It's a colourful world

Crafty Contagion: Winter!

2012-01-28T04:10:00.000-08:00

Today's Crafty Contagion challenge is to make winter/snowy cards....these are some cards I made to send to my contacts in their boxes, especially because lil miss Ciara's photo is a snowy one.

And....today I'm getting on that jet plane and heading to ANAHEIM! Woohoo!!! I couldn't be more excited and nervous...but at least it's now here and I can stop worrying about all the things I "could" get done before going. Now...we just GO! This afternoon we'll set up the booth, then at 4:30 there's a reception for exhibitors. Our team will go out for dinner after, or dessert if they feed us well at the reception (LOL!). Then tomorrow...flashmob, then the show opens. NERVOUS!!! Wheeee!!!!!

Stay tuned all week...I'll post some on the Stars and Stamps blog, but also some here...more of the behind the scenes things maybe here, I'm not sure. Depends on what time I get for any of it. When I was at the show solo last time, when it was "downtime" it was all "my" time, but with a team along for the ride, I'll spend more time hanging with them. We'll see!!

A little yellow stitchery...

2012-01-27T03:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a quickie card for you today...A little paper, a SU sentiment, washi tape, and more attempted sewing. Man, I need to get better, eh? lol. This is an AnyHero card for a contact, tho, I don't think they'll mind my crazy stitchery :)

This one came out a lot better, though it's an AnyHero card too... You might have seen this on Facebook last week. I stamped a ton of the ThankYous at the time so I could make a ton of cards for my contacts, so I've got them all written out and ready - when I get home I can pack and just be able to tuck the notes and stick labels on and not have to stop to do that part :)

I'm madly getting packed and ready to roll today! I took the day off work to finish prepping, and also to visit with a friend whose hubby is having a major all-day surgery today. Glad I can be with her for a while....would appreciate your prayers!

And while you're praying - add one in there for all the travel coming up! I'm going straight from Anaheim to Florida for the cruise, and I've never really done a trip like this with various legs...not sure how the heck I'll hold up during all of it, but I'm hanging on for the ride of a lifetime! :) I'm hoping all the boxes I sent to CHA and the cruise made it to their respective locations...we'll see when I get there. If not, we'll roll with it :)

Alrighty...off to get the day underway! Hope your Friday's a great one!

Here fishy octo fishy!

2012-01-26T03:25:00.000-08:00

Today I have another couple cards from the Christmas sets from Lainey and Jace! This one has fishes of various sorts on it...love this lil octopus!!

And this is a round card using one of the fish...I popped various bits to make the water stand out and let the fish swim in between the water.

Tonight's OWHtv - don't forget! After missing last week, I'm chomping at the bit for the show; I had some awesome cards saved for the show, and can't wait to see what you think of them.

Dreaming of you

2012-01-25T01:24:00.000-08:00

This paper by My Minds Eye really makes the kite stamp from the OWH/Hero Arts stamp set come alive! Love the cheerful colors. I used dimensional adhesive to make the ribbon-on-ribbon have a little pop between the layers....and the sentiment layer is popped too, so it's got more interest than my first iteration of it did. Kinda liking it :)

Hope you have a great week! Don't forget that it's OWHtv tomorrow...last show til I get home and get my feet back under me. :)

Digidoodle Shop: Raggamutts

2012-01-24T03:10:00.000-08:00

A little card for you today (surprise!) with an image from DigiDoodle - Raggamutts! Isn't he the sweetest pup? Such a pensive sad look makes me turn anything with him on it into a missing you card. Papers are by October Afternoon and Studio Calico, lacey scallop by Spellbinders.

I am getting SO EXCITED! I fly out on Saturday to Anaheim....wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Pet the puffy poodle

2012-01-23T03:20:00.000-08:00

A note about all that voting:

Just so you guys know, I'm not going to be promoting the voting any longer. There are way too many votes in "bursts" showing up on that site - it's clear that it's not a fair contest, so let's just let the other org win. Not worth my time and energy right now to promote it. Please do NOT cheat to try to beat them out, they might feel better about themselves for cheating, but I'd rather not win if we have to cheat to do it. Thanks for understanding.

I finally got to make cards with some of my new Christmas stamps from Lainey and Jace! They picked out puppies, kitties, and fishies, so stay tuned :) This one's a darling poodle in the dog set, and it's by Recollections. Colored with Copics, with the head popped - and I added some Flocking (by Stampendous) to the poofy bits - oh how stinkin cute! It was glued on with Tombow Multi Liquid Glue. A little blows off, but most stays put; it's still ok for OWH cards since it doesn't sparkle. I tucked the whole card into the envelope to keep any more than necessary from rubbing off in transit. I'm sure the little kid that gets this card will end up rubbing it all off when they pet the puppy anyway! :)

The embossing folder is by Lifestyles (used to be QuickCuts) - and I punched circles to glue to the folder atop the circles that are within the pattern, just to add more dimension to it. I really love how this little card came out!

Have a super week!!!

Springy has sprungy!

2012-01-22T01:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday everyone!! Hope you're having a great weekend...mine turned AWEsome when I got my power back on Friday night....at least the storm didn't ruin the weekend like it did the week. Though it certainly was an adventure; at church last night, those who hadn't lost power looked like people without an 'alibi' for the storm....because most everyone had lost their power for at least a day, and some hadn't gotten theirs back yet. Weird, eh?

Anyhow....the rest of my day was spent running errands and tidying up, til it was time to make cards...first I tackled my pile of tiny but beloved scraps and made a bunch of starburst cards:

Then I dug into some spring cards; after all the snow I was ready to think spring! I have a bunch of random things sitting around my workspace and am trying to use up at least some of them - these two cards used up a sheet of stickers:

The above card started out with a Mojo Monday sketch from last year, but bailed and went another direction entirely. :) Ain't that how it is! The card below, I collected the flowers in the lower left, added a few to a diecut circle, added some ribbon and stitching....not sure I like it, but I'll ponder it a little more and decide if it'll be one of my AnyHero cards or one for them to send home.

And then a cricut bunny! I can't remember if this was one Sheila made for me, or if it was one that fell off a card a while back; I know one whole box had barely any gluestick on all the cute cricut critters, so I saved those to use on cards since the rest of the cards had crumbled. :( But he's a cute lil bunny nonetheless!

Today's going to be a get-er-done day....lots of web stuff to prepare before I leave for CHA next Saturday, and then have to go through the wardrobe and see if I have enough clothes to last the two weeks. Yipes, can't believe it's less than a week til I get on that plane!!

Extra card for today!

2012-01-21T14:17:00.000-08:00

Even though you had the last of the Studio Calico cards today...here's a bonus! I wanted to finally participate in one of the Midweek Throwdown challenges - this one is "black and white and a pop of color." Is brown a "pop"? heehee. Maybe that little blue background color pops. Whatevah :) I'm working on my sewing with my new little machine...I still can't go straight, but I did succeed in sewing through the ribbon candy, at least partway. It got stuck midway and busted the thread, so the sewing stops behind the moose; I can't seem to get it re-threaded! lol!

And here's a bit of what my yard now looks like....bizarre! Things are melting fast, it's in the 40s today. But boy has all this made me READY to go to Anaheim for CHA, and the Caribbean cruise the week after!! I've put our ports in my iPhone and am loving watching the temps....

Studio Calico week Day 7

2012-01-21T04:56:00.000-08:00

By the way - if you've been following the saga of the week on Facebook...I have power back! Wahoo! It came on yesterday about 5:30. My poor lil furnace has been cranking as hard as it could to warm me up and I couldn't be more grateful!

Congratulations! You made it walking through a week with a Studio Calico Kit with me! :) So of course today's card....is a congrats one!

The floral paper is by Jenny Bowlin...wood veneer letters again, chipboard stickers...this one was kind of funny in how it came about. No sketch, but I started by creating the green strip to set off the red prize ribbon. I cut the black strip for the sentiment, and laid out the letters before adhering them, all fit just fine...but once I put the strip on the card, I thought *bing!* let me use the winner winner sticker as the O! I no sooner had it stuck down than I realized....the rest of the word wasn't going to FIT with a big O! Aggggghhh! Had to peel that back off, and luckily didn't destroy much in the process :)

I hope you enjoyed the week as much as I did...and maybe you have a sense for why I love my SC kits so much. It's possible I love it extramuch after months of working with the 1000 card kits for CHA next week, but since I loved them before the travails of kitting cards, I think it's a love I come by honestly :)

Have other products you want me to highlight for a week? Let me know....and if I can get the companies to donate some of the goodies, I'll see what I can show off for you. I'd love to know what YOU want to learn how to use, so I can partner with them and get some toys in front of ya!

REMINDERS!

Today's the last day for the older (cheaper) pricing at the Post Office. Got a box ready to go? Run to the PO this morning!

And don't forget to VOTE TODAY! http://tinyurl.com/7xmwsjo

Studio Calico week Day 6: TGIF!

2012-01-20T05:54:00.000-08:00

So excited that the weekend is here soon!! One more week of work next week - actually 4 days of it, since I took Friday off to give myself time to pack - and then it's off to CHA! Woohoooooo!!!!

So....today's card has a bit of a different fold...as well as some of the Hero Arts stamps added to the darling Studio Calico papers :) And of cours my fave May Arts ribbon......

The double folds hold the card closed when flat, and open to reveal the message inside.....

I just love the floral on this card. I'm not usually a fussy floral gal either, but it just makes me happy. Do you have colors or patterns that do that for you?

Studio Calico week Day 5

2012-01-19T03:35:00.000-08:00

First...our SNOW! Unfortunately I was working (from home) most of the day, but I finally did give in and take Ciara for a walk in it. She just loves running wild in it - and came home both soaked and exhausted :)

That last one is me with my new glasses. And my funky hat with the ear things that hang down :)

And now.....the card for today! Once again, my SC kit....though with the mess on the desk, some bits of this might be from previous sets, everything's getting all mixed up now! But - I'm having fun with my new Lil Sew and Sew - thanks to Janet for the gift! A whole new addiction....and hopefully I'll get a little better with it :) Image here is by SU, and everything else was in a Studio Calico kit.

Don't forget tonight is OWHtv - I did some darling cards that I hope you'll love for the card share! Plus a little PTI news too. OH and for reals, don't skip out on the Homefront Blog today - a superspecial post awaits you!

Studio Calico week Day 4

2012-01-18T03:48:00.000-08:00

Today's card brings you the daily dose of Studio Calico with a little Eat Cake Graphics on top! Love Eat Cake's pups........this one is fascinated by bling, apparently!

The sketch I picked was this week's - turned on its side:

Did you see the organization tutorial on the Stars and Stamps blog yesterday? After spending part of the evening at our OWH Board meeting, I took the rest of the evening to work on my Copic collection, getting them ready for CHA and the cruise: new nibs where needed, everything inked up well, and packed in their little travel bag. Okay big travel bag. Whatever. Just glad that I'm done with that task, I've had some nibs bugging me, and now everything's all pretty! :)

Studio Calico week Day 3

2012-01-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

This card is a little out of my zone...the papers in the kit are all cheery, and I went kinda country dark with it...with black! Lol. Anyway, let's start with the sketch:

This one was a bit of a challenge design wise! I don't remember tackling it when its week came up...but decided to give it a shot now. I started by turning it on its side.

Background paper is what inspired the distressed dark look...I wanted to transition the edges of the wood October Afternoon paper, and only had black and orange marmalade with me on Saturday. The orange wouldn't show, so....black it was! That led to distressing some of the other papers too. With yellow being my fave color, I picked the Jillibean Soup for the center, and let the Pebbles checkered pattern and black circle the pop of color. Lacey circle nestabilities are by Spellbinders.

For the side embellishments, I picked out a Basic Grey button from the kit - it's too thick to mail, so I made it a thank you card so it can go to one of our heroes with a note in it. I added a brad to the Doily Flower (by Jenny Bowlin)....when I looked at the pack of flowers I expected felt but it's plastic - a thin plastic. Darling too! I added a little washi tape coming out from under the button, and the sentiment was from my totebag....always keep a little metal on hand, ya know? :)

A funny story for you today....I was emailing with one of our heroes, with my rant in mind, and here's a snippet:

Hero: "Looks like I'm staying til summer, so keep the boxes coming. Less support coming in now."

Me: "Awww no way! But after all, 'the wars are all over,' eh? You aren't supposed to be there any more, according to a lot of folks who don't read past the headlines. I think a bunch of people think Afghanistan is a suburb of Iraq."

Hero: "Afghanistan a suburb, that's pretty good! They're still building buildings and paving roads, with more coalition forces coming in monthly, so looks like we'll loiter in Afghan a bit longer."

Me: "Well at least you're in the 'burbs. I hear traffic 'downtown' is a mess since we left. *grin*"

Hero: "Ha! You're so funny. Thanks for the laugh."

Don't forget to VOTE TODAY! http://tinyurl.com/7xmwsjo

Studio Calico week Day 2

2012-01-16T04:32:00.000-08:00

Happy MLK Day! I hope some of you have the day off and can get a little crafty...I have some items on my to-do list, but a bunch are creative ones! Love having an extra day to tackle some more of that to-do list - I'm close to ready for CHA, but there are a couple tasks I still need to cover.

Today's card is based on a suggested number shouted out on Facebook when I asked for a sketch to use on Saturday....here's the sketch:

Here's the card...I decided to again let the patterned paper take the stage.

I like to use all the tidbits in the kit...and the center panel is the kind of thing they include in the kits; usually it has a marketing message on one side, and a little cute pattern on the other, so I treat it like it's supposed to be used for crafting, whether it's "really" an ad or not! ha!

The sentiment is made with stickers in the kit....I made the banner hanging off one side when I realised trying to spell it out that it'd be too wide. Add a snip of scissors and you can make something look more intentional! heehee. The chair stamp is one of the Christmas gifts I got this year from my dear friend Samantha...I paper pieced the seat and hand trimmed the stamp. Piercing was done around the card after layering...it gives the piercing real depth if you use a super thick pad (I love my Bazzill piercing mat! Perfect size for cards, and the Tonic/Tim Holtz Craft Pick can really stab deeply through the paper). Stitching drawn with a pen. The vertical striping in the black piece is washi tape, also in the kit. Papers are by Jillibean Soup (yellow floral) and Crate Paper (pink).

The biggest problem with this sketch was the ribbon element...I didn't take any ribbon with me to stamp club! Ack! No ribbon, no copics, I think I went temporarily insane! Anyway - I nearly tucked that little corner snippet of paper under the bottom where ribbon would go, but it looked funky, so I tipped it off the side instead.

There you have it...day two! Can't wait for you to see what I've got coming for tomorrow :)
Biggest problem with this sketch? Agh, I didn't take any ribbon with me to stamp club on Saturday! So...this card is missing that element.

Don't forget to VOTE TODAY! http://tinyurl.com/7xmwsjo

Studio Calico week!

2012-01-15T03:08:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be posting cards made from my Studio Calico kit (plus a few tidbits) all week...I've had a number of people ask if the kits really are just for scrappers, or if cardmakers would get a good value out of them too. So I figured I'd see what I can do out of a kit - this month's is County Fair, and it is just the cutest kit going! Might be my 2nd favorite so far :) And no, I'm not getting paid, not getting free product, nothing like that. Just sharing some great products that I love - and getting all these new goodies each month makes me so much more willing to purge some of the crappy stuff in my stash...because I get so excited about the new fun stuff! Here's a pic I snapped at stamp club right after I opened the kit - sorry, lighting is funky - I snagged the image from the SC website below so you can see it better.

I'm also using OWH sketches as I go, too - gotta love starting at least from the root of a sketch, since it takes a little less thinking to just get started trimming some papers and seeing what works. At stamp club yesterday, all I took with me was my tote bag full of tools, this SC kit that I hadn't even opened yet, printouts of the sketches (have you downloaded the pdf yet??), and some of my new stamps I got for Christmas. (And I forgot my Copics, can you believe it? So I couldn't color!)

On the first card that I made, I wanted the darling floral to show, so picked the Bonus Sketch with a big area for the patterned paper:

Papers on this card are by Crate Paper...the SC kits contain papers from a variety of companies, and this one has a bunch of CP in it. LOVE it! I used a new Lifestyle die for the sentiment - Lifestyle is the rebrand of Quickcutz (Sp?) - and added a layer by trimming the black by hand. Yep, nutty me! Sentiment is made with the real wood veneer letters in the kit - extremely cool! They're not adhesive backed, but I used Tombow Multi Liquid Glue and they stuck like a charm. They're fairly thin too, like Thickers, and very sturdy. The dots are made with Pearl Pen.

PLUS this card works for the ODBD challenge! :)

Come back all week to see more made with the same kit....maybe I'll try to see how many cards you can get out of one kit? Not sure if I can do that in the limited time I've got before CHA, but who knows! I feel like wonder woman lately with all the things getting checked off my lists!

Don't forget to VOTE TODAY! http://tinyurl.com/7xmwsjo

Crafty Contagion: Love

2012-01-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

The Crafty Contagion girls are at it again with a new challenge for a new year! It's time for love cards...I talked them into "love" rather than "valentines" since the OWH deadline has passed :)

I made one that's really a tribute to our former shipper Dixie - a love card with NO hearts, and not even any red or pink! I used some great papers from My Mind's Eye. I went back and used sketch 58 from the S&S blog:

Go play along - coz you KNOW you make love cards for me to send to our heroes all the time!

The Greeting Farm

2012-01-13T01:15:00.000-08:00

This sweet little image is by The Greeting Farm....did you know they do more than the cute chubby stamps? Gotta love Miss Anya :) Used up some scraps from Graphic 45 and Simple Stories, and added some May Arts ribbon....dies by Sizzix.

Speaking of Sizzix - I've recently made the switch to their dies. Not sure how many people know this, but their dies have the cutting edge on the INside. Meaning what you see is what you cut! I love that. Makes it a lot easier to line things up without chopping off the edge of your image because it's covered. I still plan to use my Spellbinders dies, but I'm finding Sizzix are rapidly becoming my go-to nesting dies. :)

Look to the Lord

2012-01-12T23:12:00.000-08:00

This is another simple card made for my church...they really need the cards to be flat, which is such a challenge for dimensional me! Especially since I just finished off my old roll of giant foam tape....I'm so ready to dive into my new roll! lol. But....I can keep it simple when I have to. Even the embellishments, the three dots at the bottom, are only hole punched pieces glued on. Papers were Christmas leftovers that I didn't want to hang on til next year - a little Graphic 45 scraps (stripes) and I can't remember who the background was by - I want to say BG, but might be MME? Hmm. Sentiment by Our Daily Bread Designs.

I'm going to take the advice of this verse as well....and look to the Lord. I sure hope He makes cards. I am plum OUT! I packed 12 boxes last night and emptied just about every card on my shelf. Might be about 60 cards left between anything left. Yikes! I need to mail 19 boxes next week, and another 17 the week after, if I'm to keep up with my guys and not make them wait til I get back from 2 weeks away. So.....Lord, get out yer ATG gun. I need ya :)

Missing you...in pink!

2012-01-11T01:09:00.000-08:00

You may not have noticed...but I rarely do pink! ha. But something about strong pink and black and white still works. This is the Hero Arts All the Time set, with the background stmaped with clocks as well as the focal image.

OWHtv is coming up tomorrow night...hope you've scheduled everyone else off your calendar! I'm getting my hair cut tonight, so stay tuned tomorrow to see what it looks like 24 hours later :) :) :)

Hero Arts: You are my home

2012-01-10T03:51:00.000-08:00

Here's another of the fun Hero Arts sets! The first pair are made with papers from my stash...And yes, I was crazy and cut out the fence. Yep. Lock me up! :) I decorated the inside differently on the two...

This second version uses some My Minds Eye paper that is just totally perfect for a kite card! This is the inspired side of the MME:

And how it played out on the card, with the back of the paper as the background:

Hope you're having a great week so far!

Simple thanks

2012-01-09T04:54:00.000-08:00

I needed some simple cards for my boxes for my contacts....so I used this design for a whole mess of 'em. The paper is by Studio Calico....sentiment is an old clear stamp by Heidi Swap.

Lawn Fawn

2012-01-08T04:15:00.000-08:00

This card used a bit of leftover Hero Arts "Hero Hues" paper - oh my is this stuff fun to play with. Tone on tone lets me go wild with other elements, who knew? :) The HA paper that was left after CHA kits is packed and on its way to the cruise, so I've only got some quarter sheets left in my scrap pile to play with.

The tree and fox are from Lawn Fawn - cute cute cute! I stamped and colored the tree twice and used the dimensional ruffle technique to make it pop! Ribbon is some random leftover stuff from my jar. I punched the stars, cut a little banner by hand....and added a border with blingggg :)

Hope you're having a great weekend....I'm insisting on living in denial about Monday coming round the corner. LOL!

Be still

2012-01-07T05:13:00.000-08:00

This verse is something I reallllly need to work on....despite last Sunday's blog post, I'm still frantically waving my arms in the air! lol. Anyway....I used up the last of some winter/holiday paper for cards for church, and added a little Candi and May Arts ribbon for flair. The church wants 44cent cards, so I can't layer like mad or embellish like I like to. But I still like cards like this anyway :) just not very often!

Big news: Eat Cake Graphics!!

2012-01-06T03:36:00.000-08:00

I am so so so so so stoked....I've been selected for the Eat Cake Graphics design team! Woohooooo!!! I've been wanting to get back to another DT, and I just love Holly's images....this little pooch is one of them, and it's the card that sold her on picking me:

This card of course sports a bit of May Arts ribbon....some Sizzix dies, Bazzill and BoBunny papers. And the dog's little hat has scribblies on the stamp - so that inspired me to cut the teeny strips of scraps for his party hat topper. I adhered them with gluedots. Both the pup and sentiment are by ECG, colored with Copics.

So stay tuned for some fun ECG to come...and if you end up inspired to buy anything, be sure to let Holly know I sent ya :)

Coloring tutorial tonight

2012-01-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

Apologies in advance over the photos in this post - I was in a huge hurry this morning and my plan to take photos turned into fast snapshots on my iPad. Note to self, use the camera! lol. Color's off, and they're just not very sharp. Agh. Anyway....

Tonight OWHtv returns, and we're sponsored by LaLa Land Crafts! They announced two stamp sets last month that they're donating 50cents per set to OWH - what a blessing for our heroes! The stamps are darling - and they're perfect for AnyHero cards.... Marci and Luka saluting!

I'm going to do a coloring tutorial on the show - HAIR! You guys have been asking for it, and I'm not sure how it'll go live, but we'll give it a go. But my question for you right now - what style hair? There are a couple schools of how to color hair with Copics. One I affectionately call "helmet hair" - it's really cute, but it makes the whole head of hair have a single shiny spot. The other is more natural, so it has more highlights/shadows but looks more realistic. I can show you either style - and in various hair colors too. So leave a comment and let me know what you want to see!

Cute black 'helmet hair'!

A redhead eith helmet hair :)

Dirty blonde (why the heck do they call it dirty?), more realistic

Latino or African American dark hair

And because I don't want to leave Luka off this post just coz he doesn't have a lot of hair to teach with:

So leave me your preference for what you'd like to see on the show...then tune in at 6:30pm Pacific! Coloring style as well as hair color. :)

Sketch 102

2012-01-04T04:06:00.001-08:00

Lookee, I made a card for this week's sketch! W00t!! It's a supersimple one since my life is nowhere near simple right now....image by Stampin Up, paper by October Afternoon, ribbon by May Arts. I don't use this image for our heroes, since one told me this card could really, uhm....strike the wrong chord. So this one goes to a friend who's going to need surgery soon. (Yep, I'm actually done EARLY!)

And don't forget to check out OWHtv tomorrow night - we're BACK! And sponsored by LaLa Land,so there'll be a coloring tutorial live on the show. With giveaways! :)

Rough day!

2012-01-03T03:59:00.000-08:00

It's only just begun and I'm expecting this...

lol! Love this little image from KnK designs, isn't it darling! Today's the first day back from a nice vacation...and who knows what awaits at the office! It's been a crazy bunch of things at home....yesterday, my last day off, I spent mostly sidetracked with trying to find my passport for the cruise. I know it's here somewhere....but heck if I know where. Finally in midafternoon, I gave up and applied (online = expensive!) for a copy of my birth certificate...at least that'll get me on the cruise. The weird part - once the website 'found' me, it had me jump through hoops to verify my identity. Odd questions that didn't seem birth-certificate-related, but oh wow. Multiple choice questions like: What city have you not lived in? Then proceeded to list 4 cities I DID live in and one I did not. Oh my! Big brother knows where I've been! And it's in a database! They also wanted me to name the individual I bought my house from....all sorts of crazy questions. I guess I'm glad, since that means not everyone will likely get them all right so posers would be found out. But wowsers. All that on me in one database is just a wee bit creepy! Oh well. It's done, and I can breathe a little easier once that certificate arrives....and can do all the online paperwork I need to get done!

And a bonus from all that searching: I found a lot of stuff I forgot I had! Some crafty things....some clothes, some books I never read because they fell behind the sofa....a matching earring that I was ready to write off as a loss. Papers galore that got sorted to where they really should have gone, and a lot of stuff got tossed. So at least some good came out of that craziness!

Have a great week back to 'routine,' everyone!

Echo Park with stars

2012-01-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

Today's card is one using the Year Round Sentiments set from Hero Arts...just to help you get EXCITED that it's almost Jan 5 - when the stamps will be in the Hero Arts store! WOOHOO! Go go go shop shop shop! :) :) :) This one uses Echo Park papers, pretty cheerful ones at that!

With my crazy-busy schedule, I'm going to be posting some previously used mojo...at least for January and February. I'll still add new cards as I can but I am just swamped! CHA, the cruise, annual report, board meeting prep - yeep! Not to mention designing a stamp set for another beloved friend-of-OWH company to manufacture for us soon. And have I mentioned that tshirt site is now in prototype form? I'd share it with you but I'm waiting on some new samples first....I don't want you all to spend your money on these if they don't come out well, but I'm really hoping it goes live here pretty quick. Tired of kicking the can down the road on that! So....hope you don't mind that I'll be sharing cards made over the last couple months. Ones like today's were prototypes - we designed a TON of them (I counted 80 at one point!) with the stamp sets, and then as donated paper came in (or we ended up having to buy some, boohoo), I started making kits that fit the paper. So this card is being made at CHA, but with Graphic 45 papers and some different ribbon (May Arts of course!) since those were companies that provided goodies. SOOOOO grateful to these folks for giving us some stuff to work with!

Alrighty. It's nearly the end of vacation time, and I have 3 videos and an annual report to do today. ACK! Gotta get bizzy :)

Wait for the Lord

2012-01-01T23:49:00.000-08:00

Can't believe I almost forgot to put up a blog post for New Years Day! Yipes. Not a great way to start out the year, is it! This is a card that I made for my church's pastoral care ministry, made with an ODBD stamp and papers by Simple Stories. And it leads right into a story...

Our worship leader at church, Jonathan, told us this story. He and his wife just had baby #2 last week :) Little Emmaline! She's adorable. But, I digress.

Jonathan was looking at her one day when she did her normal "I'm hungry" behavior. Her hands go up in the air, her head wiggles back and forth, and she does that little thing babies do with their tongues, looking for that bottle. (or whatever). He kinda wondered....what's going through her head right now? Is she thinking, "I need to eat right now or I WILL DIE!" She doesn't really have life experience yet to tell her that no, she won't die if she has to wait a few minutes to eat. Now, he did say it's likely juts her way to communicate right now, but he made a point with his story.

Whenever we get all worked up over something and need "thing X" RIGHT NOW, it's so easy to lose sight of the fact that God's with us, He's our loving Father, standing right there waiting to do something for us. Just like Emmaline, we get all worked up, wave our arms around and run in circles....instead of just remembering that we've got the most powerful Dad out there. If only we'd just trust Him.

So that's your little word for the week....if anything goes astray, just take a deep breath, take note of whether you're frantic when you really won't die right NOW if you don't get what you think you need. And just wait on the Lord - He's all the help you need!

Top Ten of Twenty Eleven!

2011-12-31T01:36:00.000-08:00

What fun it was to stroll through my own blog to pick out my ten favorite cards of 2011! I hope everyone else is enjoying their trop down memory lane - and getting to see the 'cream of the crop' from all the OWHers!!

This first card was a nobrainer. I love love love this puffer fish by Imaginisce! Til I trolled through my blog I totally forgot I was going to go find it and buy it - this one had been donated to me by a friend.

This is my kitten digi, and it was a Christmas card....I just love how the kitten came out :) And I've been enjoying fancy fold cards, so this was a blast to make.

Something about this Snoopy card just made it soar onto my top ten list. The Jillibean and October Afternoon papers are some of my faves, and the layout came out so different than my usual - I was using up bits and pieces and they came out great.

Another coloring project, and with one of my digis...it was a blast distressing the heck out of it to achieve this vintage look....

What year would be complete without a fun Sparkle Creations stamp! This one also used some shiny paper that had been hoarded til I made this card.

This next card was for the May Arts happy accident challenge that I entered. Didn't win, but oh what fun to play with all the ribbon!

This card sports some Hero Arts stars---not from the OWH sets, but this was the thank-you card I sent to the CEO after the July CHA show.

This card had a fun layout, and a darling fundraiser image by KnK designs. Patterned papers by Moxie.

And you know some of my faves were going to sport the new OWH/Hero Arts stamps, didn't you? This one also has my new favorite Basic Grey on it too :)

And oddly - a CAS card made my top ten! All the product donated for the cruise and CHA inspired me to really get out of my normal box lately. This card was the result of some fun playtime with distress stains....and I went and bought myself some since the bunch that were donated got packed up for the cruise. I think you'll be seeing me playing with a little more Ranger :)

So that's my list.....hope something you liked made it onto mine!

Eleventh hour!

2011-12-30T23:23:00.000-08:00

Today you get a really simple card...and at the 11th hour! I can't stop the daily posting now...I've made it through three years now of daily posts, so I'm not about to give up on the streak :) This has a RAKd image on it that I had colored up a long while back - and I still have a few of the candy-striped twisties that I used for these cards.

It had to be an easy card - I had a crazy busy (but successful!) day! I finally finished packing up 10 boxes (huuuuge ones!) full of goodies for the cruise, and hauled them to UPS. I'm mailing them way early so we can go ground, and there's plenty of time to put up with snowstorms if they crop up along the way. Fortunately the hotel isn't charging me a storage fee :)

I also took down the Christmas decorations - which really were only the tree and the outside lights. I had no space to decorate anywhere! But all that came down....and I could finally vacuum in a major way with all that out of the house. You know how it goes, get cleaning one thing, and that leads to another, and another....lol!

The CHA kits are done, too...now it's a matter of getting the project sheets done. We'll offer instructions and sketches to the retailers, so that'll be lots of work to put those together. But the construction of the kits is done, and that makes a huge difference! I feel under a little control now :) The photos are taken, and I finished the color correction/cropping today, and now it's on to those project sheets.

Be sure to come back tomorrow - we're doing an impromptu bloghop, showing off our top ten cards of 2011....I hope you'll like what I picked out to share!

A totally useless card

2011-12-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

I did it. I made a card that isn't for sending, it's not even really for keeping. It's just....it just is. No hero would have any occasion to send this, and I'm doubting I'd send it to anyone - it's kind of a doofy "Live Laugh Love" dumb sentiment, but it's funny with this image - which just happens to depict me, on the right, with my clipboard in my purse. lol! I had this image sent to me a long long time ago....and someone else pointed me to this free digi. And I just felt like doing something completely silly...so I did. There ya have it.

The one redeeming feature: this card has my new Basic Grey paper on it. LOVE.

Thank you Dixie!

2011-12-28T06:25:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge was scheduled back when we thought the shipper transition would be happening over the course of a month....instead, Caro was chompin' at the bit, so we made the switch earlier. But....my thanks still go out to Dixie for her 2 years as a shipper - not only did she rock the east coast shipping duties, but she served as my listening ear when I was ready to pull my hair out...and she's always ready to receive a crazy text message to remember what she left behind :) She's still going to be around (not going to let her go that easy!!)....and am I ever glad of that!

My card uses the postman from Stampers Best - I stamped his bag twice so I could fill it with teensy punched HEARTS! Because Dixie just loves 'em, ya know! :) :) :) The hearts are from the insides of a border punch, that's why they're so teensy. The paper is by Echo Park, both sides of a sheet. (It's Christmas paper, but whatever. It has flowers on it!) The scalloped border is by Sizzix.

Thanks again so much, Dixie....you made my life easier in so many ways. You're awesome from the org's point of view....but from mine personally as well. :) Big big hugs....thank you!

Valentine two-fer

2011-12-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

And the two-fer is for a hero with two kidlets! One card fits both :) Image is from Mo's Digital Pencil, papers by Pinecone Press.

And a little update on my CHA kits....I'm so close to done that I'm now getting AR! lol. That's what happens when I finish things early. I had a few kits I'd prepped with non-donated papers....with hopes that the companies would come through as promised with paper. Well, a couple didn't...and I've just got a thing about not promoting them at the show if they didn't follow through. So, uh, I'm recutting paper for a couple of em! Yep. I'm nuts that way. I'll still make up the kits myself and send them to our heroes, so there won't be a paper waste. But I want to use only products by companies that do support OWH - and if those others come by our booth, I can tell 'em they could have been part of it all :) :) :)

However, aside from those couple kits that I'm redoing, I am DONE!!! With kits at least. Went over our 1000 goal, yeah baby! Now on to project sheets - we'll be offering a pdf download to our retail partners....so you may see a make and take or a class at your LSS with an OWH design, you never know! So I need to get them all photographed and instructions and sketches written up.

YAY for being ahead of where I thought I would be by today! Hooah!!

Kraftin Kimmie

2011-12-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

I'm making a birthday card - NOT because I need any, that's what I seem to have most of lately. But coz it was Jesus' birthday! I know, I know this isn't for Him, but ya know. Gotta do it. Image by Kraftin Kimmie, papers by Basic Grey. :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

I hope you're all having a blessed Christmas! And I also hope you're celebrating the real reason for the season. I know it's not PC, but...there ya have it :)

As my gift for you, I have a bunch of Christmas cards to share! Yes, I did a lot of last minute cards that I forgot about; I had put a secondary list on page 2 of my card list, and that was for hand delivery. And oops! Ran out of cards for them! So here you go....2 days worth of mojo!

These first three use Graphic 45 paper, nested layered nesties, a sentiment I made myself, and 2 images from Mo's Digital Pencil. What FUN they are to color.

And here we have a couple Eat Cake Graphic stamps - both have sentiments I came up with myself. The first one is a sentiment I've thought about for a while - and with the person this is going to, it needed to be a bit less secular, but she knows Ciara and loves dogs, so I figure she'll like the image! It also let me use that darling Basic Grey button with the fabric poof thing - since it was hand delivered, it could get all sorts of thick. I also added flocking by Stampendous on the beard and the trim of his suit; it works just like flowersoft - put on some glue and sprinkle on the flocking.

Another Eat Cake image, and it also sports some of the flocking on the snow.

So with that, I wish you a very merry Christmas - and a creative new year!!

Sketch 100--and Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

Can you believe we've made it to 100 sketches on the S&S blog, wahOOO! This card has paper by Pinecone Press (except the light pink behind the girl - that's from Hero Arts). Image by The Greeting Farm. Sentiment by SRM stickers. And of course it's one more Valentine for my box!

So stoked that vacation time has begun....no work days til 2012! I know it's only a week but it feels like longer when ya say 2012 :) I have a to-do list ten miles long....and yesterday I got my first big checklist item finished: the supplies for the cruise are boxed and ready to roll! Aside from 2 companies still sending donations, that is, and a couple last minute things I'll be adding in....and I'm sure I'll have a 'final' box to ship at the last minute, knowing me. "What if we don't have this? It could be a disaster!" Ha! That's why my suitcases are always overloaded :)

And...a report on the CHA kits: 648 are done and in the living room pile, and more than that if some that a volunteer is finishing up get counted. Plus there are 4 designs I have completed but not yet kitted. I'm getting so close to 1000, wahoo! Hoping to finish all that up this week so January can be spent on all the computer stuff that I need to do - both in prep for both trips, as well as the annual report for OWH.

So....a merry Christmas it is! Not that my list needed to dwindle for it to feel merry, but less pressure of the 'list' makes it a lot easier to focus on the real reason for the season. I pray that all of you have a blessed Christmas celebration - with your churches, your families, and your friends. And your four-legged buddies, too!

One final Christmas card....

2011-12-23T03:55:00.000-08:00

....at least I think it's the last! Mine finally went postal this week, and I have a few more I hope to still send - they'll be late, but ya know. That's life eh! Image here is by The Greeting Farm - I used a white pen to make the polkadots on her outfit and halo. Papers by....oh I think these were October Afternoon. That's usually a good guess around here :)

Look out! Flying penguins!

2011-12-22T02:54:00.000-08:00

This is an image given to me by someone, and he's just so fun. Seeing a penguin fly - on skis - would be a hoot :) Papers by October Afternoon, sentiment by SRM stickers.

A little story about yesterday at PT.....Todd was working on my foot, doing the usual stuff, but looking really frustrated. He gave me back the completed FMLA papers, and put Jan 31 as an end date. I asked if he thought I would be all better by then - and he said he just didn't know what more good he could do if we don't have an impact on the pain by then. I started feeling really hopeless again.

So I started praying. To keep from crying! And I begged God to give him an idea. Some memory from a college textbook, or a lecture he had heard. Something unconventional, opposite thinking, a crazy idea just to try something new. And....shortly he went and got some long flat cushion things.

He set them on the floor, with my orthotic on top of one - and told me to stand on it with one foot (the bad one). I did, still felt the same. Put it on a different one - somewhat different feeling, a little less pain. Then found one with NO pain....it was the craziest thing, because since the pain is on the outside of my foot, he's been doing things to get my weight to shift back to the inside. Normal thinking. Well, this pitched my foot back harder to the outside. There's a shim stuck to the bottom of my orthotic now, and it feels pretty good; I feel a little where the shoe rubs against it, but it's not pressing nearly as hard as it was. So weird since my foot is angled so far out now!

We have no idea why it worked....or if it'll stay working. We thought the cortisone would do more than a week's worth of pain relief. But - on Friday we'll re-cast for new orthotics with the new angle to them, and we'll see if that works. I asked if it was a solution that'll just 'mask' the real pain - and his thinking is that if we can make it so that 95% of the time, while wearing orthotics, this gives me relief, then the nerve that's causing the problem will just calm itself down. Enough that walking around occasionally barefoot wouldn't irritate it, since it's not been fussy for the rest of my day. He gave me an extra piece of the foam stuff so I can play with making a 'shim' for my right foot too - who knows, maybe that'll solve that pain too. (Same surgery over a dozen years ago left me with constant phantom pain in that foot.) So....pray that it works - on both feet - and that this just resolves it all. I am soooooo done with foot pain, I mean that in all earnestness!

InStyle

2011-12-21T04:48:00.000-08:00

The little image from InStyle on this card is named Sandy - howsaboutthat! So of course every year I have to make a card with her :) Papers are by October Afternoon.

It's getting closer and closer to Christmas - are you ready yet? Done shopping, baking, wrapping?

Be MINE!

2011-12-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, MINE I say! lol. I was using up bits on this one, including letters - I had enough for "mine" but not "be". So it reads a little like an ORDER for Valentines Day!

The background is made from strips of 2sided paper from Imaginisce, flipped alternately and inked, and the ribbon is from May Arts - and stamped with a little heart from the OWH Right at Home set!

Happy accident

2011-12-19T04:54:00.000-08:00

Hey gang! Today I have a bit of a crazy bit of leftovers to share. I was punching a bunch of hearts with my Tonic punch, and had a pile of swirls left from the middle.

So...I made a little heart wreath out of them! I glued them on another punched heart with Glossy Accents, and added a little gold pearl pen. The top section is popped kraft-on-kraft-on-kraft. (I think I've done enough CAS lately, I had to start adding!)

More scraps

2011-12-18T00:09:00.000-08:00

Okeydokey, I played with my blog format again...easier? I thought I'd like the other way, but I think that just didn't function like I had hoped. So I'm kinda back to a really simple format. I applied the same to S&S too, we'll see if that helps increase comments again; other than the HA posts with candy, comments slowed down with the new format, so hopefully the more traditional format will make it easier. I did like the way the former S&S dropdown menus worked, but maybe I can find a widget that'll add that back into the template, but for now - at least it's cleaned up :)

And now.....another card made with scraps! Love using them up....there were a ton of these hearts when I got done, so I hope you don't get bored seeing them :) The large neutral paper is BG, and I see some Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon, and Jillibean in there too.

Challenge on S&S

2011-12-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

I hope lots of folks play along with the extra challenge posted on S&S today....we have a few more stamp sets to give away, so go make a card and enter! This is one of the sample cards...

It's been a productive day at my house...I spent all morning cleaning - I've been so busy I haven't been keeping up with a thing lately! So just getting things straightened up made me feel more under control. (Does that do the same for anyone else?)

All afternoon I worked on kits kits kits and more kits with Dotti - we got four done, so that's nearly 100 more kits prepped for CHA. We're slowly working up to the total we need! :) Theresa's been a huge help too - I'm going to look at my list tonight and see what our count is right now, but I know we're well past halfway. Wahoo!

But I think I'm taking the night off - Ciara's snuggled up with me and we're watching cheesy Christmas movies :)

Happy Hour Blog Skip

2011-12-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone - I'm so excited we're having a Happy Hour Skip today! If you started here, you'll want to go to the top of the skip (mini blog hop) to see everything and find out about the amazing prizes :) Hero Arts stamps, ya know!

My card share is a couple cards, and all really CAS - you know how I struggle with CAS! I started with heavyduty card bases - that stuff from Walmart doesn't cut it when you go CAS on a card. This has a slight linen texture to it so it's even more awesome.

Then I created my own background papers using the Ranger Distress Stains - they're daubers that contain the distress inks, but in less concentration than the reinker bottles. I used this video as a start on them....GREAT explanation of the differences in the inks from Tim. And I made a whole bunch of backgrounds.

Then I took the Right at Home set (CL583) and its darling little kite, and decided on making that a focus. I trimmed the background papers straight, then stamped the kite on the backgrounds, just off the corner, and colored the 'ties' white with an Inkssentials white pen from Ranger too. Then I stamped the kites separately, and popped just the kite diamond. Layered all the pieces, and done! Click on a photo to enlarge it and you can see the cool stuff these inks do on paper.

The last one, the brown one, was at first not going to be part of this set. Not much like any sky we'd see around here! But....I did start thinking that it could certainly look like a sandstorm sky that our heroes may have seen, so I used it anyway. It at least makes it a pretty masculine card. And of course the last one needed a pop of color, so that kite is colored with my Copics.

So tell me, which one do you like best? Leave a comment - be sure you comment on all the blogs so you can have more chances to WIN!

Your next stop on the hop is our friend Barb - you're going to want to see what she makes with those clocks!

Sketch 94

2011-12-15T00:12:00.000-08:00

I went back and picked up Sketch 94 from S&S...with more of my scrappy hearts!

Tonight's OWHtv is gonna be a blast - you need to tune in live! I'll be giving away OWH/HA stamps throughout the show to some lucky winners :)

MWT: Valentines!

2011-12-14T04:10:00.000-08:00

Jan picked Valentines for this week's Midweek Throwdown - and I wanted to play with the house stamp from the new Hero Arts Right at Home set (CL583) again. This is so much fun to color, lots of open space! On this one I kept the darker colors on the edges, and didn't worry about a light source - since it was a green house I wasn't headed for 'reality' anyhow :)

I've also got some other way fun products on here I've been wanting to share...the paper is from Hero Arts. Yep! You didn't know they had paper did you? They do! They're tone-on-tone papers, they match the Hero Arts inks, and are printed on SUPER thick nice quality paper...they donated some for us to use for CHA, and I just love them! I think this card might be a kit, but simplified a tidge.

Some other fun things - the border at the bottom? Tonic! It's a single punch that fits into their border punch system so you can make a row of them. I love this one! The ribbon's by Bazzill, sentiment was a digi from KnK last Valentines Day I think.

And last but not least - the fluff on that little heart? Stampendous' Fun Flock!! I glued it on with the Flower Soft High Tack PVA Glue - and it stays pretty darned well!

Hope you play along with the challenge - because you could win a STAMP SET! Woohoo!!

Be mine

2011-12-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

Last week I had my own minimarathon to use up a bunch of pieces of paper on my desk - I was overrun! These weren't teeny pieces but were hanging around taunting me that they're almost the last of this My Minds Eye paper - so I had to shut them up and use them. Image by the Stamping Bazaar.

Secret Santa

2011-12-12T00:05:00.000-08:00

My stamp group had our secret santa gift exchange this weekend...this card with an image by Kraftin Kimmie is what I gave to Suzanne with her gift....

Hope you have a FAB week!!!

Greetings from the north pole

2011-12-11T04:34:00.000-08:00

Oh what a productive day I had yesterday! It was our usual stamp club day, with the unusual exception that we met at Scrap That!, a LSS near here. I didn't even know about them til this past summer when they hosted an OWH party - and now I am a regular customer :)

I made a bunch of Christmas gifts, which I obviously won't be sharing til after they're delivered and opened...but I also finally jammed on making some more of my own Christmas cards - I actually did 20 of one design (eeeeeeeeeeep!) which nearly drove me over the edge. However I was determined to keep my promise to myself; when I bought a motherlode of May Arts Christmas ribbon, I committed that I'd USE it all this year. No holdovers. There's no space for that around here! So I kept going on these til this deLISH 2 sided ribbon was gone! I used papers from Authentique and October Afternoon on these.

The striped pole is a product I purchased at Impress a few weeks ago - basically big twist-ties! The store's sample was a simple version with just the sign and snow (FlowerSoft). But you know me, I can't go too simple, so had to go over the top with adding a little more to it. :)

I still have some reindeer ribbon left with the same use-it-up commitment, so stay tuned. Hoping to get all my holiday cards done this week and mailed out! Woohoo!

One more thing to share today - I got to make a sketch for S&S! Can't remember the last time that I did :) We're using the new stamp sets, and I pulled out the Right at Home set (CL583) which has become a go-to set for me. Maybe because the cloud and kite are the doodles I sent to Hero Arts along with the presentation of the concepts...heehee. Here I used new Basic Grey papers I picked up at my LSS - on Small Business Saturday no less :) The kites are colored with Copics, and I used the blender pen to "erase" the patterns into each one. The sentiment is also from the stamp set - I just cut it into parts. (The stamped image not the stamp!) The butterfly is from a Studio Calico kit, made by Sassafrass. Ribbon by May Arts.

Have a fabulous week!

The 12 Days of Christmas

2011-12-10T01:32:00.000-08:00

The girls over at the Crafty Contagion blog (my monthly stamping group!) are hosting a special little post today....we divvied up the 12 days of Christmas and made cards inspired by them! And of course since I was the dummy who came up with the idea, I took two (there are 10 of us)...and also let them pick the hard ones for me. And hard they were!

First are the seven swans a-swimming. I did find a swan digi here - I scoured my stamp collection and had nada! Yay for digis! Colored it with just a wash of blues..then used my nesties, some matching nestie bling, paper by K&Co, ribbon by May Arts, and punched some butterflies. Since Valentines Day is on the way (and today's the last day for the Archway challenge cards!) this'll totally serve some guy well - his lady will feel pretty special. And hopefully there's no weird menage-a-trois that will be recalled by 3 swans on this card. LOL.

And to get that idea out of your head, here's my second card. This was for eleven pipers piping - that was tough! I have a lot of stamps but nobody playing a piccolo or anything. So I went for the pipe instead, and my mind traveled back to art history class: "Ceci n'est pas un pipe." Well, mine IS a pipe. I drew it myself and colored it with Copics. It was hard to design this one! I'm thinking a card with a pipe is going to go home to a dad or grandpa, so wanted to keep it really really masculine. Plain cardstock (with just a wee tidge of texture) made it work! The strips are an inch each, and the bottoms are made with a 1-inch circle punch. I'm expecting some major flak for going the pipe route, by the way. Bring it on! I think it's pretty funny.

If you want to see all the other days of the song, check out the Crafty Contagion blog!

PS I'm out all day with my crafty gals - and we're having our Christmas party this evening. I won't be home to check the mail til really late, so will be able to announce sometime on Sunday if we made it to 5000 for the Archway challenge!

Hero Arts bloghop!

2011-12-09T04:45:00.000-08:00

My personal blog isn't in the hop, but S&S is - so go see!!!! Talk about high caliber, our lil blog in a big hop like theirs....wahoo! I actually made this card twice - this is the first, and though I liked it....

I think this came out a lot cleaner!

Details on my card: House, fence, and sentiment are from the new Hero Arts sets. And yes, I was a doofus and did cut out every bit of that fence on the first one! The house is colored with Copics. The layout is from one of Mojo Monday's sketches....been going to theirs quite often lately! Papers are, I believe, October Afternoon....It's got Graphic 45 papers, May Arts ribbon....and is much more masculine too.

This was one of my early designs when I first got the stamp sets, and I went wild and took 2 hours on one card. Ever since, I've been designing kits like a mad woman for CHA, and have had to go more simple than my usual. Eeep! Just wait til I'm released from kitland, this blog's gonna be on fire with crazy stored up mojo!

We R - kissy kissy!

2011-12-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Another for the Archway Challenge...pant pant! The last of this We R paper is now gone...sigh! But it went to a great cause :)

I've got a bunch more valentines done, and will be sharing them over the next week or two - and a few on the show. I'm doing LOTS of using up scraps! I'm determined to clean out this pile of rubble that's taking over my desk :) Watch the show tonight for some scrap-usin' tips!

PS A heads up - I've decided to take off the week before Christmas and the week after Christmas from the show and vlog....hope that's ok with everyone :)

A little more love...let's plug away til Dec 10!

2011-12-07T06:41:00.000-08:00

Getting nervous we might not make the goal by December 10th....so I'm back at makin' love cards! This one's all Basic Grey - paper, and all those lovely flower & circles mmmmm! Let's go ladies, more valentines, more love!

Even if we don't hit the 5000 goal, we can still take valentines til Dec 31, so keep going! :)

Imaginisce Christmas paper!

2011-12-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

I saw this paper when I was on my shopping adventure on Small Biz Saturday...and just loved it. Softer colors than normal for Christmas - and I like 'em! I used some stickers from SRM for the sentiments. And - you guessed it. May Arts. Yeah, I'm just a nut for ribbon.

A little Pink Gem birdie

2011-12-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

I'm never sure if a bird like this is supposed to be a red bird, or what kind he is. LOL. Gotta get out my Audubon books maybe! But....it's a pretty simple card with a free digi from Pink Gem Designs, with a bunch of layers of October Afternoon yummy papers.

One day I'll get around to writing in some of these cards, too, but I'm trying to wait til I have most of them made; in the past when I did them in a couple rounds of mailing, I sent some people two cards because I forgot I'd mailed theirs a week before. D'oh!

Butterflies, butterflies, butterflies

2011-12-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

I've been elbow-deep in kits today, no time to make a full card (sad!)....but I did find this one that I don't believe I shared yet! Uses lots of yummies from one of my Studio Calico kits. I just adore the butterflies. Have a great week, everyone!

Get Sentimental!

2011-12-03T09:11:00.000-08:00

In my "I gotta craft now and do it fast coz my to-do list is insane" world, I like challenges like this - using a sentiment as the image on a card! As much as I like to color, I totally miss my Copics right now - I'm using already colored images from my stash lately so I can just quickly get cards put together! Ack! But...this feels legit since I got to pick the stamp and ink it up rather than pulling from my stash at least :) Plus I stamped a Happy Valentines Day sentiment on the inside :)

The stamp is by Inkadinkado. And the cool paper? In my Studio Calico kit of course! So much yummy stuff shows up in that. I haven't used much of last month's yet though, and this month's is on the way - yikes, they're gonna be backing up on me soon! I seriously need to get past all the kit-making and back to normal crafting. Only 700 more kits to go......wheee!

Be sure YOU go enter the ODBD challenge too - and link up all your friends! If we reach 50 players, then ODBD will sponsor the shipping for two boxes to our heroes! Cool huh?

Sparkle Creations, SRM, and October Afternoon

2011-12-02T21:55:00.000-08:00

A while back we had our last stamp club with my friend Samantha who has since moved away :( But - she brought Lainey with her and I got one more coloring session with my lil buddy. And she picked out this image for me to color. So I love this card for that reason especially :) Papers by October Afternoon, sentiment by SRM Stickers.

Leftovers still make a good meal

2011-12-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

If we didn't learn anything else from Thanksgiving - there's always that lesson. Who doesn't love a good cranberry-and-turkey sandwich? Or a yummy casserole or soup?

Well I applied that to crafting for the card share today. I made a whole bunch of practice backgrounds using Tim Holtz's alcohol ink tutorial here. A bunch had turned out really cruddy! lol. I really wanted some that would be simple and luscious on their own - and a lot only had a good spot here or there. (See the good ones here.) So I still saved the work I did and instead punched out these darling Memory Box ornaments, and matched them up with some fun papers that were donated by...hmm. Can't remember, but I think it was a cardmaker or a store? They were already chopped up so I never saw who the manufacturer was. I distressed edges a bit...and the layout was the one from Day 1 of Holiday Card Boot Camp. Which I never finished, by the way...gotta go back and see the last couple projects!

You might also be wondering about all the SRM lately. I'm normally not a sticker gal, but am being converted by these awesome stickers. SRM donated huge piles of them for the cruise and CHA, and I'm using up the Christmas and Valentines ones as fast as I can....it's my goal not to hold things over for the following year! Thanks Susan, SRM stickers are AWESOME and are helping me keep my head above water and get my holiday cards tackled! :) Can't wait to see what everyone makes with them on the cruise, too!

Warm hearted bear

2011-11-30T04:12:00.000-08:00

I picked this digi up from Gingerloft a while back and just haven't used it, but had it printed. And I decided to play with some scraps - October Afternoon of course! Sticker sentiment by SRM.

Anyone else having their to-do list stretching longer than their arm lately? Aiyeee....I'm making tiny slow progress on my Christmas cards but not nearly enough! Agh.

My favorite Memory Box cub!

2011-11-29T21:53:00.000-08:00

This little bear is just the cutest...I wanna hug him :) And I love this nice big bold sentiment sticker from SRM - even if I did get it a little off center and had to add a heart :) Paper by October Afternoon.

I had a great time this evening with a friend from church - sorting and labelling and pricing cards for the Christmas card sale at services this weekend and next. We hope to make enough money for our Valentines mailing of care packages - we usually send about 30 but would love to do more if we can raise up some funds! And Lianna and I always have a great time giggling together.....some hot cocoa and fresh baked pumpkin bread made it a sweet night too :)

Echo Park + SRM = darling

2011-11-28T04:54:00.000-08:00

This is a simplified version of Mojo Monday 216 from last week - but I needed a quickie so took out some elements! And my measurements got crazy so there's 2 strips not 3. I couldn't bring myself to chop the paper smaller, I want to use every little inch of this adorable paper :)
The background papers are 2 sides of a sheet of Echo Park, and the sentiment is a sticker by SRM.

Hope you have a great week - with no tryptophan hangover from Thanksgiving! :)

Memory Box snowflake/flower die

2011-11-27T00:47:00.000-08:00

The die is called "La Rue Flourish"by Memory Box....I picked it up at Impress, where the owner said she nearly didn't carry it at all, thinking of it as a spring flower type of die. But oh MY does it make a gorgeous snowflake!

Their sample card had the hole in it like this one, but I added vellum behind - that way my note on the inside wont be so intrusive on the front of the card ;)

Small Biz Saturday - my new fave holiday!

2011-11-26T23:11:00.000-08:00

Okay maybe it's my new fave because I just LOVE my new stash.....came home with LOTS of paper, wheeeeeeee! You'll be seeing lots of it in the next couple weeks, since I got a bunch to make Christmas cards - yes, I'm behind on my own! No matter that every soldier has more than they need. LOL.

Here are some more pics from my day....

LSS in Fircrest WA - which is actually in the middle of Tacoma

Delicious selection of holiday papers - my focus for today

Except when I got distracted by newly-arrived BG!

Make and take ornament...to be blinged out soon!

Store owner's mom showing off a DT project! Awesome!! Stay tuned for a tut....

Lunch at Burger Castle, a small business that makes yummmmy food

Next stop, the Nook!

I drool over this Graphic 45 project every time I go in....

Side view. And no, my hand is not really pink.

See that golden snowflake paper? Yeah. LOVE it. This is all Graphic 45. YUM.

So many papers, so little time to make cards out of it all....

Then on to Impress in Tukwila...

I picked up this die....stay tuned for a CASE of their sample snowflake card!

Supporting Little Leaguers selling trees

Scratch n sniff! YUMMMM!!!!

I did say to check out that Graphic 45 snowflake paper, right? Well I knew JUST the image for it. I've been on the hunt for something to use with these nativities (Inkadinkado) that I colored up a while ago. And this paper is PERFECT!

All in all a great day, I must say....the only sad thing tonight? One more day of vacation then back to work. Wahhhhhh!

Loving the Archway challenge!

2011-11-25T19:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at Thanksgiving, I spent a little time coloring - and eatin' some tasty Archway Ginger Snaps! Mmmmmgood! :) Made a valentine today out of the image I colored....are you working on valentines for the challenge??

Stamped image by KraftinKimmie....lots of fun to color!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T01:54:00.000-08:00

This week's vlog/show is kinda all about thankfulness...enjoy :) And of course go like it on YT and subscribe :)

The cards shown in the video:

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

2011-11-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

Another busy day in my household...aiyee! I need to go to Hawaii someday and take some time off...these vacations just leave me needing a vacation :) Anyhoooooo......what are you doing tomorrow? Cookin? I get to just EAT! Pretty excited, I could use some time to just hang out with good friends and chill....can't wait :)

A quick card to share tonight. SRM Stickers donated copious quantities of stickers for CHA and the cruise, and I wanted to use the valentines ones now, of course, rather than hanging onto them til January. There's only a couple sheets....And the mini envelope and hearts were a RAK from hmmmm Janet, I think? I need to write sticky notes on things, my brain holds so little nowadays!

I'm still hoping to get a video done tonight that I promised last week since there's no OWHtv tomorrow....but I had to go get a new router and it took me all evening to get it to work! Agh. But it's functional now, so a rough video may be on the way. Ha :)

An update on PT, since someone asked a few days ago. Today we might have turned a corner. It's a blind corner, since there's no answer to it - but I'm doing well except for one spot where I have a lot of pain still. My regular PT thought it was maybe one thing, and we've been working on that, but The Boss was in today while I was there, so he called that guy over. He was stumped too - this shouldn't still be causing me pain. They're going to try having me not use my orthotics for a while and see if that's it. Another idea was that maybe it's a fracture or something that we have no clue about - but we'll try going without orthotics first. I reallllly want to be done with foot pain, I sure hope this gets solved soon :(

Off to see about a video....come back tomorrow and see if I accomplished it!

Pouring buckets!

2011-11-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

It's been craaaaazy rainy all day today! I felt like a drowned mouse running all my errands...yeesh. So....sharing some mice that don't look as unhappy as I was when I got wet! Papers by October Afternoon, stamp by HouseMouse, sentiment by Waltzingmouse, Pearl pen by Viva.

Full Monday!

2011-11-21T23:40:00.000-08:00

What a DAY! Holy guacamole. Errands errands errands...I'm ticking things off my list one by one! Including this card...for a guy! I wanted to try some crazy paper combo and see if I could pull it off, and me likey :)

This afternoon I helped out with my church's Thanksgiving box packing up - a few shots from the event are below...they're sending out 243 full meals this year! Such care for detail too...I was on the team that folded and tied pretty ribbons around the napkins. Yes, even the napkins get TLC!

And...this evening we had our fellowship at Bible Study Fellowship - and I just had to snap a photo of these darling cake pops! Oh my. Stinkin cute.

And before, after, and in between all this, I've been living in kit-land! Gotta get started on my own Christmas cards here soon too...agh. Maybe I can get back to boot camp and finish up the ones I had missed and a mass-produced card will surface itself! :)

A little more Stampin Up.....and a little giveaway!

2011-11-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

I made a bunch more of these...lots of yummy layers, and a *gasp* uncolored image. I'm thinking I might go back and color them, whatcha think? The rich color in the rest is overpowering, methinks....

I thought I'd bring you a little report on last night's award ceremony. I wasn't at all sure what to expect! It's a little local group that puts on an event called I Celebrate You - and they honor people in town for being outstanding citizens, moms, dads, teachers, coaches, etc. My neighbor Scott nominated me.

It was definitely an event with a local flavor - lots of little technical glitches along the way but they gave it their all! The entertainment was outstanding, though I had to watch it from behind; they had the honorees sitting at the back of the stage. They had a fabulous Korean American Choir, with a soprano that was opera quality from what little I could hear. A dance trio did a beautiful performance to Go Light Your World. And the Chief Medical Officer for the Swedish Health System spoke and talked about how he got to where he was - growing up in rough neighborhoods, raised by hardworking immigrant parents. Pretty inspiring!

This is the little statue we each got. It's got a genie bottle on top which is bizarre, but I choose to focus on the stars all over it, much cooler :) And the big basket? I won that! For doing a social media task, can you believe it? They stopped the program for a moment and asked everyone to go FB or text someone they want to celebrate and just tell them what they mean to them....and then had a contest, whoever could like their page and comment on it first got a prize. Just call me 'Fast Fingers Allnock.' LOL!

So I hereby challenge YOU - go celebrate someone. Right NOW! Send them a text, drop some love on their Facebook wall, tweet them, whatever works. And leave me a comment to tell me who you honored (and it can't be me!) and what you celebrate about them. And I'll send a random winner a little something later this week - comment by tomorrow night, Monday the 21st. Bonus entry if you come back and tell me what they said in reply to you!

Cousin's wedding card

2011-11-19T13:11:00.000-08:00

My cousin got married earlier this year, and this is the card I had sent to her - realised I had never shared it here! Paper is by October Afternoon, embossing folder by Cuttlebug. Sentiment by SU, border by Martha. And that ribbon? Oh yeah. May Arts. You could guess that by now, right?

I'm going to an awards ceremony this evening...bracing for what it might be like! I have a boding feeling, but...going anyhow. Hometown stuff, ya know...I have so many card kits to be busy with I don't really have time to be honored - not to mention I hate when stuff is about me! Give OWH an award and I'll run to it with a happy 'tude! lol.

Birthday mice

2011-11-18T23:09:00.000-08:00

Here's some little mice that wished a friend a happy birthday recently...HouseMouse images are so simple to color, so much of the shading is done for ya :)

Leather ribbon by May Arts, brad by Basic Grey. Can't remember on the papers at the moment....
Have a GREAT WEEKEND - I'm on vacation, waHOO!

Boot Camp Day 8

2011-11-17T00:32:00.000-08:00

Bouncing around here on boot camp days now...agh! I don't like getting behind, but I've been just nutty lately! Today's card was inspired by Debbie Olson - her Mo Manning card was just adorable, and it got me to go buy the carolers set here and the little drummer boy here - just DARLING! Watch OWHtv tonight if you want to see the cards I got done with the carolers - I just had to set aside my to-do list and PLAY for a little while!

Paper here is by BoBunny, sentiment by me and my fancy shmancy Mac. And those stars, oh how cute they are, and I wonder who makes those. *wink*

I had SUCH an exciting week so far, it's hard to imagine it getting any better. I had talked with the good folks at CHA a while back when discussing even going to the show in January, and offered to help them with the cause marketing push - a workshop, some sort of writeup, whatever they might want. Nothing. Silence. Okay okay, they're busy right. This week I had to sign the contract for the free booth, and when I sent it in, I offered again, and they forwarded that to the magazine folks - who jumped at having me write 200 words. 200? That's it? I have SO much to say about cause marketing. Uhm. I wrote 1000 and told them that, uh, yeah, I liked all of it, so, uh. Yeah. Well, they loved it - which was a thrill for me! It sounds like they're making space for it, and asking me for examples of partners and how that's worked out, etc. So hooooooray! I hope the article comes together well when they get it all put together, and that the companies who read it get inspired to go find a cause to join. It doesn't even have to be OWH, I'd be thrilled that they just stepped out to help anyone! :)

I also reached out to the other nonprofits that'll be at CHA - and you'll never believe this. One emailed back that she's sent cards to OWH before! *grin* OWHers are everywhere......heehee! Let's hope the week finishes out as well as it's gone so far :)

Valentine for a little man

2011-11-16T05:08:00.000-08:00

This adorable little pair of penguins cried out to be on a valentine card, but one a dad could maybe send to his son. I kept the simplicity of the image and sentiment, along with these DELISH papers from Basic Grey....I think I need to go get MORE of this! Yowsa. 2sides and I love them both!

Tonight I'm off to my church to speak to the Missions Council - they made a really nice donation, and asked if I'd come give a report on the project and let them know more about what we do. I'm so excited to share OWH with them! ;0) And of course to get prayed for. I need more of that right now than ever!

Boot Camp...replicable card

2011-11-15T05:01:00.000-08:00

And yes. This is as replicable as I get! lol. If I were to make dupes, which I don't intend to, I'd likely get rid of the nestie; I don't like this set at all - the edge reminds me of the horrible look you get with those awful deco scissors! Why would anyone make a whole set of nesties that look as crappy as decos?. But I did decide to try this one out at a friend's house and give it a fair shake. And the look pretty much assured me it's one set I can do without. I think it looks ok on the distressed one, but when it's plain - I didn't like it. I did satisfy myself with some yummy ribbon though - I think that reclaimed these for me :) Stamp by SU.

Back to boot camp!

2011-11-14T05:41:00.000-08:00

I need to catch up from last week, yipes! I don't even remember what day it was, but this is a pocket card. Supersimple fold, it's an A2 with the crease at the bottom, and one edge flipped down. Decorate at will :)

And I want to ask a little favor of my blog readers...would you guys go fill out a review of OWH on Great Nonprofits? For Christmas I'd love the gift of being on top of that list! Thanks :)

http://greatnonprofits.org/organizations/reviews/operation-write-home

Big puffy heart love

2011-11-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was quite the day! I spent 6 hours with my peeps at my stamp club (with the Divas!) - making kits like a mad woman. Followed that up by 6 hours at a cardmaking party at Impress - my favvvvvorite stamp store! They have superfun evening gatherings a couple times a year, they order pizza and salad and have fantastic desserts, they open up their demo stamp collection, give us a shopping discount, and let us go crazy :)

I did work on kits, but did stop to use this darling heart wreath from their stamp stash, it's by Savvy I think - I figured I could use some valentines! And of course the stamp needed some bling :) I did a poll on FB about whether it ought to be rounded or squared corners - the result was massively mixed, but everyone seemed to have an opinion! ha! Just love the May Arts ribbon on here. :) Big puffy heart love.

Today was spent on chores for part of the day - but I took a break to go with Theresa to Ben Franklin so we could buy some paper. I'm hoping to get some of the companies to donate a bunch of what we picked out so we can make kits, since we just picked up a sheet of each to play with. Cross your fingers they're generous, it'll cost us an arm and a leg if we have to buy all that :)

Going to bed a little early tonight - I am sooooo wiped! Gnight!

Crafty Contagion: Thankful

2011-11-12T02:30:00.000-08:00

This week me and the girls at Crafty Contagion bring you a THANKFUL theme. Mine is a really simple one, but I like it - papers, stamp, ink. :) But I am OH so thankful for the bloghop and all the companies who are participating - if you missed it, go back and look! I need to go check out the cards all over again, there was so much to see and so much I want to CASE!

Stamp by SU....papers are a little bit of randomness from my stash. And yes, I do like to go layerhappy! This also answers the request for some masculine thank you cards. :)

Happy Veterans Day!

2011-11-11T00:10:00.000-08:00

One of the best days of the year - a day to honor HEROES! I am so very grateful to all who have served in every generation! Today I'll be putting on a luncheon at work with a few other employees, to honor those on our staff who are veterans, and I can't wait. What an honor for us.

My thanks to the bloggers!
This card is ridiculously silly! However - I used products from all eleven companies - as my thank you to them for blogging about OWH today. I couldn't be more grateful for their willingness, their patience with my emails, their incredible design teams, their product donations for our CHA cards and for the cruise. I am just humbled that they'd participate with us at this level!

House, kite, cloud: Hero Arts...just might be related to Hero's announcement today!

Embossing folder: Sizzix

Ribbon: May Arts

Tree and all cutting of paper: Tonic Studios

Newsprint patterned paper: Basic Grey

Kite paper. grass: Studio Calico

Sentiment: SRM Stickers

Flower: Prima

Distressing: Ranger

House and cloud coloring: Copic Marker

And holding it all together: Tombow tape runners!

And yes, that's probably one of the nuttiest combos ever made. But it was made with great love! And it took 4 hours, so...there ya go. LOL. Now on to a serious note given the holiday today.

On Wednesday I was asked to speak at our company Chapel, and to lead a time of prayer for our veterans. Here's the transcript:

I’m Sandy Allnock, and am part of our staff team that meets regularly to lift up our service members in prayer.

In Scripture, the Lord Himself set watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem to guard His people; and those who have served in this role for their nations, guarding their fellow citizens from harm, are to be honored for this calling.

I invite all those who have served in the armed forces of their nation – America or otherwise – to please stand and be recognized. Please remain standing for a moment as we pray thanksgiving for you, and stay in our midst also as placeholders for those veterans who are at this very moment in harm’s way around the world.

Father, we thank you for these brothers and sisters on our staff who You called to keep watch over Your people on this earth. We ask your blessing over each and every one and give them great honor for their sacrifices; we thank You for planting a heart of compassion in these men and women that continues to inspire their service here at World Vision, protecting Your children in different yet vital ways today.

We also lift up the thousands of veterans who today are serving in harm’s way around the globe, both in war zones and in peace keeping duties:

surround them with a hedge of protection;

give them eyes to see danger and wisdom to know when to turn to the left or the right;

provide for their needs - mental, physical and spiritual;

set divine appointments for them that open doors to peace;

guide their leaders to make decisions wise beyond their human knowledge;

and return them safely to us at home.

Thank You, Father, for creating selfless servants in every era to stand up to fight for their nations. We are so grateful for the bravery and dedication shown by all veterans in the witness of their lives of service.

Jesus, you said, Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends…and we thank You for inspiring people around the world to give of themselves so sacrificially to defend their lands and peoples – many of them were inspired even by Your ultimate defense of us in Your death on the cross.

We pray all this in the strong and mighty name of Jesus…Amen.

This was so well received; I've been getting emails and phone calls since. And a group of staff are taking their lunch hour to go visit a veterans memorial in a nearby town today - inspired by Chapel. What a blessing! I hope you get to do something to honor those who served....even if you just make a really special AnyHero card, I encourage you to do something.

Where did all the hours go?

2011-11-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

I was totally and completely spoiled lately...I took vacation days all through the fall - every Friday since September - and then all of last week. I know, I should have been able to go to Hawaii, but I haven't had a real vacation in years, so...yeah. Whatevah :) This week I'm back to 40+ hours...and I'm wiped out! Yeesh! This week has gone all kinds of sideways. I really need those days off again!

But....almost all of it's good stuff, so I won't complain. I am skipping today's boot camp card - it's a pocket card with a newslettery element, and frankly, I don't really need that kinda card. If it doesn't have a handwritten note, then people just won't learn what's gone on with me. (And face it, with FB and blogs and my webcast and vlogs, people already know too much about me! ha!) I may do some pocket cards for our heroes, but...not tonight. Too much to do.

Instead it's just a quick thankyou card I needed for someone, and that's about all. :)

I've got to go do about 1000 things tonight, and I better get rolling or they'll never get started. LOL. Biggest items are getting things set for the hop tomorrow, prep for the Veteran's Day lunch at work tomorrow, and getting a huge order redone for stuff for the cruise and CHA; the company changed my ID code and lost the whole list (it took me hours the first time, hope it'll be less this time!). But once that order is placed I'll feel a heck of a lot better!

Gotta jet...have a great evening!

Boot Camp Day 3

2011-11-09T00:02:00.000-08:00

I'm still at it so far....hangin' tough! Jennifer had a little tree flying through her window, I decided that some May Arts reindeer should take flight. The top layer of navy paper is popped so the reindeer aren't squished...somehow I couldn't bring myself to smash 'em.

The inside has a gold circle with Ranger Embossing Pearl - pale gold. I was pleasantly surprised; several people said Ranger EPs flake off and this set up nicely and stayed put! Yeah. (Sentiment by A Muse)

Boot Camp Day 2

2011-11-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

Day two and I'm keeping up! It's photo cards today...I'm not big on photo cards, but Ciara has to send out Christmas cards to a couple of our units who always write to her, so I figured she'd get her holiday mail done early :) Papers in the first card are by BoBunny, second is BoBunny plus some Basic Grey.

Boot Camp started!

2011-11-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

I'm stoked...I finally signed up for an online cardmaking class! I figured assignments would help me get a start on my own Christmas cards and get something done. If you didn't sign up I'm so sorry - just by the first day I love it already! :) Actually it started today at 12:01 am, but since I'm on west coast time - I got to start at 9pm last night! I was mojoless at my desk after a day of packing boxes, so having readymade projects was perfect.

The one on the left is from Kristina Werner's design; I had to do some adapting! Yeah, I coulda gone to the supply list and bought a Cricut and a lot of other stuff, but you guys know me - I make things up as I go along anyway. So I printed her ornament on red cardstock, cut it out, sprayed it with Perfect Pearls Mist to give it a little shimmer (which of course I can't seem to photograph!), and added Pearl Pen. Enough pearl on the card yet? lol! I also didn't have any picket fence stuff so opted to darken half the paper instead of lightening as per instructions. And no polkadot background stamp...but I've got a polkadot embossing folder!

The card on the right is a design by Jennifer McGuire. Again, adapting! I goofed on my embossing, so cut it out to adhere to the card base. Followed her star template, but had no Cricut to cut a branch, but I did have this little branch by A Muse Studio, so cut that by hand. Pearl pen for the berries.

Now that I'm an overachiever on day 1, let's see if I can keep up with all of boot camp - Ha! Don't put money on it, I went back to work this morning. :)

That extra hour!

2011-11-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

I just LOVE this extra hour idea. Can we do that every weekend, pretty please?

Last night I stayed up and did a ton of cards - lots of thankyous to go in the package to the hero who wanted masculine ones....I try not to go for the normal type thing for guys with drab colors - just focusing on some simple patterned paper and a clean design. First uses Cosmo Cricket paper and a SU sentiment; second one...not sure who made that paper, I didn't jot it down before carving it up. That bunny, I think, may be one I got eons ago over at Impress - so it could be Memory Box? "Gee thanks" sentiment is by Waltzingmouse.

And I tackled the Inspiration Challenge - I think it's a tween card, approved by Jan's daughter...kinda steampunk, I'm not sure. LOL! Image by The Greeting Farm, and lots of those swirls are by Autumn Leaves, Fancy Pants, and Inkadinkado makes the heart with the key, and that 'love' word - all one stamp.

Today was filled with packing boxes! I now have a ton ready for valentines....finished rearranging the last Christmas ones to stretch out over more heroes (added some winter to some and made more boxes out of them all! Whee!) So the very last ones are going to be en route...they're later than they ought to be, but if the elves would just quit showing up at my house, I could be done. LOL. I guess from here on they get to sit in the bathtub til next year!

I did get to church today, late service - I never go to that one, so it felt like being in a totally other congregation. I got welcomed by a lot of folks - that speaks well of our 11:30 crowd! If you're in Federal Way, feel free to come to any service, but if you go to the late morning, sit in the balcony. Some seriously nice folks there. The sermon was one that talked about something I've been thinking about for the last year - looking at Joseph's life, and how all the things in his past led up to what God wanted him to do later: saving people all over Egypt and beyond from the famine. I know that so many of my life experiences led me to where I am now with OWH....and I can't wait to see what God does with everything in the next years to come. This is such a fabulous ride, it's hard to imagine He might top it! But I know He will....coz He is gooooooood.

Hope you all have a super week!

Our Daily Bread Designs challenge!

2011-11-05T02:56:00.000-07:00

I am soooooo excited! I received an email a few weeks ago from ODBD, and they had heard about OWH...we started chatting and came up with a monthly challenge as a great way to partner together!! I love their stamps; I use a lot of them for cards for church, but also some for our heroes too (yes we can use Scriptures on cards!)

I did this card for the S&S blog for today...I stamped the Butterfly Corner stamp on My Minds Eye paper, and stamped it on white to color the butterfly with Copics. I did the distressing around the edge with the distressytoolthingie (which has since vanished....somewhere around here!) and Memento ink; be careful when you use The Tool on your inkpads, they should be ones that the foam or felt won't chew up. The surface of Memento can take the pounding of the felt pad nicely, as can Ranger Distress Inks. (Don't try it with Versafine or Colorbox Chalks. Just sayin'.)

I made a few more while I was on my ODBD kick...these are both verses with "love" in them....

Paper by Glitz; butterfly by Sassafrass (for Studio Calico), button punch by MS, Spellbinders nestie Label 9

Paper by Graphic 45 (black) and October Afternoon (red); May Arts ribbon, Sizzix embossing folder

I hope everyone joins in the ODBD challenge - if we get 50 players, ODBD sponsors two boxes, waHOO!

Memory Box winter bird

2011-11-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Here's the other MB stamp I teased about a while ago....it is just so lovely! The sample card in the store was colored so softly and beautifully I just couldn't resist the stamp. I want to make some of these for me to use and maybe - just maybe - add some glitter. ACK! Yes, I said it. I may or may not do it, but I can picture it. Background embossing folder by Sizzix.

Tweeeeeeeet!

2011-11-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly trying to get a start on my own Christmas cards...I've got more secret projects going on in the background so it's been tough finding creative time. ACK! Now that the majority of Christmas cards are now en route....I can hopefully find more inky time!

This card uses a Memory Box image that I colored while on my trip to Pittsburgh. Yes, way back then! A little October Afternoon paper and May Arts wrinkle ribbon on an embossed piece of cardstock...and done!

I have a huge box full of images that I really need to start using. I might just have to do some Christmas cards with non-Christmas images so I can use these up...may just tell myself I can't color til I start emptying this box!? Or....maybe instead I should offer them up as blog candy. Would anyone want an envelope with some images in it? lol. Probably not. Leave me a comment if you're nerdy enough to want someone's colored images, and if it sounds like anyone would want some I'll start clearin' house. :)

Have a FAB weekend coming up....be sure to tune in to S&S on Saturday, got something superspecial coming your way!!!

Blingggggggg

2011-11-02T03:19:00.000-07:00

Not sure what possessed me to take this photo backlit, but there ya go. It does show off all the bling and layers, eh? The stamp is from my new Stampendous set - the paper dollies I showed you here. Ribbon by May Arts.

Dancin' with the Snoopster!

2011-11-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Today's card has a lot of pow in some fun little bits and pieces. The background paper is from Jillibean Soup - my last little bit of this, I just adore the teensy stripes! I love all their papers for that same reason - they have a lot with tiny card-friendly patterns. The other pieces are, I believe, October Afternoon. Brad by.....oh gosh, Sassafrass maybe? It's a fabric brad...the two little ones are by Basic Grey.

I don't know if you saw today, but Amuse is giving away a darling love package of goodies to a lucky OWHer! Go visit them on their facebook page, and let them know you're an OWHer...the drawing won't be til Friday so you have plenty of time!

Much love for Pink Cat

2011-10-31T23:12:00.000-07:00

Little Lily and her cup of cocoa are sure going to warm someone's heart! I debated about which of several colored versions of the image to use on this card, and opted for one where her hair matched the papers, but the rest of her cute little outfit was just wild. Little kids never match, right? lol! It gave a pop of color to an otherwise muted card, and that seemed kinda fun.

Today's mail was light - compared with expectations at least. Fortunately only 2 packages needed envies and all were stamped, woohoo!! Here's hoping for the rest of the week's mail being as easy :) I have a ton more to accomplish, and lots of it got done today: booking my hotel for CHA!; going to the opening of Hobby Lobby (only spent $25, and if I hadn't had a coupon, would have only spent a couple bucks...was not impressed); prepping kit designs for CHA (all top secret stuff, dangit, or I'd share!); catching up on lots of OWH paperwork; getting halloween stuff done. Yes, I waited til halloween to even look for pumpkins, so all they had were these ridiculously expensive organic baby pumpkins! lol.

Ciara wore her uniform as her costume.....the kiddos loved it! And she was excited that a very sweet cardmaker had sent her a bag full of doggie treats and toys!

I hope you all had a wonderful halloween!

All about Ciara

2011-10-30T16:36:00.002-07:00

I'm feeling soooooo productive! Maybe I can actually get some relaxing in later this week if I get all my stuff done sooner :) :) :) Last night I was up late packing, labeling, writing letters, and filling out customs forms for all the boxes for this week - I've never been this AHEAD! Ciara wasn't so impressed at first....

Then I held up a cookie and she changed her tune and smiled! (The angst might have been that uniform...she doesn't like wearing it a lot unless she's around soldiers!)

Today I did a bunch of paperwork, then worked on some of my cards for the Christmas season for our contacts - SantaCiara digi on the outside, photo of tired Ciara on the inside. (That one was from last year.)

And since I can't figure out where I posted this santa pup digi, here's the freebie for you...click once, then rightclick on the bigger one to download it:

I put together 25 packets of Christmas AnyHero mail too...and saw this one among some great coloring pages from a KOA that had their visiting kids do some:

That just made me smile :)....it's like an idea for a halloween costume for my lil girl! LOL!

Tons more to do, but I'm making a big ol' dent! Tomorrow's mail may derail the list on paper, so I'm getting through as much as I can before my mail carrier comes in the afternoon! W000t!

Memory Box polar bear cub

2011-10-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to be on a week's vacation...I unfortunately can't go anywhere fun like Hawaii, but who needs vacations when you can stay home and stamp and tuck cards? *grin* Aiyee. Yes, that's what I'm doing, sadly....lots of other OWHy stuff as well. But I am looking forward to a lot of catching up so that's still good :)

I've gotten lots of boxes packed, 10 shipped yesterday....and lots of website updates done that have been months on the back burner. And...I stopped this afternoon to make a card! Sorry to disappoint you, the past week's cards were made beforehand and scheduled...but I know what this season is like, so there ya have it :) New mojo for you today though...a new stamp I bought recently by Memory Box, purchased when I was at Impress. And of course I had to play along with the polkadot challenge ... love me some dots!

Speaking of Impress - come to this fun evening of stamping!! Bring some OWH cards to work on, make something new with their supplies, or bring your own project. Should be fun! Call the store to RSVP - it's the one in Tukwila :)

Studio Calico, Sassafrass - OWH thank-yous

2011-10-28T03:37:00.000-07:00

Today's cardshare is some cards made for sending out the OWH patches...everyone who gets a patch also gets it in a card from me. :) These use some yummmmy goodies from my SC kit - papers by Studio Calico, butterflies by Sassafrass. If you want a patch - and a card - you make a donation of $10 or more and include an AnyHero card...and be sure to mark it clearly that you want a patch. (Not every donation gets a patch, just those who request it.)

Whipppppppersnapper snowman!

2011-10-27T04:47:00.000-07:00

I just love this lil snowman!! He's so stinkin cute in his oversized sweater :) Colored him with Copics, and popped him....I added the sentiment from the Stampendous set (the paper dollies one), and had placed it on the block in an arc. Papers came from....can you guess? My Studio Calico kits. Am I sounding like a broken record? *grin*

And it's Thursday - But there's not going to be a show tonight. So sorry! I've had so many cards to stamp and tuck lately that I just can't keep up. And my 'tude is showing, lol. Better not to record that on YouTube, if you kwim *grin*......will have a superfun vlog coming for the weekend though, and the show should be back on next week - I'll be spending a week's vacation on sorting, stamping, tucking, and packing, but at an easier pace so I should be fine for next Thursday night :)

SU Under the Stars + Imaginisce + Yummmmmy ribbon

2011-10-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Love love love this little bear from Stampin Up! The set is called Under the Stars. My little friend Lainey was coloring with me a few months ago, and she said his nose and tummy needed to be blue :)

The Thickers (letters) are from my Studio Calico kit...ribbon by May Arts. (I wrapped a piece of ribbon around the card, and the "bow" is just a knot.)

Housemouse Pumpkin

2011-10-25T04:32:00.000-07:00

Belatedly, the winner from the KnK bloghop: KATHY V! Congrats! Might not be til next week til I get the stamp set out to you :)

The Crafty Contagion blog is at it again! We're doing a "pumpkin" challenge - that can be actual pumpkins, or the color....I made this one for personal use, so don't take it as a sign you can still send in halloween cards for OWH! :)

I'd love it if you'd go play along on the blog challenge - we're trying to get more players to join us! You can always get there by clicking on the badge in my sidebar too... :)

Tonic + SU = reindeer cheer!

2011-10-24T04:05:00.000-07:00

I had purchased a fall punch from Tonic a few weeks ago - and as soon as I saw it, I knew it would make GREAT reindeer antlers! The reindeer heads use the SU owl punch. With the feet cut off. (Coz if they're not cut off, these would be reindeer with goiters!)

I just love all the fun things you can do with the owl and bird punches...this was really fun to make :) Circles are made with nesties (Lacey circles)...and the ribbon is cool 2tone ribbon from May Arts.

Oh and by the way, I get questions about where I get all my May Arts - my dealer is Sharon at Stamp Simply! If you buy from her, be sure to let her know I sent you :)

Tutorial: Ethnic skin coloring (Copics)

2011-10-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

By popular demand - finally - another Copic tutorial! My apologies for the color on the videotaped portion, it's pretty dark. One day I'll get a real camera and lighting worked out. (After I hit the lottery, lol!) I chose to use images from The Greeting Farm - they're so awesome for practicing your coloring!

KnK Fundraiser bloghop!

2011-10-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

If you've gotten here from Holley's blog, you're on the right track - if not, go start at the beginning, you won't want to miss it! She's one of the most talented ladies I know :)

I'm so excited to be in a hop with some amazing crafters - showing off the fantastic images by KnK that are being sold as a benefit for OWH! The whole price minus Paypal fees will be donated to spend on shipping for the holidays - how AMAZINGLY generous of Katlyn!

K 'n K Designs has wonderful prize packages for 2 lucky winners!

Your comment will enter you into the prize drawing and the winners will be announced Monday, October 24th! So be sure to leave a comment on each blog so you have a chance to win!

To tell you a little of who I am - I'm the nut who started Operation Write Home! Yeah, some days I wonder what I was thinking, but I wouldn't go back and redo it for the world! This project has been a huge blessing in my life...knowing that I have an impact every day on so many people in this world, getting the chance to share my creativity with others, and receiving so many blessings because of all of it. I seem to never have enough time to do everything, yet what someone told me years ago is true - "If you have something that needs to be done, give it to the busiest person you know." So here I am, in the midst of holiday shipping season, making cards for a bloghop! :) Love it! And if you're new to OWH, I invite you to check out OWHtv - check out the sidebar playlist on our Stars and Stamps blog to watch this week's episode or get caught up on past shows!

I just love this lil pup Katlyn created! I showed you one card with it on Monday, and here's another! Perfect for AnyHero cards, especially from me and Ciara (See her photo below) :) :) :) We send a note in each of the boxes that go out, and I always include photos of Ciara - sometimes she "makes" her own cards, but this one is all by me:

I printed the image twice so I could cut out the box and some of the bones to pop them and add a little dimension. Patterned papers are by Moxie, don't you just love it! (Local girls: Got them at Scrap That in Fircrest!)

Our mascot Ciara with a box of cards and the KnK Hero note! Ciara loves KnK too!

The sentiment is inside...I tried it outside but it just wasn't working, so inside it's highlighted by some layers.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog...feel free to subscribe by email using the signup in the sidebar if you want to keep up with some behind-the-scenes craziness from me!

What's a bloghop without candy? How about this...a set of stamps! Leave me a comment telling me if you're an OWHer or new to us - I'll randomly draw a name Sunday night from all comments and post the winner on Monday.

And now I turn you loose to go see what Cathy has in store for you over at

Mrs Pickle Stamps!

Have fun - and don't forget to go shopping at KnK!