{patriotic} love card

I’m doing the 7 posts for 7 days, so here’s a quick card share for today.

Awhile back I was making card kits and cut a bunch of ribbon before I assembled a card to make sure it looked good. Helpful hint: don’t do that. Make one, then cut pieces. So, I had a bunch of ribbon cut and no idea what to do with it… and then somehow I ended up making a bunch of patriotic love cards. I can’t say I have ever made one before, but I love the end result!

Gina K card stock, Paper Smooches sentiment, SU ribbon, Quickkutz heart dies, Sizzix heart embossing folder

It’s difficult to see in the photo, but the cream is embossed with tiny hearts!

Linking up also with the Blitsy link up! LOVE my new PS stamps from blitsy (and I ogle the offerings every day!) 🙂

Thanks for visiting me today! Tomorrow: mom-ified bathtub remodel – not a Barbie in sight! YES! 

Jen

OWH sketch 213 and something I’ve learned

Hello! It’s Sunday and time for another card making sketch from Operation Write Home. I’m participating in the 7 posts in 7 days linkup over at Conversion Diary, so this is post #2 for the day. I’m counting it as a bonus in case I miss another day. 🙂

Here is the sketch for today, and my cards:

Unity Stamp Co sentiment; Echo Park dp; Jililbean Soup embellishment

What I’ve learned about myself: I don’t follow instructions well. And yes, I know sketches are “inspiration” and all that, but I’m taking an exercise class and one of the instructors (it meets Tu/Th and has a different teacher for each day) consistently singles me out to correct me.  So I must not follow directions well!  That or I am a very bad exerciser, which is also a possibility. Anyhow, I didn’t MEAN to flip this but I cut the banner going the wrong direction. So there.

Paper Smooches chit chat; Echo Park dp

I got that Paper Smooches set on Blitsy! They have more Paper Smooches right now, and man, was it hard to resist! I love their sentiments and fonts! Every Sunday there is “Sunday brunch” from 10-3, I think, where you can get 30% off one item. Check it out!

Thanks for visiting me today. Have a great week, friends!

Jen

January ODBD for OWH – stripes & hearts

There is a new Our Daily Bread Designs challenge up for Operation Write Home (don’t know what that is? Go here and find out. Then link up your own card.) 

This month’s challenge is to use stripes. Now, my office/craft space is a Disaster. Capital ‘d’ disaster. I’ve been spending 15 minutes a day the past few days to whip it into shape and it’s much, much better, but not ready yet to create anything… luckily, I made this card back in November and saved a photo of it.

Supplies:

Stamps: paper smooches simply said sentiments

papers: my Mind’s Eye, Gina K

Dies: Quickkutz heart dies

Ribbon: old – maybe American Crafts

Thanks for visiting me today! Stay warm – it’s frigid here in Wisconsin, and school has already been cancelled for Monday. We’re staying in!

Jen

OWH MWT – pink/green love

Hey, just popping in with a quick card share for today’s Operation Write Home challenge! The challenge is to make a love card with pink and green, and I made a card the other day that fits the bill. 🙂

This was one of those “happy accident” cards. I was going to use the pink heart that I die cut for the sentiment, but – not thinking – I stamped it in gray ink, and it was hard to see. SO, miracle of all miracles, I realized that I had lined up the die cut pretty well and I just used the negative space against the green and framed it out with a faux layer, i.e., tiny strips cut to 1/4″. 🙂

Of course you are all the final say on whether or not it actually works! 🙂

My Mind’s Eye papers Quickkutz heart die Paper Smooches love sentiment

Thanks for visiting!

We had snow flurries this morning. AHHHHHHHHHH! I’m not ready!

Jen

Operation Write Home World Cardmaking Day HOP! Thanks, hero!

Hello! 

I’m so happy you are here for the Operation Write Home blog hop! Click on the link above to see all of the links; there’s always great inspiration! Today we are using OWH sketches (a new sketch is posted every Sunday) to make thank you notes. 

My story for this card is too long for this post, so if you would like the back story of how I made this card for a local hero who was interviewed for our local phone book’s “Tribute To Veterans” edition, go to this post. 

I won’t tell you that I didn’t read the directions and use a sketch to make this card, soooo… let’s say this is based on sketch 189 and I REALLY played around with the measurements   ‘K? Good. 🙂

My Mind’s eye Lost & Found 6×6 (Christmas papers, go figure!) Paper Smooches Circle of Honor sentiment stamps Stamping up Ruby Red and Momento tuxedo black inks

Now go read that back story and comment to win some blog candy. Wherever you are, I hope you are having a beautiful day!  Thanks for visiting me!

Jen

OWH sketch 191

Happy Sunday, people! I’m recovering from a long, busy day at Scrapfest yesterday. It was so much fun!! I owe a HUGE thanks to my bloggy and now real-life friend Sarah for saving the day – I was supposed to attend with a local friend, but she was unable to come at the last minute. Sarah agreed to come and take her place at the classes, so I rocked some tunes and diet coke and made the 2.5 hour trip there and back yesterday. 

AND she is as lovely and funny as you would expect reading her blog. I’m so glad we got to meet and hang out all day! 🙂

I will review some of the classes and share some of the projects this week, so stay tuned! (Hint – my favorite class (AGAIN) was Jillibean Soup. Love Jill!!!)

It’s time for another Operation Write Home sketch, this week is 191. I made this card:

Jillibean Soup apple cheddar soup Paper Smooches sentiment Gina K dark chocolate card stock labels 8

And if you can’t tell anything odd about it, I will thank you greatly. (The labels don’t ‘nest’ well, so I die cut the sentiment and then trimmed the red around it. Can you tell?)

I’m not sure about that green apple background, so give me a yay or nay in the comments, will you? 

And my moment of shame… I bought these yesterday:

In the Archiver’s ‘sale’ section. 8 paper pads, people! The problem is, they all call to me. And the truth… I had more in my basket that I put back! This is most of my haul. Technique Tuesday! I’m not sure why we didn’t hear more squeals when we were shopping… oh the good stuff to be found!

Jen

Unity’s FWF 9/13

If you are here for my Lone Wolf Designs post, showcasing Lawn Cuts by Lawn Fawn, please scroll down or click here. 

Hey there friends, time for another Friends with Flair Friday over at the Unity Stamp Co blog. I have gotten out of the habit of participating (boo!) and so here I am again. 🙂 

I have been trying to use up some of my partial 6×6 pads… because sadly, I seem to accumulate them faster than I can use them. I’m sure I’m the only one with multiplying paper. 

Anyhow. I LOVED this MME happy go lucky pad and I am sad to see it gone, but it was so much fun to create with. I loved the patterns and the bright colors!

This was a random stamp I received and I ADORE it. 🙂 Random ribbon from stash, Quickkutz heart dies. At this point I was only running on smaller scrap pieces, yet this is probably my favorite card of all that I made using up this pad!

And here are a few more. I used up all of my leftover Jililbean Soup epoxy buttons on these cards… the colors coordinated perfectly! The left bottom card uses a gorgeous Unity flower stamp. SO pretty!

Stamps via Unity Stamp Co, Paper Smooches, Ali edwards for Technique Tuesday.

And a handful more for good measure:

Stamps via Paper Smooches, Ali Edwards for TT, Lizzie Anne Designs.

Thanks for visiting me today! have a wonderful weekend!

Jen

OWH sketch 189 – my coolest friend

Hello and happy Sunday!

Time for another sketch challenge from Operation Write Home! I’ve been trying to use up some of my 6×6 pads that are nearly finished or those that are not my favorites… this one definitely falls into the “nearly finished” category. I love these bright winter patterns and colors! 

This was the first time I made a snow hill and didn’t try to glossy accent the heck out of it. What do you know? I really like it plain (I know it’s harder to see. I popped it up on dimensionals; you do see it more clearly in person.) 

This is sketch 189, by the way:

Crate Paper snow day collection Paper Smooches swanky snowdudes Smokey Shadow/PTI card stock

Thanks for visiting me today!

Jen

OWH/ODBD September challenge & 6×6 use it up challenge

Hello! 

Today marks the beginning of a new Operation Write Home/Our Daily Bread Designs challenge. This challenge is to use wheels. my first attempt… well, I would show you, but you wouldn’t stick around very long – and I wouldn’t blame you! 🙂 So I went in a different direction, and went to find a trusty OWH sketch (this is 180), and I’m happy to show you the end result:

Hero Arts for OWH set PTI smokey shadow card stock, Bazzill cherry splash and walnut cream Momento tuxedo black ink, SU edge punch

Notice how I didn’t use ANY patterned paper on that card? Are you shocked? Yes, me too. 🙂

And then… I’ve been trying to use up this My Mind’s Eye Christmas 6×6 pad that I hate dislike kind of very much. I had a moment of inspiration the other day when I realized I could focus on using the non-holiday sides and go for more masculine themes.  I ended up making a few holiday cards and a few masculine. These are the holiday ones:

My Mind’s Eye paper “merriest days of Christmas” Stamps via Unity Stamp Co, Lawn Fawn, and Hero Arts for OWH

And these are the masculine ones:

Stamps via Unity Stamp Co and Paper Smooches

There were just a few scraps after finishing these, and you can bet I recycled them with no guilt. It was very much an “I shall conquer you” moment… and I am pleased with the end results. No one should use up (what you think is) ugly paper and have made ugly cards, right? That kind of defeats the purpose. This was not a full pad, by the way, maybe 2/3? And I ended up with 15 cards.

This weekend marks the end of the first week of school, our parish fall festival where I failed to make pies and instead purchased them with little guilt, and I think the littlest child is getting sick. On an up note, last night my husband and daughters spent time on YouTube looking for “homemade trapeze systems”. Today he is the best.daddy.ever for getting them a trapeze bar for their play set.

Have a great weekend!

Jen

OWH MWT – fall theme

Autumn… say it isn’t so! The summer is flying by; school starts in less than 30 days. I need to finish school shopping… thank goodness for Catholic school uniforms, at least. (Yeah, retailers, I’m looking at you. Clothing for seven year olds should make them look like seven year olds, not teens. Thanks.)

Since this week’s Operation Write Home challenge is to make fall cards, and I don’t have much “fall” stamping stuff so I dug into my stash of “gotta use this up” baggies that just have a few pieces of random paper lines. This is Authentique, I do believe, what line exactly has escaped me. I wasn’t all that keen on it. 🙂

It still made a nice card, though!

Authentique paper Gina K card stock in dark chocolate Paper Smooches sentiment

Thanks for visiting me today! 

Jen