 10 years as a pilot.  My husband was also Active Duty Air Force and still serves in the West Virginia Air National Guard as a C-5 pilot.  One of my husband’s favorite parts of his job is bringing critical supplies to the front line troops.  I feel like I can help a little by shipping some morale to those heroes via Operation Write Home.  The burden on the military family is great and communication home is critical.  Cards from loved ones are truly priceless and I am proud to be able to contribute in a small way.

I will be back on Monday with some more specifics on this card since I know you have lots more cards to go see!  Make sure you click on the banner at the top of the post to get to the whole hop.  Thanks for stopping in today.  As you celebrate World Cardmaking Day, make sure you create a few for the heroes!

Stamps:  Creative Elements, Star-Studded Season (retired); Paper:  Watercolor Paper, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Beau Chateau DSP; Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake; Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Big Shot, Designer Frames Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

All products are Stampin’ Up!

 

 

OWH Sneak Peek

OWH Sneak Peek published on No Comments on OWH Sneak Peek

Tomorrow is World Card Making Day and Opereration Write Home is celebrating with a big blog hop showing holiday cards.  There are over 100 blogs participating and I am extremely proud to be one of them!!

Here is a little sneak peek of my card.  Make sure you come back tomorrow to see the reveal and to link into the whole hop.  I’m sure it will be amazing!

Tomorrow is also the launch of the October Creative Crew Challenge.  I won’t be able to post the projects here because of the hop but they will all be posted at Splitcoaststampers tomorrow afternoon.  More on each of those during the week.

I hope you have a wonderful Friday and I look forward to having you drop by again tomorrow!

Christmas Tree – Two ways

Christmas Tree – Two ways published on 10 Comments on Christmas Tree – Two ways

Have you ever made a card that you like so much that you see other potential in it??  That is how I felt about a card I made for the Stampin’ Addicts Holiday Mini Blog Hop.  I have never given that card a full explanation and I thought you’d like to see its sister card too.

This was the very first card I made with Bright Hopes and it still may be my favorite so far.  I have always loved Always Artichoke and it seems so beautiful when put with Very Vanilla.  I stamped the Christmas tree in Versamark and then embossed with Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder.  I inked up my Brayer and rolled it across then finished the edges with a little extra sponging.  The bow uses the “potato masher” technique that I showed you in a previous tutorial.  The Always Artichoke layer was attached to the Very Vanilla base and then run through my Big Shot with the Framed Tulips Embossing Folder.  I added some pearls for some extra elegance and popped the stamped layer up on Dimensionals.

You can see that the second card is really exactly the same in most ways.  I did not emboss the tree (although that would be a beautiful addition) but instead added shimmer to the stamped panel.  I created my own Shimmer  Paint spray by adding Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint to regular rubbing alcohol (about 12-15 drops per 1 ounce) and sprayed it on the Naturals Ivory paper.  I created a different style double bow and frayed the ends a bit to match the earthier tones.  I do find that it is particularly hard to photograph any projects made with the Shimmer Paint spray.

This close-up picture gives you a better idea but this is one of those cards that is just prettier in person.  The wonderful thing about the Shimmer Paint spray is that you can add sparkle without it coming off.  Really perfect for the mass production of your Christmas cards!!

I look forward to hearing which of these cards you like better and why.  The second card was for a Stampin’ Addicts swap and you should see the amazing cards I got in return.  What an amazing group!

Thanks for stopping in today!  I hope these inspire you to start thinking about your holiday cards.  Start now and you’ll have them done well before the holiday season!!  Have a great week!

Card 1:  Stamp:  Bright Hopes; Paper:  Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Versamark; Accessories:  Brayer, Embossing Tool, Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Basic Pearls, Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Big Shot, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, Dimensionals

Card 2:  Stamp:  Bright Hopes; Paper:  Naturals Ivory, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories:  Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Big Shot, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, Basic Pearls, Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Dimensionals

All products are Stampin’ Up!

Bright Christmas

Bright Christmas published on 13 Comments on Bright Christmas

Happy Saturday everyone!  I’m back today with a card made with my new favorite Christmas set, Bright Hopes.  I just love this set!!  I’m was also excited to play with the new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches, FMS3.

I flipped the sketch to accomodate the tree, as you can see.  This set is perfect for the challenge because it is best kept “clean”.  The intricate details on the stamps do all the work!  I interpreted the scallops on the sketch in a slightly different way and used the border stamp to created a scallop look.  Trust me, your Stamp-a-ma-jig is your best friend here.  I did find that the card was a bit “bottom heavy” (and no one wants to be bottom heavy!!) so I added matching scallops to the top of the card.  Problem solved!  I tied the beautiful Early Espresso Quilted Ribbon into a double bow and finally added a sentiment on the banner.  As usual, it is hard to photograph the dimension on the card and the banner is raised in the midde with Dimensionals with the ends flared up a bit.  The final addition was the Basic Pearls, another perfect little detail.

I hope you like this Christmas card as much as I do.  I am fully in Christmas card planning mode so you can expect to start seeing lots more.  In fact I will be back on Monday with two more cards (two cards, one layout) with Bright Hopes.  Thanks for stopping in today!!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Stamps:  Bright Hopes, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper:  Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories:  Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig

 

SUOC28 – Fall Birthday

SUOC28 – Fall Birthday published on 7 Comments on SUOC28 – Fall Birthday

It’s time for the next SU Only Challenge and this is one for everyone!  We are falling for Fall Colors!  Browns, oranges, yellows and greens…or whatever combination speaks fall to you!  We can’t wait to see what you create!

For me, fall is when my Cajun Craze, Soft Suede and River Rock make an appearance.  This card started in a whole different direction but finally settled here.  Day of Gratitude is a set perfectly designed for fall and I love it.  I got it when I went to a Stampin’ Up Regional last year so it holds special memories, too.  I embossed the back panel with my new-again Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  My folder had gone missing (the horror!!) and I finally broke down and replaced it.  When I find the old one, should be any day now, I’ll have another to share!  The medallion is Early Espresso ink on Early Espresso paper and the leaves are inked in Early Espresso and Cajun Craze.  A little hint after you fussy cut the leaves:  Take your Stampin’ Write marker and color the edges of the leaves by coming from behind the paper.  This gets rid of the Very Vanilla edge and make the leaves pop a little more.  The sentiment from Inviting was the final touch for this masculine birthday card.

I can’t wait for you to see what the rest of the team has created so drop on over to  SUO Challenges to see.  You have about 10 days for this challenge and I look forward to seeing your work.  Thanks for stopping in today!

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude, Inviting; Paper:  Early Espresso, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Early Espresso, Cajun Craze; Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Neutrals Buttons, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

 

 

Creative Gratitude

Creative Gratitude published on 13 Comments on Creative Gratitude

Somehow I didn’t get to the post I promised for yesterday so today I have two cards.  The first is a card for the new sketch challenge Freshly Made Sketches.  After getting chosen as a Perfect Princess last week, I just had to play again!!  What a thrill to be chosen on the first challenge!!  They ask for clean cards.  Not clean and simple, but clean lines.  Love that!!  Here is their sketch for this week:

This is one that will go in the files to use again and again!

I started in an unusual place on this card…the “any shape” panel.  I just got my new Designer Frames Embossing Folder and knew I had to use it!  One of the first sets I fell in love with in the new catalog was Creative Elements and I haven’t used it nearly enough.  It is perfect for this layout.  I have said it before, one of my favorite things about Stampin’ Up is how much thought goes into the coordination of products.  It makes me so happy when I find corresponding elements in things.  For this card, I noticed the little tulips in the big flourish and immediately added my Framed Tulips Embossing Folder to the mix.  Both the oval (without the little dots) and the butterfly are hand cut.  Some Basic Pearls were added to the butterfly and then the sentiment for balance.  Let’s face it, the pearls make everything more elegant!!  Finally, I scrunched up the new Quilted Satin Ribbon using Sticky Strip and tied a little bow out of hand-colored thread.  Just used a Stampin’ Write marker to make it whatever color you need.

My second card for the day is a wonderful treasure!  My oldest son asked to use some stamps to make a card for me.  How could I say no??!!  He also asked me to see my markers so he could choose colors and came away with Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler (that apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree!!).  I was summarily kicked out of the stamping area while he created.  There was some consultation with my youngest son, I think, and this is the result.  They chose the hummingbird because we have enjoyed our feeder all summer long.  Now just look at that beautiful marker work!!!  Oh, I am a proud mommy!  And mostly because they made something they knew I would treasure forever.  Am I lucky or what??!!  *smile*  This was posted with permission of the artist of course.

Thanks for dropping in today.  I’ll be back on Tuesday with our next Stampin’ Up Only Challenge.  You are going to love it!!  I’m working busily on some class, club and Creative Crew projects.  I’ll share them all just as soon as I can.  Have a great weekend!

Card 1:  Stamps:  Creative Elements, Day of Gratitude; Paper:  River Rock, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla; Ink:  River Rock, Early Espresso; Accessories:  Big Shot, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, Designer Frames Embossing Folder, Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Thread

Creative Crew Sketch

Creative Crew Sketch published on 8 Comments on Creative Crew Sketch

This month, the Creative Crew at Splitcoaststampers is challenging you to play with a new sketch.  There are a lot of little details on this one and it was fun to use.

I started with the pocket portion of the layout and decided to create a little pocket for my tag.  My new Bright Hopes stamp set from the Holiday Mini seemed like the perfect choice to decorate both.  I found this cool marbled paper in the Well Worn DSP and knew it was the background I was looking for!  Basic Pearls and Very Vanilla Seam Binding were an easy choice for the sketch elements.

On the little tag, I stamped the snowflake in Frost White Shimmer Paint.  Just apply the Shimmer Paint to the stamp with a sponge dauber.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

I don’t put little tags on cards very often and I love that this sketch had us do that.  I hope you will give this one a try too.  If you post your card, don’t forget to add keywords CCREW0911HF and CreativeCrew so the design team won’t miss your fabulous project!

Thanks for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a beautiful card that I received.  You will love it too!  See you soon!

Stamps:  Bright Hopes, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper:  Well Worn DSP, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso; Ink:  Not Quite Navy; Accessories:  Frost White Shimmer Paint, Basic Pearls, Vanilla Seam Binding, Sponge Daubers, Tag Punch, 1/8″ Circle Punch, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

All products are Stampin’ Up!

Tenth anniversary

Tenth anniversary published on 19 Comments on Tenth anniversary

Today marks 10 years since one of the darkest days in recent history.  Last year I wrote about some of my experiences that day while working at United Airlines.  As I went back to read that post, I realized how much I didn’t cover.  I know everyone remembers that day with their own unique point of view and mine is very much as a working pilot.  I told you about flying that morning and the sky being so clear.  It is one of the things I will always picture clearly, I think.  I also spoke of how my day transpired.  On this landmark anniversary, I want to speak of another important thing I took away from the day.

While at O’Hare, after our passengers had been helped, my Captain and I were then left like many others.  We had no idea what to do to help.  You see, pilots are generally type A personalities and we like to fix things…immediately.  Like everyone else, we were left helpless as we watched the horror of the day unfolding.  We watched film of OUR airplane, our brothers and sisters, our customers being used to commit an atrocity.  There was a banding together in the crew room with people I had never met as we cried over the losses.  We became friends even though we had never met.  When we finally got to our hotel room, we rode in on a bus with some of our customers.  Later at dinner, while we watched the President speak to the country, those same customers bought our dinners.  They thanked us, even though they didn’t know us, for doing our job safely every day.  After we finally got the air traffic control system moving again, I was on my final leg home out of Portland, OR.  We came to the airport to find passengers dressed in their red, white and blue.  Perfect strangers banding together to go get on an airplane to Washington, DC, because no one was going to keep them from taking their trip.  They bonded, they hugged and that flight home was one of the best of my career.

So I guess that is my focus for this tenth anniversary.  Putting away the differences, showing civility to a stranger, assuming the best instead of the worst.  Figuratively letting the clouds clear and allowing ourselves see that beautiful blue sky again.

I suppose it isn’t hard to see my inspiration for today’s card.  I am thinking of all those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2011 and of all the heroes who stepped in to save even more from being lost.  This sketch is courtesy of a brand new sketch challenge, Freshly Made Sketches and is their first sketch FMS1.

Thanks for stopping in today.  I wish you a safe Patriot Day!

In memory of:

United 93:  Jason Dahl, LeRoy Homer, Lorraine Bay, Sandra Bradshaw, Wanda Green, CeeCee Lyles, Deorah Welsh

United 175:  Victor Saracini, Michael Horrocks, Robert Fangman, Amy Jarret, Amy King, Kathryn Laborie, Alfred Marchand, Michael Tarrou, Alicia Titus

American 11:  John Ogonowski, Thomas McGuinness, Barbara Arestegui, Jeffrey Collman, Sara Low, Karen Martin, Kathleen Nicosia, Betty Ong, Jean D. Roger, Dianne Snyder, Amy Sweeney

American 77:  Charles Burlingame III, David Charlebois, Michele Heidenberger, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, Renee May

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