Memorial Day

Wear a poppy today.

Memorial Day

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and I plan on remembering all the heroes by making cards for Operation Write Home.  Today I think I found a new recruit - my sister!  And Lord knows, I've got enough "stuff" for fifty new recruits!!!  Here's the samples of this evening's post picnic work.   ~Nancy F.

OWH Sketch 69

As soon as I saw Sketch 69 this week, I knew what I wanted to do.  I've had various types of papers with scenes on them and I have a hard time figuring out what to do with them, because I'm sure they're easier to use if you're scrapbooking.  But this sketch was perfect.  And I have enough of the right color ribbon to make about 6 of these for my next shipment to Operation Write Home.

I also made some ruffled cards this weekend.  The first two went into the trash, I don't know why I was having so much trouble with them, it was mostly my poor taste in papers, because I was more concerned about trying to use up scraps.  When I finally decided to find some nice paper that I liked and wanted to use, things progressed a lot better.  So, the scraps are back in the scrap bin.   ~ Nancy F.

OWH Sketch 68

I like this sketch - it's helping me use up some of those larger sized scraps that are piling up in a drawer.  I also have a lot of cake stickers, which don't really get much use, so maybe it's about time!   ~ Nancy F.

This sketch really got me crackin' and so here's the rest of my contribution to Sketch 68, once my mojo really got in gear.

A special thanks to the person who drew up today's sketch! ~N.

OWH Sketch Challenge 67

April has been pretty crappy in my area, rain, rain, some more rain, a little more rain......  And finally!  May first has brought a beautiful day!  Yeah!  Today's sketch inspired me to use some really cute papers that I've been hoarding for a couple of years.  My niece leaves for the Navy in 2 weeks, and I was thinking of her the whole time I worked on this card.  The dog tag says 'passport to adventure' and I popped the ship and one of the suitcases.  At first I thought it needed the brown bling at the top right, but once I had it on, I thought it was better without it, except that I couldn't peel the blasted things off, so there they will stay..... ~ Nancy F.

Yellow and Black

I had lost my mojo and was looking through the cards posted on Operation Write Home's Facebook page.  These were inspired by Jan Hunnicutt.  She used a lot of vibrant colors, with a lot of black layering.  I'm really happy with the way these turned out!  And I got a little mojo back in the process!  ~ Nancy F.

I really like Nikki's artwork

I'm a big fan of Nikki's Melonheadz Illustrating blog.  I don't do a lot with digi stamps, but her artwork is
just so great.  It's got a special whimsy to it and just makes me smile. 
Check it out here:

http://melonheadzillustrating.blogspot.com/

Normally, I would print out the uncolored version, but I didn't have a lot of time, and so I went with the colored images.  How easy was that!!!  These will go to my shipper for Operation Write Home in May.

~Nancy F.

OWH Blog Skip - Stickers!

I enjoyed skipping around the OWH blogs on Saturday and getting ideas for sticker use.  I'm always apprehensive using them.  I'm a big fan of bunny slippers, and I couldn't resist buying these, but never really could figure out what to do with them.  They were screaming to be used, so here's my "using stickers" attempt.   ~ Nancy F.

Time for Father's Day Cards

This week's challenge at OWH is for Father's Day cards.   I'm still using up all the wonderful images that Jan sent me in exchange for some motorcycling Snoopy's.  Her images are from a retired Stampin' Up set that I love.  I would have liked to use an image that reminded me of my own father, but until I find a stamp of a man sitting in a lawn chair in the garage, lighting fire crackers to scare the starlings, I'll just have to go with trucks!  ~ Nancy F.

Makin' cards with a Sailor

I  really enjoyed making cards with my niece today.  She'll be leaving for the Navy before I know it, and it was so nice to get to spend an afternoon with her, being creative.  We loosely followed the Operation Write Home challenges posted on their Facebook page today.  Here's what we accomplished...  ~Nancy F.

(I hope we get to do it again before May 16.)

S&S Sketch #60

I've had this little tub of All Night Media/Dena Designs birthday stamps for probably 8 years.  I know I haven't touched them in at least 5.....poor, neglected tub of stamps.....  Anyway, as soon as I saw the sketch this morning, they popped into my head.  They are a bit difficult to color, but I'm happy with how the card turned out.   I tried to resist the bling in the corner, because I know it takes away from my focal point, but I failed.....  I'm pretty sure I'm not the only bling resisting failure out there............lol.   ~Nancy F.

Going Dotty

I've really been neglecting my duties here and when I saw the challenge for OWH's Mid WeekThrowdown was to use 'dotty' paper I knew it was time to get busy.  I love circles and dots
on my cards and use them all the time. I decided to make a card for Mothers Day since apparently Operation Write Home needs GOBS of them..... guess I'll have to do a bit more work to get anywhere near GOBS status but for the moment at least I've got one.   I tend to collect cat stamps and when I saw this one on ebay I had to have it -- and it's purrfect for Mothers Day isn't it ?? The dotty paper is
from DCWV's new Dots and Plaids stack and the rest is Stampin Up. The 'doily die' is from My Favorite Things   --  Joanne M

Keep On Truckin'

This challenge totally fell into my lap, since I was already working on my Copic coloring skills after Sandy's lesson yesterday, and I was practicing on the awesome images that Joyful Jan just mailed to me!  I'm lucky enough to live in an area where there are many classic car shows all summer long, and the vibrant paint colors the car restorers use always put a smile on my face.  The background colors on this card are better than they appear, due to my poor lighting and photography and just my poor photo taking abilities in general.....excuses, excuses.....  The stamp is from Stampin Up', the paper is DCWV Old Worlde and the sentiment is made from rub-ons from Dollar Tree.  Thanks for looking!  ~Nancy F.

The MIKE Program

Operation Write Home put out a call for cards for The MIKE Program (Multicultural Integrated Kidney Education).  They only needed two cards, a thank you and a birthday card.  These are the cards I'm mailing in.  They were easy, quick and still pretty!  It's a great opportunity for OWH to do some networking and I'm happy to help.

Masculine Midweek Throwdown Challenge - OWH

Men, men, men, men..... It's the masculine midweek throwdown challenge, and I'm throwing down a couple of men!  Take that, men!  (Work has been a little rough this week, and I work with all men.......so.........get my point?!)  - Nancy   :-)

 

Lost Mojo

Looking for lost mojo.  If found, please return to Stamp Tramps......

 I've had these DCWV embossed cards for quite some time.  I just can't come up with anything to do with them.  Help!  I'm not really happy with what I've done with these, and there's still half a box left..... - Nancy

Red, White, Blue and Kraft

I liked this color challenge.  Mainly because I already had the sock monkey part done.  I made several of them at the latest Cardaholics Anonymous meeting.  Even so, I'm late posting, as usual.  That crazy thing I do during the week, employment (ugh), always seems to get in the way of my fun!  - Nancy

OWH Sketch #55

I'm still in my quest for using things up.  I know I've had this cute pack of robot paper for over a year, so it was time to do something with it.  These two cards barely made a dent in the supply, so I'll continue making robot cards today, between chopping driveway ice, and see how far I can get before I fall over.    ~Nancy

OWH Sketch 54

Hard to believe, but I've actually done two sketches in a row.  This is Operation Write Home's sketch #54.  I had a lot of trouble with this one, and I can't seem to figure out why.  I stamped up the mice last night and was anxious to see if I'd be able to incorporate it into this week's sketch, and as for the sizing, it worked out well.  I even managed to use the circle like I supposed to, instead of a square, like I've done in the past.  My first attempt was so bad that I won't even post it.  I tried to go light and airy, flowery and springlike and ugh, I just hated the card.  And now that I take a good look at this card, and compare it to the sketch, I see that I took liberties with placing my paper the wrong way.  Status quo for me, apparently..... - Nancy F.

 

Two days later........................................

And so, since I really didn't like that card very much, I decided to take another stab at it, and using scraps, came up with this rendition.  Funny, I've noticed that whenever I decide to just use scraps, I'm so much  more creative.  Does anyone else notice that when they use their scraps?

Cardmaking Frenzy! Yippee!

We're heading off to our very first Cardaholics Anonymous meeting and are we psyched!  It's hard to know how much stuff to take without dragging along everything we own!  Hopefully it will be one of many, many more meetings and we can get the word out for our favorite cause, Operation Write Home.

So, this tramp was up really early stamping this morning.  And what better inspiration than the S&S Blog's Sketch #53.  There wasn't a lot of time, so I cheated and used a sticker.  I'd had them for at least 2 years and since 2011 is my year of "using things up", it was time.  It's not fancy, I usually use more borders, but it was early, and my mind kept wandering back to what I should pack up......  What to take.....what to take....what to take......     - Nancy F.

MidWeek Throwdown - White on White With A Pop!

I haven't been here for awhile so I figured it was time to get something done.  Operation Write Home's MidWeek Throwdown was just what I needed to get my creative juices flowing - White on White with a pop of color ... one of my favorite looks for a card.  A small cheat in that I had this imaged colored already but I knew it would be the perfect one to use for this style.  This is such a nice look and it's so simple - a couple of embossing folders, a few nesties, a colored image and VOILA - a card !    Joanne M

I know it's not round

So.  I need some advice.  I'm making this card for my niece.  She's turning 19 and will be going into the Navy soon, and I wanted to make sure that this year's card was extra special.  I followed Sketch 52, sort of.....not round, I know, I know.  But this stamp has a rectangle border on it already, and cutting it out and putting it on a circle didn't seem right.  So I need advice.  Is it too plain?  Does it need a bow on the ribbon?  Flowers?  Was denksht?  (Pa. Dutch - what do ya think?).   - Nancy F.

Unused and Unloved

One of the recent projects on the S&S Blog at OWH is to use some unused or unloved products.  It's not that these things of mine are unloved, but they only get used once in a great while.  I have some musicians and vocalists in my family so these things do get used, but usually only at certain birthday times.  Let's hope none of my musical family peeps are looking.........    - Nancy F.

OWH Sunday Sketch #51

Well, will wonders never cease, it looks like I'm on time.  Don't worry, it's just a fluke, I'm still working on hero cards with the fancy sticker stash that my sister gave me for Christmas.  She just happened to pop in to pick up cards for her friends to write to the heroes and that gave me the perfect opportunity to use Sketch #51!  And thanks to Sandy (http://acolourfulworld.blogspot.com/) for some more good ideas on what to do with my Navy stickers!

 If only I could learn how to take a better photo... - Nancy F.

No time to say hello-goodbye, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!!!

In keeping with my theme of being late, here's a card I made for Sunday Sketch #49.  How many weeks ago was that?  And the card's keeping with the whole lateness theme too!

Maybe Joanne will post something more current, but I know for a fact that she's got the cleaning bug this weekend, so we'll just have to wait and see. - Nancy F.

Thinking Of You - For Kids

Resolved for the New Year - blog more and try to get more people who want to even look!  It's a strange day for me, I'm not at work like usual.  So when I saw the Stars and Stamps blog for Thinking Of You cards, my day was made!   Most of the time, if I even get to make a card for the S&S blog, I'm days and days late.  It's hard to get anyone to look at your blog when that's what constantly happens.....so here I am, right on time, for a change.  Let's hope I can keep it up...  And when I can't, let's hope Joanne M. has time to pick up the slack!   -Nancy F.

Hero Stickers!

I got a great gift of military stickers for Christmas this year.  My sister wants to help Operation Write Home by writing any hero cards!  Production has been started, any helpful suggestions will be greatly appreciated!   - Nancy

Stars & Stamps Blog - Sunday Sketch #45

Boy, I'm really getting behind this week and it's only Tuesday!  I love this stamp of cute, old houses.  I tried to put a little color on the edges and ended up with a blotch, hence the ribbon.  I stepped out of my box, I hardly ever use orange, but thought it deserved a chance.  And besides, I have a lot of scraps I'm trying to use up.

--Nancy

Going To The Dogs

 Joanne's been doing a lot of the blogging lately, so I thought I'd squeeze in between her challenges and show what I've been up to.  This is some of my latest contribution to Operation Write Home.  I call it "Going To The Dogs".  Just about all 65 cards are dog related.  I may have thrown in a few monkeys and a cat or two, for good measure.  I'm interested to see if Dixie will make a comment when she sorts this batch......lol...     Nancy F.

Stars and Stamps Sketch Challenge #47

Well it's Sunday so that means it's time for OWH's Stars and Stamps Sketch Challenge. It's a gloomy rainy Sunday up here in North Eastern PA, but I guess I should be glad it is just rain and not lots of snow like I see other areas are getting. Gloomy and rainy is a perfect day to work on cards though and I took a break from Christmas cards to put this one together. An easy one, again using my Pink Cat Studio message cats and a new open scallop die from My Favorite Things . And everyone can probably recognize it by now but paper once again from DCWV's Citrus stack ...    Joanne M

Operation Write Home S & S Sketch Challenge #46

Well, it's on to another OWH challenge already - the Sunday Stars and Stamps Sketch Challenge ...  I have a  bunch of these cute Pink Cat Studio cats, they're all holding or doing something different and each comes with a saying. They're a really cute set for various occaisions.  I paper pieced this one and that's about it.  Citrus stack paper again ... guess I need to start digging deeper in my pile for something else, but these were all scraps and I knew I liked them together so that just made it easier .   Joanne M

Operation Write Home MidWeek Throwdown - Animals

I had a very interesting day today taking pet pictures with Santa for my cat rescue group.  The pet store we do our adoptions in sets it all up and pays for everything - we pretty much just have to show up and take the pictures and all proceeds come to us.  We figure it's money for nothing and it's usually fun. It's mostly dogs, which is what we expect because while we are obviously cat people even we wouldn't attempt to take our cats to an event like this. We did have one little boy with his cat and his hamster but that was about as exotic as it got. We've seen ferrets in the past and we're still waiting for someone to show up with a snake or a pig ..... maybe next year ...... We were a little concerned in the morning because no one was showing up at all but one of the women in the group kept us entertained with stories of her trips to Europe as part of her church choir and  to the wilds of Alaska as a missionary for the Moravian church -- think Northern Exposure if you're old enough to remember that show -- but even more remote. I and the young man playing Santa were amazed at her adventures, a woman older than I am and someone who to look at you would never imagine has been through such experiences.....  it's very true that you can't judge a book by it's cover ...

And none of that has anything to do with the OWH MidWeek Throwdown so on to that ....  the theme this week was animals, a fitting subject for me today, and I'm sure anyone that knows me is shocked that I didn't use one of my numerous cat stamps but I figured this would be more of a surprise and I love these guys.  The penguins are from Cats Pajamas and the paper is again from the DCWV Citrus stack. And I guess spending the day taking pictures threw me off a bit because this one's pretty much crooked but that's how it's staying...

Thank You !

I'm going to start this with a question -- does anyone else out there find it difficult to make a 'masculine' card??  Or what we think a masculine card should be?? Why is it any harder to put an image and papers together when the card is for a man and not a woman??  I don't have the answers to these questions because it doesn't make sense to me, but for some reason I have a harder time with it ... But I did manage to come up with this and I am happy with it. I love this image - it's from Rubber Hedgehog Stamps, who have some of the best realistic animal stamps I've seen -- and they have a lot more than just cats and dogs if you're  looking for a cute ferret or gerbil stamp.  The papers are from the DCWV Natural stack, which are all browns and says 'masculine' to me I guess ......  Joanne M

S & S Sketch Challenge #45

Well, it's the end of another week already ... or the beginning of another week, depending on how you look at it I guess.  For me it's the end of my annual Thanksgiving week 'staycation' ... the week I stay home to relax and prepare myself for the insanity that will be my job for the next couple of months ....  And of course a time to catch up on cardmaking ...Today I've got the latest Stars and Stripes Sketch Challenge #45 and OWH Shipper Kris' request of Thinking of You cards in honor of her birthday .  Another Penny Black image and sentiment for those of you familar with them and for those of you who are not  ... They are one of my favorite stamp companies and I do have a 'few' of their stamps so I'm sure you'll be seeing more of them in the days to come...I also used one of my favorite DCWV stacks - Citrus - the card itself is actually one their prepacked cards that correspond to the stacks. Minimal coloring on this guy and some Glossy Accents to highlight the 'bubbles' and he -- or she --was done.     Joanne M

Be Mine Valentine

Well for once my procrastination has paid off. I planned to make this card for Operation Write Home's Sunday Sketch Challenge #44 but couldn't seem to get to it... Then I saw that today's Mid Week Throwdown was for a Valentine card so I was able to combine the two.  Anyone who's familiar with Penny Black stamps probably recognizes this dog as one, I have to admit I think he's really cute and I have a few of them ... It's a big stamp and I haven't used it before but it was perfect for the sketch challenge which required one.  I paper pieced the heart because it's my new favorite thing to do and used copics on the rest. My other favorite new thing is Glossy Accents, which I used on the two small hearts and his nose. The paper is from a large stack of holiday papers I picked up somewhere along the way. This card and another just like it will be going into the Archway Cookie Challenge which I'm still working on but plan to get in the mail soon since they're due by December 1st which unfortunately as we all know is coming faster than we're ready for - Joanne M

Still Hacking Away At It

I'm still working my way through the blog hop!!  I know, insane!  Here's the latest installlment.  I like the looks of my spinner cupcake card, but the stinkin' cupcake just won't spin.  I bought some new popdots this weekend and will keep at it until I get it right.  Lucky for me, I'm on vacation this week, I hope to be doing a lot of cards in the next couple of days.  If not, I'll be lucky to finish this blog thing I started before Christmas!
I love the simplicity of the card in the center and I did some more paper piecing on the flower vase.  I borrowed Joanne's Whipper Snappers again, I can't stay away from them, they're just too darn cute!  More later.....N.

OWH Mid Week Challenge

Well again, here it is 10:00 and I'm making cards.. not sure what's up with that but I really don't expect it to last.  This one is for Operation Write Home's Mid Week Challenge to make a Winter card.  I've had this snowman stencil for ages but I never think to use it. I colored him with chalks and did some sanding on the snowflakes.  A bit of stickles on the 'snow' and he was done. 

I expect to spend the next week or so working on Valentine cards for the Archway Cookie Mission -- 4000 cookies sent to the troops for 4000 cards ....  It's a bit of a challenge but I think the group at OWH can handle it -- no, I know they can .....It should be interesting anyway -  Joanne M

OWH Sketch Challenge #43

I almost never make cards during the week, especially not at 10:00, but for some reason I was motivated tonight to throw this one together using the latest OWH sketch.  The stamp is one I got for a dollar at JoAnn's the other night .. you know, those dollar stamps that you wind up spending $20 on because you keep saying it's only a dollar, it's only a dollar .....   Dollar stamp or not, I think it's cute.   J

OWH Be My Valentine Blog Hop - Awesome!

I had a great time doing the Valentine Blog Hop.  I still haven't made it all the way through everyone's blogs, but I will!  I'm making a card for every blog I visit, so it's going to take me a while.....lol...
I managed to make 17 cards yesterday, doing all sorts of various techniques and using stuff I had in drawers forever.  It was such a great day.  (I stamp and tuck as I go, so be forgiving of the envies sticking out the backs of the cards in the photos.)

  Dixie's card was fun because I realized I bought the scalloped Spellbinders hearts last year.  Then when I tackled Sandy's vest card, I found the herringbone embossing folder that I bought at a stamp show last year and had never used.

 The next thing I got to was the gatefold card.  I whipped out my Crafter's Companion folding board, another thing I barely touched since I got it.  The hero's totally awesome jeans pocket card reminded me that I had a Coluzzle template for a pocket card and I found a huge box of dollar store paper, with jeans paper....I was on a roll.......But....the dog needed walking......

Ozzy and I had a nice little walk, I cleared my head and came back and tackled some more.....  My first attempt at inking the inside of the cuttlebug folder was a disaster.  A smeared mess.  The second try was better, but it's still not perfect.  I'll try that again for sure.  I got bogged down at Kate's spinner card, I'm not sure what to use to cut the slot, but will be doing research (probably at work tomorrow....) and hope to continue on my merry way, hop, hop, hopping until I get all the way through...  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  --Nancy F.

Mid Week Throwdown Hits a Brick Wall

It's a twofer day for me.  I did the Thinking of You with ribbon Mid Week Throwdown combined with the brick wall technique.  For the most part, I enjoyed making the brick wall, however the first attempt did end up in the trash.  Not like that's anything unusual ......  Dixie will be happy with me because I ran out of foam tape, so the card is flat, flat, flat!     -N.

OWH Mid Week Throwdown

The Operation Write Home Mid Week Throwdown was paper piecing this week and since paper piecing is my new favorite technique I knew I had to give it a shot.  I love this bear stamp and thought the apron would be perfect for piecing and I was right.  I also used the OWH sketch from Challenge #42 which I really like and will use again.
I wanted to add that the bear and sentiment are from The Cats Pajamas and the paper is DCWV's Flower Shower stack

S&S Sketch Challenge #42

I toadally love this card and the sketch for today!

Mosaics

Yes, I'm a bit of a cheater.  I bought a stamp specifically made for making mosaics from Starving Artistamps a long, long time ago.  I watched them demonstrate and they made it look so easy!  When I got home, not so much!  So I finally tried again.  On my first attempt I used a pigment ink stamp pad that was multicolored.  I used StazOn ink for the tree.  It looks better in the photo than in person.  I tried again using a Versamark stamp pad for the tiles and then StazOn black for the dragonflies.  Then I embossed with clear powder.  The effect is much better, but for some reason, when I heated the embossing powder, it turned a pinkish color.  I'm not a pink person, so I was a little taken aback, but found some paper and ribbon and worked it out.  I definately will keep trying with the mosaic stamp, but I need to work on something more manly......

S&S Sketch Challenge #41

I'm still addicted to paper sanding....................Maybe I'll outgrow it, we'll have to just wait and see.  Tomorrow I hope to work on the mosaic technique.  I'm frustrated because everything I do seems to be late and it's so unlike me.  I make lists, I make lists of lists, and I've always been on time.  Not anymore--and it's driving me crazy!